The Union Cattle Co

UCC gets 4 stars for being one of the only places in Hermosa where you can find a decent steak and wine list! The medallions wrapped in bacon and topped with shrimp is my favorite and I can never decide what sides I want because there are so many to choose from and they're all good.

UCC also has a killer Happy Hour. I recommend the ribs! It's the best deal and it comes with fries and is so delicous!

It can sometimes get crazy on Friday and Saturday nights, but it's fun! With 3 different levels to peruse you're bound to find some folk to chat up...Personally, I love watching the drunk girls mount that bull...you know, the ones who are so drunk they don't know their boob or butcrack is hanging out.....the best part is when they get chucked off the bull facefirst....(ouch!)

Well. I just came from this place.
This is the restaurant I went to yesterday, in the afternoon, only to discover they are not open for lunch. They open at 5pm (on weekends 4pm I think).

I gotta try to ignore the bull in the middle of the main room.
I thought I had time-traveled back to1980 to the set of Urban Cowboy.
I glanced around to see if I could spot Bud & Sissy or Mickey Gilley, but all I saw were LA peeps circa 2008.
Other than the predominant bull behind the velvet ropes, the place has a pleasing decor, comfortably chic.

I arrived around 6, and there were no tables available anywhere except on the outdoor patio (see photo), which disqualified me for the infamous Happy Hour. The server said the customers pretty much storm the place between 5 & 5:30 to get HappyHour-compatible seating. So now I know.
And now I see why.
From the HH menu: steak tacos @1.50, and other goodies like onion ring mountain & asparagus wraps, all for cheap.

The regular menu was impressive, offering steaks, chops, Angus burger, seafood.......
and unusual sides such as spaghetti squash, broccoli, and green beans almondine. And that is why I shall soon return for round two, but this time I will be there at 5pm to join the table rush & grab competition.

I got the pulled pork sandwich with side salad (see photo). Three stars for that. An additional star for the surroundings and the perfect service.
The staff came out to the patio & set up heaters around all the tables, and were very concerned for the diners' comfort, although it was nowhere near chilly tonight.
And the servers were great - attractive young women with no 'tude, just friendly and aiming to please.
My dinner, 11 bucks. Not a huge portion, just enough.

Next time I gotta brave the crowds & the bull, wish me luck.

Food - 2 stars
Drinks and Entertainment - 3 stars

I came here for a friend's birthday this past weekend. This venue is a great destination for enjoying some drinks, music and mechanical bull watching... or riding depending on how daring or how much liquid courage you've consumed. The atmosphere is very laid back and there was a nice mix in terms of the crowd.

I wish I had the same sentiments for the food but unfortunately, it was a huge disappointment for many at our table. Much of the food that we ordered was almost mediocre at best but even that is a bit of an overstatement.

Seared Ahi Tuna
This dish was fairly decent. The tuna was seared nicely.

Blackened Chicken Sandwich
The chicken was overcooked. I loaded on the ketchup to make it semi-satisfying.

Rack of Lamb
My boyfriend ordered this dish and he said it was very gamey and had a strange taste to it. That was all I needed to hear to decline a taste of it.

Some other people on in our party of 16 ordered the ribs and lettuce wraps. It seemed that everyone begrudgingly ate their food solely because we were hungry and had no other option. Perhaps the cooks were having an off night in the kitchen but irregardless, I would eat dinner elsewhere in Hermosa and just come here for the entertainment afterwards.

Looking for a night out on the town for a bachelorette party, a fellow bridesmaid heard about the mischief at The Union Cattle Co. over in Hermosa Beach. When I heard they had a mechanical bull, how could I say no?

We arrived around 8 pm with reservations in set. It didn't look too happening, but we were promised that the place would definitely fill up.

We kicked off our dinner with Heart of Artichoke Dip ($6.95) and BBQ Chicken Lettuce Wraps ($7.50). The artichoke dip came with toasted bread slices and was yummy. It needs more bread if anything. The lettuce cups came with about five leaves and included tortilla chip slices for crunch. Loaves of bread and butter are also put down on the table. (For a party of six, two loaves would have been better instead of one though.)

