The Commons

Tried The Commons for the first time during my visit to Tracy. Everything was great, and the staff was all very attentive. We had the blistered carrots, and the yogurt sauce was amazing! The uncommon potato and beef tacos were the perfect accompaniment. If you’re there, don’t miss the T.F.C. wings — the sauce is perfect and we loved the fried garlic and fresh herbs. Can’t wait to try I’ll definitely be back!

We love this place, every time is perfect the only problem is that is busy but there is a reason why. This is great so you don’t have to go to the city for good spot. Keep it up!

Darn tasty!
Tried this place tonight with my wife. Had a couple burgers, fries, and mac and cheese.
All were well cooked and high quality ingredients.
The duck fat fries were good, but not that special.
The décor was upscale (for Tracy) and they were playing cool music.
It’s a little pricey, but you can taste the difference.
This is probably going to be my go-​to spot when bay area friends visit.

Just what Tracy needs! I’ve came here several times and always fabulous. The Mac and cheese is the perfect. The burgers on point from the the bun to the melt in your mouth patty! Love that this place is in the heart of our town, and has the flavor of the big city!

I’ve been to The Commons 5 times and never have i ever had such consistently great food anywhere before! Everything I have had there is
! T.C. Burger is my favorite and the fries and fried pickles are amazing. The spices and sauces that are used are so amazing. Everything is unique and I give major props to the chefs because I don’t think there will ever be a better restaurant in Tracy! The staff is really nice and on top of their game. The only problem is how crowded it gets on the weekends, but i guess when there’s a gem like that then it is bound to get crowded. Excellent food would definitely suggest this restaurant to anyone and will be going there again forsure!

A cosy place, friendly service. I am not s fan of the burgers but their burgers are so delicious! Cocktails, wine and beer selection could be better but all of them taste good!

The Commons is a very nicely furnished gastropub, and I was excited for my first visit. There are no other upscale gastropub-​type places in Tracy — a city that could really benefit from such a place. Lots of potential, and that’s about it.
I took my team to The Commons after work on a Friday to unwind after a rough week and to reward them for recent hard work. We had a round of drinks and ordered appetizers: fried pickles and wings.
I should preface the next part of the story with two things: First, about 5 minutes after we sat down, a brief but noticeable smell of marijuana wafted through the restaurant. The front door and patio doors were open, and there were a lot of people outside. Someone was obviously smoking outside, but no big deal right? It’s California… something we smell all the time. It was gone a few brief moments later… the smell was literally one of those things that registers on your screen for a brief moment, but didn’t even break our conversation. Second, one of my team had stopped by our PO Box for the second time that day on the way to the restaurant, and brought my license plates for my new company car. Brown envelope, license plate size, you know the deal, etc.
«Where the hell is he going with this?!?» Good question… so maybe several minutes after the smell disappears, a guy we hadn’t yet seen came from the back, stopped at the head of our table and said, «I need you to please put whatever you have out away.» He did say please, but in the sarcastic way your third grade teacher used to say please when she wanted you to sit down and stop being an idiot. Needless to say, we all looked at each other, dumbfounded. I looked at him and said, «Huh?» at which point he repeated himself. I had no clue what he was talking about, so I started looking at the table. There were plates, our drinks, and my napkin… still neatly folded and sitting on top of the brown envelope containing my license plates. At that point, I started staring at the envelope, attempting some post-​graduate level analysis of what could be so wrong with my license plates on the table that some random guy is asking me to remove it. I definitely knew I couldn’t «put it away,» because dress pants don’t have room for license plates. He got agitated and repeated himself again, albeit more vaguely this time, «Just put whatever you have away.» At that point, my silly brain realized he couldn’t have been talking about my envelope, so I said «What the hell are you talking about?» And he said «Someone said they smell marijuana.» OHHHHHHHH. To re-​reference my pre-​story, the smell had been such a tiny and insignificant part of the last hour of my life, that I had COMPLETELY forgotten about it until that silly ding dong said that. «Umm… we obviously don’t have marijuana out. That was obviously coming from outside.» He went away, and I asked my party, «Did he seriously think we were just smoking marijuana at the table?!» I later found out that he was the cook (and maybe owner/​manager?), but both the bartender and waitress had made a couple of trips to our table at that point, and even a completely unobservant half-​wit would have a) noticed we didn’t have anything, and b) be able to notice a brief, faint smell passing through. Do yourself a favor: definitely DON’T fart in The Commons… the SWAT team might show up (does Tracy have a SWAT team?). In an otherwise quiet restaurant, getting called down for something you clearly weren’t doing was a little embarrassing.
Shortly after, the appetizers arrived. The fried pickles were ok. They were bland, but definitely the better of the two. I’m from the south and recognize I’m maybe being highly critical, but I expect better out of fried pickles. The wings however, were just a failure. They were over-​breaded and kind of tough (perhaps overcooked while the cook was harassing us). We were pretty put off by the whole experience and decided not to stay for mains or more drinks. I won’t speak for the others in my party, but it’s safe to say I will not be back.

