Common Man Hi-Way Diner

Dreadful. Even for hi way rest stop food. Poor service, mediocre food, spotty cleanliness, All the reasons to travel a little bit off the beaten path.

Our family stopped in on the way to NH. We have usually enjoyed the Common Man Restaurants but we will not be stopping here again. The food was over cooked the fries were cold. The veggie burger I have gotten in the past was dry and nothing like what I have eaten at the Common Man in the past. The frappes tasted terrible at first. The staff was very friendly and offered to make them again. They were better the second time. They also refunded our money for the frappes. Hopefully the sandwiches, pasta and pizza across the hall are better. We will have to try that next time but definitely not the Hi Way Diner.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve dined at many of The Common Man Restaurants over the years and most always enjoyed a good meal. I stop here frequently when traveling to NH and back home to MA. Tonight I stopped in as I usually do and thought I’d try their roast beef dip sandwich, it was okay, except when I sat there at the end of bar and watched the young man behind the counter at his food prep. You won’t want to go back. He was the same guy who took my order and was friendly.
The food was cold and over salted — but is probably all canned, so I should know better. The concern was watching the young man preparing food for others… while he wore appropriate gloves he handled raw hamburg meat and proceeded to touch everything else with those same gloved hands! Never once removing the tainted gloves that handled the raw hamburg. In the food business this is a definite NO! He handled the rolls for hamburgers, the cooked bacon strips, to the meat press, walking to the refrigerator to get more hamburg meat (which he handle inappropriately, swinging it around like an object I’d rather not mention) If I had been smarter, I would have video tapped the production and posted it! He behavior was immature and can be ignored… but his handling of food, not changing his gloves that handled raw meat and touching everything else and creating an unacceptable condition of contamination of food for others!

What do you guys expect. Its a rest stop. Of course it will be subpar. They Have teenagers cooking the food. Teenagers at the registers. Of course mistakes will happen. They are too busy talking or flirting to make the food the right way. Ive got a hamburger so under cooked that when i went back to complain, the supervisor threw it out. You don’t go to a rest stop to expect good good. Its way overpriced. This gives common man a bad name.

Our family stopped in since we were hungry and in a rush, so why not a rest-​area diner. It is affiliated with the Common Man restaurants, so it should be good, right? We were very disappointed.
When you enter a diner, you expect table service. No such service here. You order at a counter, then wait for your food. The cashier took our order, but didn’t say beverages aren’t included. Yes, we all wanted breakfast without coffee, juice or water. The layout also makes no sense. Ordering and receiving food cross over, so near-​misses with trays happened often.
When the food was delivered, it looked good. But my pancakes were bland and dry. Ordering real maple syrup was $ 2 — what a rip off! I didn’t get any. My wife’s omelet was also bland. The french toast was ok, but nothing special.
On a positive note, the bacon was very tasty. Perfectly smoked, not overcooked, and a joy to eat. Too bad the rest of the meal wasn’t the same. For the money we paid, disappointed would be an understatement.
I suggest you avoid this place even if you are hungry. Get off the highway in Manchester or Concord and have a quality meal.

Nice new place its brand new so its clean. Too much staff behind the counter doing nothing and order took 4 ever. Food was ok, priced ok.

Better than many highway rest stop food options, but this isn’t up to the level of the Common Man in Ashland NH (a good restaurant) or the Common Man Express in Ashland NH (a fast food outlet of the same).
Because the volume is high, and speed of the utmost, the menu is both limited and modified for fast preparation. The sandwiches are well above what you’d get from other sandwich shops, just don’t expect this to be up to the usual standard for The Common Man.

Not the best layout would be a cluster if busy. Folks are entering from 3 entrances. Very long board across the full galley with many good options from eggs and muffins for breakfast to burgers and pizzas. A little overwhelming to most that were in line. All employees were very friendly and patient with many who couldn’t decide from the many options.
I opted for the pulled pork sandwich. Included red cabbage and melted cheese, on a very fresh bun. Also had a side of their home made potato chips, a perfect compliment to the awesome sandwich.
I’m on 93 quite often and will definitely be stopping by again!

The location is a bit «off» as it’s in a Turnpike courtesy area. HOWEVER…
It is worth the two bucks in tolls to get there. I had perhaps the best turkey club I’ve ever had in my life. The bread was toasted perfectly, the turkey was sliced from a real breast and NOT a deli roll type, and the bacon was the right kind of crispy. The homemade chips were everything you hope such chips would be.
In short, if you EVER are on the Everett Turnpike past Hookset, stop on in

Cute and convenient but food quality is not the best. I have been there for lunch and will probably check out the breakfast.

If you’re going to starve if you don’t eat RIGHT NOW — sure, go ahead. But honestly, this is not the Common Man you normally know and love.
It looks like the Airport Diner (the comparison pretty much ends there) and has the prices you’d expect of any self-​respecting tourist trap.
The food was ok. Too pricy for what it was though. Between my wife and I we got: a cup of iced coffee, a lg milk, an egg and cheese bagel, 2 eggs /​home fries and a bagel with cream cheese. This was almost 20 bucks.
Oh, did I mention you seat yourself and pick your food up on a cafeteria tray?
Overall, it was just weird. Personally, I say skip this place. (But visit the Airport Diner or the Tilton Diner — they’re both awesome!)

