Acme

I really like the vibe in this place super chill and the food was great. I had the branzino fish it was delicious. The veggies were also amazing. If your downtown on Great Jones street it’s the place to be. You won’t feel guilty because the menu has a lot of healthy choices.

Have the lamb. It’s the best in the city.
I sat at the bar and ordered my food instead of waiting for a table — glad I did.
I had great company with the sue chef behind the bar, Marvin. He had great energy, especially that he was working on his birthday. Also met the head chef, Brian– very approachable and definitely knows how to put together an amazing menu. Can’t go wrong with this place. Amazing food, staff and vibe.
I’m going to be a regular when I’m in town.

Totally inconsequential. Our party used the entire restaurant. The basement is plain, bordering on divey. The hallway makes no sense. The décor is nonexistent. Upstairs, the room is cramped and difficult to navigate. The food is weird. Chicken and shrimp appetizers were undercooked. The beef was over sauced. The entrees were just okay, although the pasta dish was rather good. But it is difficult to destroy pasta. We did not try dessert. The kitchen was incredibly slow. Service was variable. The bartender was a pro and very affable. The maitre d’ was an obnoxious, pretentious twit. Overall, not recommended.

Food was terrible, waitstaff couldn’t be bothered, if I could give zero stars I would.

Great place. Went for the charcuterie platter (far too expensive for quantity…) and steak tartare. Love the vibe. Yes it is trendy and bar is overcrowded. Did I me mention it was expensive?

Nasty chick @ the front was disgustingly rude. Honey, you serve food to people. Sit down
They didn’t open till 6 & I was meeting someone there. It was nearly 5 30. They did not let me charge my phone or grab a drink. If you’re not open to the public, keep the door locked nitwits
Rude stupid arrogant staff of plebs walking around w ridiculous drawn on eyebrows that I’m sure they thought were ‘on fleek’
Yikes. Stay away

Went here with a group of friends on a Saturday night. Had a few drinks, negroni and espresso martini were fantastic! Food was amazing! So apparently there is a new chef as we were told and honestly every dish we ordered was amazing. We basically ordered about 20 dishes to share between a group of 6 people.
Would come back!

came here for a date, had reservations. we ordered prosecco which was good, pretty standard IMO, and two pasta dishes. I had the veal ravioli type pasta dish and he had the rigatoni pasta dish. i tried some of the rigatoni, honestly not a huge fan as it reminded me of mac and cheese, however there were traces of truffle flavor in it which i love. my veal pasta was the best part of the meal– i finished all of it, and enjoyed it way more than the rigatoni.
i also ordered a side of fries. they were seasoned with rosemary and salt. pretty good, although also very standard. shoestring style fries. came with spicy mayo, but they also have ketchup upon request.
for dessert we shared a chocolate cake. it was very rich, with a cool whipped cream on top. very sweet, and couldn’t finish the entire slice, but it was a nice finish to the meal.
the service was very good, staff was very helpful and attentive. if you go down the stairs they have a cool bar/​lounge type scene with loud music and loud people.
overall a decent meal. prices weren’t too bad. would come again to try their brunch.

Fabulous Saturday night dinner! We had a party of four and sat in the handsome front room. Starters of brussels sprout, kale & 6 minute egg caesar salad was delicious as was the shrimp and egg yolk & the tuna carpaccio. All of our entrees were outstanding: spinach fettuccine with razor clams, Black Bass & Zuppa di Pesce — a side of tuscan cauliflower is a must — if Grandma’s meatballs are available do not miss them! All desserts were happily received — Uncle Pete’s cheesecake and the Afogato were favorites!
The waitstaff were attentive in all the right ways & added to our delightful culinary experience.

Went for dinner and drinks. Every single dish was incredible — clams casino, shrimp & egg yolk, veal agnolotti, black bass — plus a bunch of specials. service was very good as well. head chef is a hottie (and so was my date if you’re reading this).

Very difficult to get a drink. Doormen are extremely rude– even to groups of girls. Don’t recommend this place as a spot to get drinks or spend your night.

