Common Man

Everything seemed just fine. The crab cakes were good the sauce that it came with was salted very heavily along with the dressing on my salad. It was overwhelming. But for my boyfriends turkey pot pie dish was underwhelming, soupy and no flavor at all. And for his squash ravioli the sauce was all you could taste and very sweet. They do leave you with some white chocolate shavings at the end which was a nice touch.

The Common Man is one of those restaurants I have been to (Concord and the Lakes) and had really mediocre food in the past. But on a cold December day, I got to sit by the fire with my honey. We had perfect service, delicious soups/​salad/​sandwich and a beautiful romantic lunch by the windows while the snow fell outside.
I actually sent a meal back at the Ashland location (for one of the worst fish dishes (the Salmon Special). But, on a cold, snowy day I had a perfect lunch in Portsmouth.

I did not eat here but just stopped in for a drink at the bar. During a rather dreary day in February the Common Man’s bar and roaring fire were especially welcoming. The host was great; come on in, sit where you like, have some complimentary cheese and crackers… you get the message; these are very nice folks. Great place to drink!

I went to Common Man with no expectations. I travel most of the time; in fact, at the end of this week, I’ll end 4 solid weeks on the road. This was easily the best food I’ve eaten in my time on the road. What’s more, the atmosphere is perfect. It’s quiet, comfortable and unhurried. The lobster corn chowder was otherworldly. The bison meatloaf, while superbly prepared, was overshadowed by the lobster/​corn chowder. Truly, truly exceptional, and at a very reasonable price.

This is really not my type of food, so I won’t be returning here. But for what it is — or strives to be — it does an ok job.
We accidentally visited Portsmouth during restaurant week, and Common Man is a participating restaurant. We were able to choose any appetizer or salad, an entrée, and a desert for $ 30.
The food was certainly edible. It was home-​style comfort food. The portions appeared to be full-​size, despite the 3-​course special. The only food problem came during the dessert. Out of five possible desserts, they were out of three.

Came here for dinner with my boyfriend because I had heard some good reviews. I previewed their menu online prior to going to see what pricing was like. For the most part, the least expensive meal I saw was $ 11.99 or around that, and a lot of the foods were about $ 15.99+. It is Restaurant Week this week so our waitress/​bartender told us the deal for the week was one app, one meal, and a dessert (no matter the price) for $ 29.95. I HAD to take up on this offer!
For the appetizer I had the Shrimp & Lobster Fritters.
Dinner I had the Lobster Macaroni & Cheese.
Dessert I chose the Crème Brulee.
My boyfriend ordered the New York Sirloin. His was cooked to perfection, as he ordered, as medium temperature. He said it was flavorful and it didn’t have any fat on it like most restaurants leave…
The Shrimp & Lobster Fritters were very yummy! I would order them again!
The Lobster Macaroni & Cheese wasn’t quite as good as I thought it was going to be… The cheese seemed watered down and didn’t have much flavor at all. It’s unfortunate… The lobster pieces were HUGE and delicious!
The Crème Brulee was as good as any others I have had before.
Sadly where we were seated I could feel the draft from outside through the window and it sure was a cold night.
Here’s a link to their menu!
For the most part, it was a good experience. Expensive, but pretty damn good. I would recommend it to my friends and family.

I went to The Common Man on Wednesday evening. Everything was AMAZING! My boyfriend and I had the lobster dumplings appetizer which was absolutely delicious. We both ordered steak, me the special, a ribeye, and him the NY sirloin. Bother were perfectly prepared and again, delicious! The service was also fantastic. Our waitress, Amy, was very attentive without being over bearing. We asked her several obscure questions, which she never hesitated to find the answer to and never acted bothered about doing so. The environment was lovely as well — very cozy and inviting. If you’re a wine lover, Wine Down Wednesday is your day! All wine half price! Whether you’re going on a date or having a family night out, I highly recommend this restaurant!

