Common Man

This is a very popular restaurant, which does not take reservations, so you should expect a wait. We were sent to the pub to wait for our table. We had a 30 minute wait in the pub, which was pretty close to the prediction given to us by the host. We each had one beverage before being seated. The waitress checked in on us several times. Portions were a nice size: hearty but not giant. I was disappointed by «the hypocrite», which is a veggie burger with cheese and bacon on it. I like veggie burgers in general, but was disappointed by the lack flavor and the weird cole slaw on top of it. Our service was friendly and accurate, if not speedy, which was fine with me and my friends as we were catching up after a long time. I really wanted to give this place a five, because it has a great brunch, and is a beautiful restaurant, but the food this time was not as good as I have had in the past.

My family and I meet here about every three months or so. We always encounter a wait and a service issue. Staff is friendly but there is always a mistake somewhere amongst our orders. On the up side, when the food does finally come out, as ordered, it is always great. Always. I do wish they’d change up the menu a little more and do more small plates. All of my alwayses are sincere FYI.

I’m from out of town, best experience and the food is RIDICULOUSLY DELICIOUS I had the grilled beef brisket, totally recommend it. It’s a bit expensive but totally worth it. Thanks to Andrew our waiter who took the time to draw this neat picture on my left over box ;)

Have you ever been so full when your painfully distended belly is threatening to pop a button, but the food was so good that you couldn’t stop eating? Mission accomplished.
I took my MIL here for her birthday along with the kids. First time here. Love, love, love.
After some apps, I had the shrimp scampi mac & cheese and it was simply scrumptious. That cheese sauce — addictive. Possibly habit forming.
Our server was genuinely friendly and really sweet to the kiddos. She made my MIL happy with a nice birthday sweet treat at the end. Very attentive.
Highly recommended.

Great atmosphere, love the cheese and cracker bar, tasty options all across the menu. I enjoyed my dish, it was a suitable portion size, but a bit overpriced considering.

Five stars for the food. One for the terrible service. My boyfriend and I just moved into the area; this was our second time visiting the restaurant– we LOVED it the first.
The food was terrific. The crab encrusted haddock was amazing and the pasta was readily eaten up by my boyfriend. Beyond that, I have very little positive to say.
After ordering drinks and an app, but not the entrees (we weren’t quite ready to make a decision) we patiently waited for our drinks. We got our delicious drinks– mine a cocktail and his a canned beer– we later received our app. We kept waiting for the bartender to come back and get her attention so we could order, but our efforts were futile. Finally we ordered. After several minutes of having an empty drink the bartender presumptuously placed a water (that I had not ordered) in front of me then quickly walked away. I was unable to order another until our entrees arrived. My boyfriend ordered another beer.
The bartender returns with our check– which we had not asked for yet– but not the beer. We then proceed to watch the bartender do her side work and talk to the chef. 15 – 20 minutes later she returns (mind you it was only in a can — little effort required) and remarks how she didn’t forget about him and was only waiting on him to finish. This was absolutely ridiculous. His beer glass was empty for over 15 minutes. As someone who works in the industry, you own your mistakes and never place blame on the customer.
We then tried to pay. Our check (with the second beer included that we never received) and with our credit card on top sat on the bar for 10 minutes while she talked to a customer and then left the bar again.
We finally left the pub and went to the restaurant. I asked for a manager so that we could pay and leave. She was fantastic and very apologetic — even took the drinks off our bill (which was more than generous and not what we were looking for).
The management and food was wonderful. But if you visit this restaurant avoid the pub at all costs!

Not as good as what people told me about, some said it was NH location and that other locations where better.

A bit of a wait, but got service of drinks and free snacks at the bar upstairs. Our server was great and fast. Very knowledgable on gluten free food & they have a great GF menu. Definitely will come back!

