Commonwealth Lounge & Grill

This place is closed!!!

Last week this place was okay but this time terrible!!! Male bartender with blonde overgelled hair needs to be fired immediately! Got here Friday at 9pm and there were only 4 other people here. Nonetheless I was ignored for 50 minutes (!!!) While the employees ate and drank at one end of the bar, loudly carrying on a conversation whixh included racist and antigay opinions as well as rape jokes and worse. As the night continued, I kept being ignored each time I wanted a refill (even tho my card was holding my tab open, a clear tip that I will be ordering a lot $$$). People around me were ignored too. Even hot girls ordering top shelf liquor (of whom I’d like to consider nyself in the same category).
Excuse my spelling, I’m writing this on my phone at the bar. Peace and love.

I don’t usually write reviews, but this lounge last night had definitely gave me the WORST treatment i’ve ever received from any business.
At 2:10am, I had arrived with a buddy to pick up a friend of ours after we had received a call from the chef of the location saying that our friend needed help because he was unconscious.
Upon entering, my buddy and I approached the bar counter in a civilized manner awaiting a greeting from the staff, but was instead greeted by a rude individual, «who the FxxK are you?.»
I ignored the comment, and proceeded by informing him we are here to pick up a friend who needed help and was called by someone at this location. He then said, «I don’t know what you are talking about, I can’t have you in here, we’re closed.» VERY UNHELPFUL AND RUDE.
We then proceeded to the exit, but turned around to ask if I could use the restroom, He then escorted me to the exit, and pointed to the wall on Newport Blvd separating the property on which Commonwealth resides on and its neighboring property and then told me, «that wall, right there, on the other side». WOW, HOW UNPROFESSIONAL could these two individuals be? I felt EXTREMELY DISRESPECTED AND HUMILIATED, even words cannot describe how these two individuals made me feel.
The management should have more oversight of their employees performance and behavior. NO ONE should be treated this way.
Never, have I felt this disrespected and humiliated before in a business. I would give negative stars if I could. Never allowing anyone I know to come to this place, EVER!

i had high hopes for this location. since its located in the heart of newport and it seemed promising from the outside. but there is that age old saying «dont judge a book by its cover.»
welly. we walk in and there is a area downstairs and upstairs. we went right upstairs, we were meeting our party up there. and it was kinda deserted, but it was still early. (if 10pm is early) LOL. and it began to pick up a bit. but as it did the room got smaller and smaller. the outisde patio was lovely since it allowed for some quiet time. and its the only seating area available, the inside seating is bottle service. in my opinion. this location is not built for bottle service seating. its very awkward. since this location is a restaurant in the day and evening. so it doesnt allow for easy manuvering in and out of the booth.(once again. just my opinion)
overall its a nice place to come as a last resort. if aall else truly fails. i still had a lovely time. i made it work. but i think management should certainly think about renovating to open up some space.
it might be worth waiting in that massive line for woodys next door. then coming here as your premium destination.

Commonwealth reminds me of hipster bars you find in Costa Mesa, much like a Memphis and Commissary. It’s dark, «classy» and mostly, steered clear of your normal newps-​goers. Although you do see some stumbling in every now and then. It definitely has a slightly older crowd and for that reason, this place is not as, what the youngins say, is «poppin». But if you feel like not being shoved around in a overly crowded bar, Commonwealth is for you! I’ve never eaten here, only been here for their nightlife, and it gets a solid 3 star in my books. Good views of the wharf from their upstair deck. The drinks here are slightly more expensive than other bars by Newps standards but its a much better ambaince. They sometimes have a live band but mostly it’s a DJ. But you can still get your boogey on.

This place was there on a Friday night was enjoying myself it was not to crowded which I really liked just because I don’t like crowded anyways the service was horrible manager Jacob he also goes by Jake gave us good service until the waitress over charged me and charged me for some drinks I had not ordered I complained to him and he got an attitude with me they did not fix my bills now I filed a claim this place is so not worth it the service is a BIG FAT 0 IF I COULD I WOULD GIVE THEM NO STARS
HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!

3.5 This review is for their happy hour. I was in town and hanging out with A when we decided we’d do a happy hour since we don’t get to see each other that often.
The view is beautiful, but there is something lacking in the daytime. Being at a bar feels weird when there’s still light out.
The food was okay. I think the drinks were a little light, but it still a chill place to just hang out and talk.

It really depends on the night. I went on a Saturday and they opened both floors. It was nice for a small bar. It can get very crowded though and really no room to dance. But not a bad place to go if you have a few people with you.

I really want to give this place more than 3 stars. Trust me, I really do.
Positives
— — — — -
1. No wait compared to other bars (like Woody’s next door).
2. The inside is clean and classy.
3. Nice outdoor patio with cushioned seats and a view of the water.
Negatives
— — — — –
1. EXPENSIVE drinks. I’m talking like $ 3 more per typical drink. It adds up.
2. It’s so damn small! This doesn’t bode well for a 6′‘4’ fellow such as myself. I’m always getting bumped into.
3. The DJ. Maybe it’s just me, but every time that I’ve been here, I’ve had absolutely no clue what the DJ was trying to play.
At the end of the day, I’ll still choose Commonwealth over waiting in line for 30 minutes at Woody’s.

