The Common Man Concord — Restaurant in Concord

I want to start by saying that our server and the young man she was training did an amazing job. Even though she had several tables and was clearly busy, she was right on top of keeping our drinks filled and checking on us. She was also very friendly and personable- something you don’t see very often these days! The three stars are for her service only. She deserves 5 stars but that would make for a misleading review. Truly, I wouldn’t even give one star for any other aspect of our experience with this restaurant.

We were given a bottle of water and there were water glasses on the table when we were seated. These glasses were FILTHY. I’m talking bumpy and gritty on the outside and it was very clear to see that they weren’t clean and in looking around the other tables seemed to have equally dirty glasses on them as well. It wasn’t the biggest deal So we didn’t say anything as our server had plenty of other things going on.

We were offered dinner rolls, which we accepted as we were pretty hungry! We thought we’d get soft, fresh dinner rolls but what we got instead were dried out, clearly stale rolls that they toasted thinking it would hide the staleness (it didn’t). Again, no biggie it was just rolls and not worth mentioning (but still concerning that a restaurant would serve stale food).

Then our meals came. We both got the special surf and turf. The size of the steaks were about the size of a post it note, if that. They don’t give you a choice in the veg that comes with it and you get some way over cooked summer squash and zucchini and carrots. They didn’t taste too bad but the squash was well over cooked. The meal comes with some bacon wrapped shrimp that was Cajun seasoned (no mention of this on the menu otherwise i probably would have ordered something else) and it was WAY too salty. But I have never had a freshly cooked steak have a HARD exterior and I suspect that our meals were not cooked to order but simply microwaved. The seasoning, if you can call it that, was just the flavor of “burnt”. Somehow they did get the center to be medium rare… yet tougher than a well done steak. My baked potato was just warm enough to melt the whipped butter that came with it (it doesn’t take much to melt whipped butter) but my fiancé’s mashed potatoes were ice cold in the middle and like warm on the outside so the big glob of butter they put on top of them couldn’t even melt. We had considered dessert but at this point we’d seen enough to know it was time to cut our losses and accept that we’ve just wasted a good amount of money on terrible food.

The manager did approach our table to ask how everything was - at that point we were done eating and honestly, didn’t see any point in getting into it because it’s pretty clear that it wouldn’t matter. Any words said to a manager that can walk around his dining room and turn a blind eye to filthy water glasses on each table would probably also fall on deaf ears. Plus we had a show to be at and we just wanted to get out of there. In addition to the bad meals it was uncomfortably warm in the dining room and we couldn’t wait to get some fresh air.

I was going to give this place one more chance before posting this review but after reading MANY previous reviews with similar complaints and seeing that no effort is being made whatsoever to remedy the situation , I’m not wasting another dime at this so called restaurant.

And to the server- you were the only positive part of our experience there!!! Thank you for at least making us feel well taken care of - If only the kitchen staff did their job half as well!

And to management - do better. There was a manager walking around the dining room - he should have seen the dirty glasses. With so many complaints about cold food, something should be done about it. Get a chef that knows how to cook a steak- it’s shameful what your current kitchen staff is putting out there. And don’t offer dinner rolls at all if all you’ve got to offer is stale bread! Absolutely disgraceful and we definitely will...

This was our third visit in a matter of years. The last time was a couple of years ago and we were looking forward to eating here again. Turns out, we should have looked at the more recent reviews.

I ordered the chicken burrata, my partner ordered the steak tip salad - without the crispy onions. (He has Celiac - trace amounts of gluten don't bother him too much, large amounts definitely will.)

Our food came - with the crispy onions on it. Server apologized and rushed it away to get him "another one".

His plate came back in 5 minutes which obviously meant they just picked the onions out of it. Fine, whatever, mistakes happen.

I managed to get through three bites of my chicken. I'm sure anyone reading this knows what a VERY overcooked chicken breast tastes like. Kinda like mildly chicken-flavored sawdust. Had serious trouble cutting through it with my table knife. But worse was the fact that it was barely lukewarm. Even worse than that, it was getting cooler as I cut into the center. So, not just the edges had cooled.

