Acorn House Restaurant

 

When your restaurant wins the 'Best Newcomer' award at the Observer Food Awards 2007 and is described as "The most important restaurant to open in London in the past 200 years" by one of the UK's foremost reviewers (Giles Coren of 'The Times') you know you're doing something right. Manager Jamie Grainger-Smith and head chef Arthur Potts Dawson (both formerly at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Restaurant) are all about being truly eco-friendly, serving up good quality fresh, seasonal ingredients and reducing their carbon footprint while training young chefs. It's this great philosophy, plus the enthusiasm of the staff, that creates a feel good factor when dining here, in the Terrence Higgins Trust building. In fact, this place is all about the 'feel good' concept - and not so much about what ends up on your plate. The night we visited, encouraged by the rave reviews, the actual food itself was fine but basic. While an open kitchen is always fun, the extractor system clearly wasn't working - or perhaps they were saving on electricity. It's a great concept and we did all very feel good but for something this hyped-up we had hoped for superior food.