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Acacia
Category: Restaurants American (New) American (New) [Edit]
2637 Lawrenceville RdLawrenceville, NJ 08648
(609) 895-9885
- Hours:
Tue-Fri 11:30 am - 2:30 pm
Tue-Thu, Sun 5:30 pm - 9 pm
Fri-Sat 5:30 pm - 10 pm
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Very Loud
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
18 reviews for Acacia
18 reviews in English
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Review from Arthur P.
Mt Laurel, NJ
12/29/2011
Had the pleasure of going here for a recent corporate holiday party. Been working in the area for years and knew this place was here but never stopped by. I must admit - for a luncheon that completely closed the place down they did a most excellent job of both service and quality.
Usually at these larger corporate events one person is eating and then its 5-10 mins before the next table is served, but Acacia did an all around excellent job at our holiday party. Enjoyed the meal and service, and plan on going back to have dinner with my wife there one day soon. Definitely would recommend for larger parties!!! -
Review from Andrea S.
Albany, NY
12/28/2011
All of our meals were delicious, as was the bread basket, but the clear star was the lamb shank. Fall-off-the-bone meat and a huge portion.
BYO is great. This place isn't overpriced for the quality and portion of the food. "And they don't even serve wine?" Bring your own and avoid a glass marked up to a price of 2/3 that bottle.
8 Thumbs Up from our table of 4. Our service was great (a chiller/ice bucket for our wine, even though it was red, because hey some people might want that and be embarrassed to ask?), the breadbasket was super yummy, the ambiance was delightful (quiet but not silent, dim lighting but not pitch black), all around love. -
Review from Tony M.
Union, NJ
1/29/2012
This is one of my favorite places in central Jersey. I've been here a number of times and was never disappointed. The food is good (although it is on the pricier side), and the wait staff is also very attentive. My last visit was on 1/21. I was a little disappointed that the menu changed, and they no longer make the walnut encrusted cod with coconut risotto, but I had the fillet mignon instead, and it was nicely prepared. My partner had the tuna. I am not a big fan of seared tuna, but when I tried it, I loved it. We shared the fried calamari with balsamic reduction and hot peppers. The reduction was tangy, sweet, and spicy, which provided a nice balance to the richness of the fried calamari. The chocolate dome was a great dessert, and the fact this is a BYO place helps to offset the cost of the entrees.
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Review from Jacqueline O.
Ewing, NJ
11/18/2011 Seated via OpenTable
The food was very good - the server was nice and attentive. It was very expensive and the entrees didn't even come with a salad.
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Review from Kenneth R.
Berkeley, CA
6/3/2011 1 Check-in Here
The average yelp rating is right on the money. Acacia is indeed A-OK, but I can't quite describe myself as a fan.
I view the absence of a liquor license here as a big plus: you can bring in all the wines that you want without worrying about high markups on humdrum bottles that you can find anywhere. Of course, you can't pop in for a quick meal with a wine by the glass if you happen to find yourself in town unexpectedly, but I guess we'll just have to live with that.
More seriously, the absence of a liquor license implies that food prices are going to be a tad higher, but I think that this is completely fair. This restaurant does not seem to be gouging. It looks good on the inside and on the outside, and it delivers a good product!
I had the octopus carpaccio and thought it was an excellent appetizer. It was attractively presented (on a triangular plate), and the tastes were interesting and complemented each other well. My main dish was the Mongolian Barbecued Berkshire Pork, which I liked a lot as well. I'd be happy to return someday. -
Review from Atilla B.
Princeton, NJ
8/20/2010
2.5 stars... Went in for lunch; got the chicken avocado egg rolls for appetizer and the norwegian salmon burger for an entree, while the lady tried the crab cakes... there weren't too many options on the menu.
The baskets of assorted bread were good, with some very decent olive oil to dip into. However, the egg roll was not as good as expected. Our entrees also fell slightly below our expectations...
In all, it was only marginally better than a quick / casually prepared dinner at home... perhaps not worth the price of admission.. -
Review from Bootylicious J.
San Francisco, CA
6/6/2010
I went here for my graduation dinner, since everything in Princeton was packed, and it was an incredibly disappointing experience.
The price point is higher than anything at Princeton, and they don't even serve wine. To top it off, the service was subpar and the decor was a mess.
Their menu was very boring, with only a few options (all entrees over $30) with no good vegetarian options. It was more expensive than the Ferry House, Mediterra, and Lahiere's, the best restaurants in downtown Princeton.