This is a small place, but the décor is nice to look at and the atmosphere is cozy. The bar and its staff are nice and if you can get a seat out on the patio, it’s a nice place to chill.
The food is different and definately not your typical bar food. The menu is a bit too pretentious for me and changes quite a bit.

My GF recommended The Common — a comtemporary, casual gastropub in downtown Tracy. My family had lunch here. All the tables were taken except the big community table in the back, so my family sat there. Hubby had the Allioli burger with portabello, gruyère, aioli and gremolata. I had the Boca burger with Pt. Reyes bleu cheese, beer braised onion, seasonl fruit compote & arugula. Our burgers were flavorful, juicy and delicious, but on the small size. Our daughter had their mac & cheese with gruyère & oakdale cheese mornay and panko and a side of duck fat french fries. The mac & cheese was delicious and the fries were tasty, but we couldn’t really taste the duck fat flavor. We enjoyed the ambiance, food and service.

Joe the bartender made me the best Manhattan ever! I’m not a big bourbon drinker so this is special. Come on down and enjoy one of these bad boys

This was about the only place still open near me after 9:30 on Wed night that wasn’t built around a drive-​through.
I had the Allioli, a burger with portobello mushrooms, a beef patty, gruyère, gremolata, and some aioli. It was absolutely delicious. The bartender was very good — made great cocktails, knew his stuff, professional without seeming too stiff or fake.
It’s got very attractive, creative décor and lights. The big-​screen TVs detract from that for me, but realistically they’d probably lose more customers if they didn’t have them.
I wish I’d gotten there earlier in the evening so I could try more of the menu!

We were seated right away and had great service from the time we sat down to the time we left. Food was really good. Nice place to go and just hang with friends.

Place was nice, cozy, casual and kinda fancy. The aioli burger was great, meat was juicy, bun was soft and the aioli and portablello mushroom tied it all together. The slaw on the chicken sandwich was overkill, it was just too sour for our taste. The chicken wings did disappoint me because it was just your old typical buffalo wings, please try and come up with something mind blowing. Duck fries tasty, thumbs up. I was looking for the mac and cheese croquettes but our server was new so i guess he didnt know that it existed before. Overall not too bad, could be better though.
P. S. our server was super nice!

Food rating 5 stars
Atmosphere 5 stars
Service 2 stars
Our food was super good we got burger and the fries. Loved it.
Super cool looking inside had a nice vibe.
Our waitress couldn’t have been more annoyed with life and was kinda a B. We had questions about the menu and she practically rolled her eyes at us. Our food was pretty much thrown in front us. She set the check on the table and didn’t say a word. God forbid she smile…

It’s definitely an eye pleasing restaurant but I’m not a fan of their menu.
Although their wings are delicious, many other entrées need some added pizzazz. It’s been a while since I’ve visited but I do remember ordering their tacos. They have potential but are far from tasteful.
This is definitely a place I would visit but only for their drinks and wings!

