Acorn

Everyone raves about acorn and rightfully so. The service and food are great. Even though the menu changes often, I’ve never had a bad meal. I love the unique preparations of vegetables, and their pastas are always winners. Omnivores should not miss their meatball dish– I’m pretty sure this is always on the menu. The meal is a bit costly, but worth it for a special occasion meal.

The only negative thing I can say is that it was difficult to get a reservation.
From the moment we walked up our experience was great! We arrived at just the moment of our reservation and they actually had a table ready for us — great start! From there we were greeted quickly and asked about beverages. Our questions were happily answered without any appearance of being rushed — our server was present/​engaged any time he was at the table.
The meal was just as good. We had questions about the food and asked for his opinion — happily shared…
The overall experience was as good as can be expected. The bone marrow was amazing. If I lived closer I would probably have stayed around to try the brewery an the rest of the businesses around The Source.

*food only review
Being an out-​of-​towner doing the whole «Whats poppin around here!» Unilocal search is becoming a habit. I suppose with that habit comes a whole set of expectations. I’ve learned that each city comes with it’s own set of expectations.
Acorn met my expectations but did not exceed them… granted had I enjoyed one of the many cocktails the scale might have tipped to becoming a fan.
We ordered about 5 large/​small plates. Meatballs were good but, after running the meatball gauntlet in NYC, below the praise they received from fellow Unilocalers. The grits added an interesting touch to the plate and we enjoyed them as a condiment. We had an Ahi Tuna plate that was a little sad. Sorry just nothing exciting about it.
One plate we didn’t try but others had ordered around us (which we ended up coveting) was the bone marrow. If I were to go back that would be my next choice.
It sounds like Acorn has a better proposition of your first cocktail and plate of the night… don’t spend your entire appetite there though.

My friend suggested we meet at the Source building for lunch. I’m not too embarrassed to admit I had not heard of the Source. I guess I’m out of the loop these days. My friend is a marketing manager so it’s her business to know these things. Anyway, I digress. We met at the Source and ended up at Acorn. And I’m in love! The ambiance is great. The atmosphere is great. The food and service are even better. I had the tempura fried Atlantic cod sandwich and a delicious beer. I’m eager to try the other items on the menu. It was well worth going there all the way from Golden on a cold weekend.

From the converted gritty warehouse space complete with preserved graffiti on exposed brick to the hipster mixologist creating $ 12 cocktails with panache, Acorn epitomizes Denver Dining and is a snapshot of RIGHT NOW!
We had a large group and our reservation was ready early, so they cleared us out of the bar where we were enjoying our drinks. Our group tried the Nationalized Tiki– a take on a Mai Tai; the Smoked Sherry– a bit of orange and a whole lotta SMOKE!
Dinner: We split what seemed like a thousand incredible small plates: shrimp & grits, kale salad, beet salad, truffled risotto, beef tartare, pork belly, roast chicken, roasted cauliflower, bread, meatballs, bone marrow, short ribs… we noshed for probably an hour as hot amazing dishes continued to show up. This is definitely a sharing-​is-​caring place! Everything was wonderful.
Dessert: Pot de Crème, Lemon Tarte, and Banana Bread. The Lemon Tarte was my favorite and I was a little greedy about sharing in the dessert round.
All in all it was a lovely 2.5 hour dining experience in a stellar restaurant that is so current! Well done.
We had a very snarky crab apple of a server and star-​stealer named Nathan. I am using nice words here; everyone else had much more R rated words for him. He bitched about splitting our check, made snarky comments about our wine choices, and was a grump grump grump. We still received impeccable service, however, as the restaurant has its act together with very attentive multi-​staff service, but his nasty-​tude certainly did not make us feel welcome.

This place was an unplanned discovery for me. The food is original and amazing. The service was excellent. Full attention to detail on the food and the flavors are exotic and comfort at the same time. Absolutely delicious. Highly recommend if your a foodie.