Made the decision to stop by this place on a date night, we will be returning to this place every time we visit Portsmith in the future!
The waitress, Amy, was amazing! She was extremely attentive, personable, and helped make the experience perfect. She discussed the wine selection with us, offering suggestions and tips. Since it was wine down Wednesday, we splurged for a nice bottle of Red.
With the wine we were served Lobster Dumplings. It came out so fast our waitress offered to have it started again since we were just digging into the wine. We happily kept them and they were unbelievable.
We both ordered steak, I had the New York Sirloin and my girlfriend had the ribeye. Both were cooked to perfection, not overdone like most restaurants do. Both were tender and juicy. I highly recommend the Coniac Peppercorn sauce. It’s epic!
Throughout the meal I had several questions. (Eg. What brand is this sauce or is it made here?) all of my questions were answered promptly and if an answer wasn’t known, the next time she came through, she had an answer.
I highly recommend this amazing restaurant. Both meals with our tip totaled $ 100 even. (That includes appetizer, bottle of wine, 2 plates of steak)
BONUS: We wanted to keep the bottle to commentate the occasion. When the bottle of wine was opened, the cork broke. I asked if she had another cork… The waitress went to the bar and went through the corks till she found one that worked for me! Thanks Amy!!!

This review is based on having a beer at the bar while waiting for takeout. Minimal selection of beers on tap, but plenty of bottled to choose from. They have 2 really good types of dip with crackers that are complimentary and they are both quality. Cool old school rustic New England feel to it with good upbeat music. Came right when it opened on a Saturday at lunch so I can’t really speak to any kind of wait time. Would definitely come back for a sit down meal.

I was visiting my mother that always wanted to try this restaurant out.
We went for a late lunch. There was no hostess so we were a little confused.
We did finally receive a window table. Service was incredible slow. The food
Was good but tooooo much. Nothing special here, sadly. Won’t go back because
There are too many good restaurants in this town.

I had a Caesar salad and chicken taco as my meal. Very filling. The Caesar salad was good but a tad too much dressing for my liking.
The chicken tacos come with 3 flour shells, sour cream, guacamole, homemade salsa and cheese. The chicken itself comes in a mini fried bowl. The tacos are listed as an appetizer but it can easily be a full meal. The taco are make your own and was really good.
Service was prompt and refills were timely. We ate upstairs and the seating was roomy and the AC was working well.
They had cheese and crackers that you helped yourself to. There was a tasty seafood cottage cheese spread and a garlic spread.
My meal (2 dishes) was only $ 12. The entrees for dinner were on the pricey side though. The price is the only thing that lowered this review.

Ok — So, unfortunately I have to give 2 stars.
Our waiter was attentive, friendly and knowledgeable.
Atmosphere — eh, a little to crowded if you ask me.
Food — seemed good… but… I GOT FOOD POISONING. … FROM A SALAD.
The pears in the salad seemed a little mealy, but I thought they were suppose to be that way. The Gorgonzola tasted a little «to cheesy», but again, thought that was just the way theirs was.
Woke up in the middle of the night… and lets just say… it was NOT FUN. I know 100% it was that food. There is nothing else it could/​would have been.
We will not be returning.

We visited The Common Man for lunch today and the food was excellent!
We started with the Chicken Taco appetizer. Nothing spicy, but really great flavor. The other half had the Pot Roast & I had the Stuffed Chicken. Both entrees were excellent. The lunch portion sizes were perfect. We finished the meal with the White Chocolate Crème Brûlée, which was delicious.
Our three small children couldn’t get enough of the cheese & crackers and enjoyed the cheese pizza and chicken fingers. Not to mention the fun of drawing on the brown paper table coverings.
Awesome food & family friendly environment. Will definitely be back sooner than later.

Absolutely loved this place! Great drinks, great food, great cozy atmosphere. The inside has two stories, and it feels like you are dining in someone’s home. We had a table in the hallway next to the stairs, and it was a lovely little spot. Each table has an adjustable oil lamp, as well as crayons and a paper table cloth. It’s a classy place even with the crayons! They have a nice specialty drink selection (I recommend «The Cuke» if you like gin and lime”) and the food was excellent. The lobster spring rolls were amazing. Great service as well! We are going to make it a tradition to go to this spot whenever we are in Portsmouth!

Classic New England atmosphere — small room, gas fireplace, somewhat colonial feel. (We were in the upstairs dining room) My wife was meeting a childhood friend we hadn’t seen in 40+ years, and we were looking for a place that was quiet enough to do some catching up. It was great; easy to converse, unhurried. The waitress quickly figured out we were as interested in conversation as food, and although she didn’t hurry us at all, she was very attentive to our needs.
I had the Portsmouth Pie — maybe the best baked seafood casserole I’ve ever had. Everyone enjoyed the dinner; the others had New England Cottage Pie, Baked Scallops, and Salmon. We’ll definitely go back, even though it’s a 45 minute ride from home.