If they paid me money to go I wouldn’t step a foot in there…
I rarely review shit but with all the honesty in the world this is The most obnoxious rude disrespectful worthless piece of shit door man I have ever seen in my life (white guy with buffy sweater) and the most fucked up and corrupt part is that they let some certain people in with a smile and act very rude with others while lying and saying that it’s packed …
I don’t mind waiting on the door but I do mind unprofessional rude assholes…
From all my heart I hope this guy gets fired coz he doesn’t know how to do his job or handle any crowd …

This place is cool, although maybe too cool, but I enjoyed it. It’s upscale without being formal. I was there on a weeknight and it was probably 75% businessmen. We had the egg dish and the fish in the wrapper, both were excellent.

Came here tonight for a dinner party. I felt as if I was in Europe…
We ordered the steak (to share — it’s 20 ounces!), Cauliflower, fries, beet salad, and we let the restaurant pair it with their recommendation of wine. They picked an excellent choice and now I am kicking myself for not remembering to snap a photo of the bottle before leaving.
New favorite space.

Really did not like this place. Very very expensive and not good food. Sorry acme. Trying too hard to be different. Pretty bad food.
Really did not like this place. Very very expensive and not good food. Sorry acme. Trying too hard to be different. Pretty bad food.
Really did not like this place. Very very expensive and not good food. Sorry acme. Trying too hard to be different. Pretty bad food.
Really did not like this place. Very very expensive and not good food. Sorry acme. Trying too hard to be different. Pretty bad food.
Really did not like this place. Very very expensive and not good food. Sorry acme. Trying too hard to be different. Pretty bad food.
Really did not like this place. Very very expensive and not good food. Sorry acme. Trying too hard to be different. Pretty bad food.

I stopped by this quaint little cocktail lounge for a Wednesday gathering and became a regular.
I placed a reservation for 10 two weeks in advance via their events email and received a prompt reply ensuring my reservation in their cocktail lounge downstairs.
Acme is a cozy venue tucked along a quiet street. I arrived a little before 7 and waited by the hostess stand until my friends arrived and the lounge downstairs opened. The hostess offered to take our drink order and another attentive waiter stopped by to check on us as well. The bar is beautiful with candles tucked behind the liquor bottles giving the whole place a warm, lively and inviting vibe.
Once 7pm struck, my friends and I headed down to the cocktail bar. The black and white checkered stairs are located to the left of the restaurant doors and head down into a dark long hallway lined with locked doors. Very Alice and Wonderland feeling, I loved it! At the end of the dark hall is a wall mirror which makes you do a double take. Keep walking towards the mirror and there is an unlocked door at the very end of the hall leading to the lounge.
Once we arrived we were greeted by the attentive bar staff and invited in. I asked them about my reservation and without saying my name they directed me to a quiet back seating area with plenty of wall seating and stools around small candle-​lit tables. Drinks: delicious. I ordered the Old Cuban from the drink menu. It was very well mixed and super tasty!
The bar staff is very accommodating and allowed us to order a few small food plates, I suppose they usually don’t serve dinner food downstairs. When I say small, I mean TINY. A friend ordered the fish tacos and received two tiny bite-​sized orange tacos. Another friend ordered the toast and it came on a small saucer. I do advise you order the grilled corn, simply for the aroma. It arrived at our table sizzling and smoking which filled the bar with a campfire-​y cozy smell.
The only thing I will warn is the noise level. At the beginning of the night when we had the bar to ourselves it was nice. But once a few more people trickled in the noise level amplified. I assume it’s because the sound is bouncing around on the brick walls with nothing to dampen the noise.

They’re trying way too hard to be «exclusive.» I’ve gone by their bar a couple of times. They apparently have «reservations» to get downstairs, but multiple groups of girls got in without reservations (or 21+ IDs). I’ve gone with groups of 3 – 4 well-​dressed, attractive New York and Orange County/​CA girls, but they only seem to let in girls who are famous in some respect. Then they let us know we needed to vacate the block which has never happened to girls like us. There are plenty of places to go to in New York, so I wouldn’t bother trying.

