Communal — Restaurant in Provo

Update 2/14/22 We decided to come to communal for Valentine's this year. We enjoyed our experience here, but it wasn't as enjoyable as the first time we came. The service was great, as usual, but we didn't LOVE our food. It was good, but nothing spectacular. We came for the beef Wellington special for V-day, and it was good but it was overcooked, easily more on the well-done side. It was also immersed in this sauce that was a little too salty, which drowned out the flavors of the dish. It hurt to pay $60 for that entree alone, but I've made beef Wellington before and know how time consuming it is to make and execute. We also got the pork entree, which was fine. Not much flavor to it. Our favorite thing was the side of squash. INCREDIBLE!! Absolutely loved it and I'm still thinking about it. What they did with that was truly creative and so tasty. Wish they had a bigger drink list but it's Provo. Can't blame them for that. The amuse bouche was lovely! And the pork belly appetizer was good, too.

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What a great experience! We made a reservation and ended up having to wait for a half hour for our table, but they were accommodating and nice about it. Being "communal", everything is made to share, so we ordered two starters, two entrees and two sides. We got the pork belly and mussels for starters, the honey chicken and London broil for entrees, and the brussel sprouts and mushroom fennel pilaf for sides. My husband was over the moon for the pork belly, saying it's the best thing he's ever eaten in his entire life. I actually thought it was a little too salty to be dubbed with such an honor, but did enjoy it altogether. THE MUSSELS. OMG THEY WERE SO AMAZING. The broth alone was sensational. First time having mussels, and not my last. I LOVED the London broil! We got it medium rare and it was perfect, especially since I typically don't like medium rare. The chicken was cooked to perfection and seasoned incredibly well. Brussel sprouts were actually not to my liking. They serve them with a signature horseradish sauce that was very strong and me no likey. But that's a taste preference. It wasn't bad, just not for me. The mushroom pilaf was incredible. Loved it. We also ended with the butterscotch pudding and that was delicious of course. They do serve wine, beer and coffee here, unlike most places. They have a large selection of local beers listed on their website. Prices were around the following: Starters were between $14-18 each Chicken- $26, London Broil was about $30, sides were about $8/each, butterscotch pudding was $9 or $10. With a glass of wine, two soda bottles, two fountain drinks, all the food and dessert, it came out to be around $130, which was a lot less than we thought it would be since we split the bill with our friends. Such an enjoyable experience! Also the menu is seasonal and changes each season or more, which I love! Next time, I'll be here for Saturday brunch, which I've heard is nothing...

Had their fall brunch menu. Restaurant was three quarters full. Nice atmosphere, a little loud but it’s a small cute space.

Now for the reasons it gets one star. The waitress told us it’s usual for 2 people to get a starter, entree and side. Then left without asking for a drink order, which is fine neither of us wanted to drink anything but water so early in the day anyway. She comes back and I start the order, we ordered the coffee cake and French toast, but as soon as I tell her our entree she takes the menus and starts to walk away, I say “can we get a side of the mixed berries” and she looks at me nods and walks away. The coffee cake came out pretty quickly and was bone dry, the kind of dry where you have to drink some water in between each bite to get it down. I’m no professional baker, but they seemed to have overcooked it as the bottom of the cake was hard like a crust.

The French toast was also very dry, and came with a type of syrup I can’t identify, but it certainly wasn’t maple syrup, as the menu had stated. As a Canadian I feel I can at least say this with authority.

Our berries never came, they are lost in the ether of uncaring waitresses.

A few people left during our time there, but when new people came in they were told the restaurant was understaffed, having only 2 waiters to serve a total of maybe 12 people at this point. More than half of the tables were empty and parties of 2 were being turned away.

They did seat one other family that came in, a party of 6. They seemed to get a lot more attention than the rest of the restaurant us included. They were dressed well as though they were going to a meeting of some sort, so I can only assume that the waiters are chasing the best tips instead of trying to provide good service. Which is funny, I normally like to tip waiters well since I understand just how stressful waiting tables can be. But clearly providing good service is just not a principle Communal stands by.

In the end, Communal was a huge let down. From the room temperature tap water that tasted like it was from the great salt lake itself, to the dry food and terrible wait staff I can firmly say this place is not worth your time. Try the kolaches down the street, or even McDonald’s down the road, but avoid this place. It’s simply...

Decided to go for an early Valentines dinner in Utah County as we have had some success with places such as Black Sheep. We choose Communal right in the middle of downtown based on previous reviews. For so many reasons, this might be our new go to for “special date night.” 1)The food was perfect and unique. The complimentary bread needs special mention, they say it’s not quite sourdough but whatever it is, it was amazing. We choose the persimmons (which I though was weird but my wife said was amazing), funeral potatoes and the sweet potato as sides. If you like cheese and hash browns, the funeral potatoes are heaven, holy frijoles. Our server recommend the pork loins. Not only were the huge but cooked to perfection. They were served on a bed of creamy mashed potatoes which was probably the only big miss, they lacked any real flavor which I guess was meant to be. 2)The service was juuuuuust right. Good service, now more than ever, is hard to find. Our server (I forgot her name, sorry!!) always had our drinks filled and allowed us to have a good conversation. The small design of the place allowed for us to interact with the two cooks and pretty much every other staff. We even had a conversation about our favorite breakfast places. So cool. 3)The cost was what you would expect of a “nicer place.” Our meal and a soda cost 95 bucks including tip. Not something I would do often, but will still do on special occasions. 4)The setting is the real star of the show. On their website they talk about the small settings and a “communal” type place. It really does live up to the hype. At first it was a little weird to set so close to someone but we found a perfect balance with those around us. One group we just did not talk to at all and that was fine. The others around us were super nice and we shared recommendations about types of food and even places to eat. There was an older nice couple from Oregon who were the best and we learned about their family. Super weird, I know, but it just seemed right and cool.

If you made to the end, you may have decided that this is not for you, but I personally would recommend everyone to try it even once. Even though Utah County traffic is always horrible. — eating dinner at...