Communal

Communal
102 University Ave.
Provo, UT

It was my birthday a few weeks ago and I wanted to go somewhere good. I had been wanting to go to communal for about three years, no joke. The one-time I did attempt to go we didn't make reservations and there was no chance we were going to be seated without one. So finally, three years later, I returned excited to try it out because I had only heard good things.

We had a large group, nine of us, and it is family-style so we ordered about 12 different dishes to share. I like this because you get to try so many different dishes in one visit. The portions end up being small because we split them between nine people and you end up getting a sample. By the end, the women were full but all of the men joked about stopping at in-and-out burger on the way home. We reassured them quality over quantity and they couldn't argue about that.

What We Got...

Caramelized Fennel and Mushroom Tart-A great appetizer to share, because it was big enough to split between the group.  I never have cooked with fennel, but it tasted so good on the tart.

Shrimp Cocktail- your average, nothing special shrimp cocktail.

Roasted Winter Squash Salad- This was the groups favorite salad of the night. The little bits of squash were so good in the salad.

Fried Clifford Farm Egg- It was good but we liked the squash salad better.

Pan Seared Salmon- Good but nothing special.

Roasted Mary's Farm Chicken- I loved the maple sauce that the chicken was served with.  It was moist and the maple compliment the dish well.

Asian Pork (special that night)-This was the tables favorite protein choice. It was delicious!

Roasted Root Vegetables-Perfect blend of vegetables. I think the secret ingredient was butter. They were drenched in butter, I think that's why they tasted so good.

Macaroni and Cheese-Good Mac and Cheese. We all wish this had been a bigger portion because we literally only got one small bite.

Anson Mill's Fried Polenta

Yukon Gold Potato Puree-Fancy mashed potatoes with cheese curd. Mmmm, they were good.

Service...
The service was good. Our waitress explained the menu to us and she recommended that we get the mashed potatoes with cheese curds and I'm glad she did because they were delicious.

Overall...
Green light restaurant. Everything we got tasted amazing. The top favorites and what I would recommend getting are the roasted winter squash salad, Asian pork, roasted Mary's farm chicken, and yukon gold potatoes.  Don't waste your time with the average dishes, ask for their most popular dishes, and enjoy them.  The menu is always changing and I like that they try to use fresh, local ingredients in the dishes. Because it is a little pricier it wouldn't be a place that I would be able to go to all the time. But when I can find a good excuse, special occasion, or whatever reason, I'll take it so that I can go back.

Scale Rating Descriptions

Green Light: I'll be coming through all the time, call me a regular, recommend to everyone and all, I'll crave this place when I'm pregnant, loved it!

Yellow Light: I'll be slow to go through,  I'd go back if someone suggested it,  nothing special, not something I'm going to crave, it was ok.

Red Light: STOP! Don't go, tried it once and that's enough, warn people not to go, thinking about it brings back bad memories, didn't like it.