Church and Union
If you venture to 32B N Market Street in Charleston, you will arrive at what may seem like a church… but this church has been repurposed into an incredible restaurant— Church and Union. Known for its decor and upscale American dishes.
A look inside Church & Union
The ceiling of this repurposed church is hand painted with the entirety of “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu
Your candle-lit experience will start with a little welcome snack from the kitchen while you peruse the rest of the menu and solidify your choices for the evening. They have an impressive wine list and some stellar specialty cocktails to pick from to enjoy with or after your meal as dessert.
We have a habit of stopping off somewhere else before dinner for a cocktail, so usually gravitate to the wine list and splitting a bottle with dinner on date night. Here we went with a Beaujolais—as my partner finally believed me when I said we don’t always have to order a white on my behalf.
To Hold You Over
Church & Union welcomes its guests in with a small bite; house-made hummus and chips to hold off the hangry while waiting for a drink/app to hit the table
Lucky for me, my partner doesn’t just share wine when we go out to dinner. Normally, there are a handful of items on the menu that strike us… so we order two or three and share them all—getting a little taste of any of the appetizers or entrees/sides that really jumped out at us upon first glance.
Here, we chose two of their entrees and a side to accompany them. We typically have a rule of three— either one app and two entrees or an app, a salad and an entree… or something comparable. Since the steaks/some of the entrees came with a side of potatoes, we opted for brussels sprouts. They’re usually something we gravitate towards on any menu as an appetizer, especially when with bacon… but with cheese too? Forget it.
Side—Brussels Sprouts
Bacon lardon, sherry caramelized onions and aged cheddar
Church & Unions homemade pasta was like eating a cloud. So pillowy and light, draped in the delicious homemade sauce— served with bread that was perfect to soak up its remnants in. I can’t imagine how much time it takes to braid your own ravioli, but it was defiantly worth it. Delicious and such a cool detail visually on the plate.
Looking around this low-lit, moody restaurant, there were many similar combos coming out of the kitchen, beautiful cocktails hitting tables of all types— couples out on date night, groups of women out for a bachlorette trip or girls night and families out for an evening to catch up over a wonderful meal.
Handmade Braided Ravioli
Garlic tomato sauce, capers and parmesan… we added grilled chicken (Itallian sausage is also a possible addition)
Let me just start off by telling you, I’m a huge steak girl. It’s one of my favorite things off any menu, more so when done well. Church & Union has a phenomenal filet for not being a steak house. And I’m almost ashamed to admit that I’ve dreamt about their J-1 sauce (almost).
All the major flavor notes you want from your traditional steak sauce, the J-1 (true to name) is like a slightly fruity, jammy, A-1 sauce. We came to the conclusion that their house version of A-1 had some kind of jam in it, our best guess being blackberry.
8oz Filet Mignon
served with crushed Yukon potatoes and J-1 sauce
When the waitress drops the check, it’s brought out in an old copy of the Art of War, they encourage you to sign their unique check presenters— like a guest book. We flipped through the pages and saw many messages from past dinners, speaking to the occasion they visited, the experience or advice to the future.
This was just one thing that highlighted their attention to detail at Church & Union. In two visits, they have not disappointed. The food and service is incredible. The building tells a story, and its beautiful to have the chance to add to the story that others will be experiencing. Church & Union has a massive bar, a rather large dinning space and a sister restaurant next door. Both times we were in, we did make reservations and both times I was glad that we did. The building seems to always be flowing with people coming in and out. To find out more about them, check out the extent of the menu on their site:
“The Art of War”
The experience comes full circle when the check arrives
