Last night we went out to Commonwealth Lounge and Grill in Fullerton in celebration of Orange County Restaurant Week. Tonight it was a group of four and none of us in the party had visited this restaurant, although we all have visited other restaurants in the Downtown Fullerton.
We really liked the ambiance and atmosphere inside, with nice plush leather seats and a color changing bar/lounge area, complete with a secret VIP room hidden behind a bookshelf. Commonwealth Lounge and Grill doesn’t just serve food they also offer live music and special events typically Wednesday through Sunday (typically starting 8:30 PM or later check the calendar for details.)
In participation of Orange County Restaurant Week, Commonwealth Lounge was offering a $20 Prix-Fixe dinner dining deal that I feel was one of the best dinner deals of the week. Although the items offered were not those off the daily menu, they hit a home run by offering a taste of what to expect from their daily menu as well as showing creativity by creating new menu items. Diners had the option to pick one of each.
Starters
Crab meat with chives, red peppers, bread crumbs and spices pan seared and topped with our own horseradish tartar sauce and lemon. Mrs. Dangarion and K ordered this. They both agreed it was good. The Mrs. doesn’t typically order crab, but she liked how light and flavorful this was. I agreed with her and thought it had the right amount of crunch along with moistness inside.
Fresh greens tossed with fried banana, chopped pineapple, avocado, pepitas and toasted coconut with a cilantro lime dressing. This was P’s starter, minus the pineapple. She thought the salad was pretty average but still enjoyed it. I had a taste of the dressing and thought it fit well with the items it topped.
Tender Angus sirloin strips marinated with a sweet and spicy teriyaki sauce served with pineapple cherry dipping sauce. This was what I ordered. I felt the sirloin strips held up well with just the teriyaki marinade alone and didn’t prefer using the dipping sauce. I felt the sauce was overpoweringly sweet especially with the teriyaki sauce already used.
Entrees
Center cut swordfish steak grilled and topped with a herb mushroom cream sauce served with spinach and smoked Gouda risotto. I didn’t have a taste of this but K liked it and though it was more than worth the price of the meal, considering the typical price of fish.
Tender pieces of chicken skewered with zucchini, onions and bell pepper grilled and topped with a pancetta lemon butter sauce served with butter rice. This was the Mrs. entrée. She liked the chicken and said it was cooked perfect. She didn’t really care much for the butter rice. I tasted the rice and it seemed very plain, probably best ate in a bite with the meat.
Angus sirloin beef tips marinated with our signature barbecue sauce grilled and served with gorgonzola mashed potatoes and honey glazed carrots. This is what both P and I ordered for our entrée. We both thought the meat was cooked perfect, it had the right amount of pink inside and wasn’t tough. The honey glazed carrots were delectable while the gorgonzola mashed potatoes were just the right compliment to the terrific barbecue sauce used on the beef tips.
Dessert
Vanilla bean ice cream sandwiched between banana halves, topped with chocolate sauce whipped cream and a cherry. This was K’s dessert, nothing out of the ordinary about it, just a solid average split.
Pastry on top of chocolate and cherry sauce, topped with glazed cherries and whipped cream. The rest of us ordered this. Although none of us thought was anything great we all agreed that it was exactly what the name explained. The Mrs. and P both thought the cherries weren’t sweet enough, while I thought the cherries were good the way they were because they weren’t too sweet or too sour.
So as you can tell we pretty much tried everything on the special menu. We all agreed that it was a great deal for the OCRW Prix Fixe price of only $20 per person. Along with our meals we had some drinks, both P and Mrs. DanGarion had pomegranate martinis ($10) that they both enjoyed. I had a Bootlegger’s Hefeweizen ($6) that was great.
Service was a bit slow, especially since it wasn’t too busy, but our waitress was attentive to our needs and took care of us. We had a slight issue when she knocked over my water, but she quickly went to get more napkins and made sure things were taken care of. Overall it was a very good meal and an overall very good experience at Commonwealth Lounge and Grill. I can see us going here again.
Commonwealth Lounge also has a number of daily specials.
Visit on 03/04/10 @6:45 PM for dinner.
[xrr rating=4/5]
Commonwealth Lounge
112 East Commonwealth Ave.
Fullerton, CA 92832
714-525-8888
