[bartek]

Will phenyl acetate (or generally - phenyl esters) be cloven to phenol and acetate salt, when refluxed with alkaline metal carbonate in anhydrous acetone or alcohol, or presence of water is essential?

[Doc Oc]

I think in refluxing alcohol you'll just facilitate transesterification rather than hydrolysis of the ester.  Don't know about acetone, but if it's anhydrous I don't know if the carbonate salt would even dissolve.