Acorn House Restaurant

Lovely, cosy place, thats for sure. Food is simply great, there's such a wide variety of dishes that I cant literally begin to chose from. Adding to that there are a lot of wines in the menu, as well as other drinks. The service is fast and professional, the staff are polite and welcoming and the prices are affordable.

I've been to Acorn House a few times based purely on it's green credentials - a superficial reason to visit but to be honest I would visit again and again! Over the course of around 2-3 years it definitely seems to have become a much more affordable eatery serving some exquisite seasonal dishes. Highly recommended if you are a bit conscious about what's on your plate.

Was meeting a friend for lunch in this area and the Qype search I carried out brought nothing up???? So as I was walking from King Cross to meet her at her office I passed this place. I said "I'll be back to try you out".

Picked up my friend, called back and as it was lunch we were asked if we had a reservation (seems highly recommended!). We hadn't but they were able to give us a table for 2. My friend noticed a silver plater award on the counter, something to do with being "green"....

Overall place is not that big, long with tables along one side and it gets a bit wider and the end with tables on both sides. Nicely decorated and everything is stylish.

Staff very friendly, our waiter went through the menu and explained all the dishes which was a nice touch. He then proceeded to rhyme off about 20 side orders available and finished by saying that "they were all so nice they didn't know which ones to leave off so they left them all on the menu!"

I had the venison ragu gnocchi with a bottle of root beer, yummy. My friend had a carbonara dish and a glass of house wine. Unfortunately we didn't have time for starters and tormented ourselves by looking at the desert menu! Looked but couldn't touch.

Overall a really great experience, was so excited to think I was the first to find this place but then not surprised that this place is well know on Qype. Highly recommended.

Re the Silver Plater Award, I have seen from the reviews of my fellow Qypers below this restaurant is highly ethical, organic and even stuff like all profits go to charity... Amazing really!

You're hard pressed to find a nice restaurant in King's Cross, but Acorn House is The One. It's all terribly wholesome - all profits go to charity, all food is locally sourced, water is filtered on site etc. They're also nice and supportive of cyclists, popping my brompton behind the counter (by the time I left there were 3 back there). So, good vibes before you even order.

But then the food! Awesome. Really. It's all seasonal so I guess the menu changes regularly. I had a Tuscan bubble and squeak for starters (like a thick vegetable stew - think winter in a bowl), followed by venison and pasta and then caramel ice cream and apple sorbet. All delicious.

Service was good, the atmosphere was really energetic and the bill came in really reasonable for the quality of the food we enjoyed. If you stick to water, you can enjoy a 3 course meal for around £20.

Overall, really highly recommended. I'll be going back.

I’m gonna go out on a limb and say my experience at Acorn House was the best dining experience I’ve ever had at a restaurant in London. Everything was exceptional, especially the food.

Of course, the sustainable and responsible policies are awesome, but the bottom line is that is a delightful setting for a delicious meal!

If you look at the Acorn House website you may be forgiven for thinking that this restaurant will be another triumph of worthiness over quality. The eco-friendly sustainable mission, the recycling and charitable community work is all well and good you think, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE FOOD?

Well, its great. I had beautiful heritage beetroot (with goats cheese and spinach) to start with - which was delicate, fresh and just enough tang.

To follow, I had a light but flavoursome artichoke risotto. The twice cooked belly pork also sounded fantastic and I understand there is often a mutton dish as well.

Local suppliers, very fresh organic produce and low food miles etc is claimed to be at the heart of the menu. Quite what that means near Kings Cross I am not sure. But from a taste point of view, it definitely works.

The restaurant itself is also less pretentious than the website implies - clean, modern, in a pleasant-enough but unassuming area of Kings Cross. Suitable for both a business lunch and a quick catch up with friends.

And the aims of the owners had sufficient impact on me that I walked here and back from Oxford Circus, rather than take a taxi. And I plan do it again.

From the outside, Acorn House is an unassuming but smart modern restaurant, sitting smack-bang in the middle of Grays Inn Road, one of London’s busiets and most polluted thoroughfairs. But the contrast on entering is striking: everything about this place is green, from the food to the very materials it’s built from.

The menu is seasonal, which I personally love as it encourages variety as well as sustainability. I’ve never been disappointed with the quality of the food on repeated visits here, and the wine is also outstanding, especially if you want to give UK varieties a try.

Another cool innovation that will suit many diners is the option to pick your portion size. This will suit those who like variety, but feel bad about leaving food on the plate. They do take-away too, with various mouth-watering sandwiches and soups.

Very nice.
Great food & attentive yet unpretentious service.

Really delicious organic food. This place is a completely organic, environmentally-friendly etc. restaurant, and they apparently only produce one bag of rubbish a day or something. At lunchtime they do really nice little lunchboxes to take away for something like 6 quid I think. They come with a nice little wooden knife and fork, and there’s something different every day.

I checked out the lunch menu today. The prices are reeeasonably high, but not excessive, and there is a range of delicious options on offer. What really looked impressive was the wine list. There must have been around 100 wines on offer, including champagnes, pudding wines, etc. Definitely a good place to come for lunch or dinner.

If you like your food eco friendly and your owner equally friendly this is the place for you. Good food with a regularly changing menu. Has a sister restaurant now opened up in Shoreditch

Few restaurants can claim to be eco-friendly and keep a straight face. The Acorn House Restaurant, on the other hand, has not only won numerous awards for this very reason, but also provides a standard of food that few other restaurants can match.

It’s not fancy - in fact it’s rather minimal with a quirky pot of vegetables growing outside and plain tables and chairs within a clean yet pleasant environment. The meals are quite unique and seasonal - with hearty portions offering a combination of fresh salads.

Examples of current salads include ‘Roasted sweet potato, farro and miso’, ‘Summer artichokes and fresh herbs’ and ‘Chargrilled red peppers, basil and garlic.’ For anyone who’s not a big veggie eater I urge you to tottle on down to this restaurant and have your mind boggled at how yummy veg can be - with a nice bit of meat or fish of course.

In summary:
Great, nutritious food with a whirlwind of flavours. What’s the catch? Average main meals are £12-14 for lunch, which is a bit steep and not feasible for popping in regularly to take advantage of their changing menu. Also although each dish is a play of flavours, the menu itself is very limited with only a few dishes to choose from, so if you like a big selection it’s probably not for you.
Bon ap.