Crown & Common - Green Bay, WI

Saturday afternoon. My husband just got back from his field day for his hunting certification. We were both hungry, and we couldn’t decide where to go. So, we made a list of restaurants and bars in town that we hadn’t visited yet and rolled a die. The number seven was face up, and number seven on our List was Crown and Common-- a relatively new bar in the area that I only noticed on my radar shortly after lockdown.

Crown and Common sits in the district of Main Street where a lot of new businesses have started to pop up in recent years-- particularly restaurants and bars. They built up an interesting patio area for more space for business to follow post-lockdown restaurant business practices, which is perhaps one of the best things about the bar. The covered patio has long and wide tables with a little firepit in the middle to keep folks warm in the winter if they go outside, and the garage door type windows raise to bring some air in in the warmer months.

It was the type of day for the garage doors to be open, and the Brewers playoff game was on the TV, making it the perfect afternoon to drop into a bar for some drinks and snacks. The prices at Crown and Common are incredible for the quality of mixed drinks and the variety of beer is respectably low. Every mixed drink is served in a tall glass the size of a draft cup of beer for almost always only six dollars.

The food is a different story. While also reasonably priced, I’ll be honest. The quality of the food isn’t exactly something to write home about. Crown and Common is a bar first with food to keep you in your seat a little while longer. They do very interesting specials every day of the week that my husband and I didn’t participate during our visit which may prove more enticing than the regular menu to future patrons. I know their taco Tuesday specials each week are what kept me following their facebook page to watch their progress.

We ordered wings, garlic knots, and a pepperoni pizza from the regular menu. We’re spoiled for experience with some of the best garlic knots in the nation after living in Burlington, Iowa and eating at La Tavola-- regularly voted the best Italian restaurant in the whole state. In Iowa, those garlic knots are a pale brown with a salty, cheesy, garlicky drizzle of butter over the top. Here, the garlic knots are baked dark with a drizzle of garlic and parsley butter. It could have used a little more salt, but the marinara helped them out significantly in my opinion.

My husband reported not being particularly impressed with his wings, but they do have Boom Boom sauce as an option for dipping or glazing boneless or bone in wings in. Boom Boom sauce has been a favorite of his for a long time, and that appeared to be the draw for him. We took our little to go container home, and I expect it to see some employment for chicken wings at home during Sunday football.

The pepperoni pizza wound up an item of contention. It came out of the kitchen with pepperoni only on one half. The bartender was very courteous about the apparent mistake, sending back an order for a corrected pizza for my husband and I to take home. This was an awesome example of the service they try to provide, but from our seat, we noticed a second pizza for other patrons come in as a half only. It was an ordering system issue, if I’m a guessing woman, that I think they resolved before we left. There was apparent contention among the staff when these two pizzas came out only half toppings-- and it was a little uncomfortable to watch.

I still ate the original pizza that arrived, and I still enjoyed it. There’s rarely anything wrong with a New York Style slice with a thin layer of cheese on top of an even thinner slather of marinara and some crispy pepperonis on the top of it all.  It was just a pepperoni pizza, though, and again nothing to write home about. This is why I think that their specials are likely the true magic of the bar, and something I’ll keep an eye on to make a second visit in the future to see if it really is the best part of Crown and Common.

While some of my comments may be perceived as negative, let me be clear. I will absolutely go back. I was not disappointed with the location. There are, however, so many other restaurants and bars in town that have managed some very special things that made Crown and Common feel like a rather common experience. There’s nothing wrong with that at all. Some days, you just want a pizza and a cheap drink with people you love-- and this is a good place for that.

I encourage you to follow their facebook page to watch for their specials each week. Their pizza special rotates every day, and Taco Tuesday always has something crazy on the board. If you’re like my husband and I and just can’t decide, choose Crown and Common to decide for yourselves. 

Thank you to the staff for a delicious meal and a nice experience at the bar!