Acadia Restaurant

Going to churn this review out, even though Acadia is now closed, since it has been sitting in my drafts for some time.
Came here as a group for a birthday party and loved it. Sad to hear the place seemingly went downhill from then.
We contacted the restaurant in advance and they gave us three-​course and five-​course prix fixe menu options ($ 49 and $ 69 respectively). Each menu had roughly three options per course (two options for dessert).
We went with the three-​course and I had the following:
First Course:
Charred Octopus, Crispy Pork Belly, Tomatillo, New Potato, Spicy Collards, Black Vinaigrette
Second Course:
Beef short rib (didn’t take good notes here…)
Third Course:
Dark Chocolate Cremeaux, White Nectarine, Milk Sorbet, Pistachio
Everything was AMAZING. Also tried the «celery stalker» and «blackberry sour» cocktails which were super tasty.
Also tried the cornbread with pork butter, the grits and the ricotta dumplings, which were also delicious. They were also awesomely accommodating for vegetarians by offering a vegetarian version of every menu item (e.g., mushroom consommé with the grits instead of the ham hock version and a separate sweet potato butter in place of the pork butter).
Über friendly service all evening — the only minor hiccup was plates were served to the wrong people a couple of times.
The resto automatically charges an 18% gratuity for groups of 6 or more, which we didn’t notice, but then the server very kindly pointed out that we had overpaid.
Kinda sad to hear the restaurant has closed. Hopefully whatever replaces it will be just as good.

When we heard they were closing doors for good, we decided to pay a visit to a once considered toronto institution for innovation. It seems like they have been through a few chef changes over the 3 year run and they finally decided that now is the time to try something more approachable and in line with the neighborhood they are in.
We were very keen on the tasting menu but decided against it at the last minute since we were not too hungry. Apparently they serve you different dishes if the table opts for the tasting menu. The place is very unassuming and has an easy going vibe. We ordered the shrimp and grits and some cornbread with pork butter. The grits were nothing memorable but I liked the addition of the mushrooms. The cornbread was a huge portion and took some time since they bake it on demand. I was thrown off by the smoky taste of the pork butter and the heaviness of the corn bread.
For our main course we had the mushroom and hominy dish with generous shavings of black truffle and farm egg. I loved the earthiness of the mushrooms but it wasn’t something I have not had before.
Our service was top notch all through. For dessert we were in a dilemma between the apple crisp and the lemon tart. Our meal had been so rich that we opted for the lemon tart to cut the richness. To our surprise we were also served a small tasting of the apple crisp which was a nice touch.
It’s sad to see them close but I wish them well in their next venture.

I’ve been dying to go to Acadia for ages and finally made it there with my family last weekend. Service is warm and friendly, just like their cozy space!
Our party of 5 started out with some cocktails which were fantastic. Among other things, if not almost everything, they also make their own sodas! I tried the ginger beer with a nice bourbon — YUM.
We started out with their cornbread which came with a pork butter (I think?) anyway, it was delicious. Don’t miss it.
For mains we ordered the duck x 2 (AMAZING!), beef cheek (was so moist and tender!), the clam bake (great), and the blackened white fish (my dad wouldn’t share it so I guess it must’ve been good).
We also ordered sides and shared with the table — shrimp and grits (so good, so creamy!), collard greens (really good as they come with thick bacon), a lobster rice dish with squid ink (so flavourful and rich!!!) and scalloped potatoes (was okay, presentation was fun and different but standard dish).
We were also celebrating two birthdays so one of each dessert seemed necessary — lemon curd tart — outstanding, a peanut butter and chocolate ganache — so freaking good, and an apple tart — was like apple pie, standard.
Can’t wait to go back!

