Union Station Food Court

How the mighty have fallen.Once upon a time, the Union Station Food Court was a legendary place.It was one of the first urban development projects to put a food court in a historic public site.Great pains and efforts were taken to insure that the visual and architectural integrity of the home location were maintained.The vendors that were put in were interesting ethnic food stands of a wide variety of types.The food was interesting and surprising.The location was spectacular.It was a major destination eating place.* * *The food court has degenerated -But it has degenerated with grace and dignity.If a public eating place has to fall apart,This is the way to properly do it.* * *The colorful interesting ethnic eating places that characterized the Union Food Court have long gone.What is in Union Station now are standard national chains.Jersey Mikes. Chipotle. Chick Fil A.This could be the food in any suburban mall in the United States.My initial interaction was "Tell me it ain't so, Joe!"* * *On closer inspection however,Union Station has maintained more of its standards than would initially appear to be the case.a) The architectural rules have been maintained.The spectacular views of the station still exist.This is still a beautiful and fantastic place to be in a landmark building.b) They have curated the fast food places to represent the best of the chains.McDonalds, Burger King and KFC are nowhere to be seen.Wendy's is there - but Wendy's collapse has been fairly recent.Taco Bell is there - as wellOutside of those two exceptions, every restaurant represented at Union Station is in the top tier of American fast food.Chipotle is McDonald's best and most reliable brand.Jersey Mikes is the best mass sub chain in the country. Chick Fil A is one of the healthiest and most ecologically responsible of the major food chains - and the chicken dishes themselves are fully respectable.Cava is credible fresh healthy food.I ate at Charley's which puts out first rate wings and an honest decent Philly cheesesteak.* * *Now, no duh, what are those fast food chains doing there?Fast food chains can afford to pay higher rent than can small local ethnic places.If there was going to be a bidding war for prime space,The national food chains were going to win.Union Station is run by Amtrak.Amtrak is financially pressed.With Amtrak struggling for every centavo in order to keep the trains and lines maintained, and its general service running on time,I can see how they would have felt that they didn't have the option of running of "running a charity operation" on the food in the Washington D.C. station.They had to maximize the returns on the Union Square space -And this means renting to the chains.Sad reality but financial reality.But if Amtrak had to sell out,At least Amtrak sold out with grace and charm.* * *Going to Union Station is no longer part of the D.C. visitors, tourist itinerary for a classic eating experience.Once upon a time that was the case.But if you are in the station travelling, and you want something to eat,What you can get at Union Station can still be pretty good.And if you are a D.C. visitor, there are a lot of other legendary restaurants calling your name.Check out Yelp for good ideas.

It's better than it used to be. Am glad Halal Guys, Chik Fil A, Wendy's among others are here. Whether you're in DC for a day trip, or close to the capitol building, this is the most reasonably priced place. Have eaten here several times. It's busy. There's thankfully more tables and chairs now. It still has that unique Union Station smell.You'll meet some unique folks here. Some may have been on the Jerry Springer Show. I'm mostly joking but it's in a train station after all. Transient areas always add characters. I think most part this is a safe place. There are some panhandling people, but where isn't there? I've generally just do what elsewhere, get some grub, and then roll out.

Beware of the Union Station Food Court in Washington DC; they have a major homeless problem inside; on Sat 12/28/24, we encountered an aggressive homeless woman who got escorted out by police (with apologies from food court employees), but that was not the worst of it... another homeless woman, who was barefoot, decided to relieve herself against a side wall adjacent to a staircase, not more than 30 feet away from where people were eating, including families with young kids. Even a couple of the cleaning crew staff were surprised and offered apologies as well. Our Nation's Capital Washington DC is a nice place to visit, with lots of cool historical stuff to do and see, but we recommend steering clear of Union Station.

There are several eateries to choose from. Not the safest place to be, but if you absolutely have to eat here, get your order TO GO. The panhandlers are aggressive and will approach you with no hesitation.__I eat. @f.huxI thrift. @DCthriftish

The Union Station Food Court is Located near the U.S. Capitol, accessible by metro and home to many of the city's tour bus companies, Union Station is a convenient place to stop for a quick bite to eat. Located on the lower level of Union Station, which is the main railway station in Washington DC and is home to the Union Station Food Court, a huge hall and fast-food restaurants You have everything from Haagen Dazs to McDonalds and Greek, Asian, and Indian restaurants. In short, it's fast-food but you have a bit of everything. Good place to eat if you're waiting to catch a train. Since Covid quite a few of the choices have disappeared or have odd hours. We chose Charley's Philly Steaks which wasn't half bad. Bottom line: Not much to add, hey it's a good court. They're likely to be a gem in there somewhere. Published Hours: Monday - Friday: 6am - 9pm Saturday: 9am - 9pmSunday: 7am - 6pm

At Union Station there's lots of places to eat. It has lots of places. This doesn't mean they're all good places. Most are boring old chains. You can still find a few more interesting ones. It gets points for convenience. Otherwise it's not that special. The rest if a Union Station has lots of interesting stores. It's not all that fun at the food court. The typical fast food chains are here. A few slower service chains might be worth looking at. They have an &pizza, one of those rapid fire pizza places. A good thing is that Union Station has more eating options elsewhere. Head upstairs to all the shops. They a much more interesting collection of food there.

I enjoy getting something quick to eat on my commute occasionally. Right now in the middle of covid things are starting to open back up. In the downstairs eatery no chairs and tables. About a third or half of places are operating: chikfila, chipotle, charley's sub, poke bowl, wendys, johnny's Burger's (with seating). Bojangles and Dunkin were closed as of 9/17/2020. Upstairs the Starbucks, McDonald's and uniqlo and h&m are open. Auntie annie's and some of the bakeries are closed

The crowds rarely subside at Union Station, but stopping here for food is sometimes a necessity. Not only is it the meeting place for all the short- and long-distance trains, it's also walkable from the Capitol and the other surrounding buildings.The food court is below ground level, and is generally packed and messy. They have a decent variety of options, punctuated by a new &pizza. It's a food court, and you are in no way getting the best of DC cuisine here, but if it's convenient, there's enough good stuff here to eat.

If you're not planning to leave the station during your stop here or need a quick bite on your way somewhere then this is a good place to be. (I said good . . . . not great.) There are a wide variety of choices but that quickly gets narrowed down to only one if you want something that not only fills your stomach but is also tastes great. An &pizza is now located right in the center of the food court where you can get a fantastic pizza made to order. (Unfortunately I can't do a review of this &pizza yet because I foolishly chose poorly and ate at a chicken place a few feet away. Still kicking myself.) My recommendation is that if you're not leaving the station, try &pizza, and if you are leaving . . . . see what else the city has to offer. Maybe even go to a different &pizza not in the basement of a train station.

Eh. We ate at shake shack . It was acceptable . Could be cleaner and fresher. Eh that's all.