Came here for restaurant week summer 2015 with a friend.
Ambience: ⁴⁄₅
The ambience at the restaurant is great. It’s dimly lit and feels very cozy. However, as the night went on it started to get a little bit more loud as more people came in. When we were first seated, there were no one next to us but later on, two diners were seated quite closely right next to us. We were close enough to easily see what they’re eating and overhear their conversation.
The service: 3.5÷5
Service was better in the beginning of the night but as the night went on, they became busier and service lacked a little. It took a while for our main course to come. And it sometimes felt like they were kind of hovering over us as we ate (but our waiter was very handsome so plus for that)
The food: 3.5÷5
I expected more from the food. We started with the dollar oysters before we moved onto the restaurant week menu. The oysters were fresh and presented very nicely. The little jar of lime (?) juice was a great add on. My three courses are as followed: duck in a jar, chicken and eggs, coffee panna cotta. My friend choose the fish tacos, chicken and eggs, and the ice cream. The duck in a jar would’ve been great had it been a little less sour. For some reason, many of the dishes were sour and had an acidic element to it. I tried my friend’s fish tacos and they were sour too. The chicken and eggs could’ve been the star of the meal but it was also a little sour but more importantly, too much on the salty side. The chicken was very tender and juicy though and it was great with the gravy and the eggs. It was the potatoes that were really salty and ruined the dish. We jokingly said that the dessert will be sour too since everything seems to be sour. And well… The coffee panna cotta did have a sauce on it that was plenty acidic. However, this time I didn’t mind it as much and it complemented the dessert well (maybe a little less sauce though). The coffee panna cotta was actually my favorite part of the meal. The presentation was great, it was flat on the plate (almost looks like there’s nothing on it). The ice cream was pretty basic, just caramel ice cream but it’s on the overly sweet side.
Overall a decent experience (I’ve had better for restaurant week) but I wouldn’t go back.

Came here for NYRW summer 2015. We had the smoked fish tacos, duck in a jar, chicken and eggs, and sunflower seed risotto. We also started with some oysters to supplement the RW menu.
The show stopper is the chicken and eggs. Perfectly seasoned throughout and came with fried? soft boiled eggs? AMAZING.
I also loved the smoked fish tacos. I only wish they were bigger and not served in a weird pine tree plate.
I would suffer through the weird service for this awesome food. We had to wave down the waiter to take our order. We got the accompanying wine pairing with the RW menu and for some reason the pairing came late – which defeats the whole purpose.
Overall, 4 stars for food, 3 stars for service.

Went here for Restaurant Week on Tuesday with of my 2 friends, and really enjoyed all of the food.
To start, we split the duck skewers (a special), and it was awesome. Then we had the RW menu. I enjoyed the smoked fish tacos (which arrived in a silly fake christmas tree branch), and the salmon. The salmon portion was a bit small, but cooked perfectly. However, I think the better entrée choice was the chicken and eggs, which my friend ordered. It was served in a pot, with potatoes and was hearty and awesome. The bread and butter at the beginning of the meal and the duck in a jar appetizer were also noteworthy. The desserts were pretty good, but nothing outstanding. Martini wasn’t great, so we switched to wine after our first round of cocktails.
I really liked it here, and would come back!

There was an issue with the panna cotta. It looked like vomit, was not solid enough. The coffee flavor is excellent but there was an acidic flavor that was unevenly distributed and made it inedible.
On the bright side, the salmon, chicken and eggs, duck in a jar and caramel ice cream was excellent.