When the food arrived, it was disgusting. All six of our dishes were dripping with butter and tasted only like butter and salt, even though we all ordered different things! The appetizers were also overseasoned with salt, and there wasn't much beyond that. If I was looking for a stick of butter with salt, I could have found that in my own kitchen.
I apologized profusely to my parents for a week afterwards, because I felt so guilty that I had suggested we try this awful place. If you're looking for a nice dinner, you're better off going to Mediterra, which is cheaper with better service and a greater variety of menu options.
Oh and one more thing: most fancy restaurants serve fresh bread after you order. Acacia served us stale bread that they had microwaved before serving! You could tell, because the crust and insides were chewy. -
Review from Amanda S.
New York, NY
9/14/2010
I chose Acacia to celebrate my anniversary at, not really sure what to expect. It was a bit out of our element .. BYOB, unfamiliar town, "innovative american cuisine". But 2 bottles of wine and 2 full bellies later, Acacia had my vote.
Sweet & Sour Calamari, Fresh Mozzerella, and Seafood Ceviche started us off with our bottle of white ... score. My date, who was especially hesitant to try this restaurant, went crazy over the calamari. Everything was FRESH, and of course, innovative.
Asian Pear Salad rocked my socks with it's pomegranate dressing.
Then we popped open the bottle of red .. paired perfectly with the Seared Peking Duck & Confit and the Seared Pork Chop. Again, everything fresh and everything tasty.
.. Unfortunately, I can't remember what we had for dessert. You can ask the bottles of wine. The wait staff was attentive and polite. The space was not overly crowded for a weekend night, but just enough to prove that it was worth stopping in for. This spot really hit home for me ! -
Review from Joe S.
Manhattan, NY
4/8/2010
Just had birthday dinner here. Overall a very enjoyable experience. The place wasn't very busy when we went so the service, overall, was very prompt. BYOB only.
Had the "beet" tartare (not really a tartare so maybe that should have been in quotes, even though it is a pun on beef tartare), mushroom quesadilla, and the carrot ginger soup to start. The former was a pretty straightforward beet salad with goat cheese and a slice of toasted french bread. The beets are well prepared, albeit average in flavor. The goat cheese was very rich and delicious. The quesadilla was hearty and topped with a creamy, delicious aioli that had just a hint of spice (personally would have liked a bit more kick). The carrot ginger soup was a pretty simple recipe but was well seasoned and I really enjoyed the spice of the dish.
For the main course I had the duck, which comes in a peking and confit preparation. The confit was delicious with a great skin and really tasty, fatty meat. I wasn't crazy about the peking preparation because the sauce was a bit over salted and that hurt the overall flavor of the dish. The accompanying mushroom risotto topped with vegetables was excellent. I could have eaten another entire helping of that stuff!
Dessert was really a let-down for me. The espresso was pretty poor; it had no crema! And the flavor was a bit too watery. My dad had the raspberry sorbet which was actually quite good. Unfortunately I made the massive mistake of ordering the gimmicky dish: ice cream tempura. The batter surrounding the ice cream was soggy, thick, and unappetizing. Very little like actual tempura. I ended up just digging the ice cream out of the fried batter and eating that. The whipped cream was really tasty, though. Note to self: if it's gimmicky, it's probably not great.
Overall this was a very good meal. I'm a big fan of simple, straightforward, delicious foods and Acacia really delivers on that front. The appetizers and entrees were all delicious and well thought out conceptually. I just wish I'd had the forethought to order something different for dessert. -
Review from Ryan L.
Trenton, NJ
6/7/2011
This rating is based on my one and only experience dining here. Me and my other half had a miserable time here. We went based on several good recommendations. Unfortunately for us, there was a business party of a dozen or so sitting in the corner and being obnoxious. The wait staff was extremely unattentive towards us. We felt seriously, seriously ignored. The food was good but when you're dishing out the cash and want a good, romantic evening, you should not be in a restaurant for two hours listening to a bunch of intoxicated people rambling on. I brought out a bottle of 2007 Didier Dagueneau Pur Sang expecting a great experience!!!
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Review from Karmel K.
Monmouth, NJ
7/10/2010
This place was surprisingly good. Wish i could give 3 1/2 stars, but unfortunately that's not an option.
Our server was great. Very pleasant and spot on with service even though it seemed like she had a lot of tables.
Seafood ceviche was great, as was the butter lettuce and eggplant salad.
My entree of salmon was tasty. The only offputting part about it was a ratatouille-like side. It didn't go with the salmon; would've gone better with an osso buco.