This place was alright. I like how it didn’t get too crowded and there is no cover. I didn’t like how the beers were $ 6. Maybe I didn’t like that price because next door the beers were $ 5. $ 1 difference is important.
Anyway, I don’t think I’d ever come here again. Next door (Woody’s Wharf) seemed more fun but I don’t think I’d come to either of them again. Maybe the crowd of older men is just not for me. Lots of dudes, but what do you expect.
Maybe Ill come back someday for the food, but not the nightlife.

I had never written a review on Unilocal,but the service at Commonwealth was so horrendous last night that I absolutely have to. So, here’s to you, overweight brunette bartender. You deserved every penny of the $ 0.00 tip I left you. Here’s why:
(Keep in mind it was completely dead on a Sunday night.)
When my friend asks you what the Happy Hour Specials are, don’t wordlessly turn your back on him like he doesn’t exist.
When said friend asks you if there are happy hour food specials, don’t say «Everything is about half off. Sorta. Except for the calamari. And we have no artichokes or tuna.»
I paid for our first round of drinks with my card. Not three minutes later we order food. She asks me if I am going to give her a card for the food. I look perplexed and say, «i just gave you my card three minutes ago.» At that point she actually had the balls to ask me, «Are you giving me attitude?» I was speechless. We had a nice little exchange of words after that.
Needless to say, bitchy bartenders and crappy service can really drag a place down. Shame, too, because the location is amazing.
Bottomline: shitty service and I will never go back.

Small place with a nice overhead view of the water.
Decent happy hour prices, $ 4+.
I like the black chandelier hanging over the staircase.
That’s it.

I’m going to jump right to the point. The service here was ridiculously awful. Maybe it’s because two young ladies came a little dolled up to listen to jazz music on a Tuesday night and the waitress just has no clue on how to interact with other females? No idea really. Let’s just say that it took 20 minutes to get a water, 20 more minutes to order a drink, 20 more minutes to order food and 20 more minutes to get the food. OH then 20 plus more minutes to complain about how gross the food was. The waitress walked by us plenty of times with out ever making eye contact. But you can bet money she was all over the male patrons.
I enjoyed the music and ambiance… we went to check the place out because my friend was hoping to have her birthday event there. Now she will find another location to celebrate. Not sure if we will ever go back or recommend to others.

Usually we hit this spot after we are done drinking next to Florentine’s. Nice little chill place to go and hang out, dance and sure drink.
The place itself is nice. Walking in, passing the hall, you come across this cozy, little spot with a bar to the right, dance floor with live DJ in the middle, and lounge seats to the left. Defiantly a place to take a date because it gives you that bar lounge feel, but also a little intimate feel at the same time he he.
The drinks are fair, I suppose. Like I mentioned before, normally I would do my drinking somewhere else in Fullerton and come here to get my dance on. An AMF can cost you about, if I remember correctly cause I’m usually drunk by this time ha ha, $ 8 I believe. Not bad, but not the cheapest around. One a good note though, they don’t cheat you out on the Alcohol.
Last but not least, the music. Normally they would play hip hop here. Good music to get close to the date or random person you’re trying to spit game at. Sometimes they will throw in a little Top 40, but normally its hip hop. The people are chill there, it is DTF, and the bartenders there are nice.

Pros
–Happy hour!!! Happy house on weekend is welcome ANYTIME!
–Valet parking in the busy busy balboa? We will take it!!! $ 5 parking is sooooo worth it on a weekend after circling around the area over & over & getting stuck after moving only slightly… They do charge $ 20 if you want to go to the beach (or was it just that valet boy?)
–The view. Sit by the windows & you won’t regret it… We especially loved seeing pretty much all the water activities going on a beautiful weekend and was amused by the «FLYING MAN” —
Cons
–Drinks included in the happy hour was quite disappointing. I guess they had decent beer, but only 1 red/​1 white wines and cosmopolitan being the only cocktail? Hmm…
–FOOD — ummmmmmmmm not only did they look so NOT appetizing at all, they didn’t taste good! We tried the calamari, which tasted more like chicken nugget & crème brûlée which was more of a coffee pudding with bad texture. So disappointing…
Overall, I am slightly confused after my happy hour experience…
I cannot say that my review is based on the restaurant wholly, but just for their ‘happy hour’ I definitely had much better experiences elsewhere–

I came here for a friend’s birthday last night and realized that yes, I HAVE been to this place before, back when it was Cantina. The layout is similar, with the flight of stairs on your right as you enter the building and the bar upstairs. It’s in a prime location, for sure, and with the full moon last night it created a beautiful reflection on the boatyard water. The patio is tiny but we were lucky enough to have it to ourselves for the birthday.
The appetizers were very good, and during Happy Hour you can get some of them for half off. We had the Tender Lovin’ and the Pigs in a Blanket, which were great. We also ordered the Baked Brie (which was wonderful!) and the herb & cheese flatbread (we felt like this could have used a little more flavor, but it’s just cheese bread). Paired with a $ 9 Riesling, I was set!
I didn’t get to stay long enough for the music, which I hear is one of the great things about this place. But it’s a really cool spot that I will definitely come back to!

