Common Thread — Restaurant in Savannah

Dined at Common Thread restaurant last evening. Is located at E 37th & Abercorn. Can park on E 37th although traffic a little heavy at rush hour. Don’t get road-pressed!

Restaurant is a repurposed mansion, beautifully done. Decor is “Southern Modern,” welcoming and relaxing. Wait staff and host very friendly and attentive.

Menu was a bit perplexing. Organized top to bottom with 4 groups of 4 items; otherwise unlabeled. Server decoded as smaller to bigger plates and suddenly tapas style fell into place. The only “rule” is everything on the menu is locally sourced. Menu is eclectic and creative. We ordered 2 plates from the 2nd group and 2 from the 3rd group.

The first course consisted of shaved butternut squash, parsley and faro. Was dressed with a light citrus dressing with hints of sumac and Middle Eastern spices. Inspired and delicious. Other dish was Duck Ham with micro greens, citrus and Parmesan. Think duck prepared like prosciutto rather than ham steak. Served with grilled bread, very tasty.

Second course was Shrimp with Carolina Golden rice cakes and collards; other dish was Gnudi. The shrimp dish was to die for. Very unique; flavored with toasted garlic and chili spice. The Gnudi was somewhat like a ricotta dumpling. Pieces of ricotta, cauliflower, garlic, basil, pecorino and bread crumbs grilled with a peanut sauce. Equally unique and enjoyable.

Nice selection of premium whiskies. My wife had a Sazerac made with Rittenhouse Rye; just recently saw in SAV for the first time. Highly recommended. Her drink was expertly prepared. As an aside, a Sazerac is a traditional New Orleans cocktail with Rye, Absinthe and bitters. Try one up sometime. I had Weller’s Bourbon on the rocks. Very enjoyable.

OK, so why all the detail about the drinks? Glad you asked. The Rittenhouse was $8 a shot, very fair for a first class restaurant. When the bill came, was $8 for the rye and an additional $4 cocktail charge. Had never seen a drink “itemized” like that before but, OK. The bourbon was $12; not bad for a top shelf bourbon. It was the $4 “rocks” charge that startled me. It was a “craft” ice cube... but still an ice cube. We’re charging for “ice” now? Seriously? How about glass rental and washing fee? How about an upcharge for the cocktail napkin? OK, had to riff on that one.

Overall was an awesome dinner. The butternut squash and parsley salad and the shrimp with collards were the hits. The service was outstanding. I’ll get over the “rocks” charge. We’ll definitely go back.

3/13/21

Visited again. Had the Yellowfin Tuna and Aqua Chile (See...

This was our first time dining at Common Thread, and we left with mixed feelings about this restaurant. There were many positives with regard to our experience: The decor and ambiance were suited to the concept, comfortable and well-executed. The staff were very friendly, knowledgeable, and efficient throughout our entire experience.

However, there were unfortunately things that detracted from our experience at this restaurant, and that was namely the food and the price. With regard to food, there were some dishes that were incredible: The Sheepshead crudo and the Carolina gold rice were both delicious. The beef tartare unfortunately was not great; it wasn’t bad/inedible, but the flavor profile was just off for my palate. I felt like I was eating cotija cheese, aioli, and tortilla chips with a little raw beef sprinkled in. The other ingredients dominated, and the beef was definitely not the star of the show, which was disappointing. I also thought the portion of beef included in the dish was small given the price.

For our mains, we both ordered the pork pavé. First, for almost $40 per portion - double the price of the small plates - the portion wasn’t much bigger, if at all. Additionally, the pork pavé was just bland and sadly unimpressive. I wouldn’t have minded the smaller portion if it was at least flavorful, but I just did not feel like the value of the price tag was represented in the flavor and quantity of the dish.

Our final bill for two drinks, three small plates, and two mains plus 20% tip came to $245. To be honest, I was mildly offended by this. In my lifetime, my wife and I have been fortunate enough to have had simply incredible meals at Michelin star restaurants that cost less than half of what we paid at Common Thread. The value that is lacking at Common Thread was for me the worst part of the whole experience. Couple that with just okay food, and it unfortunately left me wholly unimpressed.

I really wanted to like this establishment, especially since the staff were so wonderful and the concept is interesting, but the food and lack of value held me back from enjoying this restaurant. As much as it pains me to say it, I unfortunately cannot recommend Common Thread.

I don’t feel super negative about this restaurant, but the 4.8 star rating made us gravitate toward this restaurant, and I just don’t feel it’s an accurate representation of our experience. Just leaving a review to give my...

Oh how we needed this! It was the perfect centerpiece to our trip in Savannah. We were hoping to find some place which captivated the culinary scene in Savannah (which I had read a lot about and assumed to be this perfect hybrid between modern fine dining and Southern dishes reimagined) and Common Thread did not disappoint.

When we first arrived (even though we had a reservation) we were told we had to wait a little bit because a number of tables had gone over expected sitting time. Always seems to be a bit disconcerting when you have a reservation, but it was COVID times and it was also a beautiful night so we walked around the gorgeous house the restaurant occupies and just enjoyed the ambiance a bit. Our temperatures were taken (a first for us) by the hostess and we were eventually sat at a table with a bit of an AC draft and right under a speaker playing pretty obnoxious music, but I kindly asked the waitress if they could turn the music down and they did promptly (and the music seemed to pleasantly downshift from then on as well).

The menu changes all the time, but I'm posting ours (from the night of April 5, 2021) so you can get an idea of the wonderful spectrum of options we had to choose from.

My wife tried oysters for the first time and enjoyed both of these specially designed kind of innovative oyster tapas immensely. I started with the Hakurei Turnips & Snap Peas which was essentially a caesar salad without lettuce using snap peas as the base ingredient. I'm a vegetarian and my wife and I cook A LOT, so any vegetarian dish reimagined is always a treat.

Our main courses were fantastic. My wife got the SC Shrimp which incorporated falafel in a delightful way but also gave her a taste of Southern collards too. I had the Tortellini which was subtle and savory while still perfectly zested.

We took the Strawberry Shortcake to go and unexpectedly stuffed it in our faces only a block into our post-dinner walk. Ha! It was great.

Thanks, Common Thread. When we return to Savannah some day, you'll be on our short list of...