So, not undercooked, but overcooked to death, then left to sit around for who knows how long.

I just couldn't eat anymore. I was worried about food poisoning at that point. Server came back after 10 mins or so, I told him what was wrong and that I was done with it. Apologized, asked me if I wanted anything else, etc. I didn't.

My partner's steak tips were ok. Overcooked as well though, and he said it was a mix of tender pieces with some very chewy tough pieces. Overall, not a meal worth the price they charge for it. We both agreed we've had better meals at an Applebee's. And we hate Applebee's ... lol.

Some level of manager came out to apologize again, offered me anything else I wanted and said they would take the meal off of our bill.

They did, and took my drink off the bill, as well. Which was nice because while I said nothing to them about it, the so-called "sparkling pear" they brought me tasted like ... vodka. I mean, there was nothing "pear" or "sparkling" or anything resembling the other stuff mentioned in its description. It just tasted like vodka. With maybe a splash of some kind of fruity laundry detergent.

Service was basically ok. Our server was pretty distracted and forgot a lot of stuff. Whatever. We still tipped 20% because we're not jerks.

Something has totally changed here. Either they're offering terrible wages/terrible work atmosphere and so can't keep good staff, or it's all under new, very poor management. I suspect some combination of all of the above. I definitely got a "corporate cost-cutting" vibe from the experience.

I try to be fair with my star ratings. I decided there was really nothing here that was worth a second star. I don't mind paying these kinds of prices for good-tasting, fresh and hot food. This was, in my opinion, so not that at all. Either way, we...

The place was packed, but the wait to be seated was fairly brief. It’s as if The Common Man restaurant of Concord, NH, is on the radar of lots of people looking for ambiance, great food, good service and reasonable prices. Once seated, we were invited to help ourselves to crackers and special cheese dips to nibble while waiting for our appetizer to be served. Loved it! We also enjoyed the rustic relaxed vibe with just the right touch of casual elegance. And I must say that it was a pleasure to meet Lucy. She kindly served our meal and brought much cheer, charm and her expertise in fine dining that made our time there a true delight. —Can’t say enough about this lovely lady! Kim, the restaurant manager was also very cordial as she made the rounds keenly checking that all was well at each guest table. Now, the food!…. A “must try” appetizer is the Almost Escargot. It was SO good! If you love mushrooms, you’ll love this dish and its presentation. The Grill Room Steak entree with a garlic butter baste was delicious. This steak wasn’t quite as tender, but even so, I will definitely try it again for its wonderful savory flavors. The other entree was Bacon Onion Chicken. Both entrees were served with fresh veggies and a choice of potato or rice pilaf. We went for baked potatoes with sour cream and butter. The chicken dish was deliciously different and satisfying! Dessert was Chef’s Choice… Berry Cheesecake with White Chocolate. Scrumptious! Now for the bottom line… We were extremely pleased with everything. We recommend The Common Man highly and look forward to our next visit!

QUICK UPDATE: (May 2, 2023) Visited the restaurant for our fourth time. This is a second review and once again, GREAT FOOD and WONDERFUL SERVICE!

Tonight our Server was Logan. He was very attentive, confident, cordial and made sure that we were enjoying our meal and visit to the restaurant. We appreciated that!

Our appetizer was the Buffalo Chicken Empanadas… Delicious! Loved the flaky crust and we enjoyed the Grill Room Steak, topped with bacon chimichurri. Served with mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables. The other entree was their Apple Maple Chicken… Super Delicious and even more tasty than the last time we ordered it. …The veggies were good, but I wish that they would offer another choices with these meals. The Dessert was Berry Blast Cheesecake which was absolutely fabulous!

Well, other than not having a choice of vegetables, everything was very, very good and we continue to recommend The Common Man Restaurant for a pleasant...