Commonwealth Cafe

Looks like it is closed for good this time. Sad to see it go and have financial problems non stop. Not good when the owner of the building tapes a ‘notice of non payment’ to the front door. last time I peeked into the window, most of the equipment was gone and gutted out. Sad!

Layton and dog are awesome.
I miss your grilled cheese, veggie burgers and Coke in a bottle.

A friend and I walked into the new version of the Commonwealth the other night and we’re quite taken aback when we first walked in. It seemed like the entire place had been gutted. Long gone was the music, the tatted up cooks and waitress, the specials wall, any kind of decoration that wasn’t previously nailed down– all of it was gone.
And the menu was chopped in half, maybe more. The stuff that kind of set the place apart– the 30 different mustards, the frito pie, baked potatoes, the limeade soda it’s all gone. And not really replaced by anything. The sodas were just cans and they gave us a cup for ice, not cool.
The menu has like 6 things– a Burger, Mac and Cheese, a Turkey Burger, a Salad and a Veggie Burger. So I guess they don’t think variety is the spice of life, but the food was still pretty good. The burger was excellent, their onion rings were salty and delicious and my friend raved about the Mac and Cheese.
But still, going there still feels like I’m walking into the Stepford Wives of restaurants.

Be aware this place is open… it is NOT the same!!!
It is a dog in disguise, masquerading as something that should have stuck around.
Who puts sage in a burger?

Good bye Commonwealth! Frank the Tank will miss you and all of your wonderful goodness… I hope you can get some investors, you all worked VERY hard to make that place happen.
The Commonwealth is closed…
:-(

Came here for dinner after being picked up at the airport. I wanted mac and cheese and would normally go to Modus but my nephew was with us, so I had to figure out a plan b. It was dead in there which was good since they only have one booth and the rest of the seating is at the counter or on high barstools.
I ordered the mac and cheese and a grilled cheese, my sister got the turkey burger, my brother-​in-​law got the patty melt and we got the little one a hot dog. We also got the pesto-​garlic-​parmesan fries.
My grilled cheese was perfect — just as good as if I had made it at home. The mac and cheese was pretty good as well — not super rich but cheesy enough. It comes with breadcrumbs on top, which my nephew did not dig at all. Thumbs up from my sister and my b-​i-​l for what the burger and patty melt. Thumbs down all around for the fries as they were soggy.
Icky fries is not enough to make me stay away, especially since we had really good service.

As you enter your nose becomes bombarded with aromas that instantly make you salivate. The menu is simple, greasy and somewhat pricey. However, the prices are definitely worth the food portions.
I ordered a cheeseburger and chilli fries. Thank goodness for Zantac and it’s amazing de-​heartburn effects. The food took some time to get, but it’s fresh so I completely understand that time was a crucial factor.
The service was great! Workers were quick to recommend food (if you were unsure) and chatted up with the customer’s (a sign of good business).
What do I love most about this place? The resin-​covered penny tabletops! I couldn’t stop staring at them and found myself mesmerized by them. I almost offered top $ to take a table home (with red glitter diner style stool). Alas, it brings Commonwealth it’s cute personality.
Recently I heard from locals that Commonwealth may close due to noise complaints (it is a late night diner open for the inebriated). I haven’t followed up but will definitely bust out my pipe and Watson for some investigating.

I came here on a Friday night after a happy hour at Bluefoot ~ half our friends went to Lefty’s, the other half stayed at Commonwealth. We laughed when we got a text from our friends saying that their pizza would take 45 minutes.
We ordered the sliders (bonus ~ they are priced individually… you can order as many or as little as you want… genius! seriously, why do sliders always come in multiples of 3?) and nacho fries.
There were only 2 other people in the restaurant… we thought for sure we’d be done with our meal before our friends’ pizza was ready. WRONG! 30 some minutes later, our sliders & fries appeared. The sliders were delicious — nothing spectacular though, they were miniature burgers and nothing else. The fries were good, but we didn’t really think about the fact that «nacho» fries probably meant that there would be nacho cheese on the fries. Not melted cheese, or melted grated «nacho flavored» cheese… but real faux, velveeta-​y, plastic-​looking cheese. blech. It’s a weird combo that really should be left apart.
By the time we finished our food, our friends had finished their pizza.
I’ll definitely come here again, but only when I go to Bluefoot. I won’t be going out of my way to come here just for the food. Unless of course I’m craving a mini-​burger and just want one.