Made a stop here on our way to Breckenridge and really enjoyed lunch here on a Wednesday. I called ahead to get a reservation that morning.
I got the grilled cheese and French onion soup. The fontina cheese was on the sweeter side, so I wasn’t a huge fan of it but the bread was really good. The French onion soup was delicious and I could taste something like beef that they made the soup with.
The hubs had the fried chicken and biscuit. This dish was really unique because it had a spicy buffalo chicken sauce.
Definitely get their donut! The day we came, it was a blackberry fritter. Their donuts are yeast donuts, which are my favorite!
We also got two of their fruit/​tea drinks and they were very refreshing.
Great service as it was a quiet weekday. If you aren’t from Denver, the restaurant is located in a cute mutliuse warehouse building and has a few other food places.

Would highly recommend Acorn for a fancy, unique dining experience. Acorn serves «small plates» where they recommend 2 per person. However, our group was ok ordering 1 per person with a couple extra for the table to share. We did try the fried pickles, which were excellent with the green goddess sauce. I had the pork belly and the kale salad, which were both extremely tasty and the presentation was beautiful. The atmosphere of the restaurant is fun, and cozy, especially in the upstairs portion where we were located.
Be prepared to park across the street as the lot fills up quickly. Although I believe they are building a parking garage behind the building that should be finished soon.
Great job, Acorn! I can see why you’re on the Eater 38.

I have to admit that I am a foodie snob. I like great service and delish food. My mom and I came here for a late night dinner. I had a little trouble getting here because I didn’t know they were in a building. I called to find their location and they told me it’s in the Source building.
Their dishes are tapas aka small plates. We had ordered different type of dishes that they had recommended and hands down the food was amazing. The service was superb. I recommend all of my friends to try Acorn.
Great place + food + customer service = 5 stars!

This time the waiter was on it, the food was ‘on point’ and the drinks were fabulous as before. The menu was slightly different than when I went the first time, but similar items.
I’m glad I tried it again, there are many restaurants in Denver, but this one needs to stay. Book a few weeks in advance for a weekend night. Start with a cocktail and split several small plates with a boyfriend, (or husband, or friend or all of the above). And end with a dessert, preferably the lemon tart.

¿Que es la comida Americana?
I love current day «American» cuisine, the mega fusion of the 21^st century. It’s like watching watching the AMA’s (American Music Awards) and seeing the Biebz from Canada, Adele from England, Rihanna from Barbados and Iggy Azalea from Australia, a mish-​mosh of genres creating the new Amur-​ika!
Me Casa Es Su Casa
What does this mean for you? Going in a large group there’s probably something to satisfy almost every person’s tastebud. Everything from Japanese ramen, southern style grits, kale salads for the health freaks, chicken strips for the kids and a bomb glazed donuts for the fatties like me.
What do you see when the Pillsbury Dough boy bends over? Doughnuts.

2 small plates per person and shared amongst a group seems to be about right. The delay in getting your food seems to help with feeling fuller.
Came here with my wife around 8 on a Tuesday, still packed. We got lucky with finding a parking spot though. Also recommend a reservation but it was us two so we sat at the bar. We ordered non-​alcoholic drinks, I got a rehydrator and she got southeast visions. Her drink was very fruity and so was mine.
We ordered the cheese risotto, meatballs, beef tartare, and hamachi crudo. The hamachi was short lived but awesome. The beef tartare was really good, just a bit sour and the veggie toppings worked well. There were only 3 meatballs in the order, I was expecting more than that. The risotto was strong in garlic, and also salty.
The guys working the bar are really nice and helpful, our experience of this place was very positive and I can see why it’s so busy. I would recommend this place if you got time to wait around.

