common bond

it's a very casual place with high ceilings and lots of light. you get in line to order and that long pastry display totally wins you over making it practically impossible not to order one of them. they have enormous chocolate, almond and fruit croissants, macaroons, éclairs, mini fruit tarts, as well as packaged products such as pastries, jams and spreads. you can also purchase bread to take home; they have baguettes, ciabattas, bialys (a polish bread similar to a bagel but with a filling) and the traditional pain de campagne or sourdough.

what i never expected to find on the menu, was a chicken "torta". i had to order it although i was totally skeptic, and was really doubting if they were going to bring me a "real torta".

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do not ever go for sunday brunch. i had terrible service at the crowded coffee bar first by being ignored, then hipster snotty barista got my simple coffee order wrong then he forgot my order entirely, so i gave up and walked out. two patrons seemed to be oblivious to the crowd and rudely took over a barstool just for their purses.

common bond café is one of the best eateries i have been to in houston. the food is fresh and delicious. i have never really had the menu items here. i usually find myself craving for some good croissant or a really nice dessert, i come to common bond. the chefs put in a lot of effort to produce consistent looking and tasting desserts. their selection varies from time to time. the seasonal specials like pumpkin cheesecake are quite amazing as well. but my personal favorite is the chocolate chip cookie. it is warm, butter, chocolaty and heavenly. the baristas here also make some really good cappuccinos, flat whites and cortados and ristrettos. if you love this kind of food, be sure to try this place. the only down side is, they close too early!

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best bakery and cafe. was in houston this past weekend and had made a stop at this cafe/bakery and must say, they have the best macarons, croissants and not to speak of the most amazing chic. chip cookies ever! and much more ... their coffee was fresh and hot with a taste of texas !!! this is a must try cafe'. but get there early cause they close at 3pm

weekend review. went saturday morning to pick up some items of interest (having never been there before) and was not prepared for the crowd. however, the wait to get into the bakery was not that long and the service was fast and efficient. we bought some croissants, bread, scones and another pastry that i can't remember the name - it was flaky, sweet and delicious. all in all, the bakery lives up to the hype that allison cook has been heaping on it since it's initial opening. the croissants were very nice (the best i've had since the last time in europe) and the bread was a delight, chewy and with substance. overall, a great experience.

terrible service. too crowded and no tables. we held our drinks awkwardly in the aisles between tables for 10 minutes after ordering waiting for an open table. they were out of 3 dishes by 1pm on sunday. no way to know until you got to counter to order. my wife and i shared shrimp toad thing and chocolate french toast. tasty but something didn't sit right. both a bit sick after.

don't go after 10:00 am. most desserts are gone by lunch time. the lunch menu is very limited and quite expensive. the place is too crowded during lunch - we waited 25 minutes for our 2 sandwiches. the bread on the egg salad sandwich was massive (impossible to eat as a sandwich), and the egg white was runny (i.e. uncooked). the carrot curry soup was too spicy to eat, even though the texture was quite silky and smooth.

croissant are good - panettone a big disappointment. i've been here several times, and the croissants are indeed glorious. that being said, and as others have stated, the logistics of ordering are cumbersome and a hassle. i thought over time they would re-work the scheme for either eating-in or purchasing items to take out, but that was a pipe dream.

other than the croissants and breads, which are reasonably priced for their quality, i find all other items to be utterly over-priced for what you get.

a case in point is their christmas panettone. i waited months to purchase one after the lengthy articles i read on how chef sharvartzapel "learned from the masters" on how to bake this tricky confection. i then sent this $40 panettone (yes...$40 dollars) to my 88 year-old italian mother... who was weaned on panettone. she told me it was bland, fairly odorless, tasted almost sugarless, and had the density of a brick. panettone should be light and airy, with a wonderful, vanilla-yeasty bouquet. this thing was an atrocity.
sorry chef....stick to croissants, especially if you're going to charge a premium price for your seasonable 'experiments'.

common bond — i heard my sister talked about it over and over, and we intended to visit on monday but they were not opened. tuesday it was! an awesome pastry place with simple, modern and elegant décor; common bond served pastries and hot breakfasts, desserts and lunch from their store, along with excellent coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice. the minute we walked into the store, the pleasant buttery sweet pastry smell surrounded us immediately. all the items were neatly lined up...

not so good. service slow. difficult to find seating. bread dry on sandwiches. the desserts very over priced. great location, too bad the food is disappointing.

best kouign amann. my favorite pastry is the kouign amann here at common bond. warning the caramelized sugar on the pastry will stick to your teeth. :)

one of the best 'triple flat whites' i've ever had.the wait time is interesting but their brunch rendition if the common torts was surprising, fresh and with bold flavors. loved it. i'll be back... and even deal with the uptight crowd... ironic, because it's about 'the common bond'. the staff is knowledgeable, has great pride in their product and it's crafting. best baristas on sunday!

  houston has been in need of a beautiful bakery for quite some time now, at least in my opinion. so when common bond finally opened a few weeks ago, we didn’t wait for an invite! on this corner in houston there used to be an old historic house which housed an antique store. when the store burnt down over a year ago we wondered what would take its place and not surprisingly a very modern looking building popped up.

not impressed. i'm gluten and dairy free and i don't eat pork so it's harder to do breakfast out. i'll give them that. i feel like the place is way overpriced and not much selection, i have been twice trying to give a second chance but same as first time. a shot glass of fresh squeezed oj, not enough for me. food is ok. at least what i could actually eat. my family thought the same, they have no restrictions. be careful to check weekday is actually in your food, like the chicken sausage, made in house, actually had pork in it. i think it's just a trendy place in the right location. but this is just my merger opinion. my son lives in france and has issues with them claiming to be a french bakery.

the chefs and staff at common bond all have extensive training from the top restaurants and culinary schools from around the country as well as experience in europe. from top to bottom there was something so refined about every menu item. i loved the...