Steps away from the traffic of the College Street strip, the drunkish, university students out on the prowl and (arguably) mediocre Italian food, lays a gem of extraordinary proportions. I can now see why Acadia made number 2 on the Toronto Life Best New Restaurants list in 2012… Commence kicking of oneself that I waited so long to try this place.
On our way in, Dinner Stud and I were instructed by smokers outside to get the Shrimp and Grits, actually we were commanded to… I guess we’re the obedient types because once we had be greeted and sat by the friendly host, we settled on sharing the app. We also agreed to share the Barbeque Beef Cheek and the Buttermilk Fried Quail with sides of Collards and a Lobster/​Rice/​Squid ink concoction.
The grits were luxuriously creamy with well-​seasoned shrimp and oyster mushrooms. My only complaint is that there wasn’t more of it… Guess sharing wasn’t the way to go on that dish.
The Beef Cheek was so tender it basically fell apart as soon as my fork touched it. Knife rendered utterly useless, I was speechless as it hit my lips. Buttermilk Fried Quail on waffles was an excellent introduction to quail for me, there really is something about deep fried poultry. The spicy maple syrup was a zingy, sweet touch. Collards were hardy and delicious, was that because of the greens or the bacon? Who’s to say? The Lobster/​Squid ink/​rice whatever it was… honestly, wasn’t my favourite. Dinner Stud and I agreed, the ink was distracting. But I think for others it would be an excellent choice as it came highly recommended but just missed the mark for us.
We sipped away on our Kensington brewed Baldwin FishEYE PA and left happy and eager to return. This place is a must for foodies that love them some American soulfood. Also worth noting is that the patio would be quite lovely in the summer months. Ah summer, come back soon!

Not being from Toronto, I hadn’t heard anything about this place. The first thing that struck me was the size of the kitchen, (which is open) compared to the amount of seating. My first thought was — not a good place to come to when really packed, I can imagine the line cooks getting in the weeds pretty quickly. The décor was nice however a bit generic. Some nice photos on the walls and pleasant interior lighting. We sat outside as it was a perfect night however I found the generic garden furniture a bit low brow for the menu.
For appetizers we all shared the charcuterie, gazpacho and pickled mackerel
The flavors in each of these was very good but was a bit off put by the slate plates that 2 of the apps were served on. My first thought was old roofing, maybe some people go for the rustic thing. The gazpacho was served in an oversized glass mixing bowl which simply boggled me and really detracted from the beautiful red color of the soup. The next thing I noticed was the portion size which I found to be a bit light.
For entrees we had The flat iron steak, tomato tart, trout — I had the pork loin and confit pork belly. There was not much sharing at this point because we were all really hungry having waited over 45 mins for the entrée to come out. I believe the kitchen was having technincal issues. I tried the steak which was good but quite rare. Note that the person who took the order never asked what preference to cooking the orderee had. My pork loin was good but a bit more rare than I like it. The pork belly would have done well being in the confit for a couple more hours as the fat was a bit chewy and the meat was tough. The flavor was nice but the portion was under 5 oz total with an artful but skimpy garnish. The person who had the trout complained it was cold by the time it had reached our table.
We ordered desert, I had a bourbon, which I might add they have a good selection of. Again the oversized glass bowl came out for a strawberry shortcake and I was like… really?
Overall we spent 3 hours here, they struggled to produce an order of cornbread, but it did finally come in between the entrée and desert. I felt the price point was too high for what we had however I could tell the chef is talented and creative. One of our waitstaff never smiled, the other was really stiff but professional. The FoH manager was really great and kept a good façade going, thanks. Over all I think if you’re looking for a great scratch meal you could do better maybe someplace else? I could see this place being great for a very light snack and cocktails. The bar options were pretty cool (house made tonics) maybe it was a bad night for them, I understand all about bad nights in this industry but 3 hours is just too epic for a full meal when the restaurant is about ¹⁄₃ capacity.

