The Botanist

Terrible service. Not great food. Best to avoid.
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0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Every visit to this very busy (booking advisable) but wonderful bright and airy bar and restaurant has been a real treat, the wait staff are very cheerful and considerate, timely, but with no constant interrupting of one's conversation (a particular annoyance of mine) and the food has been delicious. The salmon fishcakes with buerre blanc sauce are majorly scrumptious, so I usually have those, but everything we have tried from grilled fish to the puddings has been good. Incredible value as well for the pretty location on Sloane Square, rather noisy, more clatter than buzz but still a really great place!
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KikLondon
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Having stepped out of the London Underground into the pouring rain we quickly spotted The Botanist on Sloane Square. Although the place was packed out we found ourselves quickly seated at the bar and discovered an intriguing menu, which included an extensive choice of cocktails...

As our trip to London was to celebrate my partner's fortieth birthday, I was treated to champagne cocktails, namely Indigo Royale. The bar menu was equally impressive, we ordered a gourmet burger, charcuterie and Spanish olives; all of which surpassed our expectations!

The staff were friendly and efficient, the atmosphere was great and the bill was perfectly reasonable. The Botanist may have been a chance find, but it was a great way to start our tour of the city and is definitely somewhere to visit again!
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Pauline Price - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, February 13, 2011

Went to the Botanist on Wednesday night and had a wonderful evening. Met some friends and had a drink in the bar. We even managed to get a seat, which hasnt happened before when i've been.

We sat at a table just near the sliding doors (a little loud in the restaurant) but once we got settled in we hardly even noticed.

The food was lovely, well seasoned and presented beautifully. The waitress was very very lovely. She suggested all the right things, sides with our Pheasant and wines with our dessert and cheese. It was a very enjoyable evening and cant wait to return.
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G S - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Sunday, January 09, 2011

I often go to The Botanist after work for a drink with friends and have always really enjoyed myself. I only ate there for the first time two days ago and I was impressed. I had the onion soup followed by the pheasant breast, which was perfectly cooked and full of flavour. I didn't go for a dessert but one of my friends ordered the unusual caramel and pumpkin cheesecake, which worked surprising well! It was the perfect meal to warm you up on a cold winter's evening.
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Lauren
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, December 01, 2010

I have been going to the botanist regularily since it opened. Sadly the standard seems to have dropped drastically in that last few months. Poor service, substandard food. I am no longer impressed. I am not one to complain and genuinely hope that changes can be made to turn this place around as it is my local and I would hate to have to find a new spot to go.
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Benjamin
4 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Thursday, September 30, 2010

What a fabulous evening we had last night at the Botanist. After going out for a few drinks, we became peckish. When asking the young lady at the door for a table we were crossing our fingers as it was packed inside and out. Luckily enough she said we could have one in 5 minutes. We sat down in the buzzy dining room and settled in for some more drinks and a bite to eat.

A beautiful Chateau Briand and a bottle of wine were the choice of the evening and all were stunning. What a great evening!! To top it off the cocktails at the end were so creative, lime leaf twist. Yum!!

A busy place but the staff on the floor were so efficient and made our evening so enjoyable!! We will definately visit again soon!
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Gemma L R
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Saturday, June 26, 2010

This is the obvious replacement for the sadly missed Oriel, so two of us had coffee and toast there one morning last week. It was fine, no problems and friendly and efficient staff.

Let's hope that the breakfasts are up to the standard that your other reviewers suggest.

So far, so good.
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James - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, March 22, 2010

The best time to visit The Botanist for me is for breakfast/brunch, depending on how late my night was. Elegant setting, and wonderful food.

My favourite meal being the scrambled eggs and smoked salmon - delicious. Everything is great though - pancakes, fresh fruit, crepe, take your pick.

Make sure to try the Jing teas too. Really superb.
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EN
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, February 21, 2010

Popped in for a quick weekday lunch, and the place was nicely busy. We were shown to our table by a waiter who looked like he was dressed for an appearance in "Annie get your gun", but friendly enough in a sloaney sort of way. The menu reads well, and is reasonably priced, and the room is bright, but noisy. Unfortunately the food really let the side down, or to be more accurate, the chef.

The food tasted good generally, but was executed with a catalogue of errors. My starter of prawns and snails in a mousseline sauce firstly arrived cold, I mean fridge cold, in the center. This was replaced (after an uncomfortable wait for my dining companion who had to eat her "not great" soup alone) with a very hot version. Unfortunately the sauce had split, but I ate it as I didn't want another wait. After another long pause (this was supposed to be a quick lunch!) we chased our main courses...."They will be here in 1 minute" our bright but not particularly efficient waitress told us. They weren't. They were another 10 minutes, and when they arrived....my food was cold again! What was ironic is that I was warned not to touch my plate as it was allegedly very hot. It was a luke warm plate with lukewarm contents! The side dish of "Hand Cut" chips were nothing of the sort. They were standard uniform low quality french fries beloved of mediocre restaurants everywhere, but at least they were hot. And raw. Again the dishes went back to the kitchen, on their return the chips were cooked, but my risotto was now raw instead. Not al dente, actually crunchy.

What a farce of a meal. The place was redeemed by a charming female front of house. She really compensated for the kitchens inadequacies, but I am not sure I want to risk another disappointing meal here.
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Shappo
5 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Thursday, February 04, 2010