The Union Hotel Bar - Occidental

Atmosphere: Traditional Country Pub Style

Clientele: Hippie-Lumberjack

Food: Average priced appetizers, pizza and entrees

Spirits: Suitably diverse, average prices

Staff: Accommodating though not particularly attentive if you aren’t at the bar

Located on Main St. in Occidental, the Union Hotel has been a landmark since the dawn of time, or at least the dawn of my time. Imagine my disbelief and horror to discover on a Wednesday evening that THERE IS NO HAPPY HOUR. That’s right, there are no drink specials nor food specials to make patrons happy during the traditional hours of 4-6pm. What a tremendous disappointment.

Still, beggars can’t be choosers and neither can professional drinkers, so I sat down at the long wooden bar and ordered a drink. The Union has a good selection of spirits and they pass the vanilla vodka test put forth by me, your picky hostess who likes her Cape Cods with vanilla vodka instead of plain because they taste just like cherry cheesecake that way. In the spirit of not becoming soused at 5pm in the middle of the week, I ordered an individual Garlic Gold pizza. Really, if I had to pick a redeeming quality for the Union, it would be this pizza and this pizza alone. The jukebox is acceptable and the drinks aren’t unfairly priced; the ambiance is traditional and the clientele trend towards rough hirsuteness, at least during the mid-week unhappy hour, so really the pizza is what makes one take notice. The savory sausage, sauteed mushrooms and caramelized onions in a garlic cream sauce makes the full priced drinks worth the stop. If and when I return to the Union, it will be on a Tuesday when you can get a 2-topping extra large pizza of your choice for $12.99 – to go only. So go then and have a drink while you wait for your pizza.

Pros:

Garlic Gold pizza and $12.99 take-out Tuesday

Open 364 days per year for all your holiday drinking needs

Parking

Cons:

No drink or food specials during the unhappiest of hours.

Not a particularly vibrant atmosphere