Review Commonwealth Cafe - Birmingham

the French toast was life changing!! The hot chocolate was pretty and delicious. Got the avocado toast, poached eggs with sourdough and side salad. Would get everything again!!

I've been here many times and Commonwealth never disapoints... We had the shitake omlette, avacado toast and a fried egg sandwich w/sausage. They are always fast, friendly and delicious!!! It's a unique experience and menu and I look forward to continuing my adventure through their menu. 😋

The drinks that we ordered were excellent. A hot matcha with milk, iced tea, affogato and a pour over coffee. Our food was a little disappointing. We ordered the shiitake omelet that came with a bokchoy salad and a ricotta blueberry toast with sausage on the side. Also a walnut raison scone and pineapple coconut tart. The omelet was okay. The salad lacked dressing. The toast was a bit too sweet but tasted good. The sausage was very dry. The scone was excellent. The tart mainly tasted of cinnamon. The pineapple coconut flavor was lost because there was too much cinnamon on it. The atmosphere was noisy, sounded like a cafeteria. Parking was difficult. Probably won't be back.

Food is delicious. Particularly enjoyed the Tandoori chicken wrap and the Common Scramble. Prosciutto and shaved on toasted sourdough is decadent and scrumptious

Phenomenal Bacon & Gruyere omelet. Probably the best I've ever had, will be back! The simple salad w/sherry vinaigrette balanced the salt and fat from the omelet perfectly.

Great brunch! The Vegan carrot cake was amazing. The Vegan Brown Rice Bowl was good too!

I especially love french toast of Commonwealth! Everytime I chose the one with mascarpone cream and that is amazing and specialized from others. Nice place to enjoy lunch or brunch with friends.

A good restaurant with unique open seating as the name suggests. Good industrial decor and minimalist menu. Pretty much what you expect from eclectic Birmingham downtown neighborhood. Now coming to food, start off with coffee and banana bread- pretty good. Food items we ordered were filling and great taste. Great place for brunch, it does get steady stream of customers but tables are not difficult to find

Everything we ate was delicious. There was a bit of a line when we got there but it moved pretty quickly and was well worth the wait. Chorizo hash might be my new fave dish.

I tend to write my reviews based on the food, so let me start by saying the service and atmosphere were top notch. I only had two things while I was there, which means this is a review of those two things. Let me begin by saying I am not a coffee drinker. I've had little coffee that I would, having spent a penny on for one cup, spend a second penny on for another. That being said, I've had one excellent experience with black coffee at an Ethiopian restaurant in Ann Arbor. It was flowery and fruity and shockingly good. I finished it without a gram of sugar aiding the experience, smiling the whole way. This is why I ordered the Ethiopian coffee as soon as I saw it on the menu. Being a Texas boy, I also tend to order Mexican or Spanish inspired food when I run across it. This is comfort food to me. "One Chorizo hash please." The coffee and food was delivered fast and hot. So far so good. As soon as I tasted their Ethiopian coffee I knew that 1) Ethiopian coffee isn't automatically good and 2) I wasn't going to come close to finishing this cup. It was bitter, burned and extremely unpleasant. I understand the importance of complex and challenging food, but this wasn't complex. It was one note: triple bitter with a bitter finish. My wife ordered a latte which I can normally tolerate, but this had the same overwhelming bitterness, only diluted with milk. If this is a fair sample of the coffee served there, then I'm in no danger of becoming a coffee addict from their products. Fine, I'm a non coffee drinker that thought the coffee was terrible, that hardly warrants a two star rating. Unfortunately the food that followed was nearly as disappointing. My hash was well prepared. The polenta was creamy and seasoned nicely. The potatoes were perfectly cooked. The egg was nice and runny. I enjoyed the spice of the salsa, there was just one problem, I could not find a piece of chorizo in the entire dish. Either it was left out or in such a small amount as to not lend a bit of its flavor to the dish. Breakfast is not difficult to get right, so mistakes made here count as double. Leaving out the key ingredient means I might as well have just had a bowl of grits with. My wife said she wasn't that impressed either. She complained that the potatoes were cooked on a dirty pan or griddle top so that there were burned bits of old grease on them, spoiling the flavor. She also finds it unpleasant when her poached eggs are still sopping with water. Use a towel guys. That's just unnecessary. I'm sure this place does some things right, but none of it was served to my wife or me yesterday morning. I can't say I would recommend this place. I'm not sure if I'd give it another chance. I know there's another brunch place on the other side of the block. Maybe that will be a little better. Not every trendy place deserves its reputation. I appreciate the effort, but the execution needs some real work.

