The Commoner - Excellent Creative Cocktails
My spouse and I dined at The Commoner for a late dinner on a Friday
evening in late September 2017. We stayed upstairs at the Kimpton Monaco hotel,
and The Commoner is the main restaurant. We made a reservation online using the
Open Table reservation system. The Commoner is open daily for
breakfast/brunch/lunch and dinner, and continuously in between for drinks and
snacks. On weekdays, the hotel also offers the Commoner Corner, where
you can eat breakfast or lunch at a counter, or buy a takeaway snack or
beverage from a to-go window.
The restaurant derives its name from British statesman William Pitt
the Elder (after whom the city of Pittsburgh is named). Because Pitt refused to
accept a title, he was instead nicknamed “the Great Commoner”. The
below-street-level restaurant seats 120 guests in a variety of areas: kitchen
chef bar, regular tables, booths, individual high-tops, communal high-tops, and
at the bar. The restaurant offers two points of entry: down a set of stairs
from the lobby, or down a smaller set of stairs from the street at the corner
of William Penn Place and Strawberry Way. The restaurant has high ceilings with
exposed ductwork and other rustic details. Note that the noise volume of the
bar/lounge area can be unbelievably loud, so if you have sensitive ears,
request to be seated as far away from it as possible.
The Commoner serves
continental cuisine. Because we visited late in the evening, we shared several
starters rather than ordering larger (dinner) plates. Although the flatbread
was unimpressive (olive tapenade, onion, fennel, sausage), we loved the delicate
beef cheeks (with maitake mushrooms, pearl onions, and pea puree) and the
hearty duck haggis (with turnips and potatoes). Originally, we had hoped to try
the lamb stew, but we made a last minute substitution for the flatbread when
our server informed us that it was unavailable. Our sticky toffee pudding
dessert (with rye vanilla ice cream) was delish! In addition, the signature
cocktail menu at The Commoner is outstanding! It contained so many interesting
options that it was hard to choose; however, we couldn’t resist “Pop Style”
(which includes a matcha Popsicle as the swizzle stick)
. Next on our list to try: “Turkey on Rye” (with pumpernickel-caraway flavored rye),
“Salad Days” (with mesclun greens), and “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club
Band” (with red bell pepper).
. Next on our list to try: “Turkey on Rye” (with pumpernickel-caraway flavored rye),
“Salad Days” (with mesclun greens), and “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club
Band” (with red bell pepper).
Our food and service at The Commoner was great, but the
cocktails were truly excellent!
September 2018:
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