Drinks were important too, of course! Kamikaze shots all around, and boy, were they strong. The bride also had a Lemon Drop and mentioned how strong that was too. (Later on, we discovered your basic Red Bull and Vodka doesn't come in a half glass here. They serve it in a beer glass! Nice!)

For dinner, I had the 12 oz Ribeye Steak ($20). It comes with two sides, and I chose the Macaroni & Cheese and the Twice Baked Potato. The steak was damn good, it was cooked rare as requested and need no additional sauce or seasoning. The mac & cheese was a more creamier than cheesy though, and was alright. The potato was a hearty half and pretty good too. Other sides that you can choose from include Creamed Corn, Onion Rings, BBQ Baked Beans, Creamed Spinach, Homemade Coleslaw, and a few other things.

My fellow diners enjoyed the Ribeye Steak as well, Oven Baked Halibut ($22), Babyback Ribs ($23), Primo Steak Salad ($10.95), and BBQ Chicken Chop Salad ($9.95). Everyone brought home leftovers except for our male companion chowing on the babyback ribs. You can also add a "steak preparation" to your meat for $1.00-$1.95, anything from Mushroom Steak Sauce to Blue Cheese Glaze.

For dessert, we shared the Chocolate Lava Cake ($7). They also serve Apple Crisp, Smores Platter, Bread Pudding, Creme Brulee, Cheesecake, and Grandma's Ice Cream (floating on a shot of Grand Marnier Liqueur).

Service was pretty good. Our waitress was friendly and had a smile on her face every time we saw her. The bartenders, bouncers, and bull riding machine handler were also friendly too, taking part in our silly bachelorette games.

Bull riding machine, at only $5 a pop, why not? Early in the evening, there's no line and not too many people watching you make a fool of yourself. But as the night wears on, it gets very crowded and you definitely have a large group witnessing your every jerk. You can tell that the men particularly enjoy the women with low cut tops because boobs have definite potential to pop out here.

It was an interesting crowd as we would say. I don't frequent the Hermosa Beach area much, but after a certain time, there's a line waiting to get in. There's a long line for the ladies restroom too! I felt like I was in Vegas with the attendant in there! We met some weird pervy guys when we were dining, but some cool ones showed up along the way and made the night a lot more fun. Thanks WFT!

There's a rooftop area that we discovered later on, and a second floor too that fills up. You'll also find a deejay on the second floor controlling the music that keeps this place jumping.

When dining, you can get sideline seats to the bull-riding and that will create a few laughs for sure!

All in all, I had a pretty good time here. The food was pretty good, the service was good. And it's amazing how this place can pile up!

Parking is available in the garage downstairs, which is $5. Don't bother trying to find parking on the street!

It was my first time riding a bull, and I gotta say, it was pretty good fun!

I've been to this one a few times and have always enjoyed my experience, I had gone to the Pasadena one soon after they opened but it never really had a good vibe... So I guess that the Pasadena one is now gone! lol

Last February I celebrated my birthday here, I wanted to put something together for my coworkers but wanted something different than our usual Sharkeez happy hour. A friend of mine had had her b-day party here and I liked how this place has an upstairs area that is welcoming an comfortable for a group of 10 or 12. I had talked with one of the day managers during a lunch break to set aside a time and found them to be very helpful and friendly.

It was a Thursday evening so I didn't know what to expect crowd wise, some of my friends have families and such but often surprize us by showing up. I had reserved a portion of the upstairs patio, that day, however, was quite stormy and I didn't know how we'd cope with the covered patio and heat lamps. When a handfull of us showed up we were lead up stairs by the smiling hostess, we found the whole level to be empty. The hostess said that if we'd like we could move indoors to the lounge area next to the bar... Mind you, the upstairs looks like a well appointed hunting lodge with stone facades, earthy pastel colors, decent lighting, and very comfortable and roomy couches. "Uh, yeah! We'll take it!"