Food was very good. The order and seating arrangements were actually a good method. Service was very good. They did ask us to move to a different table so that they can accommodate a bigger party. Not a big deal, and they actually hooked us up with some complimentary coffee and baked goods. I highly recommend this place. It does get busy but honestly the wait wasn't too bad.

Review would be 5 stars, instead of 4, however I am not too fond of excessive pricing, although I do understand there is significant overhead due to increased space and location, but nonetheless, some things (i.e. $3+ for a single macaroon or cookie) don't appear to be justifiable. Overall however, in spite of the high prices, I do enjoy my time at Commonwealth. The food and coffee are excellent. I will eventually get around to trying new things there, but for now the breakfast burrito (with chorizo) is my go-to meal, every time. Thanks for the great times CW...

My most favorite place for breakfast or early brunch in Birmingham! Very kid friendly! Great coffee, great food variety, great taste in a relaxed but stylish atmosphere!

The best coffee. Yummy food and the staff is always friendly.

As a regular customer, I hate to say that I have been disappointed the last few times Ive been to Commonwealth. Earlier in the summer there was a sign on the door stating that parties larger than 4 were not welcome to sit in the dining room- as a family of 6 this was offensive. I have one child who is gluten free and another who is allergic to eggs and dairy and there have always been good choices for them however the last few times there have been no breakfast pastries that were gluten free- just cookies. Then we were told we could not get a salad before 11 which seems to be a new policy. My GF kid had scrambled eggs which were cold. They did quickly replace the eggs with new ones but overall it was not the experience we had come to expect. Luckily there are many other restaurants that now cater to vegan and gf diets and that welcome parties of 6.

Finally tried it out. The food was 5/5. quinoa Bowl with egg was great. Unfortunately, Saturday at 130 is very busy, I get that. But took 30 minutes for my coffee, and 45 for food to go. The staff seemed frazzled, and served two people coffee before myself an two others when they ordered after us. Work on organization and it would have been a 5.

The food is very good but each time I go there I'm presented with a customer service fail. Today, as I was ordering I asked my daughter to sit at the table. The hostess asked her to get up until I was done ordering. Truly, $30 for breakfast and she can't sit while I pay? Last time, my order was wrong and delivered ten minutes after my husband's after waiting 45 minutes before that. Needs a better management team overall.

Great breakfast I just wished they had a coffe refill option. Couldn't see paying $8.00 for two cups of coffee

Love everything about this place! Great food, great coffee, great atmosphere...

My wife and I are regulars and are grateful for our weekend breakfast spot. Lauren and Andrew are as nice when it's slammed as they are when it is not. The almond milk lattes and the variety of coffee is as versatile as the menu. The food is always fresh and delicious. Look forward to the expansion.

Delicious healthy food!! Over priced though. I'll be back even tho. 🤣

Loved everything about this place - my first time there but definitely won't be my last!

Loved everything we had. Cortada yummy. In face Yummy everything. Nice, nice, nice people.

The service was fast. People sitting next to us were very friendly . The food was really good .

Always great. Love the fried egg sandwiches. Coffee is robust and delicious. Help is always kind and friendly.

Good food and great ambiance!

It was my first time dining there. Absolutely delightful. The food was fantastic and the couch seating in the back was perfect afterwards.