I prefer walking to this diorama-​sized diner that sits aside Bluefoot bar to ease some of my guilt about gorging bacon cheeseburgers. Beneath Hulk neon (in strength and color) drunken faces seem just a bit greener.
The size of a Manhattan apartment, Commonwealth’s prim rows of neatly organized ladles and grandmother-​esque pedestals, offering homemade carrot cake, are as much of a draw as their menu. The best part is «sharing the Wealth» by grabbing a beer at Bluefoot while waiting for your food (you can eat it there too.)
Juicy burgers soften the varnished sheen of its sturdy bun (noticeably delicious), but sliders can sometimes sneak by with a downgrade in flavor as well as size– although, they do make for a cheap companion ($ 3.25 for 2) when fries feature as entrée.
Curly or straight? «Fry-​dom» for the people– it’s your choice. Blue cheese fries (curly) are almost like a bowl of noodles (utensils mandatory), but my favorite selection flames the sweet perfume of chili cheese (straight fry) — if only I could bottle the scent.
Wings were a little big for my liking (aka «radioactive wings»), but my boyfriend, Bubba (a valid moniker since he grew up south of the Mason-​Dixon Line), was thoroughly delighted with the abundance of meat and vinegar tartness mixed with the heat.
Amusing additions like the Texas football (Fritos, chili and cheese) and cinnamon toast sound even more appealing after a night of drinks at Bluefoot.

We have really enjoyed the Commonwealth each time we’ve gone, but our most pressing question is, «Why do they never have any ice cream?!» Each time we’ve been there, we’ve wanted dessert a la mode, but they never seem to have any ice cream. Okay, just wanted to get that out of the way first. Our next question is, «What is a Texas Football, and why do we keep forgetting to ask when we’re there?»
So, CC is comfort food all the way. So far we’ve had burgers and fries here, and the aforementioned, a la mode-​less desserts. Nothing super innovative about it, just fresh and made to order. Agree with other reviews that the food probably needs a little more salt, and one of us was a little put off by the french fry sogginess. The specials looked intriguing though (like an Italian burger with provolone, prosciutto and pesto). There are items that looked good but that we have yet to try, like their mac and cheese.
The people who work have been really nice and friendly, always a big plus. We will continue to frequent The Commonwealth Café. Great prices, great staff, good food!

I’ve heard a little about this place and have been wanting to try it for a while. Last Monday, I finally had the opportunity to stop in for an early dinner. The food was pretty much what I was in the mood for: standard, un-​exotic, but tasty and certainly filling. My date and I shared the. .. oh geez, I forget what it’s called. .. football something? It’s a big dish of corn chips with chili and cheese on it. And onions. If you want them. The waitress was kind enough to note, as we ordered, that onions graced the top of this otherwise delicious dish. As a non-​onion lover – nay, an onion hater – I really appreciated this move on her part. Anyway, we had that and coleslaw, and an order of two sliders – one each. The waitress was also kind enough to point out that the sliders featured grilled onions. I feel like it’s kind of a dick move to order something that comes in pairs with one of the items «special» but she didn’t seem to mind, and so my slider came blissfully onion-​free.
Anyway, the food was all pretty good. Of course, this is the sort of place to avoid if you are trying to eat even remotely healthy food, but barring that, good stuff. My Coke and my date’s fresh limeade were also tasty. If you get their bottled Coke (they also have cans) then it’s the Mexican variety, and has sugar instead of corn-​syrup. Which is interesting. Or maybe only to me.
But what was even better than the food – and it seems this has been noted in other reviews – was the service. Maybe it’s because we were the only patrons in the place, but I’m not so sure. The waitress and the one or two other people working there seemed to be having a good time of it. And that makes for a pleasant dining experience, in my book.
One thing I don’t love: the seating. It’s a small place, and mostly, there are stools, either at the bar or at high tables. There’s one cozy looking booth and some picnic style benches outside, but not a whole lot in the way of comfort. It was fine, it’s not like that ruined my experience, but it’s noteworthy.
******************************************
April 5^th, 2008
After a second visit, I’d like to note that I visited the restroom, which features photographs that seem to be local. Except for the photograph of two dudes in armor fighting. That one is just weird. I asked the girl behind the counter about them. She said she’d never noticed that they even existed.
Other revisions: I wasn’t impressed with their fries, but I was impressed with The Cars hits that were playing when we were there.
Oh, and the football thing we ate was called a Texas Football.