I had high expectations after reading the reviews online and Acorn did not disappoint. There is currently a lot of construction going on in front of the Source which made parking difficult, although there was an overflow parking lot across the street.
I had not been to the source before and I was amazed to open the door to realize I had stumbled into trendy hipster central. Usually I don’t like places like that but Acorn is just great.
As soon as we got there the host was very nice, offering to take our coats and immediately seating us. Our waitress was accomodating and had a great sense of when to come by and help us and when to let us talk in peace. The décor is fairly minimalist and most of the tables are set for two people. It’s a bit noisy, but that’s not a big deal since that prevented us from feeling like our neighbors were going to overhear us.
We started with a CDT sunset, a refreshing sparkling drink and some fried pickles. The pickles slices were big and the dip was delicious. For dinner I had the brisket sandwich, it was well seasoned and had just enough sauce.
All in all, I would highly recommend going here

I visited Acorn while on a date this fall. The Source (where Acorn is housed) has a wonderful vibe to it and we had fun walking around the different shops before heading here for dinner.
The good: the staff is amazing, the food is made from fresh and delicious ingredients, the atmosphere outside cannot be beat.
The not so good: to me it was like they were trying to hard to make the food trendy and new. You can tell that the food is made of the best ingredients but I felt the flavor combinations were just too far fetched. For being a trendy and hip establishment, I felt oddly out of place at times as I got the rich stuffy vibe.

No wonder 5280 named this Denver’s best restaurant for 2015. Acorn is amazing! My boyfriend and I went here last night for dinner and the first thing we noticed was the excellent service — they have several different staff members walking around making sure waters are filled, running food, bussing, etc. They even fold your napkin for you if you leave the table to go to the bathroom. We were never waiting on any dish, they knew right when to bring them out.
Now, the food. We ordered 5 shared plates (I guess we’re kind of pigs because they recommend 2 per person) and they were all excellent. The tomato braised meatballs in polenta was probably my favorite — the meatballs melt in your mouth and the polenta was the best I’ve ever had. We also ordered the risotto, gnocchi, pork belly, and short ribs. The pork belly was top-​notch! The risotto was cooked perfectly, as was the quinoa that came with the short ribs.
We left full and happy. Probably one of the best meals I’ve had in Denver. Check this place out!

I hate to leave this review because I was SO EXCITED to eat at Acorn. It had been at the top of my list for awhile. I kept seeing pictures and reviews of the Acorn burger pop up on social media. Harissa aioli and Gruyère? Sounds like an amazing flavor combo, and I’m obsessed with burgers… yes please!
My mom, sister and I planned a lunch date before we had to take my sister to the airport. We had never been to The Source before, so we did a lap before heading back to Acorn where the hostess informed us that we had 4 minutes to sit down and order before they switched from the extensive lunch menu to the very limited afternoon menu. As luck would have it, my sister’s water bottle exploded in her purse right at that very moment, and we couldn’t make the cutoff. We went to help her clean up the mess, then decided we were too hungry (read: hangry) to go somewhere else, so we opted to order off the mid-​day menu.
Luckily for me, the burger I had been wanting was still available. I got that, my sister got the meatballs, and my mom ordered the salad. They both really liked their food. My burger was bland. I ordered the aioli on the side ’cause I like to decide how much sauce goes on my burger. I kept adding and adding and adding aioli and no matter what I did, I couldn’t get it to have any flavor. I also got a side salad, and the leaves were wilted and floppy, which totally wigs me out. I was so bummed.
The good: The staff was great. Professional, courteous, attentive. The décor was modern, inviting, interesting. The place was bustling with activity, and The Source is such a unique location. If I were invited back, I would definitely eat there again, but I wouldn’t recommend their burger.

