ACRE

On our continuing quest for a favorite high-​end restaurant in Memphis, I chose to eat at Acre for my birthday. When I booked a reservation and let her know that it was for a celebration, I was told a specific table — «I have you booked at the table for 2 in the corner overlooking the garden.» Sounds great! When the restaurant called to confirm the ressie day of, I did say that we would likely arrive early and was told that was fine. We did arrive about 30 minutes early and were told the table was being prepared. As we entered the room, I started to head to «the table for 2 in the corner overlooking the garden.» Pretty obvious, as there is only one. However, the hostess stopped at booth seating in the middle of the room. When I told her my reservation information, there was no explanation or apology or correction. Fortunately, the seating was still comfy. Pretty annoying, though, when moments later, a young couple was seated at the other table. Who knows why. Maybe the couple and the hostess are friends? Regardless, not smart from a business standpoint to alienate an older, reasonably affluent couple looking for a place to be loyal to. Recovering from that disappointment, I was ready to order a drink I’d seen on the online menu and was very excited about. Not available and no reasonably close substitute. Oh, well. Still rolling with it. We ordered the pork belly appetizer, which was tasty, especially the thick broth with the bread. Wines we ordered were fine — not incredible, but not bad. My husband ordered the steak after hearing the waiter rave about it at a nearby table. I ordered the snapper. The little potato torte was the best part of the meal, as the snapper was not terribly flavorful. Just okay. But when I looked up at my husband’s face, it was obvious that there was a real problem on his steak side of the table. He had to struggle to cut it, even with the steak knife, and it was super tough. Finally got some good bites out of the center of the serving, which was rare as he’d requested. So why didn’t we let our waitperson know? Well, there’s the unpleasantness of «that conversation.» Kinda’ spoils what you hope to be a nice meal. But the other problem is that she NEVER stopped back by to ask how our meal was. Not once. At this point, we were just finishing food so we could be done with this experience, and we didn’t take a chance on getting any more mediocre food or bad service by risking dessert when the waitress sort of threw the menu down on the table in front of us. My husband who compulsively tips at least 20% actually asked me what I thought he should tip and calculated probably the lowest amount I’ve seen in years! Best part of the evening was the valet parking. Nice attendants, working hard, and tipped well.
You have to wonder what was going on here. We were reasonably appropriately dressed. At least we weren’t dressed like the guy in the hoodie who got the cute table in front of the fireplace. We did make and confirm a reservation. So I think we did our part. The space in the restaurant is nice. Too bad the rest of the experience didn’t match up.

Food allergy sufferers beware! I came here for lunch. I have a deadly nut allergy. I ordered a dish which clearly stated four ingredients on the menu, one of which is cashews (fun fact: cashews are not truly a nut, so they are fine for me to eat.) I expressed to our waiter that I was concerned about the possibility of other nuts in the dish and indicated I would gladly choose another selection if it would be an issue. He said it shouldn’t be a problem but he would check with the kitchen. I never heard back. Then the dish appeared, covered in lettuce, so I ate a bite, but from that bite it was clear it was packed full of pecans and possibly other tree nuts. I immediately took a benadryl, and prepared in case I needed my epi-​pen. When my dining companions indicated is issue to the waiter, he was slightly apologetic. He seemed completely unconcerned as to my well being after he almost killed me. No chef or manager came to check on me, we barely heard from our server again. Completely unacceptable. Especially of a restaurant supposedly of this caliber. I am extremely lucky I picked up on the nuts on my first bite, otherwise this could have been a very different outcome.

The atmosphere at Acre is very impressive, but the food was lacking. I had a veal chop that was surprisingly very tough and sinewy. My friend had a sirloin which was also very tough — just not what you’d expect from such a highly rated restaurant and certainly not for the price. The appetizers and dessert were nothing memorable. I should note, however, that my boyfriend seemed to enjoy his scallop entrée. The wine list was better than most in Memphis, and I was pleased to see Hibiki as a whiskey selection. Service was young and a bit underdeveloped, but nevertheless, nice and accommodating. I’d return if I was invited, but probably not on my own accord based on the quality of food.