RESTAURANT WEEK SUMMER ’15 REVIEW (Sunday Brunch)
I like to start positively, so I will point out the star of the RW menu (it’s actually not even on the originally menu online…).
1. French toast w/​Rhubarb + Orange butter.
The bread was surprisingly so light and airy but had substantial toasty edges to hold everything together. It was just enough sweetness to call it a dessert and didn’t go overboard with sugar or sogginess. The rhubarb was kept a bit crunchy for texture, which was welcomed, and the butter was flavorful and deliciously dripped down the sides. Yum
* I think this was on our RW menu because we went during Sunday Brunch time.
Ambiance/​décor/​etc.
A bit on the darker side in terms of lighting to set the mood I guess? Except it was brunch time, so it was a tiny bit off putting. I kind of got more of a bar/​lounge feel instead of a high end restaurant feel. Really clean and pretty spacious.
I obviously do restaurant week right, and went with two other friends so we can try the whole menu. Highly suggest you do your research and do the same :)
First Course:
— radishes: Radishes looked beautiful and were kept raw. The smoked goat cheese was a nice pairing.
— Smoked fish tacos: Like bagel and lox but in taco form, and elevated. The picked vegetables added a nice acidity to the smokiness of the fish.
— duck in a jar: couldn’t really taste the foie gras. The mustard pairing overwhelmed the jar, and while I do love myself a good mustard, couldn’t taste the rest of the flavors.
Second Course:
— green eggs: Pretty green presentation, makes for great photos! Flavors were pretty mild, and could have used an extra pow.
— Lamb sandwich: The lamb was tender and delicious on its own.
— grilled romaine: I love grilled romaine.
Third Course:
Already stated above. The salted caramel icecream was thick and creamy, which is my favorite texture when it comes to icecream. However, it immediately started melting and because an icecream soup, which then I passed onto my roommate because melty things freak me out. Flavor wise… could have been a tiny bit more salty to emphasize the «salted» caramel part.
Overall,
It was good but for restaurant week, I’ve definitely experienced better.

I really liked the room and the vibe. Tables are exceptionally close together.
Menu was interesting but I was a bit nervous that not much seemed that appealing on first glance. Sunflower seeds for $ 24?
Our server advised us to order 4 small plates and 1 large one, but since not too many of the small ones were that appetizing we ended up with 2 small and 2 large. And it was plenty of food — no room for dessert.
We started with a flatbread (a mini pizza, really, about 6 inches across), and the caesar salad to start. Both were good.
The chicken and eggs was delicious, as were the johnnycakes, which came with pulled pork and a bunch of fixins.
Overall, really good food on a hit-​or-​miss menu, nice vibe. Definitely expensive.

Dined here tonight for restaurant week. For the appetizer I had the duck in a jar with pickled vegetables and the yummiest mustard seeds (it also came with bread but I didn’t try it).
My entrée was the johnny cakes, which came with braised pork, 6 thin johnny cakes, chutney, greens, and mustard. For dessert I had the sourdough rye bread soaked in beer porridge and salted caramel ice cream. Everything was absolutely delicious and a lot more filling than I thought it would be!
Our server was nice enough but he never once asked how our meal was or if everything was ok. The buser was on point though — he made sure me and my boyfriend’s glass of water was always refilled. The only thing is we weren’t given a bread basket and the table next to us were (they sat down about 10 minutes after us and also ordered the restaurant week menu).
My bf and I both ordered the exact same meals so I didn’t get to try anything else but I saw people around us getting the arctic char (which looked delicious), fish tacos (so so tiny), and chicken and eggs in the cutest pots. I was really hoping to get the pine and oak ice cream with macarons but they only had brown butter ice cream. *boo*
Other good things about this restaurant
The ambiance is great — trendy, cozy, popping with customers
Upbeat music that makes you feel happy as good food fills your belly
Parking is free after 6pm
Attractive staff
Cons:
Tables are really close together
Expensive outside of restaurant week menu

Came here for a work holiday party, so didn’t really get to try any of the food, but they do have a large space downstairs for private parties with a bar which was really nice. There was a DJ and coat check, so a good sized space. However, it is a big narrow, it’s a narrow long space, so people tend to be all around the bar, and the further ends of the room were pretty empty.
Upstairs area was well lit and looked very romantic. Seems like a nice restaurant I would want to come back to and check out.

