Review: Communal is a restaurant based on a concept: eating good food at one long table (i.e., communally). Of course, you can choose to be antisocial and eat at a normal table, but why not go with the flow and eat with those you don't know.
Recently, some business friends and I found ourselves at Communal during the lunch hour. I was initially taken aback by the limited number of selections (they have only six entrees). Well, I was taken aback until I bit into the blue bacon burger, that is. I then understood the selection was limited because Communal wishes to focus on making a few dishes well, rather than a lot of dishes okay. My burger was nicely executed. The bun was sturdy enough to hold the meat without becoming soggy. The burger was simply dressed with a blue cheese sauce and some quality greens. And then there was the meat. I'm not sure where Communal sources it's beef, but they did a jolly good job. It was well cooked (a juicy medium rare) and very, very tasty. It had a distinctive non-mass-produced quality that set the burger apart from 95% of those you get at restaurants. My only knock on the burger was the blue cheese sauce didn't have a pronounced blue cheese flavor, which I rather quite enjoy. All in all, very good.
Since they were out of beets, I ordered the fries. Good. Well seasoned. Nothing magical though. I can only imagine the beets, if sourced as carefully as the beef, would have been wonderful.
And the water. They make a big deal about employing a machine that balances the water's pH. Apparently, it's all the rage in Japan. Meh, it was okay. A selection of quality mineral waters would have elevated the dining experience far more. (Of course, I say this as one who has lived in Europe where mineral water is king. Honestly, this is probably just a idiosyncratic preference more than anything else, so take it with a grain of salt.)
Overall, a very enjoyable meal. I can't wait to try dinner.
Rating: 7.5/10 (5/10 is average). This score may very easily increase when I frequent Communal during the dinner hours.
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