Sun-Thurs 5 pm-1 am; Fri-Sat 5 pm-2 am; bar menu only from 11 pm until a half-hour before closing.

Is it a good idea for a restaurant to change menus every day? It's certainly a lot less tedious for diners than an unchanging or seasonal menu. But it's a hard route to go: Customers don't have much of a chance to get attached to favorite dishes, and from a chef's perspective, it's a good way to go batty. For one thing, you've got to trust that your cooks are skilled enough to make good food without the refinement that comes with repetition. For another, you really ought to make meaningful menu changes, not just shuffling the mashed potatoes from the lamb one day to the duck the next. For the three months that Union has been open, chef Ethan Stowell's been braving it, and so far at least, the rotating menu is working for him quite well.

From the outside, Union has a forgettable New Seattle gloss, and the interior, which has housed a couple of short-lived restaurants before, bears an unlucky resemblance to the lobby of the Seattle Art Museum: It, too, is awkwardly stepped up the hill between First and Second avenues. Luckily, the space seems more intimate than it previously has, redecorated with a face-flattering, lit-from-within bar and warm reds and khakis on the walls. Tables are set with towering wine glasses, and Union pushes the vino in whatever quantity you can afford, from glasses (which start around $6, not bad for downtown) to half-bottles to bottles and magnums.

Soon after we sat down, our waiter brought two circles of toast, each topped with a wedge of beet and a knife-edged dab of ashy chévre. "This is your amuse-gueule," he instructed us, and we were well amused by our little freebies, as well as the formal announcement. At Union, the server explained, courses were modest, and three would be a comfortable amount to eat. But my husband and I, still cautious-bellied from overseas travel, chose just two dishes apiece, which filled us up just fine.

Although the portions are smallish, the plates are not. Stowell, like so many chefs these days, likes a large white porcelain margin around his food. A three-bite portion of wolf fish ($12) was breaded and perfectly sautéed, and it sat on a pile of artichoke wedges and exacting 1/8-inch carrot dice. It was the bracing parsley drizzle--packed with the funky punch of preserved lemon--that made the dish stand out. Each new bite cleaned my palate and left me hungry for the next. A single ravioli (or is that raviolo?) filled with mushrooms and a duck egg yolk ($9) was the happy opposite--each bite slithered around the tongue, and coated it with the opulent flavor of porcini and meat stock.

When the entrées arrived, the venison chops ($21) were a kind of fall fantasy served on a little mountain of roasted squash slices and bitter greens. The roasted monkfish ($17) disappointed just slightly. Served with white asparagus, orange slices, and a butter sauce, the meaty fish could have used a moister form of cooking and a stronger flavor counterpoint--a little orange zest, a hit of hot red pepper--a little more moreness.

At dessert, the apple cake ($7)--big chunks of apple bound together with spicy dough that fizzed, just the tiniest pleasant bit, of baking soda--was served steaming out of the oven. It was humble, but elegant too, like most of the food that night. My husband, who'd been suffering from a bellyache all evening, rallied and managed to eat most of my cake.

Service was kind and attentive, but for such a quiet night, we had a too-long wait between courses: It gave us too much time to contemplate the smooth, smooth jazz on the stereo. In nearly every aspect, Union could use a little rumpus in it: a little less Duke, a little more Blakey.

At the same time, I admire Union's particular modesty: the restrained portions, the crisp, logical menu, the unassertive décor, and prices that aren't cheap, but not too bad for this kind of downtown meal. All these elements could spell blandness if the food weren't good. But Stowell's shifting menu is full of smart, disciplined combinations. And so it is good, very good.