A Mexican restaurant in the Hamptons? How could it be!? Union Cantina is a recently opened Mexican diner with a rustic interior, a large, airy patio, and a well stocked tequila bar. However, despite the great location and the energetic, thriving atmosphere, the food fails to live up to expectations.
After squeezing in to a table on the patio (the inside was quite dead), we began by ordering the Union Nachos, which came with adobo spicy pork belly, black beans, jalapeños, tomato salsa, and a nice cheese blend. Too bad most of the cheese was sitting on top, which cooled to quickly and became gluey. However, the nachos were undoubtedly the highlight of the meal-- all the flavors were assembled in perfect fashion, offering a mix of spice, salt, sweetness and just a tad of creaminess. However, it would've been nice if the chips were hot, as they felt very lukewarm and soggy at times. While waiting for our main entrees, my dad was offered a free Margarita, which he gladly accepted. For our main course, we ordered three different types of tacos from a large selection: the Costilla de Res (beef short rib), the Pargo (red snapper) and the Vientre de Cerdo (pork belly). The beef was too firm and had little seasoning, but had just enough zingy slaw, salsa and beans to save it from being a total disaster. The red snapper itself was delicious, but due to the weight of the fish and the sauce, the taco was very difficult to eat and the corn tortilla broke almost the second I picked it up. Finally, the pork belly was overly fatty, but came with a delicious savory flavor that complimented the subtle, mild tomatillo salsa very nicely. Although the guacamole créma was good, it shouldn't have been dolloped over every taco.
Overall, it's nice to know that a restaurant in the Hamptons tried to do Mexican-- however, it is disappointing to know that it did not end up fully succeeding. 2 1/2 pineapples. See you next time!
-tdg
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