Our outlaw wedding was yesterday, and the two of us wanted to go somewhere nice for dinner. We didn't have the energy to go from San Carlos to our favorite restaurant in San Jose (Le Papillon), and on Sunday night the choices are relatively few. Fortunately, I dredged into a decade-old memory and suggested going to The Acorn. A short trip down El Cam (The Acorn is on the border of Menlo Park and Atherton), and we were easily on time for our reservations at 8pm. The person taking reservations had warned me that the place was busy, but people started leaving soon after we arrived. The Acorn calls itself a Mediterranean restaurant, which means that it comes pretty close to being a Greek restaurant. As I'll describe below, I now reject the base canard that the Bay Area has no Greek restaurants. We weren't terribly hungry, so we ordered two appetizers (Dolmades and Spanakopita/Tyropita) and one entree (mixed grill). The appetizers were overpriced for the quantity: each had two small pieces. And if we had been hungry, we might have been annoyed. However, the quality more than made up for the quantity. The Dolmades were a lightly spicy beef/lamb mixture with a delicate lemon sauce. Both the Spanakopita & Tyropita had a delicate phyllo pastry, crispy and golden brown; the Spanakopita had a nice spinach filling with just the right amount of cheese, and the Tyropita had a creamy cheese filling that just oozed out. The mixed grill comes with a (small) lamb chop, a greek sausage, and your choice of chicken breast or thigh. We selected the thigh and asked for rice as the starch. When we got the entree, we discovered that it had a potato instead of the rice -- the server said, "No problem," and went to get an extra dish of rice while we started eating. The lamb chop was very slightly overcooked, but the chicken and sausage were perfect. Al dente green beans and carrot sticks complemented the presentation. After eating all that, we discovered that we were now hungrier than when we started! So we ordered a couple of desserts. The baklava was extremely tasty, but the phyllo wasn't quite as crisp as it should be. The chocolate mousse, however, was absolutely perfect, the best we've ever had -- it was absolutely smooth, just a bit fluffy, and a perfect balance of chocolate, fat, and sweet. Overall, except for water, the service was quite competent, particularly if you aren't in a hurry. The place was quite noisy until people started to leave. Two TVs in the bar were a bit distracting, especially given the pillars that prevented my partner from geting distracted with me. ;-) From our own meal and seeing others, everything except appetizers gets served in large portions. The total for everything (tax'n'tip) was $50. We'll be back soon.
San Francisco Bay Area, CA