I’m going to try to make this short and sweet. Otherwise I’m just going to have good intentions of writing a review that never happens. My fiancé and I went to Acadia while on a trip to Toronto based on the Unilocal reviews. We couldn’t have been happier.
One of the highlights was our hostess/​waitress. She was a great blend of smartass, informative, passionate, and professional.
I’m a fan of bitter drinks. I ordered the «Baselines» drink: Kentucky rye, amaro nonino, charred pineapple, mint. Really good, and very smooth. A bit too smooth for my taste; I like a little more bite. My second drink had something to do with Sazerac. Nice and bitter. Both were great, though.
We got the cornbread and bacon butter. Both of us loved it. We’re from the south (in the US), and they did a good job. We got the chilled almond and grape soup as an appetizer and the flat iron steak for the entrée. I loved the soup. My fiancé liked the taste but wasn’t big on the texture. The flatiron steak with eggplant purée was amazing.
All in all a fantastic meal with great wait staff. They replaced our silverware a couple of different times, and when I got up they refolded my napkin. Nice touches. FWIW, we like lots of different foods and consider ourselves «foodies» (more or less). The food here was cooked really well, and the flavorings were subtle and succulent. We would definitely come here again.

Amazing! BF and I decided to visit Acadia last minute on a Thirstday and although they were fully booked, they worked things around to accommodate us at the bar.
BF and I decided on the tasting menu and were glad we did. Unlike most other tasting menus, we each received different dishes essentially doubling the tasting options. Fantastic idea. Every dish was perfectly presented with the flavours to match. Became my BF’s favourite all-​time meal, superseding his previous from four years ago at now closed, Harvest, in Prince Edward County.
Service was attentive and professional without being stuffy and it has a great atmosphere.
It is expensive but worth it. Go.

…The cocktail list at Acadia is sophisticated and creative. I tried the Corpse Reviver No 2 (Gin, Lillet Blanc, Cointreau, Lemon), which was tart but refreshing, and the Maple Shack (Bourbon, Maple, Peychauds and egg white) which had a hint of sweetness that was not at all overwhelming. Both were delicious. For my still-​nursing-​a-​hangover partner, they were gracious enough to whip up an entire pitcher of house brewed Earl Grey iced tea, American style– no sugar. Ordinarily, I would have done the wine pairings ($ 36), but I had an early morning photo shoot the next day and I didn’t want to be too dehydrated or bloated.
We did, however, both opt for the $ 69 five course tasting menu, composed predominately of tasting-​sized portions of existing menu items. Over the evening, we each received different courses (which is definitely my preference– because we share food anyways). This is what we had:
Chicken Cracklin’ with Hot Sauce and Blue Cheese
Deliciously salty and crispy crackling with a perfect amount of heat, balanced out by the creamy foam. For those who usually find blue cheese offensive, I found the use of a foam to really temper its pungency, so that you still got that characteristic flavour, without it overwhelming the dish.
Acadia’s Cornbread with Pork Butter and Mesquite
Everyone loves the cornbread, and after one bite, it’s obvious why. I loved it my first visit, and loved it even more this time around. The bread had a spongy interior, and a buttery crisp edge, with lots of microscopic pores for soaking in all of the aromatic butter. And oh, that damn butter. With all of it’s savoury, smoky flavour, I cannot imagine a more delicious spread…

