Drop anchor for a bite at at Union Landing restaurant in Louisville | Grub Scout
When The Grub Spouse and I dropped by Union Landing for a lakeside lunch last weekend, it was our first visit to that particular restaurant. However, it wasn’t our first go-around with that Louisville Landing Marina location. The building, which is on the shores of Fort Loudoun Lake (or the Tennessee River — however you prefer to interpret it), had housed at least three previous food ventures I’ve reviewed over the years. For a while, the facility seemed to be a revolving door of started-and-failed eateries.
However, Union Landing has been up and running for two years, operating year 'round under the leadership of the same team responsible for Union Jack’s English Pub and Union Place Bar & Grill in Knoxville. I noticed the upgrades as soon as we entered. The proprietors have added a fully stocked bar to the single cozy dining area, and there are more outdoor spaces where patrons can enjoy their meals on the waterfront (although the lake itself is set back from the restaurant a good piece). They also offer live music, trivia, karaoke and more.
The Spouse and I were allowed to take the table of our choice, and we settled into a two-top with menus in hand. Appetizers run a somewhat familiar gamut, but I also spotted clam strips, corn nuggets and shrimp cocktail. I was torn between the pretzels with beer cheese and the ranch curds but decided on the latter ($12). We ate these first and appreciated the ranch seasoning and light breading. I enjoyed these cheesy little nuggets both solo and dipped in marinara.
The menu has several salad options, including a blackened shrimp Caesar and greens topped with either grilled or fried chicken. For variety, there’s a section of four 12-inch flatbreads as well as a lineup of main dishes that features chicken tenders, grilled shrimp, fish and chips, catfish and blackened mahi.
After six days of eating seafood while on vacation the previous week, I was in the mood for something beefy, so I reviewed Union Landing’s seven burger choices, including the pizza burger, the Charleston (topped with pimento cheese) and the fried bologna burger. I went for the mushroom Swiss burger ($15), a quarter-pounder topped with Swiss, bacon, grilled onions and mushrooms with house-made A.1. aioli on a toasted bun.
The Spouse, meanwhile, gravitated toward the sandwiches. These represented the largest section of the menu and included everything from four variations on the BLT to a Cajun catfish sandwich, blackened mahi (or shrimp) tacos, hot honey chicken, the Pub Dog or the Mac Attack — a quarter-pound Angus beef hotdog topped with mac and cheese, bacon and barbecue sauce.
The Spouse went with the shrimp salad rolls ($14). That’s two split-top rolls filled with cold house-made shrimp salad (Old Bay, dill, capers, celery, red onion) and topped with lettuce and green onion. Think lobster rolls but with shrimp.
Based on my previous experiences at Union Landing’s predecessors, my expectations weren’t very high. So I’m happy to say that this site’s latest lakefront tenant not only cleared my low bar but hurdled way over it. The burger and the mess o’ shoestring fries that accompanied it were very good. The addition of grilled onions and A.1. aioli to the traditional Swiss-and-mushroom formula was aces.
Even more impressive were the shrimp salad rolls. The bread itself was nice and soft, and the mixture of shrimp and accompanying seasonings was satisfying to the palate. I even liked The Spouse’s chosen side of onion rings. These were battered rather than breaded, which I always find preferable. (Other side choices include potato salad, sweet red pepper slaw, white cheddar macaroni and cheese, pasta salad, basmati rice, hush puppies and baked beans.)
We learned that none of Union Landing’s desserts are homemade, so we passed on those, but I still found a lot to crow about during this visit. The bar/dining room could have easily passed for any of the hole-in-the-wall seafood eateries we had frequented on the Gulf of Mexico the week before, and the service was more than respectable. If you happen to be out for a day on the lake/river near Louisville Landing Marina this summer, I definitely recommend dropping anchor for a bite and a beverage.
Union Landing
Food: 4
Service: 3.75
Atmosphere: 4
Overall: 4
Address: 2932 Louisville Boatdock Road, Louisville
Phone: 865-980-8004
Kids’ menu
Full bar service
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Drop anchor for a bite at at Union Landing in Louisville | Grub Scout