No vegitarian options on menu other than Veggie Burger.
Owners Black Lab (a very sweet dog) sat and begged at our table the entire time, as we left went to other guy sitting at bar, took pic of it with my phone but have no way to post it here.
To bad really wanted to like this place.

It does not get better than Commonwealth Café.
The menu is perfect. The owner is attentive and humble. The prices are great.
I cannot say one bad thing about this place. It is as if I created the menu myself. For those people that have not taken to this place I am really surprised. It is very obvious what type of food you will have here… comfort food. Everything is homemade. No, the french fries are not frozen. If you have ever been there you will notice that the fries are fresh, kinda can’t miss the large container of them sitting next to the stove.
It is nice to see a place that thinks of people that do not eat meat. The chili is wonderful. I have been a vegetarian for 18 years and find that most places could care less about the vegetarian clients. This is not the case here. The owners have made sure everyone has several selections from the menu.
It is good. Try it.

I’m sad, because I really wanted to like this place. Both my sister and my mom raved about it at a recent family dinner and it seemed like a place our little guy would like, too.
When we first walked in, I was hopeful (despite the large black dog sitting by the counter… he was sweet, but I’m pretty sure there are some kind of health department regulations about that). We were the only customers, sat at the counter, and the server came over right away. Lisa ordered a surfer burger (with avocado, cheese and pineapple) and fries, the boy ordered a hot dog and a glass of milk, and I ordered a chili dog with onions and a side of fries.
As we waited for the food (not too long), the place started to fill up. It became obvious the server was stoned (either stoned, none too smart, or just having a really bad day), but whatever — figured I can live with stoned as long as you can still do your job reasonably well. But apparently that was a bit too much to ask for…
First, the boy’s hot dog came. A few minutes later, my chili dog came. Several minutes later, Lisa’s burger and fries came. T said his hot dog was good (but keep in mind this is coming from a boy who likes the French toast in the school cafeteria), my chili dog would have been okay except for the weird fake Swiss cheese sauce on it (not ordered and not on the menu) and Lisa’s fries were cold. About halfway through my dog, the server passed by and I asked him when he had a minute, if he would please check and see if my fries were floating around somewhere. He did, then came back and said they forgot them and they’d be out in a minute. Finished the dog about 10 minutes later and still no fries. He came back and said they «must have» forgotten them again. ???
At this point, Lisa and I had had enough of the Commonwealth Café and I said never mind about the fries, we’ll just take the bill, please. He asked if we wanted a piece of pie to make up for the fries. Like Lisa said — dude, if I wanted pie I would have ORDERED pie. But I didn’t. I ordered FRIES.
He puts down the bill. I put down the credit card on top of it (after looking at it — did they charge us $ 1.37 for two glasses of tap water, or was that just where they put the tax? At this point, who cares? And while we’re on the subject, I know that pretty much any glass of water I get in a restaurant is going to be San Diego Municipal Crappy Tap Water, but couldya at least not fill the water pitcher from the tap RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY FACE, please?!?). He looks down at it and goes to lean against the other side of the counter, which he does for as long as takes the boy to announce he has to go to the bathroom, me to take him to the bathroom and have a philosophical conversation with him about knights and swordfighting — and anyone who’s spent time around a 6-​year-​old knows that that takes a while.
Like Lisa said, the guy who seemed to be the owner was making a genuine effort — checking on customers, getting T more milk, giving him a little balsa wood glider to take home, etc. But this place has some serious kinks to work out — big dog, fake cheese, cold fries, missing fries, crappy service. Owners take note…