Atmosphere was good and drinks were solid but food was extremely disappointing. Service was solid but I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to go back, especially for the price.

Seasonal cocktail features are worth it! The bartender is skilled and super nice. If you want a casual night to hangout with friends sit in the bar area and watch a game. Order the prosciutto wrapped dates and hamburger-can’t go wrong. Be prepared for valet parking.

I recently took part in a group of 25 people and we all went in and decided on the whole pig for a surprise party. This was a very unique experience and something that I would try again with a few adjustments. First of all, we all got there at 6:15 with the surprise birthday guest coming at 6:30. When we got there, we were not asked about any drinks and there wasn’t any food out at all. Once the surprise came at 6:30 it wasn’t until someone asked around 6:45 if we could order drinks. We got our drinks close to 7:00 and the first part of the meal (salad) came around 7:30. We were there for over an hour and did not have anything to eat. My suggestion would be to work out with the restaurant to have apps come shortly after arrival. The next thing to come out were the sides around 8:00. The sides were very good and consisted of:
–roasted carrots and snap peas
–creamy mac and cheese
–bokchoy
–buttery biscuits
Finally the carving of the pig came around 8:15 and just about everything I was served tasted good. The pork belly by far was the best. We finished with dessert that was really good. We had caramelized bananas with a corn ice cream that was out standing. The waiters then cleared everything out around 9:15 — 9:20 and that was the last we saw of them. We didn’t end up leaving until around 10:15 but not once did I see someone come by and offer more water, coffee, or anything else to drink. So my two suggestions would be to have some sort of app shortly after you get there and make sure that after the pig is carved, if you want another drink make sure and let the waiters know quickly because it was very evident as soon as they were through with our party and cleaned up they could go home.
Food 3.5 stars
Service 2 stars

If you’re ever in Memphis and need a nice, upscale place to dine then look no further. I went here with some clients and the place is top-​notch from appetizers to desserts. I don’t think you can make a bad decision here.

It kind of jumps out at you since its located at that weird part of Perkins. Just look for the yellow doors!
The ambiance here is impeccable. I went here for a bridesmaid luncheon, but could definitely see this place being a GREAT venue for a rehearsal dinner. It teeters on the small side, but they have a great patio and a very open bar area with saucy lounging all around.
As for the food. We got to try quite a few appetizers. Some of them were good, some not so much, but they all looked pretty if that counts for anything. The one I found most interesting was the steak with a peanut butter sauce. Definitely wasn’t expecting that, but I’m a sucker for peanut butter.
Their main courses are pretty big, or maybe they seemed big because we all had to fit in some saucy dresses and got a little full on those appetizers. My friend and I split the roasted chicken sandwich. It was very good. Everyones food looked great for that matter. I only asked to try a few, but most everything I tired, I liked.
We each also got dessert. Y’all. I had to contain myself when it came to their spicy chocolate parfait. I wasn’t too keen on the caramelized chex mix, but it still didn’t keep me away from that chocolate and cookie dough :)
I can’t wait to go back when I can really splurge.

Delicious food! Service was incredible. Made reservations, made a special request & they had no problem meeting it. Very intimate place, quiet & great place to have conversations with people without shouting or having people eavesdrop. Beautiful décor, warm reception. Menu is not for everyone, only one pork, one chicken & one beef entrée. Mostly seafood, but good & clean & light. Don’t feel greasy & gross after finishing your meal here. Get light & airy breads to go with your meal & desserts are exquisite.

