Burn baby burn: Acme’s courtyard
(Picture: Daniel Hambury/Stella Pictures Ltd)Ask someone to sketch out their hazy idea of east London dining and it might well look like Acme Fire Cult on a sunny day. Girded by repurposed shipping containers, this new, mostly outdoor barbecue spot is a little black-daubed, industrial oasis. A place of wafting woodsmoke, banked tables and leather-aproned, full-bearded men tending intently to a vast, multi-tiered grill.
But looks, in this instance, are a little deceiving. Because, though it presents as rustic, butch and familiar, Acme — which is a partnership between former St Leonards chefs Andrew Clarke and Daniel Watkins, plus 40ft Brewery co-founder Steve Ryan (who I should declare I know a bit) — is actually attempting something quite novel.