I waited and waited for this place to open. Heard about the problems with permits to staying open late and heard about how they kinda screwed over the Bluefoot. The owner is a very well liked person around north park and I like his black dog… so I went in a few times to checkity check it out.
Music was too loud. The waiters were all high I swear. We were ignored for about 10 min after we sat inside. Sad to say the food was just mediocre. Don’t get me wrong I ate it all and it wasn’t bad but I expected to be wowed possibly from all of the anticipation.
Sorry guys but I guess there’s still hope for you to work things out since it’s only your first year. I’ll have to wait for you to work out all the kinks and possibly come back.

Like the rest of North Park, I watched and waited with great interest for the Commonwealth Café to open. It was delayed, but things happen, I understand. I can forgive.
I tried to go there after seeing it open for business, but it was closed for whatever reason (despite the hours posted and the time at the time being within those hours). Things happen, I can forgive.
Again, I needed a place to eat at a late night time so I brought my friends over to «check out the new restaurant in my hood.»
We arrive out of the 57 degree weather to the interior of the restaurant and the thermostat, if existent, was uncomfortably set to 50 degrees. It was colder inside than it was outside. We scored the corner booth and they had chincy heater placed next to the fish tank which my party enjoyed fighting over for the duration of the meal. I seriously felt like building a fire it was so cold. At least we had a heater. San Diegans consider 50 degree weather «FREEZING,» but I can forgive.
The food WAS delicious. I cringe at any hamburger that costs more than 3 – 4 dollars without the inclusion of french fries, but the portions were decent and the prices weren’t too bad. The slider burgers were also tasty. Seriously though, $ 5.50 for a hamburger and no french fries? You’re pushing me, Commonwealth, but I can forgive.
The service was horrid, and normally I’d just say «it’s a diner» and forget it, but we were among the few customers in the already tiny place. I felt neglected and almost hated by our server. My forgiveness runs out eventually.
I love supporting North Park businesses. I will try Commonwealth again, and since they are a new restaurant I’m willing to edit this post in the future and chalk it up to evidence to the necessity of a soft-​opening shakedown period to weed out all of the bullshit I had to put up with.
I’ve been watching restaurants die and fail in this neighborhood for my entire life. This one, unfortunately, has some of the warning signs (i.e.: saying it’s a diner when sides of whatever aren’t included for a modest yet somewhat expensive burger, snobby & self-​entitled service, not being open during posted hours, delay in opening). Yes, it’s retro, yes it’s open late, but so are Rudfords & Marie’s. Granted, I think that Commonwealth’s food is much tastier, but I think the restaurant takes itself too seriously.
Commonwealth is not a bright divine ray of uniqueness to North Park, and it faces stiff competition. This neighborhood invented the concept of a late night, no-​nonsense San Diegan diner. Hopefully this restaurant will be able to survive off of the Friday/​Saturday Bluefoot crowd that spawned it’s creation. Hopefully my experience was a fluke, and if it wasn’t, hopefully the rest of their customers are as forgiving as I.
2 stars for the slider burgers and being located next to my favorite bar.