Sequels have never been my favourite because they are generally cheesier, a money-​grab, or worse than the original. The only exception was probably the sequel to Rush Hour and now, Acadia version 2.0. While ownership has not changed, in a game of chef’s musical chairs former executive chef Matt Blondin left to join David Chang’s Momofuku outpost in Toronto and Patrick Kriss (formerly of Splendido) would be directing from here on out. Lights, camera, action!
Before I delve into the details I will divulge that my first experience was à la carte versus this second time where I splurged and went for the tasting menu. At $ 69 for 5 courses, I simply could not resist. If you want to go over the top, you can add the wine pairings for an additional $ 36.
The service here was very attentive and the staff were very knowledgeable and helpful in answering questions about the dishes, drinks and making suggestions.
Of the many drinks we consumed that night, I particularly enjoyed the Maple Shack composed of Bourbon, maple, Peychaud’s and egg whites. Not overly sweet with hints of vanilla. The Ain’t No Sunshine came in a close second (Gin, Strega, lavender honey, lemon + thyme).
We started off with a plate of Chicken Cracklin’ (hot sauce, blue cheese) and Crispy Pork Belly (rosemary, black peppers). While I do love me some melt-​in-​your-​mouth pork belly, I enjoyed the cracklin’ a lot more because of its crispiness and the bit of zing from the hot sauce and blue cheese combo. It’s like having fried chicken but eating only the tastiest part — the skin!
The good thing about getting the tasting menu at Acadia is that they mix things up so you’re not all stuck eating the same thing; this also means you get to sample more. For the rest of the evening we would compete to see who got the best dish from each course. For our first course we feasted on the Pickled Mackarel and Pork Rillette. The award for best cinematography definitely went to the mackarel served with a southern mirepoix, yogurt, fried smelt, Carolina gold rice and pork vinaigrette. The piping of yogurt made for a very fancy presentation — like a string of pearls alternating between white and Tahitian black pearls. Texturally, I found the skin to be a bit chewy and some may even say it was a very fishy fish. The rillette composed of a duo of pork (head and smoked loin), horseradish, mustard and cornichons with crunch slices of croûton. The various textures of the pork made every bite interesting.
While waiting for our second course we were brought a plate of Acadia’s famous Cornbread with whipped pork butter and mesquite. Why stop at just plain butter right?
Next up were the Ricotta Dumplings and Anson Mills Grits. The grits were something I was looking forward to (having had it the first time I dined at Acadia). While I always thought that Cantonese congee was a delight in a bowl, they don’t hold a flame to these cheesy, creamy grits cooked in a pork hock consommé with chunks of gulf prawns. We couldn’t keep our spoons down! The dumplings lost the race for the leading role and got casted off for a weaker supporting role. The flavours of the ricotta dumpling were very mild and subtle and just faded into the background once we spooned into the grits. As the critics would say… the performance was forgettable.
«Third time’s a charm?» Well Acadia certainly charmed me with their Charred Octopus with pickled side striped prawn, orange, chili, Belgian endive and peanut dish. The octopus had a nice crust to it without compromising the integrity of tenderness. Presentation-​wise this was my favourite dish of the night with it’s bright oranges and yellows. The other dish brought out during this course was the Smoked Sturgeon, a steak-​like fish served with cuttlefish, sunchoke, Volte Face, grapes + mustard seeds.
This course proved to be the toughest one to judge in terms of a clear winner as both dishes were delicious — so we ended up with a tie. The Roasted Veal Sweetbreads were served with tender slices of tongue, corned cheek, red cabbage, pumpernickel + Russian dressing. I am always happy when offals grace my plate because they are so delicious when done right and so terribly gross if you overcook them. The Beef Striploin made for a sturdy meal with spinach purée, creamed mushrooms and pickled Cippolini to match it’s boldness.
I can tell you that we enjoyed both the Pear Sorbet served with brown butter cake and the decadent Dark Chocolate Ganache made perfect with peanut butter and Maldon salt. Watch out Reese’s!
While Acadia wouldn’t win Picture of the Year for me, it definitely tops the list of nominees for my food memoirs for 2012. The food is all well-​executed and flavours and textures are considered in the grand scheme of things to create the masterpieces that are put forth before you. In the word’s of Arnold Schwarzenegger «I’ll be back.» *Cue exit music*

I came here with a large group and Acadia managed to win over the pickiest and least «foodie» member with ease. We all really loved our food!
I didn’t think the portions were that small. Although the plates were a bit expensive, I wasn’t expecting a cheap meal.
Every bite of food I had was amazing. We ended up ordering most of the items on the menu given that the group was so big. Every item, from the mains to the sides, was exceptional and there was no dish that we wish we had skipped.
The dishes are presented beautifully with true devotion to detail.
Highly recommended for a special occasion dinner!

