A Bloomin’ Good Meal at The Botanist #Review

Briony Wilson
19th September 2018

After a busy weekend there is nothing worse than getting home to realise you have nothing in the fridge, and the shops are shut. Well it didn’t take much persuasion to go out for dinner, on this occasion we opted for The Botanist so we could enjoy some well deserved cocktails.

After hearing amazing things about the desserts we decided to skip starters to try and save some space for pudding. Out of the group, two of us opted for the deli boards; personally I think, you can’t beat a picky tea and the most difficult part of a meal is always deciding what to have, but on a deli board you can choose 4 different elements, it’s a great way to try lots of things. The boards cost £11.95 there is the option to add additional elements for extra £3.25. Our fellow dinner opted for one of the hanging kebabs again a signature item at the botanist as far as most 20’ somethings are concerned and also one of the best sellers.

The menu had 5 options of Hanging Kebab on this occasion we went for the Halloumi and Falafel Kebab, £10.95 – we were sold on the Garlic Butter, and decide to upgrade from the Cous Cous to the Sweet Potato Fries.

Whilst we waited we decided to treat ourselves to some cocktails, the menu has had an update since I lasted visited and two of the new cocktails took out fancy. The Wheat grass and Ginger ( a lively blend of wheat grass, fresh ginger, lemon juice, elder flower cordial, bergamot liquor and a dash of gin) and the Spiced Pineapple Punch (A tropical blend of pineapple juice, grapefruit bitters, kaffir lime syrup, lemon juice, Sailor Jerry and Wray & Nephew rum)  both fruity and refreshing and happened to compliment our food very well, a pleasant surprise when we hadn’t even considered that.

It wasn’t long before our food arrived, and we were very happy to see it. The presentation of the food at the botanist really adds to the experience, and in the age of the Instagram and Snapchat, they don’t disappoint. My Deli Board choices were; Salt and Pepper Whitebait, Polenta and Halloumi Chips, Macaroni Cheese with Spicy Sausage and Smoked Mackerel Pate (served in a cute little terracotta plant pot) which came with some beautiful Jalapeño and Cheddar bloomer Bread. Most of my choices were from the hot options and wow were they good! The Whitebait was lovely and crispy and well seasoned, it happened to go brilliantly with the Chilli Dipping Sauce that came with the Polenta Fries. Again wonderfully crisp, and well seasoned but personally they didn’t quite have enough  Halloumi for me as a cheese fiend. The Mackerel Pate had a great texture and was delightful with the Chilli Bread however the highlight for me had to be the Macaroni Cheese, the creamy sauce as you would expect but with a kick of Chilli from the Spicy Sausage  and topped with gooey Mozzarella . As it happened my fellow diner also opted for the Mac ‘n’ Cheese and the Polenta Fries but went for the Chorizo with Tomato and Red Wine and the Houmous  both were delicious with the Jalapeño Bread the Red Wine Sauce wasn’t to strong, and we used the Bread to mop up every-drip of it.

The Halloumi Kebab didn’t disappoint either loaded with crispy Falafel and perfectly Roasted Veg all brought together by the dripping Sweet Chilli and Saffron Butter. The almost dinner theatre of the presentation, makes it so fun to eat and as you work your way through the elements the flavours infuse and just makes it tastier with every bite.

Now after all of this we weren’t sure if we could face dessert, but after a little encouragement from our lovely server, we had to try the best selling Baked Chocolate Cookie Dough with Salted Caramel Ice Cream £5.95; so we decide to share! I can understand why this is a best seller, gooey cookie with melty chocolate chips, and sweet creamy ice cream a few bites were enough for me so I was glad we choose to share, but that skillet was left very clean by the time we had all dug in.

We will certainly be back soon, and as much as I would like to say, to work through the rest of the menu it is highly unlikely, after how amazing our selections were! It would take some convincing!