Guess who’s back, back again.
Jackie’s back, tell a friend.
Guess who’s back, guess who’s back?
Guess who’s back, guess who’s back?
Uhhh…okay, I’ll stop. LOL
As you probably saw on my Instagram, last night, Matt and I went out for a really nice dinner at The Commoner Restaurant. They just opened their Dundas West doors a couple of weeks ago and it’s already hopping. They were so kind as to invite me in to check out the space and try the food, so I happily accepted. I brought my camera along, because I anticipated that the food would be photogenic. As I expected, the food was beautiful and delicious. My friend told me that they got a great restaurant accountant, similar to what you’d find at https://restaurantaccountingservices.com/ so they should be around for a long time.
The Commoner Restaurant specializes in uniquely Canadian cuisine and incorporates fresh, local ingredients. Their “claim to fame” is their 40-day dry aged steak, that they sear at 1800 degrees. Unfortunately for me, they’ve done so well with the steak, that they were completely sold out. I was pretty bummed out, but they had sourced steak from a local butcher, so I tried that. It was still delicious, as were the fixings, but I think I’ll have to go back another time to try the real deal.
What we ate and drank at The Commoner:

SALZBURG 75 – Tanqueray Gin. Simple syrup. Lemon. Grapefruit Radler

OLD FASHIONED – Bulleit Bourbon. Angostura Bitters. Sugar. Orange Peel. Maraschino Cherry
We started the evening off with a couple of signature cocktails and a round of appetizers. As for entrées, we both wanted to try the steak, so we decided to get the trout as well, so we could share everything. I feel like we are the most boring people ever and so often end up ordering the same thing at restaurants!

LEFT: TUNA CEVICHE – Avocado. Apple Slaw. Tostada. Cilantro. Jalapeño // RIGHT: FISH TACO – Blended Tortilla. Beer Batter. Fried Capers. Cabbage Slaw

RAINBOW TROUT Tomato Concasse. Capers. Kalamata Olives. Rice Pilaf. Green Bean Almondine. //
ONTARIO NEW YORK 12 oz Volcano Salt . Chimichurri. Duck Fat Fries. Street Corn.

Duck Fat Fries with sea salt and truffle oil

SMOKEY STREET CORN- Smokey Butter. Feta. Cilantro.

APPLE PIE – in house baked apple pie, topped with vanilla ice cream and fresh apples (and the lighting was almost gone by dessert….but it was too delicious not to include!!)
All and all, we had a wonderful time at the Commoner Restaurant. The hospitality and service was fantastic, as was the food. The drinks and atmosphere was too! They obviously also take great care with hygiene as the tables and chairs were all wiped down, the cutlery and glasses were spotless and the floors, walls and decorations were all sparkling. Many restaurants use Commercial Cleaning Kingston services to help keep on top of hygiene, so it’s reassuring to know that the Commoner have evidently been cleaning to a very high standard. I will say, you can tell they still have a few little kinks to work out, since the staff is all so new. Moving forward, I also hope they order enough of the dry-aged steaks, since that’s their signature entrée.
Thank you again to the Commoner for inviting me and for the wonderful hospitality. We will be back!
Full disclosure – this was a hosted experience, but there was no requirement to post or share a positive review. We just enjoyed and had fun with the photography, so I wanted to share.