The Acorn Restaurant

I absolutely love The Acorn. From the moment you walk in, the ambiance is warm and inviting, perfect for a cozy dinner or a special night out. The menu is creative and beautifully presented, offering a wide range of seasonal, locally-sourced vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options. Every dish feels like a work of art, bursting with flavor and texture. The service is top-notch, with knowledgeable staff who are genuinely passionate about the food and happy to accommodate dietary preferences. Whether you're vegan, vegetarian, or just curious about plant-based cuisine, The Acorn will exceed your expectations with its innovative approach to wholesome, delicious food. The cocktails are also outstanding, with unique, well-crafted drinks that pair perfectly with the dishes. Overall, The Acorn offers an unforgettable dining experience that will leave you eager to return.

Creative dishes, friendly staff, good selection, and a tasting menu! I’ve had the chance to eat at Acorn twice now, exclusively for the Brunch menu. I have yet to try dinner, and I defenetly will be trying it someday. It’s a great spot for a date for two or more, having gone both with my partner and a large group of friends. Each time we go we get the tasting menu, and are never disappointed with the food presented. The staff at The Acorn are incredibly friendly. They are very good at explaining dishes, being on time with food to the table. Always on top of refilling waters which is a huge plus for me. The waiters have also engaged in conversation with me a few times about movies that were in, which was also very cool. The food is delicious. I so far haven’t had a single bad bite while there, however my only problem is that the tasting menu does change from time to time, the first time we went there was a tempura broccoli and the waffles on the tasting menu, the second time there wasn’t either of those items on the tasting menu. I LOVE that they have many vegan and Gluten free items to choose from. It makes our lives so much easier. The Acorn is a great place to eat at and I highly recommend it. The seasonal changes to the menu always make for an exciting experience when you walk into the door!

A friend and I visited during Dine Out 2024 to experience the tasting menu. My friend got stuck in transit and was almost 30 minutes late but they did seat me and take my drink order while I waited. They had to start bringing the food out before she arrived because of the way their kitchen operates. A few different servers came by our table throughout the night and everyone was very warm and professional. The timing of each course (after my friend arrived) was right on. Their dine out menu is $65/pp and mostly vegan, with just a few dairy dishes. A very similar all-vegan menu is available at no cost, as is a gluten-free menu . A few dishes had the option to add cheese for a small fee. Our vegan meal was served over 4 courses and included: Sourdough: Hearty toasted sourdough with a side vinaigrette. The vinaigrette was tasteless to me but the bread was amazing on its own. Squash: Shredded squash salad with hazelnuts, cilantro, and dried fruit, with hoisin sauce on the side to mix in. I loved the savoury-sweet combination with a hint of spice and pops of flavour from the swirls of hoisin. My favourite cold dish of the night. Sunchoke: Another nice sweet and savoury dish with crisp sunchoke in a slightly charred dressing, topped with berries. Shiitake: Tender shiitake mushrooms over a rich squash puree. I loved the flavour of the sauce with the subtle seaweed undertone from the kelp. Beet: Beet carpaccio with sauerkraut and fermented horseradish. I love fermented foods so I was a fan of this. Chicory: Braised endive dressed with elderflower, apple, and hazelnut. I liked the cooked endive but the raw elements of this dish just tasted "raw" and plain. This was my least favourite. Tomato: Cavatelli coloured black using leek ash in fermented tomato sauce. The black colour was inspired by squid ink pasta. The pasta was perfectly al dente. Pasta in tomato sauce is by no means an original idea but this was just a little different in subtle ways, and it was definitely my favourite dish of the night. Peach: For dessert, sorbet with spruce tip shortbread crumble. The piney and salty shortbread complimented the peach very well. Not as experimental as the savoury dishes, but still a delicious ending. You can add a wine pairing for each course for $30, We opted out of this because I didn't want to drink (and just don't like wine enough to add $30 to an already expensive meal). I got the nonalcoholic Lavanda Fizz mocktail instead, which was okay but a little weak on the lavender. lAt this price, I expected everything to be sublime, but I thought a few things were a little unpolished (as noted above, and my friend and I both would have liked one more hot dish in the mix). There were a few dishes that did wow me though, and I really enjoyed the experimental concept with the chance to try some uncommon foods. I don't regret shelling out the money once, but I'm undecided if I'd want to return, and if I did, I'd definitely want to order a la carte rather than do the regular $79 tasting menu, or maybe try brunch instead of dinner.