Food review: Common’s new menu with even more brunch & veggie options

There’s more to enjoy at Northern Quarter bar and eatery, Common, following the launch of their new Summer menu – and big up to the management team for keeping the menu fresh, but not being dictated to by food trends. So: there’s still a Mexican vibe going on as well as all your usual avocado and egg things. However, the biggest shift is towards more vegan and brunch options. Fans will be pleased that house classics such as popcorn cockles, panko-crusted Korean chicken, kimchi-spiked burgers and, of course, the famous secret-recipe house chilli are all present and correct. New dishes, meanwhile, include slow cooked beef short ribs (£6) in a drinkably delicious soy and Mirin marinade. Padron peppers are charred and, occasionally, face melting, as they should be, and there’s a thrilling Korean fried tofu small plate too (£5.50). The sandwich selection has been jazzed up with a  BLAT! sarnie (“bacon lettuce, avocado and tomato ensnared in a sourdough beartrap” – it’s worth visiting Common for the menu descriptions alone), and ‘Chor-Ee-Tho’ (as above, only with chorizo) Both cost £6.50 with fries or salad. The pièce de lunchtime résistance however, is chicken shawarma (£8 with salad or fries, pictured). Toasty spices meets salad and sub-lime aioli (no really, this is lime aioli)  on a fully grown flatbread. Brunch just got bigger too. Choose from Small Fry or Stephen Fry for your full English (£8/11) – or go vegan with fried tofu and plant-based ‘black pudding’ (£8). We also liked the sound of the mushrooms on toast with soy, sesame and fried eggs (£7.5) and the Mexican chorizo hash with potatoes (£8). Everything is better with a fried egg on top including pocket-sized corn tacos with homemade re-fried beans and jalapeño salsa (excellent value at £5). Brunch is available 10am-3pm daily, while the main menu runs midday – 9.30pm. Cakes are a changing selection courtesy of in-house bakery, Blawd Co and drinks include the finest coffees and craft beers in the region. Keep up the good work guys.

Common, 39 Edge Street, Manchester M4 1HW. Tel: 0161 832 9245 www.aplacecalledcommon.co.uk