The Common Grounds

Cockroach in food. Food was awful, so seeing the cockroach actually made me glad I wasn’t going to have to pay for it. They only comped our food and a manager never came by to apologize. The server was also not surprised by the cockroach. Gross. Never again.

I have to say, this place has gone DOWN.
It’s been a couple of years since I have regularly come here, but when I did, it was one of my favorite places.
No more. Their signature Bloody Mary is now a mixture of cheap vodka and tomato juice with a silly bean. No originality at all.
The service is so bad it’s almost shameful to call it service. The only real bright spot this morning was the music provided by a great talent, Tiffany Christopher.

Food and coffee was excellent! Service was very poor! The server seemed to be ignoring our table. It took over 20 mins for him to take our order. (Restaurant was not very busy). He gave us our checks immediately after serving us… didn’t bother to ask if he wanted anything else to eat/​drink. Also, he asked us to leave TWO hours before they closed. He said that we were the last table and since we had already paid they were going to close. Extremely rude and unprofessional.

Came here for brunch after really, REALLY not wanting to because the service is horrible these days. We got a table right away which was shocking for the morning after game day. Our server was obviously having a rough day and dropped a tray of waters. went to get a mop and bucket. knocked the bucket over. We never ended up getting waters.
We ordered our food and about an hour later it was delivered and one member of our party was notified that they were out of the one thing he ordered — biscuits and gravy. Two of us ordered the Screaming Buddha which meant by default we didn’t get biscuits either and our eggs were cold enough to heal an injury. Not really. but cold. Like might make you sick/​definitely not in the safe zone for temperature. Another person in our group didn’t get her food and our server and the manager kept telling us they were looking for it. She finally got her french toast and it looked like the kind of bread you might use to feed ducks. Someone ordered a cinnamon roll and he said it was hard as a rock. One person got what he ordered and he liked it. So out of 6 people, 1 was great.
It seemed like no one that worked there had the first clue what was going on. Lots of people in uniform so it doesn’t appear that they are short staffed. But truthfully, after being hesitant to come here at all and having sub-​par service and terrible food on this adventure, arriving at 11 for brunch and still here 2 hours later. I personally won’t come back. #brunchfail #service101

Great breakfast spot on Dickson St. Great coffee w several different roasts. Good bloody Mary’s for football game days. Can get pretty crowded and for some reason always a lot of groups there when I go but the food and coffee is worth the wait. I always get the Buddha breakfast its huge but very reasonably priced.

I visited a friend that is going to the University of Arkansas, and I was directed here for coffee and breakfast. I would love if common grounds was in Columbus, it would be my spot. You serve yourself at the coffee bar, and the coffee is baller. The food is very good, and I got the granola which was delightful. Service can be a little slow, but each time I was there it was packed. I’d recommend sitting at the bar area.

Food is ok. Poor presentation and poor service. Slow and didn’t get any refills. There are better options.

I come here about once a week with friends and I recommend it for drinks and coffee with above averasge food. A great atmosphere and good coffee. The only complaint I have personally is they don’t have my favorite coffee drink, which is a breve. I think of that being a fairly simple thing, but the times I’ve doubled checked that they don’t have it they say they don’t know what I’m talking about and they only have a Mocha Breve. But oh well, great otherwise.

Coffee shops should not sell automated brewed coffee as espresso shots. The chicken pesto sandwich listed as smothered in pesto had hardly any pesto to speak of. What a disappointment.

Very nice meal. Quick, friendly service. Young man had recently relocated from SoCal. Had the Daddy Warbucks coffee drink and a large entrée called the Screaming Buddha. Both excellent. Wife’s meal equally good. Eclectic atmosphere. Will definitely return.

Coffee drinks are mediocre at best and overpriced. The atmosphere is laid back and chill, but not worth the price. I didn’t find anything here that would make me want to come back.

The other reviews seem a bit surprising I had an excellent experience. Came in a 9 for dessert after eating at the Thai restaurant (which was awesome) as this was only a two minute walk from our b&b. the menu is huge. I wish I would’ve been hungry bc a lot of things looked good! We had the espresso cheesecake and the original and shared, both were amazing. They drizzled it with syrup which I wish I would’ve known before but oh well amazing service as well + free wifi! Definitely recommend of you’re looking for dessert and drinks!

Horrible drinks that taste like dirty carpet… No thanks! Keep your dirty carpet to yourself. This place was not what I expected and it needs a serious makeover/​cleaning.
I want good coffee, fair service, at a reasonable price. I didn’t get either one.
My fix is simple, so I expect that most coffee shops can take care of my fix. I’ll hit a Starbucks up or suck a bullet before I get treated like that again. Good service goes a long way in the local business industry.