Before Commonwealth opened, I was extremely eager to eat there and I helped sign petitions and get others to support its efforts to open and stay open late.
Sadly, after eating there 3 times, I am very disappointed in the quality and price of the food being sold. As a disclaimer, I must admit that I am a vegetarian, so I cannot speak to the quality of the meat-​products, although my meat-​eating friends tell me that the quality is moderate, at best.
It is unfortunate that Commonwealth charges a whopping $ 6.50 for a veggie burger ($ 1 more than the meat burgers, indirectly punishing people for being vegetarian, I guess?), which are simply the small, frozen/​microwavable Boca burgers which can be bought at the grocery store in a box of 4 for under $ 4/​box ($ 1.00 each) meaning that the profit is at least 500% more than cost.
Furthermore, the bread used for the burgers at Commonwealth is the cheapest white bread that is tasteless, at best, and if you want cheese (which is cheap, plastic American cheese slices) you will have to slap on another $ 0.75. I mean, if you are going to charge over $ 7.00 for a frozen veggie burger, then you can at least throw some sesame seeds or whole grains into the bread?
I guess I might just be too picky, but I am saddened by the low-​quality of the food. It is not as good as Denny’s, for example, which I find mediocre.
Another unfortunate thing about the burgers is that they do not come with fries, which cost an extra $ 2.75 — After tax (and excluding tip) you are going to spend about $ 11.00 and that does not even include a drink, which (even water, since they charge for that too!) will cost you at least $ 1.00 more. In comparison, you can get a drink, fries, burger and a side for under $ 10.00 at other diners in North Park, such as Rudford’s and Marie’s Café, which are open 24hours!
The vegetarian chili-​cheese fries are tolerable to an extent, but again, when price is factored in (about $ 6 including tax and before tip), it gets to be a little hard to swallow.
My suggestion: lower prices or raise the quality of the food, because at this point, it is fast food quality at mid-​level restaurant prices. It is no wonder that the favourite customers of this diner are middle/​upper-​middle class white people and drunk yuppies.
I want to love Commonwealth like I loved it before it even opened and vigourously defended its right to exist and stay open past 12am. But, until something changes about the poor quality of the food, I will have to enjoy my late night dining a little farther down the street for Marie’s Café on 30^th & University.
If Commonwealth Café wants to be a diner, it should charge diner prices and not mid-​level restaurant prices. The standard for food quality needs to be raised, in my opinion.

Oh Commonwealth Café. You are a wonderful and saucy location in the middle of North Park and filled with random tastiness.
After a Unilocal event with a crazy amount of people, upwards of ten of us stumbled up to the CC. The food is only so so, and my omelette was tasty although utterly unremarkable. The biggest asset at Commonwealth? The service. Undeniably, CC has the kindest, most involved, thoughtful and friendly workers. The staff kept us all in drinks and copious amounts of food.
The most shiny moment for me? When impulsively, an overly thirsty me semi-​demanded not one, not two, but THREE glasses of water. And without a blink of an eye, the folk at commonwealth delivered.
Awesome. I’d give the food 3 stars, and the service 6 stars, so I guess I’ll poorly average that to 4.
Great work, CC.

Are you in North Park?
Have you been drinking all evening?
Are you hungry?
Are you a vegetarian?
Do you enjoy a cup of coffee that a trucker might even gag at?
Does a greasy burger and fries suit your late night appetite?
Is an omelette at midnight breakfast or dinner?
Are you with a group of people?
Is it late at night?
If you answered yes to one or more of the above questions then Commonwealth Café is a place for you my friend!
A simplistic menu, cheap eats and a nice spot at the end of 30^th, it’s a perfect little joint for you to find comfort in food after an evening with friends and alcohol.
The burger was good but hella greasy and I instantly regreted my nourishment choice after biting into it, but I ate the whole thing cuz it was damn good. The Texas Football was a monument of the worst things for a healthy diet, but ever so satisfying and the Blue Fries were just as D-​Lish!
The service is utterly amazing. The staff is excellent, helpful and friendly. They were able to please a boisterous obnoxious group of over 10 and somehow managed to maintain smiles on their face and a pleasant attitude. Kudos to the excellent employees of Commonealth Café.

Is the food great? No.
BUT …
It is decent.
AND …
It offers a relatively unique menu for late night grubbing.
AND …
The Mac and Cheese is good.
AND …
The people are kinda cool who work there … in a humble goofy way.
SO …
I dig it.
4 Stars.