Had a pleasant experience here.
Ambiance was great, service was great. They took our coats as we entered the restaurant, pushed our seats in whenever we got out of them, and folded up our napkins.
The server suggested the tasting menu since it was our first time there, but we decided to order a la carte. I think the tasting menu may be the cause of other Unilocalers saying portion sizes were too small.
We ordered the following dishes:
— snack: cornbread
— appetizer: grits
— appetizer: quail ballentine
— main: poached chicken
— main: sweetbreads
All the dishes were prepared very well, extremely flavourful, and portion sizing was just right.
Cornbread served was a hefty portion; this is a savoury cornbread, with a pork butter spread.
Grits is amazing — cheesy, with prawns.
Quail Ballantine was delicious, good sized appetizer
Poached chicken was a bit rich for me but packed a lot of flavour. It came with a hen-​egg ‘sauce’ which was almost a meal on its own.
Sweetbreads were delicious, except it was my first time trying sweetbreads and i did not enjoy the texture.
I would definitely go back again.

This is the four star restaurant you will never visit twice, if you make it the first time. Here’s the low down on why I had to give it three stars…
1. The food is very good and artfully prepared. The seafood dishes have more creativity than the beef dishes. The desserts are similar to other places in town.
2. The portions, as have been mentioned, are small. In fact, my 69 $ five course tasting menu would not have filled me up, were it not for a serving of cornbread in the middle of the courses that was all out of proportion to everything else served. The cornbread was delicious, but two pieces of the stuff exceeded any two of the courses in size.
3. The cocktails are very good. They range from 11 – 15 $. The Southern Mule was a good starter.
4. The ambiance is terrible. The dining area looks like they had less than a week to set up shop. Aside from low lighting, the place looked like a bare room that had some tables put in it. The tables and metal chairs look cheap, and the chairs are very uncomfortable. Nothing about the dining room matches the food or the prices thereof. The place does not invite you back.
5. The service is good, but not spectacular.
The conclusion for this place is that it misses on value. For the same money, you can have a white tablecloth meal and five star food and service at the best restaurants in town, and all of this while leaving full.

So much hype, so little in return. I was looking forward to trying one of «Toronto’s Alleged Best», I was disappointed, leaving the restaurant thinking — what did I just eat?
Upon their recommendation, we had the Tasting Menu, which had a little bit of everything. Considering the little portions, they did serve up a little bit of everything, which was nice and was filling enough towards the end.
Flavours were nothing too special, STEAK, ROASTED VEAL SWEET BREAD (this was actually my favourite), RICOTTA DUMPLING (this was weird, frothy and like a blown up rice kernel), «ACCLAIMED» CORNBREAD (was dry, flavourless, and coarse), CORN GRITS (this was the other tolerable dish, good in flavour but very small in serving)…
They served a whole bunch of forgettable stuff. I love the culinary experience in Toronto, but this should definitely not be voted one of the best restaurants and must try’s in Toronto. I heard they changed up their chef — maybe they should change it back?

I was here a few months ago (with Patrick as chef). Acadia featured some of the best food I’ve eaten in Toronto: complex, well-​executed, and above all, tasty. That said, portions are absolutely TINY, especially considering the price point. I’m not exaggerating; in 39 other Unilocal reviews, I don’t think I’ve ever complained about portion sizes anywhere. We left hungry after eating three courses each, plus a «snack.» Patio out front was nice but the dining room looked like a miserable place to eat. Mint julep cocktail was okay but was served in a dinky plastic imitation of a real mint julep class. Quirky service and extremely slow.
All in all, the food saves Acadia from being forgettable. Not in a rush to go back, though.

Yet another place I’ve been to where the first time was 5 stars, the second time 3, so they end up with a 4.
Food is good, but really small portions so don’t expect to walk away full. This is almost like a grazing-​restaurant. First time, drinks off the cocktail list were great; second time, they were — I hate to write this — too boozy. It was basically not a cocktail but just straight up alcohol. I like the ambience but I find the service too friendly and a little intrusive.