After trying to make a late reservation at most of the finer Memphis restaurants the Friday before Valentines, we felt fortunate to get a table at ACRE, as all of our other options were booked. I have heard several good reports from others on ACRE, and the Unilocal reviews were positive.
Most of the reviews start with positive comments regarding the interior design, as if that is the strongest feature of the restaurant. I tend to agree that this was the most positive part of the experience, but we were there expecting near perfection in fine dining, based on their prices and reviews.
We were disappointed in most of our meal. The Kamatchi was probably the highlight, and I would order it again as an appetizer. My wife ordered the lobster salad, which did not match the price and was nothing special from a flavor perspective.
For the entrees we had the Loup de Mer (basically sea bass or branzino) and the lamb shoulder. Although ACRE attempts to pass themselves off as special and fine dining, neither of these dishes reached this level. Both were not especially flavorful, and we would not order either again.
A disappointing experience for us, as we love most of our fine dining opportunities in Memphis and wish we could add this to the list. We probably will not return considering the quality of our meal relative to this price point.

Quiet rainy Wednesday evening empty when we arrived and nearly empty when we left but the chef and staff were on their game. Staff was friendly, knowledgeable and efficient. Food was top notch from salad to desert. Fish was delicious!

My opinion? This is the most beautiful restaurant in Memphis… I like to go, so I can just look around!!! The sticky toffee is amazing and I love their drink menu! Will be back soon!

I took a guest speaker out to this restaurant after hearing great things about this place and it was a huge miss. We went for dinner and sat down in the main dinning area, many of the great reviews are about the bar area, which I did not visit.
The first impression was great, nicely decorated house, you feel like you are in a romantic mountain side getaway. For ambiance alone, they would surely get 5 stars.
The server was really helpful with descriptions on the menu and super friendly. So far so good.
The food is where this place fell short. We tried the tomato tartar, which I thought was an interesting concept with the tower of chickpea panisse. I know the concept of this restaurant is «simple foods» but I didn’t realize that «simple» was synonym of «bland».
As a vegetarian, I was excited to try their Roots plate. Tasting this plate took me back to my early years, parsnips tasted like parsnips, carrots tasted like carrot, turnips tasted like turnips, all well cooked and soft… just like that bland baby food I had during my first year of life! If Gerber had a restaurant, I think this Roots plate would be in their menu!
OK, so I am vegetarian and am well used to being disappointed at food in upscale-​ish restaurants. But here is my problem, the two meat eaters in my party were also underwhelmed by their dishes. The medium-​rare Ribeye was served well-​done and the veal was just veal. The spicy chocolate parfait we had for dessert? There was absolutely nothing «spicy» about it! I don’t know if we just happened to go on an off day for the chef or if Mondays are leave-​your-​spices-​at-​home day, but this was definitely not good food.
So they are getting a star for ambiance and a star for service, but the rest of the stars I dedicate to the food and not even the nice presentation compensates for the lack of flavor. One more Memphis restaurant of my list.

This is one of the top five dining experiences I have enjoyed in Tennessee.
I had the pork brisket. I was surprised it wasn’t sliced — it was whole. What a wonderful experience! Very few meats «melt in your mouth.» This did. With this entrée comes a sprouted rue dish. It has an earthy taste with a rough texture. I enjoyed it immensely.
My wife had the lamb, which was also excellent.
I can’t believe I had never tried Acre out before. We will be going back for sure.

A friend and I decided to have a ‘fancy lunch’ during one of my last days in Memphis (My family and I have moved back to Canada).
This is the restaurant for folks who want to bring novice foodies into the fold. The menu is approachable enough for those who want regular fare but interesting enough for those that want something exciting. I had the grouper with peas and purple sweet potatoes which was wonderful.
The highlight was the back. Wrapped cheese stuffed dates though. They’re really not to be missed.