I’m not totally sure what all the bad reviews are about because this place is much better than stopping at McDonalds. Many more options and food made to order. The burgers are great and there’s not much better than homemade chips. They have booths so you can eat there, or they will give you very sturdy to-​go containers. Plus, it’s attached to the liquor store, a general store, and there’s a Cider Bellies stand outside.

For a rest areas this was pretty good food. We had the hiway burger and the chicken ceasar salad wrap. The two guys that took the order and made the food were excellent. Food is made to order and fresh. Wrap was huge… pic is what was left. I would recommend this for everyone traveling for a nice quick rest.

Perfect breakfast! I drive up from Exeter sometimes for their French toast and bacon which is consistently great! The staff is always cheerful and by now they all say «hi» to me by name. Makes my day!

Ordered the turkey club sandwich and was VERY disappointed. The order taker recommended it and told me it was very big. I ordered it on wheat with no tomato. It also comes with nasty, overcooked potato not French fries (no substitutions). The sandwich had ONE slice of turkey, overloaded with tomatoes (which I didn’t want!)and 2 slices of bacon. I would NOT recommend this place to eat.

Go to place when I head to Concord. I stop to charge my car and grab a bite. This morning I had breakfast for the first time. 3 egg omelet with broccoli, peppers, onions, and mushrooms. Came with homefries and toast. Absolutely delicious. I stop here at least twice a week and would definitely get breakfast again.
I’ve had their sandwiches at the deli, also great.

We stopped here for a quick bite on our way home from MA on a cold, rainy early Sunday evening.
Not knowing what to expect, but being familiar with various Common Man properties, we were interested to go inside and see what was offered. What we found was a very quick service offering of sandwiches, soup, and a few dinners. We got in line and ordered meatball subs since hot comfort food sounded good on this cold, dreary day. We had our food just several minutes later which was great because who wants to spend a lot of time waiting when you’re on the road?!?
The subs consisted of large meatballs covered with a nice sauce and melted cheese. The rolls were the disappointing part of the sub — hardly toasted. The subs were served with Common Man chips and pickle slices. The price was reasonable for what we got and the food was hot.
Seating is in a courtyard between the line we ordered our food and another side/​line that was apparently closed for the day already.
There were a few booths also to the side of the cooking area.
Everything was clean and new and we will probably stop here again if we are hungry while on the road. The nice thing is that the same structure houses the liquor store, bathrooms and a convenience type store!

First, I would like to say that I’ve always been impressed with the food and staff at the Common Man Restaurants and Stores.
The North bound l-​93/​Route 3-​A restaurant however was not a good experience. Although pricing was a bit high (but acceptable, since we didn’t have to get off the highway) the food was not up to par.
For instance, I ordered a Uncommon Man Salad — which according to the sign was made with walnuts & Gorgonzola. Not a walnut on the plate; the dressing was a «frozen» balsamic ice that had either chic peas or hazelnuts, not sure though… it was frozen!
Definitely not to par.

Very delicious cheeseburgers and fries here. Service was fast and reliable. A surprisingly excellent highway stop to eat at while filling up your car with gas.

The Hi-​Way Diner opened very recently inside of the Common Man Welcome Center North in Hooksett, located along I-​93 Northbound north of the Hooksett Tolls (Exit 11).
This fast casual diner serves up breakfast, lunch, and dinner offering streamlined diner menu offerings at reasonable prices. Unlike a traditional full service diner, this diner has no waitstaff, which is «order & pay at the counter» and you pick up your food when your name is called. There is limited self-​serve 1950s style vinyl booth seating inside of the diner, but there is ample seating in the food court area in front of the diner. When you are finished eating, you bus your own dishes in nearby bins.
Breakfast (served all day) offerings include egg dishes, bennies, omelets, hot cakes, French toast, hash, roadies (breakfast sandwiches), oatmeal, and sides. The lunch/​dinner offerings include burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, salads, soups, chili, fries, fried pickles, poutines, comfort foods (shepherd’s pie, pot roast, meatloaf, American chop suey, mac & cheese, spaghetti, chicken parm, steak), kids meals, and desserts (pies, ice cream, frappes, floats). The prices here are pretty reasonable, most meals priced $ 4.50-$ 8.50. Self serve Pepsi fountain drinks and Café Monte Alto Coffee served here.
I stopped for dinner at the Hi-​Way Diner very recently. The place was moderately busy on a Friday night. I ordered a Basket of Fried Pickles ($ 4) and Spaghetti & Meatballs ($ 8.50) and a cup of ice water. The food was all set for pick-​up in about 5 minutes after ordering. Fried pickles were nice and crispy breaded dill pickle chips (not too greasy) which came with a cool ranch dipping sauce. A few hand cut fries were mixed in the basket as a bonus. The Spaghetti & Meatballs consisted of 3 big moist & soft homemade meatballs, soft spaghetti, and a thick tomato sauce, sprinkled with parmesan cheese, soft roll on the side. This is the same Spaghetti & Meatballs dish I’ve enjoyed at the Airport Diner in Manchester, except the portions there are bigger.
Overall, the food I had was pretty good and I was eating at a rest area too! After dinner, I headed over to the Country Store and picked up a glazed donut stick from Brothers Donut for my dessert.
ALTERNATE ACCESS: This Welcome Center can also be accessed from NH Route 3A (toll free) from the back with a separate parking area (no access to the gas station).