If you are homesick and need some honest, simple, home cooked meal. this would be the place. Its simple food done very well.

We had a late lunch here and our meals were so satisfying we almost didn’t need to eat dinner. Lobster mac & cheese — we shared with the table — more saucy than cheesy, it’s true, but all delicious. I had the stuffed sole — very buttery and decadently delicious. He had the crab cake sandwich — he didn’t finish it, so I helped him out.
The sangria was refreshing and delicious — I could actually taste the liquor, so that’s good. The free crackers and dip were welcomed because we were hungry, but nothing special.
Staff was friendly and sweet with my child. Prices were really great for the quality and quantity of food! Again, this was lunch which is becoming my favorite way to enjoy good restaurants at a price break.

Wonderful!
I had wanted to try out the Station restaurant before taking my 2 kids and mom to the Prescott park Play but it was booked for a private party… Enter The Common Man restaurant to the rescue. The wait staff was wonderful. As I entered the establishment the host could see I was wondering if there would be anything my kids might be interested in and promptly handed me a kid menu to look over. They had some nice reasonably priced options. They had crackers and dip for us to snack on while waiting for our food as well as fresh baked bread. I had the rock crab cakes which were awesome, my daughter had the kids burger and said it was great and my son enjoyed the kids flat bread pizza. My Mom had the Sole I think and enjoyed it.
My one issue was the prices were a bit more than I wanted to pay but for the service and quality of food it was very nice! It is not somewhere I would go all the time but great for a special treat!

When you enter the Common Man you will not feel like you’ve entered into a restaurant. You will feel like you’ve entered into someones home. The food is like that from a friends home as well.
The small space had the restaurateurs put tables in very awkward spaces and the bar was tiny with weird seating as well. I am not into the whole gimmick of crackers and dip available complimentary for you to pick and bring to your table in the dining room or bar.
Caesar salad had a chunk of stalk in it. Butternut ravioli were the best item on the menu. The kitchen is doing at least one thing right if and only if they made the ravioli fresh. (Terra Cotta Pasta maybe?)
The crust on the stuffed pork chop lacked any depth of flavor in it despite it being crispy. The pork was a little over temperature and not stuffed nearly as much as it could have been. Peas and mash on the side, ok I guess. The haddock with crab meat and stuffed shrimp were nothing impressive. Skin on the trout could have not been soggy.
All in all, there was no item on the menu I could not cook myself at home and this exactly why I don’t enjoy places like this. I’d rather go somewhere with chefs, not cooks, preparing ingredients together in a way I could never imagine. If you are like for down home comfort food in a down home comfort environment and are too lazy to cook come check it out otherwise my bottle line is to stay away.

I waited a year before venturing into the Common Man. I was disappointed by one maybe 10 years ago and wasn’t in a rush to return, but I was ready for a pleasant surprise so we called them up. My wife tried to make a reservation for brunch & the woman on the other end of the phone took the reservation but was ready to hang up without taking her name. This was interesting because they never used to take reservations, but It went downhill from there.
We showed up at 12:30 and the one hostess was rarely around to greet guests. Eventually she sat the two of us upstairs next to a family with loud kids, left us with dinner menus, and disappeared. Before she left, she told us we could go back downstairs for some cheese and crackers if we were hungry. There was a little slip of paper that had two brunch items on it, but everything else was about dinner. After we were sitting there for 5 or 10 minutes, the waitress checked in with the table next to us, and then came back into the room after that to rearrange some chairs.
Since we weren’t going to eat dinner at 12:30 and we were ignored for 10 to 15 minutes, we left before anything else went wrong. As we were walking out of the room, the waitress asked us if we wanted anything to drink.
I waited a year for the Portsmouth Common Man to get their act together and I think I’ll wait at least another year or two before going back. Ten years ago, the Common Man was one of those Cracker Barrel /​Country Kettle kind of super-​folksy restaurants that I never really cared for, but things change after 10 years and I was hoping for the best. Portsmouth has too many good restaurants for me to deal with this.
The one good thing that I can say about Common Man is that it seems to be a good place to go if you have kids. There were kids upstairs, kids downstairs, and kids playing ON the stairs. If you’re bringing kids to Portsmouth and you’ve already done Flatbread Pizza, this might work out for you if you’re patient with the staff.