Once again my most charming dinner companion and I decided to celebrate Thursday and we headed to Acre. I’ve passed this restaurant many times without realizing it and its neighbors all along the street are commercial businesses and not single family homes so getting there is a trick if you don’t know where you are going.
The food: He started with a Martini and I had a signature Cuba Libre. It was reported, while the Martini wasn’t terrible it certainly wasn’t memorable. I enjoyed my rum-​and-​coke. I like their house-​blend syrups and the liberal pour. The salads were excellent. The lightest of dressings but still the rightest amount. He had the lamb. I had the sturgeon. Overall the main courses were nice. I’m not sure I’ll try sturgeon again. He had some toffee yummy and I had a banana tartlet. Not much to comment there.
The service: The service was smooth. Our person was calm and knowledgeable.
I will make a comment that the dining room looked like a spread for Pottery Barn. The white and beige with rustic touches left me flat.

My husband and I had the pleasure of dining at Acre for the second time this past weekend. Our experience was perfect from beginning to end. The valet parking is a very nice touch.
I had a lighter dinner compiled of the mixed green salad and tomato tartar. Both were excellent. My husband ordered the duck; which was delicious. The meat was cooked to perfection.
Everyone in our party was very satisfied with their meal and cocktails. Our server Miller was very attentive and knowledgeable. Wally Joe came by at the end of the meal and thanked us for coming.
I look forward to enjoying their patio this spring.

Came here for lunch for a holiday party at work and I was surprised to see how few people were there. Based off mostly good reviews on here I assumed they would be very busy this time of year. The location is great but the signage is terrible so it’s possible that it is just hard to find and know that it is a restaurant.
Atmosphere and décor is hands down one of the best in Memphis, in my opinion. I feel like I’m hanging out in a lodge in the middle of nowhere. It’s the details of the artwork, lighting, seating, etc. that really pull this together. If you are into the whole ambiance thing, then you must go here at least once.
I ordered the Roasted Butternut Squash Soup served with a spicy cream sauce and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich. The soup was okay. But as soon as I mixed in the cream sauce, it went from just okay to great! The key is the mixing of the sauce. Duh! And I had such high hopes for my grilled cheese considering it has caramelized onions in it. However, it never made it past the okay mark mainly because the Cantal cheese that is used is just way to blah for me. I guess I’m a good olé southern girl that likes a grilled cheese made with either American or Cheddar cheese versus a fancy French cheese.
Overall good experience for lunch and I will definitely be back for dinner in the near future. Or maybe just for drinks on the patio in the Spring!

Got a night off for «Parents’ night out» and decided to check this place out on a Saturday night. We were rather surprised at how empty the place was aside from the bar at 7pm… In any case, we were seated promptly on our arrival by a rather cold and sullen hostess… when will restaurants know that first impressions are everything? At least our server was friendly. The setting was very nice… it felt like we were in a «Restoration Hardware» catalog with muted tones and rustic accents.
Bread service was unremarkable… a few thick slices of multigrain bread that weren’t particularly crusty or tasty. My wife started with the Salsify & Clam Soup ($ 8)…their «lighter» version of a clam chowder made with smoked buttermilk, corn & chives. This was terrifically rich and savory, and wonderfully evoked an afternoon sitting on Pier 39 in San Francisco with a sourdough bread bowl filled with creamy chowder. The Chilled Maine Lobster Salad ($ 18) consisting of shredded green papaya, crushed chicharones, jalapeño, basil, & sesame-​white soy vinaigrette was tasty as well, though the price was rather steep for two small mounds of salad and what amounted to no more than ¹⁄₃ of a chopped up lobster claw. Price issues aside, it was quite tasty with a nice amount of acid, and the presentation was refined and elegant.
My wife had the Grilled Duck Breast ($ 25.00) with their version of «fried rice»…a mélange of Carolina Gold rice and tiny bits of eggplant, pickled pears & ginger-​kanzuri sauce. First the bad part… though a long grain rice, the Carolina Gold was entirely too starchy and mushy to fry up into nice toasted individual grains that a good fried rice requires… the result was almost risotto-​like in texture… nevertheless, the bits of pickled pears did give a nice acidic bite. And the duck was fantastic, marinated with hoisin and sous-​vided to a perfect medium-​rare, then grilled just long enough to get a char on the skin. It was tender, juicy and just delicious.
On the other hand, my Monkfish ($ 28.00) with chanterelle mushrooms, polenta & red wine brown butter sauce was bland and completely unseasoned. Though the medallions of fish were nicely cooked and reminiscent of lobster, the sauce was completely tasteless and watery. They also forgot to salt the polenta as well… good thing there were salt and pepper shakers on the table.
Admittedly, I was still a little hungry at this point. Acre was the first restaurant we’ve been to in Memphis to show a little refinement… smaller portions artfully presented… just our luck! But desert was satisfyingly rich. We shared the Apple Custard Cake ($ 8.00) with olive caramel, root beer ice cream & cinnamon brioche crumble. Though I could not taste the olive caramel, this was a great finish to our meal… not too sweet but dense and decadent.
Overall, we enjoyed our dinner here… along with three drinks between us, damage amounted to about $ 150…a little steep considering it was not that much food. The ambiance and service is great though the food is just good… I am inclined to return to check out their bar menu.