As it turned out, I didn't need the entire area as folks came and went through the evening so there were always about 10 or so friends present. And many of them had never been here so they enjoyed the setting, and really enjoyed the happy hour menu. Ah, the menu! I think happy hour went from 4:30 to 7:30, 50% off all appatizers on the restaurant's dinner menu so there was nothing cheap set aside for finger foods. Plus... Draft beers were $2!! They feature a few of their own brews that are not too unflavorful, nor do they try to over do it with some sort of shi-shi grape berry hefawisen. Great basics. We never did get downstairs to ride the bull, we were just having too much fun having Irish Car and Yeager bombs!!

If you happen to visit on a Friday or Saturday evening plan on waiting in a line fi you get there late. And ladies, if you have large boobs and you ride the bull, the operator has a little trick to bounce those kids much to the delight of the crowd! All in all, everybody has some reason to smile here. :o)

If you're looking to ride the bull, don't come on a Wednesday night! I went downstairs from the bar to check it out, and they had slow, country music playing. Moreover, the booths surrounding the bull pen were filled with older couples and their children. These two elements made an extremely awkward environment for a younger, bull-riding crowd! Errr...fail!

If you're coming in for happy hour, the bar upstairs has a nice view, and the retractable patio ceiling is pretty cool. However, the service is not so hot. :/

Two girls in our party ordered water only, because they were pregnant. Their water tasted really weird, so they didn't drink them. About an hour later, they mentioned this to our waitress, and she said, "oh yea, we're having a problem with the tap. It's mixing the water with something else." Uhhh....thanks for the heads up, lady. If she knew there was something wrong with the water and that it tasted off, she should have told that to people so they wouldn't have to find out for themselves. They also could have ordered other drinks instead of being disappointed and confused.

I ordered a water anyways, and she never brought it. The boyfriend had to go up to the bar himself and get me a class. Epic fail.

I brought some cakes for a going away, and although the guy behind the bar was VERY nice, one of the plates was dirty with remnants of old food.

So....atmosphere is nice, but on this particular day, service sucked hard.

I've been going to The Union Cattle for the past couple of years and have always loved the food there. The ribeye is out-of-this-world delicious! It's well-prepared with a nice slightly salty crust on the outside and tender goodness inside. This is something my honey usually orders (something I order occasionally because I like trying something different on the menu). We've also had the ahi tuna appetizer which was accompanied with ocean salad and dipping sauce--there were all really yummy together. We both enjoy munching on the tri-tip jalapeno appetizer, which has been our favorite in the past year. We also love having get-togethers at the Johnny Cash room, where we get great service.

The sides are just okay for me. (I notice some of the sides come and go on the menu.) The creamed spinach is kind of watered down. It's supposed to be creamy. Someone in the kitchen hasn't been doing a good job squeezing the excess water from the spinach. Hmmm...unless it's intended to be that way. I mean, if the excess water is squeezed out completely, then more spinach will be needed to fill the little ramekin it comes in. Ya know what I mean? I don't remember it being like that the first time I had it a couple of years ago. There was a side called "wasabi mashed potatoes", that tasted like an ordinary side of mashed potatoes. Wasabi naturally has a strong flavor, but it didn't come through at all.

Last night, we were supposed to go to a different restaurant nearby but decided last minute to go to The Union Cattle because we were craving for some good beef. We sat at a cute corner table where we had a good view of the "not-so-scary-when-stationary" bull. Watching people ride the bull and falling off of it was quite entertaining, We had the tri-tip jalapeno appetizer and a wedge salad, items we enjoyed. My honey ordered the ribeye but got a full piece of charred-looking medium rare filet mignon instead (my bro went there last month and got a charred ribeye). Because he was really hungry he decided to keep it. He let me try some, and it was kind of bitter and salty. Really tender though. For his sides, he got the seafood scalloped potatoes which tasted similar to clam chowder. It was good but not something we'd try again. He also got the watered-down creamed spinach. I had the kobe beef burger with fries. I wanted it to be cooked medium, but when I cut the burger in half, half the side was medium rare and the other medium well. Why? Because the meat was lop-sided. The beef was tender but didn't enjoy it much because the bleu cheese in it was overpowering; that's all I could taste in every bite. The fries were soggy and oily and pretty salty. I don't think they were cooked with the right temperature and were sitting out for awhile. Oh, after our meal, we noticed bread and butter being served to other tables. We didn't even get any. Glad we ended with the molten chocolate cake which got to us surprisingly fast. It kind of made up the blah food and the missing bread.