When you roll up to this place, the first thing that you’ll notice is that the sign says «ACME, Authentic Southern and Cajun Cooking». HUH? Maybe it’s a part of their idea to keep the place a secret?
We stroll in, told them that we had a reservation and were seated immediately. We take a look at the menu, and got exactly what we expected… not a single southern/​cajun dish on the menu. nice. The portions here are small but are intended to be shared. We really wanted to try the rib eye, but it’s sold by the ounce and the smallest offering that they had was a 36 ouncer… doh! We instead went with the braised pork, crispy salmon skin and the grilled oysters. We also had four of their cocktails off the menu. Their bourbon/​whiskey based drinks were decent.
The food in my opinion was «OK» but I give them kudos for originality. My wife liked the change of pace as well. We wanted dessert but we were feeling a bit full. The braised pork came with six very thin corn crepes that must’ve expanded in our bellies quickly.
We ventured down to the lounge downstairs which we’ve heard so much about. One of the groups next to us hyped it up a bit about how it’s the go to spot for everyone in the fashion industry and that the doorman was a tough one to get through. Up for the challenge, we go to the doorman, and he allowed us right in… He was actually a very nice guy. Not too sure why everyone said he was a «meanie»? Then I understood when I got to the bottom of the steps…
The crowd here is very «interesting» to say at the least. The bartender down there did an amazing job with out cocktails… probably one of the better whiskey sours I’ve had in a lounge of this sort. The music was amazing. The sound system was amazing. Not much of a dancefloor but big enough for you to bust out a few moves and not knock someone out. I personally felt a bit out of place. There were several men wearing women’s costumes. I saw a guy wearing spandex pants with short running shorts on top of them. Lots of people here in the fashion industry. If that is your type of scene, you’ll love it. I felt a the the odd man out wearing a button down shirt and dressy jeans.

Raw french radishes and a parsley oyster emulsion. If only for this dish, go to Acme. It’s like nothing in this world and everything you’ve been missing.
Not a bad spot for my brother’s 3*th birthday dinner; no complaints from any family member, wonderful service and the rest of the meal was deliciousness.
But seriously, you have to have the radishes with the oysters.

I’ve never had a meal here. I’ve just been downstairs for a drink and let me tell you that drink was amazing.
Try the Bourbon Smash. It’s like a bourbon mojito.
The décor and ambiance of the downstairs lounge is a bit small but has a great speak easy vibe.
If you’re looking for an intimate setting, coming here during the week for a drink is great. It’s even better if you’re trying to impress that sweet young something that you’re currently «seeing».

KenScale: 7.5÷10
Acme is a NoHo hot spot from Danish chef Mads Resflund, who brings New Nordic sensibility to New American cuisine. The restaurant has been one of those hip downtown spots with a lot of young, handsome crowd. I had only been to the restaurant for a brunch, and have been wanting to explore what the kitchen has to offer during dinnertime. I finally made a trip on a recent weekend for dinner, and overall my experience was somewhat mixed.
I’ve always been a huge fan of New Nordic cuisine thanks to its emphasis on fresh ingredients and flavor that is reserved yet elegant. My impression overall was that while the menu at Acme looked absolutely amazing, the actual consistency across the board was somewhat lacking. I was instantly excited with the combination of foie gras and langoustine that came with white walnut and burnt lemon, but it could’ve used a lot less salt to make it more successful. While lamb and oyster tartare with crispy potato and pickled wild berries also sounded great, I just couldn’t taste much of oyster and the tartare was certainly not one of the best I’ve had in the city. Brook trout wrapped with miso butter and aromatic herbs was cooked pretty well, but the seasoning could’ve been toned down across the fish. While I had very high expectations for the kitchen’s signature dish, chicken and egg that came with roasted potatoes, and it was a pretty delicious with unique texture of tender chicken and smooth egg, I had better chicken dishes elsewhere. Among the desserts, the flavor of cow in the grass (which had raisins of apples and pears served over shaved wheatgrass granite with fresh cheese) was somewhat funky, but I was a fan of chanterelle cream, an inventive dish of sorbet hidden under mushroom mousse for an interesting yet delightful flavor and texture.
Getting a reservation can be hard to come by, especially during the weekends, so make sure to book about a week in advance. The dining room has that sexy, hip charm perfect for a casual date night. The restaurant has a full bar with some nice wine selections. Perhaps because I had such great experience at other New Nordic cuisine places like Atera, Aska or Contra, Acme was somewhat underwhelming. You still can’t go wrong with the hip vibe of this place, and can still encounter some successful dishes.

The food menu looked rather strange, but tasted quite well in the end. Order different portions and share. Nice crowd, nice bar in the basement, good drinks, good service at the bar. Restaurant service was so-​and-​so.