Grin and Bear It.

At Union Bear In West Village, The Beer Takes Top Priority.

Union Bear
3699 McKinney Ave, Suite C-360
West Village

The owners of Eno's Pizza and Oddfellows have a new offering to Dallas eaters and drinkers — and outside of the Oak Cliff bubble, no less.

Called Union Bear, the pizza-cum-beer garden located in a former West Village untz-untz space (two times over) is a great spot for grabbing a delicious flat crust pizza, downing a cold brew and partaking in some good old-fashioned people-watching.

The space has been completely transformed from its previous incarnations, too; the quaint-yet-well-executed attempt at rustic decor and custom wall art make you feel cozy in all of the restaurant and bar's many seating areas, all of which are quite unique.

We'll start with the beers because they seem to take a front seat at Union Bear — literally, believe it or not. Their open-air bar that greets patrons on the street-level entrance is lined with some 40 or so beer taps. It boasts the usual suspects, some local brews (read: Deep Ellum Brewing Company), some funny-sounding-yet-delicious offerings (Moose Drool) and their very own label brewed right there in-house.

Their cocktail list is short — really short, like three drinks long. Go crazy and choose from the Victory Dance, Strange Desire, and frozen Moscow Mule (yup!). If you really want a cocktail, ask your barkeep to whip something up and you'll get a treat. Leigh, my server on my first visit here, made me a delicious drink made with St. Germaine, Framboise, vodka, lemon and lime juice, and soda when I asked for something special. They also have wine — if you're into that sort of thing.

And maybe some of this clientele is. It's a very West Village spot, with some extra hipsters chucked in to spice things up. The best part about the people-watching at Union Bear might be figuring out who has the coolest hat on.

The staff is friendly — especially the bearded dude at the front door and my waiter, Mark, who is worth asking for — and the servers really know their beers, as they rightly they should. They're game to make a recommendation and they seem to work as a team.

Oh, and the pizza is pretty grrrrrrr-eat, too. (Get it? It's a bear joke.) Considering the Eno's lineage, though, that's not very surprising.

Just make sure to get here early and before the crowd. Because it does get a bit noisy as it gets packed. And it's been packed every time we've stopped in.