Acorn is unique in its location. Pretty much interesting in a way that I don’t want to improve anything about it. It’s industrial chick. The outside of the brick building gives it that old timey look. While inside the graffiti on the wall gives it that street cred. Here Acorn and a few others are housed under one roof called the Source. Aptly named. It’s a source of joy for moi! There is a sour beer somewhere under that roof and I swear I’ll be back!
This is tapas style. It averages between $ 15 – 17 per small plate. We decided to go for one of their big plates. There’s only two large plates. One of them is the Oak Grilled 7X Ranch Bravette Steak. (Serves 2) Tempura vegetables and Butter Ponzu makes this dish pretty on the plate.$ 54.
This dish is so pretty to look at. Plated with care and resembles for lack of a better description-​art. A steak looks manly. Not this. This is rolled and lightly seared outside so when you bite on it you feel more than hear the crunch. Very tender and amazingly tasty. The Butter Ponzu Sauce sealed the deal.
This Kale Salad I’m about to tell you is the best kale salad I’ve ever had. This puts all kale salad out there to nothing but a second tier runner up. It’s chopped kale and some thinly sliced apple with sugar coated crunchy almonds. Plus some other secret something something… you have to get this! I could eat this all day! $ 12. Generous portion.
I had the Immortal Marigold for my drink. It resembles an Old Fashion. Stiff drink. Stiff price $ 13. Very good. The Risotto was good but it was too salty for me. For me to say that it is means it is!
You have to request for their amazing bread. And that soft warm butter…
Their weak spot? For me it was the Carrot Cake. $ 10. It wasn’t moist. It was in fact on the dry side. Although to be fair it came with cream cheese icing, carrot sugar, condensed milk ice cream. The best part of this dessert? The condensed milk ice cream.
I am a fan of this place I’ll just move on to a different dessert!

We’ve heard about how good Acorn is for years and we finally made the trip to try it out. We were impressed by the tastes we encountered.
All of the options are served small plate style. Our table shared the gnocchi, sun chokes, fried pickles, short rib and the meatballs. Each dish was so unique and flavorful. The gnocchi was cooked perfectly. I’ve never had sun chokes before but they were even more delicious than an artichoke in my opinion. The fried pickles were definitely the best I’ve had. They tasted like the pickles were probably made in house first because of the freshness. The short rib was also very tasty and the chimichurri quinoa was the perfect hint of spice to go with it. The meatballs were also delicious as they sat on a bed of cheesy grits which are always a favorite. We enjoyed every bite we had here.
The wine selection is also great. Our kind waitress allowed us to taste a few before we chose what we wanted and was very helpful all night.

While the food overall was very good, the prices were high for the portions and we were seated right next to the kitchen. It was fun to see people assembling the food, but then it was really loud and busy with people walking by us constantly. It was pretty dark in there but the servers were very good about getting rid of empty dishes and wiping up carefully each time they came by. It was an enjoyable experience but I probably won’t be back.

You know that feeling when you’ve just met someone you’re interested in and you want to see them again as soon as possible because you just can’t get enough? Well that’s how I feel about Acorn. My boyfriend and I came here for lunch on Wednesday and loved it so much we went again for dinner Friday night!
Both experiences were great! The staff were incredibly nice. For lunch, I really really realllyyyy wanted to try their donut so I ordered it right away! Luckily they had one order left (they only make 15 daily), but unlucky for me I guess there was some miss communication so I never got it. They were very apologetic though and so we got to try their new dessert, a wonderful scrumptious lemon tart! We also shared their grilled beef and quinoa salad and oak smoked brisket sandwich. Both were great, I loved the crunch of the quinoa and the brisket had a nice tangy sauce that just put it over the top!
For dinner, we had to wait since it was a Friday and this place is hopping! But do not be discourage because you can get a drink or coffee and look around The Source as you wait. And believe me, it’s worth the wait. Like lunch, the staff were amazing, despite how busy they were. Dining is shared plates so we got 5 dishes to try (YAY!) We had the summer squash and ricotta agnolotti, the gnocchi, oak smoked wagyu short ribs and roasted baby beets, key west shrimp and grits, and the bone marrow. All were phenomenal! Seriously you cannot go wrong with anything you choose there. I wish I had left room for dessert though because their butterscotch pudding looked so good!!!
I can’t wait to come back again and bring friends and family!