Husband's tuna was fairly good, according to him. Not the best, but still pretty good.
Dessert was the only thing that was off. The chocolate mocha pudding cake was dry. And my husband ordered banana ice cream instead of vanilla, but they messed that up. Not a huge deal.
Still pretty inexpensive since it's a BYOB. Will be back. -
Review from Jonathan L.
Rochester Hills, MI
7/16/2007
Coming soon.
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OVERALL: %%%%%
(out of %%%%%)
%%%%% = Must Try!
%%%% = Pretty Good
%%% = Average
%% = Not So Great
% = Hall of Shame -
Review from k m.
Brooklyn, NY
3/14/2011
My husband and I held a dinner party here for my relatives - almost 40 people. Joseph and his staff were very accommodating and worked with us on setting up a set menu with a lot of options for our guests. My favorites among their dishes were the Sweet & Sour Calamari appetizer, the Rack of Lamb and the Sweet Potato and Cranberry Bread Pudding.
Our group took up more than half of the restaurant. Everyone had a great time, commented on how good the food was, and enjoyed the atmosphere. Also, I loved that it was BYOB and there was no time restriction on how long we could stay. -
Review from Dustin M.
Skillman, NJ
9/21/2007
Had an anniversary dinner here last weekend. Lived in the Princeton area for 15 years and heard that the place was a little stuffy and that the servers were a tad arrogant. The place was quite nice and the servers were very pleasant. But the food is in no way worth the price. Their website said they had a chicken dish that looked good, but turns out that had been off the menu for a while. My rack of lamb was cooked almost properly but was ruined by the charring - it tasted too bitter and overwhelmed the flavor. The veggies were OK, but the parmesan mashed potatoes had no parmesan taste at all, and actually seemed more like instant potatoes... and I love instant potatoes, but these were tasteless. Wife's beef tornadoes were well cooked with a tasty gorgonzola butter, but the rest of her dish was below average. Dessert tried too hard to be good - my bread pudding had no pudding, though Wife's choice came with a very small creme brulee that was perfectly made - shame it was the size of a shot glass!
Overall, there's plenty of other higher-end places in the Lawrenceville/Princeton area to spend this kind of money. At least you can save a little since it's BYOB. -
Review from Jenna H.
Chicago, IL
10/30/2007
Acacia is my favorite restaurant in the Lawrenceville-area...maybe even in the Lawrenceville/Princeton area. I grew up in the area and have never had a bad meal here, most have been excellent, & I've had a range of entrees from duck to salmon. The service is professional, personable and (usually) knowledgable. I took my aunt here for her birthday & was amazed at the lunch menu prices--everything was under $15! For the quality & sophistication of the food it's a fantastic deal. Great restaurant, excellent food, & professional service in a nice setting (they also have outdoor dining in the warmer months).
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Review from Local C.
Lawrenceville, NJ
9/6/2008
Have always had great food here. Always.
BYO.
Ample parking in the rear.
Great place for a business function lunch or dinner, hands down. -
Review from Allyson P.
Pennington, NJ
3/10/2011
I give it 3.5 stars - lovely restaurant, attentive staff. Room quite chilly. The food was...fine. Appetizer of clams and mussels was bland, bland, bland - the bowl full of butter didn't even have taste. Boyfriend got scallops and loved them. I got filet mignon and thought, ehh. Also incredibly bland, as were the potatoes and the vegetables - I ended up drenching everything in the tasty sauce that covered the steak and it all tasted fine after that. The food was good but not worth the money.
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Review from Yvonne Y.
Robbinsville, NJ
5/13/2011
The food was good. The basket of bread came out nice an warm. They were accompanied with good olive oil. Yumm. We started off with the sweet and spicy calamari appetizer ($12) because it received a lot of good reviews. When we got it, we felt the breading was not refined enough for the price we paid. It was also a little too sweet for our taste. When it came to the main course, we ordered both of the house specialties. They were the Rack of Lamb ($33) and the Duck Confit ($26). Both were good, but for the price we paid, the food could have been prepared better. For example, my lamb came out medium well instead medium rare. My boyfriends duck was overcooked. On the bright side, there was some charring on the outside of both dishes, so we thought that was a nice detail. Then for dessert, we had the rainbow carrot cake ($8.95). There was nothing fantastic about the cake. The only "rainbow" resemblance was the green dyed pistachio ice-cream and several blueberries and one sliced strawberry. Overall, we felt it was good, but definitely overpriced. For $105 (tax and tip included), we could have gotten a fantastic meal somewhere else.