We have had dinner here several times. Tonight was the least crowded we had seen for a Friday night ever. I ordered steak k-​bobs medium rare. My fiancée ordered spaghetti squash primavera. It took quite some time for our meals to come out. She enjoyed her meal (we haven’t seen spaghetti squash offered on many other menus). My steak was cooked brown all the way through. The server apologized and offered to have my meal redone but we were both ½ done eating before they checked on how the meal came out. The manager (a very nice 22ish year old female) came over and again offered to have the meal redone, by which time there was literally one piece of meat left on my plate. Service and food had been better when the place was busier. Perhaps they let service slide when it’s slower there? Regardless, we won’t be going back anytime soon. Sorry

We ate at the Concord one this time. We have eaten at the one near Plymouth before and it was great. In Concord, My husband’s meatloaf sandwich was the worst he had ever had. Shouldn’t be difficult to make a meatloaf sandwich, right? and although the service was good the food quality was not very fresh or home made tasting.

Not sure of all the bad reviews but we had 8 people in our group and everyone’s meal was excellent. I had the Blackened Chicken Pasta: came with tasty perfectly seared chicken, plenty of grilled vegetables (I hate it when you get like 2 pieces of onion, a small piece of red pepper or two, a piece of tomato, etc.) about ¼ onion, a tomato, lots of spinach, a not too heavy light basil cream sauce. Superb. Service as fast and super friendly. Drinks were great. Again, I’m from Chicago and I don’t get it; maybe everyone is mad at the owner for having the chutzpah to create 20 wonderful restaurants. A OK in my book. Vote well next week New Hampshire! We need a decent shortlist by the time they come to Illinois!

It seems like the quality of service depends on the day. We did have absolutely wonderful service on one of our nights here, which for some reason generally seemed lacking in New Hampshire. They have a great (unlimited) spread of crackers, dips, Vermont cheese, and garlic or poppy seed bread to start the meal (though not all servers told us of this option so just know it’s available for everyone!).
Vegetarian friendly options include a homemade veggie burger, spaghetti squash, stuffed bell pepper, and you can get the blackened chicken pasta without the chicken. These options were average… Seemed to be lacking in flavor but nothing a little salt and pepper can’t fix! However BEWARE OF THE HARVEST PUMPKIN RAVIOLI!!! The sauce is not vegetarian!
For meat eaters, I am told the Nantucket Pie was delicious!

Meh.
I’ve avoided Common Man in the past because of their actions against us as a gay couple on Valentine’s Day… But decided why not try again.
The food was good. We had a dish that was made incorrect, which 5 people checked in with us while it was made right. By the time we got the right order, everyone else at the table was finished.
Despite the efforts of the 5 staff members (including management), we still got the bill at full price.
A little surprised considering all the run around and hassle it took to get a meal that should have been simple, but wasn’t executed in an acceptable time frame or correctly to begin with.
It’s evident the money hungry ways of CM truly out way their quest for quality.

Awesome place, the ambience is amazing, exactly what you need after a long hike in White Mountains. You stay in a lounge upstairs while waiting for your table in a dining room. Waitress Heather was very nice and professional.
Plan to come back again when visiting this area next time.

