In case you missed it, Common has had a little bit of a revamp.
And it’s had mixed reviews to say the least. Comments concerning pints at £6 each, ‘Please wait here to be seated’ signs, food price hikes, and well, beige.
I was worried.
So when they held their launch party, I felt the need to investigate. As did just about everyone else.
Gone are the posters, art work and colour. It definitely is a little more monochrome – lots of wood, and textures on the walls, on the bar.
And distinctly more stylised. Nordic design seems to have played it’s part in the furniture and design, and though there are pictures on the wall, they’re much more subdued. Less clutter, less mess.
It’s like a teens bedroom when they finally realise that actually tidying it up occasionally means they can find things. And I think this is why people are finding it such a shock to the system. It’s a bit. Well. Grown up.
Though we were sampling free gin and tonics, and free beers (selected drinks only) I did make a point of checking the beers board, at least briefly for price point – a 3.8% beer was coming in at £4.30. Not cheap, but not horrendously expensive either – and thankfully not the £6 a pint I’d seen.
And I love the new opening on the bar section, bringing the outside in – we’re definitely seeing a move by more and more venues to this sort of window set up – maximising space, and removing the ‘inside/outside’ feel. I still can’t help it though – I love colour and it feels a bit… lacking.
The food, from what I’ve seen has grown up a bit too – you can still get your chilli and burgers, but everything seems a bit more refined and pretty.
I’m going to be really indecisive for now, and sit on the fence, at least until I’ve been in for lunch, or dinner (hell, they do shak shuka, so maybe I’ll head in for breakfast). Common used to feel like it was ‘for the common man’. I’m not so sure it is any more.
I think Common just went and grew up on us.
With thanks to Sebastian Matthes / MANOX for the pretty images. And with thanks to Common for the invite to the bar for the party, along with everyone else!
It’s taken me a while to write this, because I’ve been trying to put my finger on what it is about the new Common I don’t like, in amongst the stuff that I do.
Firstly, it’s not the niggles. There’s a fair few of them, having to be seated if you’re wanting to eat while drinkers just walk in and take what tables they fancy, getting asked what you want to drink but not having a beer menu to look at at the table (I believe this has been addressed), the food pricing going up and the chips going away, these are all niggles. The place has grown up, it shows from the stylish and spacious décor that Common is no longer the student union bar’s graduated big brother but is now the place you’d take a date you wanted more than a few weeks of summer fun with.
The menu has changed along with the interior to suit this new focus, and that’s fine, it’s their bar they can run it how they like and if they like to make it a more mature venue, it may not be my cup of tea, but that’s cool.
What it is that’s niggling me though, is the opposite ends of the spectrum in how it’s being promoted. One the one hand there’s the venue itself, you turn up and it’s classy in a Nordic way, not what those of us that knew it would have expected, it’s a surprise. But on the other hand, there’s the Twitter account that promotes it in a way that appears desperately, embarrassingly childish. This may just be me, but when you’ve spent so much time, effort and obvious money on making a place appeal to a more mature diner, having your social media appeal to an immature drinker seems to be a bit against the grain.
The venue, love it. The food, great (albeit pricey). The drinks, wonderful (when you find out what’s on). The promotion, yeah, that’s where it falls down for me. It’s almost as though the person running the Twitter feed doesn’t actually go into the place.
Interesting you say that. I suspect that the twitter account is being operated by a PR. And I think I know which one. This also means that it’s similarly run to other accounts, and that this doesn’t suit this venue.
I’ve looking forward to a visit again, a proper one, just so I can try it out for myself and get a feel for it on the whole, away from a launch involving free booze.
But I do agree. The twitter account has the smack of a sulky child about it. I may ask some questions…