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GREEN FEAST
CARY JAMES REVIEWS ACORN HOUSE
Acorn House, 69 Swinton Street, WC1.
020-7812 1842. www.acornhouserestaurant.com
There are certain buzz words in the world of food and drink at the moment: organic,
sustainable, local and seasonal. Add to that the fact that a restaurant off ers training to
underprivileged young people and you have all the boxes ticked for being a fashionable and
feel-good 21st century eatery. Acorn House ticks all those boxes.
The venue is a joint venture between the Shoreditch Trust, the Terrence Higgins Trust (whose
HQ on Grey’s Inn Road houses the restaurant) and the Bliss Restaurant Consultancy, which is
made up of Executive Head Chef Arthur Potts Dawson and General Manager Jamie Grainger
Smith, both of whom were formally at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Restaurant. And just like
Fifteen, Acorn House off ers eco-friendly restaurant training to local young adults each year.
Every aspect of the venture, from the design of the restaurant through to food and wine
Acorn House’s dining
area (top) and
itself aims to be environmentally conscious and sustainable. But what about the actual food? We started with the seared
environmentally-
sustainable prawns with golden salsify and chilli vinegar (£9.50). The large sweet prawns – combined with the sweetness
conscious interiors
of the caramelized salsify (one of my favourite ingredients) – provided a suitable contrast to the sharpness of the chili
(right) vinegar. My companion opted for the roasted duck confi t, apple, prune and spring leaf (£9.50) – a classic combination of
fruit and game that worked well. For our main course, the roasted English mutton with minted pear and apple (£18.00) was
suitably rich and melted in your mouth. The minted pear and apple complimented the sweetness of the meat nicely. The
pan-fried guinea foul, with prosciutto, mascarpone and sage (£19.00), was well cooked - plump and juicy.
For dessert, the rhubarb crumble and custard (£6.50) off ered large velvety pieces of rhubarb with custard on one side of the
plate with a tower of tasty crumble. When brought together the combination was comforting and more-ish, although the
crumble lacked the crunchiness that you might expect. The spiced, warm, “fl ourless” chocolate cake and ginger ice cream
(£6.50) was presented as a pyramid of chocolate with a dollop of ice cream at its base. The ginger ice cream is the star here,
and perfectly compliments the gooey chocolate cake.
While the prices are on the high side, the portions are large and you will certainly not leave hungry. You can also be assured
that your money is paying for ethically-produced ingredients – an example that more and more restaurants are sure to
follow over the coming years.
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