Had I written a review for this place prior to last night, it would have gotten 4 stars. But, because of our experience last night, I'm giving only 3 stars. Maybe the chef was having a bad night or maybe the last chef who made good food no longer works there--not sure. I would give this place another shot because of my first impression of the place with the perfectly cooked ribeye, the Johnny Cash room, the bull with a brave rider, and good music. The 3 might just turn back into a 4.

Pretty cool - yuppie type crowd. Mixed crowds on weekends. You have all types here. 2ND bar upstairs - and a dance floor.

The novelty of this place is the mechanical cow. Funny to watch wasted partiers try to ride this cow. The guy in the control booth purposely throws off the guys but tones it downs for the girls to ride so they can have fun.

I work three blocks away from Union Cattle and prior to Saint Rocke (PCH/2nd Street, same owners), this is the weekly happy hour spot. I was always happy with the food, music and service. I have enjoyed dinner a few times as well, as some occasions we just wanted to hang out way past happy hour.

Last Thursday, my dinner was delivered rather haphazardly.

1. Ahi tuna salad: tuna was room temperture, hardly any dressing on the greens. Very bland. I know it's a salad but must it tastes like grass.

2. Firecracker Salmon (entree): I opted for french fries, chipotle mac n cheese as my two side dishes. The mac n cheese was recommended by the waitress as her favorite and I like my food with a little kick to it. The mac n cheese was merely reheated and once it cooled down, i can see the chesse separating from the macaroni and a thin layer of oil surfaced on top. It wasn't creamy or cheesy and I didn't taste the chipotle. (See pictures). The fries were greasy. The salmon looked and smelled great upon arrival, I thought it was the saving grace of the meal. Not so fast...the fish was overcooked thus dry AND burnt, coated with a thick spicy ginger sauce on one side and burnt on the other. I hope this is just an one-time mishap with the kitchen.

The mechanical bull was entertaining as always and service was pleasant (other than the bad recommendation on mac n cheese).

Well, I will be honest... they used to be one of my favorite restaurants (wait... a cattle company for a vegetarian?!?) ... yes... because they USED to carry a housemade veg burger that was the best ever... but no longer.

Regardless, this review is for their happy hour, which luckily has some decent items. I've gone to happy hour there many times, and recently went again last night. There were 3 of us:

1. house beers = $2.50/pint (great deal!), wines ~$4 glass....
2. Cocktails can be pricey...
3. They've got about 10-12 appetizers on the HH menu that are all under $8 and big portions. We ordered BBQ chicken lettuce wraps (4 full lettuce cups on a plate), Thai egg rolls (4 rolls), ahi on a bed of dressed salad greens (~8 pieces), full quesadilla, chicken/steak skewers (4 skewers)

Our bill went for under $40 and we had 4 drinks and all that food and didn't finish the food!

So... despite the veg-burger issue that I'm still bitter-bob about, I would go back...

*Don't touch that bull unless there's some serious sanitation. whew.

**If you aren't from the area and want to go... parking in Hermosa sucks. You either need a ton of quarters (=15 min. each), park underneath the restaurant for cash, or park about 4-5 blocks away for free on Ardmore/Valley next to the skate park. IMHO, good deal.

***Final piece of advice... if you want to go to HH there, get there early and go upstairs! There's a fun area with a fire pit outside with a view, or you may get stuck inside and the music is super loud... but cozy chairs. Get there before 6 to even think about getting a seat.