We waited close to an hour to be seated and when we were seated, there were easily 5 empty tables (the place seemed busier than it was as there was a group of 12 at one table, a group of 6 at another, a table of 3, a table of 2, and me and my boyfriend). We only noticed 2 servers and our service was incredibly slow. We got our drinks quickly, but to take our order, it took over 10 minutes. The bread was good but the meal was mediocre. I tried the pumpkin cod, simply because the menu didn’t offer a lot of what I would eat. It was the special of the day so I was expecting to be wowed but I wasn’t.
The cod was cooked nicely but had zero flavor, not even salt or pepper… The pumpkin butter added a nice bit of flavor and I wasn’t sure how I’d like it with the cod. The carrots were cooked al dente so had a nice bite to them but didn’t have much flavor either (I could barely taste the maple). The rice pilaf tasted like Uncle’s Ben’s but drier. Overall, my meal just wasn’t worth almost $ 20.
My boyfriend got the steak which I think was cooked a little more than medium (he asked for medium). It was supposed to be char-​grilled (the reason I didn’t order steak because I don’t like char-​grilled) but looked like it was cooked on a griddle plus I couldn’t taste any garlic. The mashed potatoes were alright but the gravy was weird. It also came with steamed broccoli but I didn’t try any so not sure how well that tasted.
We passed on desserts but were given complimentary white chocolate chunks as a finish to the meal. Those tasted good. Also, before the meal, we were allowed free access to cheese and crackers (that was unique).
I don’t think we will be visiting The Common Man again in the future. The food just wasn’t worth the money and the service needs upgrading.
Luckily, we had a gift card ;)
I will say a nice added touch was that the lanterns at the tables were real fire and not just a flickering fake candle. It gave it more of a romantic flare.

Negative stars if I could. 15 minutes to get an acknowledgment at upstairs bar, 15 minutes for one beer, 20 minutes for app and another 35 minutes for main.
The place is seriously overpriced and had serious staffing issues. Dear management, get a clue. I feel sorry for you NH people, must be used to it.
Edit — the total time at the bar was two hours. The food was bland and boring. My scallops were cooked in a sauté pan with plain bread crumbs dumped on top of them. Also, the upstairs grill left the cooked meals on the bar counter for ten or fifteen minutes. I took a picture and actually timed it. The manager apologized and comped our drinks, smile on her face and trying hard to change the subject. I told her seven people came in after us and left at least 45 minutes earlier. We also noted, the regulars got quick and prompt service and food.

Bonnie was my waitress and she was very kind.
This place reminds me of a New England style Cracker Barrel.
The menu has a variety of soups, salads, and entrees.
I had the lobster mac and cheese with the uncommon half salad
The inside was not too busy; there’s a pub side which had more activity.
It was somewhat warm in the general dining room be of all the old windows.
This is definitely a family oriented type of place which is nice especially when families are on vacation.
The cocktails prices are very reasonable
My lobster mac was not that great. Two big chicks at most and part of it was cold so it was not freshly made.
Overall service was good but food wasn’t that great.

Stopped in for dinner on the way up to Laconia. Staff was quick to lead us to our seats. Our server Kate was knowledgeable and friendly. She explained all the specials and gave recommendations, as this was our first time here.
Enjoyed the cheese and cracker spread. We ate the scallops casino and steak kabobs. Veggies on the side were nice and crisp. Loved the garlic flavor, but overall nothing too special. The white chocolate at the end was a nice touch.

We arrived about 20 minutes before the main dining room opened and decided to have a beer and appetizer upstairs in the pub. The waiter was freindly while he took our order but after that, he was more interested in chatting up a couple of women at the bar. He never brought the appetizer we ordered and I ended up getting it from the prep area myself. When we went to leave the pub to go down for dinner, the waiter had vanished and I ended up telling a bartender what we ordered and paying her.
When we got to the dining room, 10 minutes after it opened, we were told to wait in the lobby and someone would get us. The hostess was exceptionally rude and unwelcoming. When we finally were called, I was handed an order ticket and instructed to give it to my waitress. No waitress came to show us a table, though three stood around watching us stand there. At that point I gave the card back to the hostess and told her we were going to The 99.
Inattentive, rude waitstaff, the appetizer was just microwaved and not fresh tasting, very salty. Fortunately, I didn’t spend and real money there and never will.

Even horrible human beings are treated with respect at the common man.
Great food and atmosphere. This is the spot to eat on this side of Concord.
High marks for food and higher marks for service.
Portsmouth Pie is terrific and so is the chowder and crab cakes.
The bartender and manager in the tavern went above and beyond with a horrible, whinny customer who ordered the pizza then complained that she meant the flatbread. Even horrible human beings are treated with respect at the common man.