I suppose after 9 pm on sunday of MDW isn’t a great time to come to Commonwealth lounge.
The outside looks really swanky, however the inside is a bit of a let down. Upon entry, you’ll need to traverse up the steps into a dining area/​bar. There’s a central, but small opening for what I suppose could be a dancefloor or where people might congregate with their reasonably priced libations.
I appreciated that the waitress let us know she would put in our order 5 minutes later so we could partake in the happy hour pricing. I would give 1 star for that.
The happy hour menu is rather limited, but I guess no one should be stuffing their face that late anyway, especially not in newport.
Based on the time we showed up, CW ‘s patrons are mostly locals, dressed casually and of the happy sort. No one seemed arrogant or self-​righteous.
We ordered appetizers, none of which were memorable.
Unfortunately, we came on a slow, ok, dead, night. Even the waitresses said that it wouldn’t get any more crowded as the night progressed.
P. S. I wasn’t too enthralled with the music either.

Pros: Awesome 90’s hip hop DJ on Saturdays, cool décor, reasonable drink prices
Cons: None that I can think of
Disclaimer: This review is just for the bar after 9:30 on Saturday. Haven’t tried the food.
Went here for a friend’s birthday and I was super impressed by the resident DJ, DJ JOSH ONE. In Newport Beach, it’s really hard to find a spot that spins 90’s hip hop so finding this spot was pretty cool. The drink prices are pretty standard (around $ 9) so that’s also pretty cool too.
Check this place out if you’re looking to avoid the typical Newport Beach scene.

Attention hipsters: Commonwealth Lounge (Newport Beach edition) has arrived!
CW in downtown Fullerton has been around for a very long time, but their second installation now resides at the old Ten Waterfront restaurant in Newport Beach.
The décor is very masculine with lots of dark mahogany wood, rich black leather, and raw brick everywhere. As far as a view, the water can be seen from almost any seat in the house.
The music is ON POINT for such a cool lounge, and matches up perfectly with the vibe and décor. Only the smoothest late 90’s and early 2000’s non-​mainstream hip hop was heard on my visit, from the likes of such artists as Tribe Called Quest, Del Tha Funky Homosapien, and De La Soul. Super fresh, but a decibel or two too loud.
I came for Restaurant Week and enjoyed a 3 course meal for only $ 20.
Appetizer: The beef satay was a little too chewy, but not bad. It came with a side of coconut peanut sauce which very much reminded me of the sauce used in Mexican chicken mole.
Entrée: Grilled swordfish with smoked cheddar risotto. OMG. So delish. The swordfish was just «fishy» enough, and the risotto was cheesy and gooey and melted in my mouth.
Dessert: The Vermont Apple Pie was sassy, sour, and tasty.
CW is open until 2am SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. Kinda weird actually. It was pretty dead when I was there (about 9pm on a Tuesday). I’d like to come back and chill out on a busier night. I’m also interested in checking out their late night menu (Sun-​Thurs 10pm-​12am, Fri-​Sat 11pm-​1am), which was a decent list of appetizers for only 5 bucks.

Hip Vibe with Great Food!
It was Labor Day weekend and I was cruising down the channel looking for a spot to eat by water. I noticed that people were milling around The new «CW», so why not check it out? Here’s what I noticed:
1) They kicked all of the monthly docked boats out and have complete dock access. Check! I spoke with one of the King pens, and he mentioned that he wants to organize a boat menu designed for boaters.
2) Upon going upstairs the bar is comfortable and layed out nice. They have a custom mix of Brian’s personal favorite’s mix. The décor is a pleather studded diamond pattern on all of the walls. It has a cool look and feel to it. The ramp is a Lil janky, but I hear that they are adjusting that real soon. Let’s hope so… Overall it had a good vibe with jamin tunes!
3) The Food: I ended up stopping in twice over the weekend, and ate there twice. The menu is very different, but good. They are using unique spices, and mixing it up. One night I had a standard chicken dish that was tender with great flavor. The second run there we had apps, and I fell in love with the beef skewers (they called them something swanky) get them! Tender with a butter rice! We also had the A chicken tender that was freaking out of this world! The food is to die for, and the mood was always hip and fun!
From what I understand this is just the beginning, as they will be doing some cool Jazz nights downstairs so this will have a true upstairs downstairs feel to it which I think has always been the problem there at this location.
I wish these guys all the luck in the world. I met most of the guys after just a few trips there this weekend, but I like that they were available, and just wanted you to feel like you were at their house to have a good time! I highly recommend it!