the acorn

located at 24th and main, the acorn is open for dinner only and you will want to make a reservation. although the small restaurant was fully occupied (according to the rules) and seemed a little bit crowded, we felt safe as they are as serious about social distancing as any place that we have been in recent history. the acorn offers a three coarse dinner for $49 per person which as you will see, is very reasonable considering what they put together. we still opted for a sharable starter in addition. this was essentially pumpkin with lobster mushroom 'fish sauce' vinaigrette, hazelnuts and a taste of cayenne. it was our first amazing moment of many. delicious! the menu lists the ingredients for eachdishin exhaustive detail which felt a little annoying and confusing at first but as we got into our meal, we found ourselves referring back to the menu as "oh my god, that was amazing! what was that exactly?" moments came. mharie's first course was called romanesco. it was cauliflower in 5 forms with a goat gouda fonduta (her meal was vegetarian but not vegan) and a lemon leaf vinaigrette. i didn't even realize there were 5 kinds of cauliflower (including the romanesco) nor 5 ways to prepare it. grilled, pureed, pickled etc., the result was that each bite was different and needed to be savoured and appreciated. i started with the shitake. if i understood the menu, 2 types of shitake mushrooms prepared 3 ways (including a house-made x.o. sauce) with leeks, kelp and lemongrass! the surprising combination of textures and flavours made us very happy. the kitchen likes to use pickling which cuts through the richness of other elements to provide a balance. mharie's main course was called corn and featured house-made pasta. the pasta was not surprisingly very good and was supported (or the other way around) by radicchio, garlic, chanterelles, preserved corn, buffalo ricotta and something called crosnes. this is also known as japanese artichoke and the root was pickled for this dish. we did not isolate this ingredient at the time but we're convinced that everything contributes to the whole. by ordering the brassica, i did not initially realize that i was ordering the barbeque plate! buttermilk ranch slaw, burdock molasses-baked navy beans. maple syrup collard greens and sour pickles were the give away (and all a step above the usual and perfectly fine barbeque sides) but the savoy cabbage and quince were the stars here. brined, rubbed and smoked, and served with kumbuccha barbeque sauce (which was more than a little piquant), we would never have expected the cabbage (which in no way mimics brisket or any other barbequed meat) to be such a perfect 'viande'. for dessert, i had peach. peach and a sort of peach tuile over gin and peach sorbet and served with sorghum popcorn. anotherdishwhere each detail was an enjoyable surprise. mharie had one of the day's specials, western larch tip and squash ice cream topped with squash pearls, oat crumble and candied jelly tooth mushrooms. wow! as you probably have been able to tell, the creativity in the kitchen here is on a different plane from our usual forms of sustenance. they have proven once and for all, that a big old slab of meat is not necessary. small, romantic and dimly lit (made photography challenging and i came close to walking into plexiglass) this is a very nice space. service is very good and our servers were quick to answer our many questions. the acorn should definitely be on your bucket list whether you are vegan or not.

this restaurant exceeded my expectations, offering truly delicious and inventive vegetarian food, a lovely atmosphere and brilliant service. we had the mushroom appetizer, “harvest” special and battered halloumi for entrees and brownie for dessert and eachdishwas complex and packed with flavor. our server was so genuinely kind and made the whole experience even better. in my opinion, for the quality of food, the price is very reasonable. would definitely go back and would highly recommend (even if you aren’t vegetarian)!

excellent vegetarian food in a very tight space. often had a wait out the door that was aggravating and we don't go as much because of it. i really like the halloumidishand they have a decent selection of whiskies.

came here for a late dinner for someone's birthday. it is a small restaurant, but it wasn't full this time. the staff was friendly and attentive. i had the harvest, which was presented very well, and flavorful. the pastadishwas also quite good.

a refreshing twist on raw & vegetarian food. every bite was packed with flavour. the kale salad was a delicious take on a caesar salad. the cabbagedishwas very well composed, with all the flavours coming together nicely. the panna cotta was tasty but the sauce needed to be a bit thicker.

great service: quick and friendly. complimentary sparkling water is always nice too.

my friend wanted to eat dinner here and i wasn't to enthusiastic but figured why not try something new. i was in the mood for meat and it's a vegetarian place...

our mushroom starter was beautifully presented and for the most part had good flavor but i wouldn't have called it mind blowing. i'd stick more with good.

for our main i ordered the deep fried halloumi cheese plate and and my friend ordered the brassica. as a lactose intolerant i know i'm safe with halloumi but sadly no where on the menu did it mention the cream they added to my peas. it just says "smashed peas". it was silly i should have asked or mentioned my intolerance but in a place so specific about what's in thedishto miss the cream i thought was misleading. thank goodness i had my lactose pills in my purse or that would have ended worse than it did.

i was also dissapointed when the waitress brought out the wrong main for my friend. it was an honest mistake and she was friendly but it never makes for a great experience.

