Unionville Arms Pub & Grill

I've been living in York Region most of my life and sadly, I have only been to Main Street Unionville once (yes, there are times when I am a country mouse). J and I were both bored and decided to go to Starbucks for a coffee - from there, we sat and brainstormed where to go for dinner.

The problem I've always had with living in the suburbs is the lack of food selection. No, wait - it's the lack of non-Asian food selection.  If I were craving Chinese/Korean/Japanese food, I'd definitely hit up the 905. When I'm craving anything else, the options are far more restricted. Sure, there are franchises and chain restaurants, but there are times I just want something different - be it food or atmosphere.

After much hemming and hawing, J and I went to Main Street Unionville and settled ourselves into a booth at Unionville Arms Pub & Grill. The atmosphere was great. For a Sunday night, I was surprised to see the restaurant full. It was warm, friendly and had a variety of people - families, couples and everyone else in-between - including other single gals like us.

The menu is typical pub fare, so J had the roast beef dip and I had the roast beef dinner (alert: I was NOT counting calories today) with Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob and asparagus.  

And this is how it went...the Yorkshire pudding (which, BTW, is one of my most FAVOURITE things to eat, even though it's probably 1,000 calories a piece) was disappointing. It was cold and dense. The roast beef was good enough, and the mashed potatoes were amazing (if the mashed potatoes weren't good, this would've been an angry post). The corn was sweet, but undercooked, while the asparagus was limp and overcooked.  

I didn't try J's roast beef dip, but she said it was bland.

The service was friendly (however, our server wasn't at the top of her game). Having said all this, this is one of those rare times where I'll actually go back to the restaurant in spite of the food.  

The mood and atmosphere counted for a lot and really contributed to the experience - which, overall, was a really positive one. I would go back because of the vibe, but the food really was part of the background, and definitely not the main attraction.

Restaurant rating: Would go back occasionally.