After I head news that Matt Blondin was leaving I coudln’t procrastinate any longer and decided to try one of the hottest restaurants in Toronto this past year.
The service is impeccable, when I made the reservation I mentioned a couple of dietary restrictions my SO had and upon being presented the menu they remembered and mentioned wihch dishes we would not want due to those restrictions. The whole night our server was attentive and very easy to deal with as we enjoyed our evening.
The food was pretty amazing, the style and taste had the caliber of a highend Michilin star restaurant without any pretentious attitude given at the restaurant. I know a lot of people complain about the portion sizes but if you do an appy, entrée, sides, and dessert you’ll be just fine. Just don’t expect to go here and dine out a budget because you will need to order enough for yourself to truly enjoy the experience.
We tried the famed Shrimp and grits and although I never like grits when i travelled down south this version made me wanting more. Another appy we tried were the quail which again was spot on and very tasty. For entres we did both fish dishes and both were cooked with perfection and presented in such a haute couture manner. I really was confused and had to think where I was again. We did a side of their cornbread and yes they are absolutely delicious. Dessert we did the Lemongrass pudding which was light, sweet, and exotic that really helped finished off the night nicely.
Sad to see the chemistry change at this restuarant but I hope they keep everything together after Matt Blondin leaves. I would certainly be back.

I really enjoyed the cornbread and the grits to start, and for my main I had an app, the Maryland Prawn. It was really tasty with pickles and rye bread crumbs, but was tiny and overpriced.
They had propeller beer by the bottle. A Nova Scotian treat. The best bitter of all time. If you haven’t tried it, you should get on that.
My beef with this place is that the menu is hard to understand. The language used is pretentious, and at times does not aptly describe the food. The food is decent, let it speak for itself without all of these flowery words, friends. If something is a soup — you should call it a soup. Ya feel me?!
The wait staff was friendly, and they have a great smoke-​free open-​air patio.
I think the company I was with and the propeller beer really made the night, though, and it likely won’t be my first choice in this hood, but I get the appeal.

I was curious to find out what a restaurant that specializes in Southern food was doing in Toronto and so I headed down to Acadia with two of my friends. I walked away feeling as if this place could easily get 5 stars with a few adjustments but it missed the mark a few too many times to be anywhere close right now.
Atmosphere/​service — I really like the look of this place. Many of the recent restaurants opened by young chefs have overdone the hipster look — exposed brick walls, dim lighting, chalkboard menu and the feeling like you are sitting in the kitchen. This place does things a bit differently. It is spacious and brightly lit, the menus are presented to you at the table and the kitchen, while exposed for viewing, is off to the side, away from the main dining area. On the service side, I was very impressed. Both the waitress who took our drink order and the waiter who helped us with our food were incredibly polite, knowledgable and efficient. ⁵⁄₅ stars
Food — This is where the restaurant is more of a mixed bag.
Starters
Whitefish Boudin Balls — I had high expectations given the glowing reviews the sausage version of this dish received but it completely missed the mark. They were way too fishy and one note — it was like I was eating an unseasoned fish. I would never order these again.
Grits — Holy shit these were incredible. The creamy texture of the grits mixed with the perfectly cooked shrimp was a little bit of heaven in my mouth.
Quail– Like the whitefish balls, this was entirely unimpressive. The quail was a bit overcooked and was rather bland. The accompanying grapes and other random stuff on the plate added nothing to the dish and was in fact, quite a distraction given its disparate flavour profile.
Cornbread — As with the grits, holy shit this was good. I have always thought of cornbread as this dried out toast but my mind has now been changed. These were fantastically fluffy and I wanted to eat many more pieces after we had finished them.
Mains
Veal cheek — Impressively tender given the cut of meat but incredibly one note. The dish was far too sweet and was begging for something to cut the richness. Once again, a big miss.
Albacore — Fortunately, my friends ordered this dish and let me try some. Now that was impressive. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever had such perfectly seasoned and cooked tuna anywhere before.
Now given how high the highs were and the impressive service, I would be inclined to give this place 4 stars even given the three misses. However, I can’t do it for one reason — portion size. For the prices we paid, everything should have been 25%-50% bigger. After finishing this meal, I was still hungry and that is never a good feeling. I would go back again just for the grits and cornbread alone but I will never be fully satisfied with this place until they give me more food.

