Food Hall | Union Station | Providence

Frankie811 said:
You know the train doesn't stop there, right? Ha! LOL :)
Click to expand...
This took me a second (I forgot it used to be an active station for a moment) haha. I walk close to it on my way home. I didn't stop in yesterday, but I'm definitely going to check it out tomorrow.
 
New England Born & Raised said:
I checked it out today. The space is very nice. The food is pricey. I have my doubts on how it will fare with the RI public. Seems that visitors might be more of the focus
Click to expand...
That makes sense. It’s mostly outposts of well known restaurants elsewhere in the state, so it seems like a consolidation of the “best of” type places. We’ll see if that works long term.

I’m going for lunch before the first tournament session at the AMP today. Looking forward to trying some of the stuff I haven’t had before.
 
Went last night and was good. I do think it's going to be dependent on conferences and events with a smattering elsewhere. Curious if they will do their own programming as well. The cauliflower 65 dish at the Indian place was awesome.
 
nicanbot said:
Went last night and was good. I do think it's going to be dependent on conferences and events with a smattering elsewhere. Curious if they will do their own programming as well. The cauliflower 65 dish at the Indian place was awesome.
Click to expand...
What's this nonsense that only credit cards are accepted?
 
nicanbot said:
Went last night and was good. I do think it's going to be dependent on conferences and events with a smattering elsewhere. Curious if they will do their own programming as well. The cauliflower 65 dish at the Indian place was awesome.
Click to expand...

I went yesterday before Session 1 and really liked most of what I saw. I'm with you, I think it's going to really rely on people coming in before events. If they were able to offer and advertise free parking for 1/2 hour, they might actually get a decent amount of takeout traffic. And I really hope they clear up access to the pedestrian underpass to Waterplace Park before Waterfires start. It's obnoxious that you have to take a circuitous route around do get between the two. Considering their intentions for outdoor seating, I'm hopeful that this will be the case. An outdoor bar would go a long way in the nicer months.

In spite of how long this was delayed, there were clearly some things that were unfinished/not tested before opening. A section of the seating area near the giant screen to the right of There, There was blocked off with what looked like a big water leak. Tape was where hardware should go on some bathroom and service doors. Not huge things, but things that make it clear that it's not quite finished. But it does look really nice and I like the layout. Prices are more or less what I would expect from these vendors. I wanted shawarma, but the plate is $22 at Tolia. So I went with Gnocchi from Guisto instead which was very good.
 
Frankie811 said:
What's this nonsense that only credit cards are accepted?
Click to expand...
Credit, debit, or digital wallets. They need to clarify the policy a bit, I think. This is what it says on the website: Cash is not accepted at the kitchens or bar; however, you can purchase a Track 15 gift card at the bar, for use anywhere inside track 15. We accept all major credit & debit cards as well as Apple Pay.

What's not clear to me is if you can use cash to purchase a gift card from the bar? They say the bar doesn't accept cash, but they offer purchasing a gift card at the bar as an alternative to using credit/debit/digital. If you have to use credit/debit/digital to get a gift card, then why even bother? And if you can use cash to buy the gift card, then the bar at least is clearly equipped to accept cash.
 
Lrfox said:
And I really hope they clear up access to the pedestrian underpass to Waterplace Park before Waterfires start. It's obnoxious that you have to take a circuitous route around do get between the two. Considering their intentions for outdoor seating, I'm hopeful that this will be the case. An outdoor bar would go a long way in the nicer months.
Click to expand...

A small section of the fencing was down on Wednesday when I was there and I was able to access Waterplace Park using the tunnel under Memorial Blvd. I am disappointed that the former tunnel under the old train station that ended at the ice rink does not look to have been incorporated into the space and was eliminated. As for outdoor seating, i believe I had previously read it would eventually utilize the Luxe Burger location and have more outdoor seating space.
 
New England Born & Raised said:
A small section of the fencing was down on Wednesday when I was there and I was able to access Waterplace Park using the tunnel under Memorial Blvd. I am disappointed that the former tunnel under the old train station that ended at the ice rink does not look to have been incorporated into the space and was eliminated. As for outdoor seating, i believe I had previously read it would eventually utilize the Luxe Burger location and have more outdoor seating space.
Click to expand...
Interesting - I came via the tunnel under Memorial and it looked like it was not possible to get over to Track 15 without going up the stairs to Memorial and walking around. Was the section of fence removed intentionally, or did a piece just fall? To me, it looked like they could have just slid a piece over a few feet to let people through while still keeping the work area fenced off, but we couldn't have gotten by without physically moving it.

Big bummer about the tunnel under the old station to the rink. It would have been a much more intuitive to get from the food hall to the rink.
 
Side note but one thing the Marsella Group should be doing is advocating the city make the Exchange/Francis St. intersection more pedestrian friendly. It's super uncomfortable to cross there.
 
nicanbot said:
Side note but one thing the Marsella Group should be doing is advocating the city make the Exchange/Francis St. intersection more pedestrian friendly. It's super uncomfortable to cross there.
Click to expand...
I was at that intersection once when a few out-of-towners were looking for the entrance to the hotel. There are no signs to direct people from the garage in the lot, I had to walk them over to the Exchange Terrace front doors @ Courtyard by Marriott.
 
Frankie811 said:
What's this nonsense that only credit cards are accepted?
Click to expand...
I personally hate going to ATMs and carrying cash. I just do large widthdrawls whenever I do and keep some in an envlope at home to keep a little in my wallet. waste of wallet space they are
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top