Once a month, some friends and I get together for what we call Fancy Food Monday. We take turns choosing a restaurant, and this time it was my turn. Acre is kind of hidden. It is not on a restaurant street and it is in a house that looks like a log cabin inside.
We each ordered a different appetizer and a different main course, so that we could try as much as possible.
One friend ordered the goat cheese ravioli. It wasn’t a traditional ravioli, but it was great, nonetheless.
My absolute favorite was tomato tartare and we decided it was surrounded by fried hummus sticks.
They have cooked octopus I’ve had it before but normally it was a sushi dish. This was probably my 2^nd favorite.
I ordered the pâté. I think this was my first time having it. It was very good, but very rich. A little went a long way. I’d order it again, but I’d probably rather have less.
On to the main courses…
We all had differing opinions as to which was the best. We agreed that everything was good, so it’s probably a matter of personal taste.
One friend had the Wild Striped Bass. Personally, this was my least favorite. It tasted like really good fish, but it didn’t stand out to me.
Another one had the Sturgeon. This is my new favorite fish. It was so meaty. I will definitely order this in the future next time I see it on a a menu. It’s like grouper, but even better. Also it was sitting on a bed of brussel sprouts and bacon. It was delish.
I love red meat. I love rare meat. I love lamb. This was my absolute favorite of the evening. It was on a bed of polenta a collard greens. To die for…
Another friend had the Braised Angus Beef Short rib. This may not have been my favorite, but this was probably the most tender meat I have ever eaten. It literally almost melted in your mouth.
And no fancy meal can be complete without a dessert. The waiter talked us into this one. He said it was one of their signature desserts… date cake. It was good. I’m more of a chocolate person, but everyone loved it.
More up my style is Milk Chocolate-​Peanut Butter Cremeux. It came with whoppers on the side. I don’t care for them. However this was delicious. It is more mousse like than anything.
Acre did not disappoint. I also noticed that they have a bar menu. I may have to go back there for the bar menu and try the burger and the truffle potato chips. This is one of my favorite restaurants in Memphis.

Wow. I am so glad that I finally had dinner here!
First of all, I can’t believe how nice everyone was. From the bartender to Wally Joe, every person I met was incredibly kind. Especially the bartender! She was absolutely amazing.
The entire night I felt like I was in a ski lodge. The ambiance is incredibly charming. I fell in love with the horse photographs and the complimentary valet was also a plus.
My only teensy, tiny issue was with the menu. There were only a handful of things I would order. I finally decided on the ribeye and it was quite good, but not knock my socks off. I don’t know if they change the menu regularly but I would love to see what else they have. And they didn’t have any specials tonight either.
However, the dessert was absolutely mind blowing. The apple pie and chocolate whatever was gone in 2 seconds.
I will definitely be back!