Acadia is a buzzworthy new restaurant. The hype around it is about equal to the frenzy around Woodlot, last year. And like Woodlot, it continues the just-​off-​College St. trend, and probably the I-​tried-​it-​too-​soon personal trend, for me.
The Southern inspired cocktails are fantastic. Try one, try all. They are carefully concocted and exceptionally executed.
Acadia’s actual food fare ranges from mildly acceptable to absolutely outstanding.
Boudin Balls with Red Pepper Honey are fried dirty rice balls with a hickory-​tinged deep-​red sweet-​sour dipping sauce. They are life changing. You must try them.
The other game changer is Anson Mills Grits & Shrimp. This take on a traditional southern comfort dish will literally blow your mind. It’s like nothing you’ve ever tasted before. The grits are smooth, the shrimp are perfectly cooked and the presence of oyster mushrooms and pimento cheese is subtle but definitely felt. A pool of ham hock consommé floats atop, with a soft and subdued salty and porky flavour. I had one bite when we ordered it in an array of appetizers, and knew I needed it as my main dish.
Back to the beginning now, to summarize the entire experience.
The complimentary starter plate, with a variety of lightly pickled vegetables like okra, green beans, potatoes and beets, was nice. So were the boiled peanuts it came with.
Northumberland Straight Scallops were tasty. The chicken crackling was a nice touch, since it’s impossible not to love crispy skin. Chesapeake Bay Crab was just okay. I thought the crab tasted a bit fishy though. Neither are particularly memorable dishes.
I had some tastes of other mains off my friends’ plates. Red Grouper and Nagano Farms Pork Ribs bites were amazing — especially the ribs. But, it was really hard to get past the portions sizes once the (beautifully presented) plates are put in front of you. They were ridiculously small for the price. It was borderline laughable. It actually left a bad taste in our party of 10’s collective mouth. No matter how good the food was, it was hard to get past this.
There are a few kinks that need to be ironed out. I suppose that’s to be expected for a newly opened restaurant. The room needs some life injected into it, and the service, while friendly, needs some polishing when it comes to things like pacing and dealing with a couple credit cards on one bill.
Acadia is good, sure, but it has the ability to become great. I’m looking forward to seeing what their Fall menu has to offer.

I walked into Acadia Restaurant and I felt right at home. Even as a single diner, I was welcomed with open arms … and even I only ordered an appetizer and a side. the waiter still really accommodating and offers me excellent services! He even worried that I was bored by letting me read a foodie magazine about Ramens :)
Acadia’s menu is simple and unique, blending Maritime seafood with a Cajun flair. They also offers a 4 courses Chef’s Choice menu! With the help of my waiter, I decided on:
Cornbread with Sweet Potato Butter ($ 5) soft with great texture and has this fresh out of the oven fluffiness… and sweet potato butter!!! I wondering can I get this anywhere else?!!
Boudin Balls ($ 6) hmm hmmm… deep fried pork sausage with rice was sinfully delicious. The red pepper honey dipping sauce was sweet and with a sour after taste.
Chesapeake Bay Crab ($ 12) is a cold appetizer that has a delicately balanced taste. But I probably would skip that next time and try out their Northumberland Strait Scallops instead!
Great selection of crafted cocktails with most of them with a southern twist! I definitely need to come back just for some cocktails!
The complimentary appetizer with the different pickles vegetables was a nice touch. but I love complimentary things, especially if they are that tasty and refreshing!!!
The deco is simple and rustic… and love the open kitchen setting as you can see the chef busy preparing my meals!
I highly recommended trying out Acadia if you looking for a different dining experience!