Okay-​first let me say I’ve been coming here since 90’s and looked forward to it every time. Today I was totally disappointed. Came in with family to get a Bloody Mary and also ordered salads (you know, a well balanced lunch).
So, the Bloody Mary was average at best-​a pool of tomato juicy flavor at the bottom and the rest was just okay. nothing to write home about.
The Funky Monkey, which is actually no longer on the menu was lacking the «FUNK». While we appreciate that someone thought they could resurrect it for us it just didn’t hit the mark. It was more like a vanilla milkshake.
Salads-​BUST! Caesar salad wasn’t well dressed, included sun dried tomatoes (which in my opinion have no place in a Caesar salad), and whole when croutons made from slices of sandwich bread (plain, dry and unseasoned).
Greek salad came to the table and we were notified that they were out of feta cheese… well then it ain’t a geek salad dude ! No we don’t want Parmesan or cheddar instead. The waiter was kind enough to offer us a different salad which gave us hope but when we received the less than impressive Spinach with pecan salad we pretty much have up all hope that lunch would be satisfying at all.
You win some– you lose some. What was once a favorite hangout is now part of my college life history. Somewhere I used to go and enjoy everything I ordered.
Am I suggesting that you shouldn’t check it out??? No, not at all. I’m just saying I’m not going back. I’ve enjoyed it but it’s clearly time to move on.

Love everything on the menu and the coffeehouse is the best in the area. Oh stay way from the deserts because they are addictive! The only reason I gave three stars instead of five is the service — it varies depending on who is on staff — I have been there when it is packed and not so packed and have had great service and bad service which did not depend on how busy they were — confusing I agree so they get three stars

The atmosphere and the menu were somewhat confusing. We walked in just wanting a coffee to go but didn’t see anywhere to place a to go order and we got seated with menus. There were so many things on the menu that it made it too hard to decide. I settled on an Italian cream soda and it was ok. We waited forever for a check and ended up having to leave a tip on something I could just walk up and order anywhere else. Our 5 minute stop turned into an hour long ordeal. For the price and the awkward atmosphere, I don’t think I will frequent here.

The common grounds offers live performances in a very comfortable environment and has areas for client meetings or school study sessions or work time. The food is delicious (I suggest pizza sticks) and the drinks are amazing. I would suggest it for everyone needing great food, internet and a place to meet up with clients or friends.

Regardless of how busy a weekend, service should never be this bad.
My entire family was in town from California for my graduation and before everyone flew home Sunday (mother’s day) we wanted to grab breakfast together. We decided to meet at 9:15am– as Common Grounds does not accept reservations, 4 of our 8 arrived at 9 to get a table which was no problem. We placed our order by 9:20 which was great and timely. However, it all went down hill from there… My cousin ordered a specialty coffee which she received 10 minutes later– the coffee was undrinkable it was so sweet so she asked for something else in it’s place to which the server rudely said, «you’ll have to pay for it»… There was no apology or customer service. At 10:30 we still had no food (though we continued to inquire about it) and there were no drink refills. At 11am still no food and half of the people in our group now had to leave for the airport. We asked the server to please bring to-​go boxes along with our food… Which is ridiculous. The food arrived at 11:20, exactly 2 hours after we ordered. Four of our 8 had to eat their meals on the way to the airport. Half of the orders were cold, though plates warm. Again, the server never apologized or even seemed to care. Our bill came to $ 152.00– nothing comped, no apologies… I realize it was one of the busiest weekends in town but that is no excuse for such horrible service and food. Don’t go!

Stopped in for breakfast with the fam when I was in town for graduation. Cute little (well, really not so little) place with a quirky atmosphere. Reminded me of a place back home which is always nice to find when you’re on the road.
While the idea of a cappuccino or other breakfast beverage was on my mind, getting a bottomless cup of coffee with multiple flavor options on the coffee bar won out. It was hard to figure out what kind of breakfast mood I might be in, but when I saw Bagel & Lox on the menu, I knew what I wanted. I don’t know what’s come over me, but I’ve been almost obsessive about trying this everywhere I go lately. And I most say CG’s was definitely at the top of my list.
The bagel was well toasted, but still soft. They had spread just the right amount of schmear on top. And most people wouldn’t pay attention to the cut of the tomato & red onion, but the ring of onion fitting perfectly around the slice of tomato was not lost on me. No sir. It gave me a little bit of everything with every bite which is exactly what you go for on a NY Style bagel.
Definitely one of my favorite stops in Fayetteville.

Have been to this place both times I was in Fayetteville.
Amazing atmosphere, indoor seating, bar seating and a gorgeous back patio. Server was great in getting us just what we wanted, and helpful with suggestions on food. Perfect place for brunch on a Saturday, and well priced.
I had the 3 Little Pigs, bacon sausage and ham on an everything bagel with home fries. talk about delicious, I had never tried something like that and the waitress was right, it was great.