I’ve had Commons book marked since they opened which was about a year ago and, I’ve waited until now to visit and sample the goods.
Thursday, just at 4:00 PM:
I walked in and had the place to myself. I took a seat in the back near the community table and looked over the menus for food and their micro beers which was posted on the walls on either side of the bar.
From the food menu, I ordered their Allioli Burger; Portabello, Gruyère, Aioli and Gremolata. And since the burgers all come ala carte, I ordered fries as my side. From the beers menu, I went with a lighter IPA but, I don’t recall its name.
While waiting for my food order, I took a look around and snapped some pictures of the beautiful lighting fixtures and bulbs. I can say this. The owner spared no expense putting in the lighting. I’m guessing the custom fixtures alone came in around $ 15K.
When my food arrived, I bit in and held onto the bite for a minute to let the flavors surround my tongue. The burger was cooked to a perfect medium rare and the flavors were what you would expect from a good ground round. Also, the seasoning in and on the burger just worked!
Friday evening, just after 7:30 PM:
I returned with my one of my sons and even though we were just a party of two, our wait time was estimated at 25 to 30 minutes. One huge disadvantage being my sons age being under 21. We couldn’t sit at the bar to dine.
After a wait of 32 minutes, my son and I were ready to be seated after a table on their patio opened up.
Today I order a red wine to accompany my dinner and my son ordered water. For meals, my son ordered their Gourmand Burger and order their Kotfa Burger; Chile’s, Lemon Aioli, Bibb Lettuce, Cilantro, Peas and Mint. For sides, my son ordered their fries and tried the Mac & Cheese.
Again, my burger was cooked to a perfect medium rare and the flavors of the toppings worked with everything like a well oiled machine. The Mac & Cheese was good plain but got better when jalapenos were added. Tonight’s bill which included our two burgers. A side of fries and Mac & Cheese. Two glasses of wine and a water came in for a whopping total of $ 70 dollars.
The Commons is a nice bar with some really expensive lighting and a nice ambiance but, that’s about it. Their food especially their burgers are good but not the best I’ve ever had. And yes, that includes not the best in Tracy too. I also think for what you get (a burger), they’re too expensive.
I was told the menu changes about every six months so, I’ll return soon to see if I can find that perfect burger and side.
You know why there’s so many different restaurants? How about why there’s more than just a Burger King? Why there’s also a McDonald’s and Wendy’s, etc… Because everyone has their own taste in what they like in when it comes to foods. Just remember; your favorite place to eat is the one you like.

By far one of the TOP 3 restaurants in tracy! In fact all of my top 3 r right next to each other in downtown. The commons have the best burgers and food u would ever taste! The bun on the burger is TO DIE for. By far the best hamburger bun I’ve ever had. Their meat is top quality!
Johnny is so creative with his flavors… I just cant describe it. I love how the restaurant changes their menu ever 6 months so it makes u come back craving for other foods lol
Their drinks r different and always have a spin on ur classic favorite drinks. I’ve been here about 8 times and have yet to have a bad experience! Thank u, commons, for having one of the best foods in town.

My bestie had never been in to The Commons so we decided to have dinner there. The menu has changed since the last time I was here so I was really excited to try something new. We ordered the Uncommon Potato, Burrata, and the chicken tacos.
The potato came out first and it was delicious! It’s a baked potato with a spicy chipotle sauce. The burrata came with grilled bread and a yummy salsa verde. I think we were conservative with the cheese so we had to order more grilled bread for $ 1 more. I thought the tacos were good. I think they’re more of an Asian fusion. The chicken itself was flavorful, and went well with the hot sauce that was in the taco. The dish came with three tacos.
We ordered the only desert on the menu which was grilled bread with a chocolate spread and a marshmallow cream. I don’t even like marshmallows but I loved it in the dessert! And it wasn’t heavy and overly sweet. I thought it was a unique dish.
The staff were really friendly, especially the hostess who helped me out with my crutches. I think The Commons has got their groove and I look forward to dining here in the future.

love the concept of this place. I love that they are bringing this urban gastropub feel to downtown tracy. (it needs it) I hope it sparks a surge of new similar eatery experiences.
I love the food choices. The Mac N’ Cheese is DELICIOUS! i order it every time. The wings are AWESOME! except they recently changed the flavor not so much a fan of the new ones but the crispiness is good. The burgers are yummy too.
I love the specialty drinks too.
you gotta try this place!

As I live out of town, when I happen to be in Tracy this previously was my go to spot as I was obsessed with the AM burger. I was recently in Tracy and was so excited to have the delicious burger. However, to my great disappointment, the AM burger is no more. The waiter recommended the Hot Brown, saying it was similar (it too has egg and bacon). However the hot mess that arrived was nothing like the AM burger. The ‘egg’ that topped the burger had disintergrated into barely visible egg remanents enroute to the table, it was an open-​face sandwich thus necessitating I eat it with a fork and knife rather than having it in my hands and sinking my teeth into it. The flavor overall was just ok.
On the plus side the duck fat fries, uncommon potato and the burger featuring mushroom and gruyère cheese were all excellent. I’m just not sure these items are worth the hour drive. The AM burger really was a unique and satisfying burger that made the trip worthwhile.