PLEASANTON, CA — Downtown Pleasanton has a new place for fish and chips, Guinness, Sunday roast, sticky toffee pudding and all the cozy pub energy that implies.
The new spot is Union Jack Lounge & Kitchen, a British-style public house that has opened at 706 Main Street in downtown Pleasanton, in the former Gilman Brewing Company space.
The restaurant is from Maurice Dissels, the chef and owner behind nearby Oyo Restaurant, and is currently operating in soft-opening mode as the team works through service, menu and staffing details.
And yes, the name is very intentional. The new Union Jack nods to Pleasanton’s old Union Jack Pub, which once stood across the street at 725 Main Street before its 1880s-era building was demolished in 2007.
A Bit of Old Pleasanton, Reimagined
Union Jack Lounge & Kitchen is not a dive-bar resurrection, exactly. The concept seems more polished and food-focused.
The restaurant’s own mission statement says it aims to create “a welcoming public house where great food, proper pints, and good company come together in the spirit of British tradition.”
You probably wouldn’t, for example, order raw oysters at most pubs in Britian!
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The Chef Has Real British-Guyanese Roots
Dissels was born in British Guiana, now Guyana, and has spoken often about learning to cook from his grandmother before building a long Bay Area culinary career.
According to Pleasanton Weekly, Dissels said the British pub concept grew partly out of the location and partly out of his own background. He also traveled to London in February to gather inspiration before opening the new restaurant.
That gives the new pub a distinctly Bay Area backstory–traditional, yes, but also tied into a story of movement and immigration.
What Is On the Menu?
The current menu includes several very pub-friendly dishes, including fish and chips, bangers and mash, Scotch eggs, roasted cauliflower cheese, warm bar nuts with malt vinegar, and sticky toffee pudding with house-made double cream and strawberries.
There is also a Sunday-only roast featuring smoked roasted prime rib of beef, garlic mashed potatoes, oven-roasted parsnips, Yorkshire pudding and beef jus.
The drinks list leans into the theme, too. The beer menu includes British-style ales, Guinness Draught, IPAs, cider and seltzer, while the cocktail list includes a Pimm’s Cup, Penicillin, Guinness Old Fashioned, Bramble, Earl Grey Daiquiri and a UK Margarita.
The Hours
Union Jack Lounge & Kitchen is currently open Wednesday and Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 4 to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 4 to 9 p.m. The restaurant lists Monday and Tuesday as closed, though available for private events.
For now, this is still a soft launch rather than a big grand-opening splash. In other words: it is open, but it is still evolving.
That may actually be the right way to approach a pub. A proper public house is not really built in one week. It is built table by table, pint by pint, regular by regular.
We’ll let you know when we go in and try it out. Join our free 925 News newsletter here.