the halloumi cheesedishwas the best thing we ate in the restaurant, it was rich and decedent. the brassica was a fu fu plate in my opinion with only the roasted red cabbage in rosemary actually tasting like anything. the cabbage was delicious to bad about the rest of the dish.

all in all i wouldn't rush back, it's such a shame as i've heard great things. maybe we ordered the wrong things ??

on the plus side it was a good atmosphere, their food presentation is spectacular and cannot be faulted and although i didn't try one, the cocktails looked amazing.

the service was great, they did give great advice on the food and even advised us to try anotherdishbecause the 2 dishes we were initially going to order and share were apparently similar. the food was fresh and i really enjoyed the presentation for the food. i wasn't too full after eating here, but at least this gave us room for dessert 😊.

it was the first time my family went to a non-asian vegetarian restaurant, and everyone loved the food there. not the small space of the restaurant though.. we were told they take reservations for 8 people, and when we arrived, the biggest table there was so small that it seemed like a table for 5-6 people only.

anyways, my favoritedishwas this appetizer, matsutake. (roasted cauliflower, pine mushroom cashew mousse, apple jelly, toasted potato focaccia, hazelnut almond cracker, spruce salt.) i totally enjoyed the sweetness from the apple jelly and the earthiness of mushroom flavor. definitely will order this again!

for main, most people at my table ordered the halloumi - beer battered halloumi, zucchini + potato pancake, smashed peas, mint yogurt, acorn garden lemon balm. so basically deep fried cheese with pan fried potato cake, on a bed of smashed peas.

everything sounded very nice and my first few bites were amazing too. however, it got very heavy afterwards, as thedishgot quite oily and the three big cheeses were too rich. i really enjoyed the smashed peas though, it had great flavors. i wish there were more acidity or refreshing ingredients in thisdishother than the mint yogurt. overall, it was a yummydishbut i could only eat half of it.

it was my birthday and my boyfriend and i decided to try heirloom.. 45 minutes after we ordered our food we were told that they only had 1 burger patty and hadn't even started making the food.

we decided to go to the acorn as we had gone there a few years ago for my birthday. we got in quickly and the hostess apologized about the wait (about 2 or 3 min!) i made a joke about how it was nothing compared to the wait at heirloom we ordered our food super quickly as we were pretty hungry. before our mains came out we were brought over an appetizerdishfree of charge because they thought we would be really hungry after our wait at heirloom. the service was incredible and the food was amazing as was the drink that i had. the acorn definitely saved my birthday!

we were blown away with our experience at the acorn. this place serves up such a unique and ever changing menu with a focus on farm to table plant based foods. we couldn't believe the amount of depth and flavour eachdishhad, with a refreshing and innovative take on vegetarian food. our favoritedishof the night was the halloumi! we will be back to try their brunch menu!

vegetarian cuisine at its finest. i finally managed to try the acorn with my boyfriend (the reluctant carnivore) and i can say that this was easily one of the best meals both of us have had. we tried the baked cauliflower, leek spread, halloumi and the squash pasta. eachdishwas bursting with strong and very complex flavours. attention has been put into every detail - including the visual aesthetics.

i highly recommend you stuff yourself and also get dessert. the baked apple dessert came with an amazing pistacio and mango sauce. while the toffee dessert had a nice maple twist.

also a very romantic setting (dim lights, candles, intimate size) for date nights!

will definitely be back!

really tastelessdishfor the price. went here with a few friends recently and won't be going back. my boyfriend had the hen of the woods noodledishand it was just awful. it honestly tasted like plain lasagna noodles with just a bit of mushroom smeared on. mydishwas much better (i can't remember the name of mine), but still not tasty enough to justify the price. we had a couple of mixed drinks which were small but tasty.

very overpriced for the quality you receive. we won't be going back, but hopefully they just had an off night because i've heard that others have enjoyed their dinners here.

meat eaters will love this place!. went on a sunday night at 8pm and we got a table immediately. we had the sunflower pate to start, really fun littledishwhich arrives in a pot which is sealed with the smoke inside which creates a beautiful autumnal flavour and is super fun to open and have the smoke escape! i had the halloumi and could barely finish it and my boyfriend had the harvest which was a green cauliflower risotto, both were deeeelish! this is my new fav restaurant although because of the price point will be a treat rather than a weekly thing. our bill with 3 drinks came to $80. so worth it, this place is a must try!

the words “raw,” “vegan,” “cold” and “gluten-free” are typically antithetical to lasagna, but that’s exactly what this is, with zucchini, pesto, cashew cream and candied olives. another beautifuldishfor a hot day, this “lasagna” really makes the most of its flavours and textures. the pesto is really bright and - dare i say - traditional, which serves as one of the plate’s sole nods to the dish’s italian heritage. bellissimo.

unsurprisingly, my favouritedishso far is probably not their healthiest. the acorn’s version of fish and chips is beer-battered, fried halloumi (a salty cypriot cheese) atop zucchini pancake and smashed peas with some lemon balm ($19). it’s heavy and delicious and so, so good.