The Commoner

The Commoner is the American tavern inside the Kimpton Hotel Monaco at 620 William Penn Place Downtown, and the hotel's own site still lists it as the operating restaurant, which is worth confirming because hotel restaurants change name and management more often than freestanding ones. Its dining room does not behave like a hotel restaurant: focaccia with herb butter at $9, crispy potato with taleggio fondue at $17, spicy crab with chili crunch and cheese bread at $19, casareccia with aged parmesan cream and arugula pesto at $30, a tandoori-marinated half chicken at $35, a vegan soy daikon steak at $27, and an Allen Brothers prime steak at $68. The bar runs later than the kitchen — to 11pm most nights and midnight on Friday and Saturday — and there is a seasonal biergarten. One thing to avoid confusing: a small separate to-go concept called The Commoner Corner has closed; the restaurant itself has not.

What sets the zero-proof programme apart here is who runs it. It is led by Kyle Turner, and Table Magazine's line is the one that matters — with a sober bartender at the helm, you can trust that this non-alcoholic menu is truly outstanding, a rotating line-up of clever non-alcoholic cocktails designed with real thought. A bartender who does not drink is rare and it shows in the results, because the person building the drink is also the person who has to live on it. The list is built on the good bottles — Seedlip, Pathfinder, Lyre's and Trejo's — and drinks including a Pandan Express, The Wandering Path, a Machete and an N/Aperol Spritz have appeared on it. Be aware of one practical limitation before you plan around a specific drink: The Commoner publishes its food menus online but not its cocktail list, so the current zero-proof line-up cannot be checked in advance and we could not confirm which of those names is pouring today. The programme is real and well regarded; the specific drink is a question for the bar. Reservations are strongly recommended, and parties of eight or more carry an automatic 20% gratuity.