The Botanist
Reviews · · · ·Rating: 3
We ate dinner here in November 2022.
Deep fried cauliflower
Mushroom, coconut, and sage soup
Cheeseburger and chips
Before we talk food, let’s talk service. We’re not upset, they were short staffed, and the people who actually turned up were very friendly. But plates were left on tables an embarrassingly long time, so long that we were suffering second hand anxiety over them. The waiter at the table next door completely ignored the tidily stacked pile of plates, and tried to leave, even when they were pushed towards him. It was only when frustrated diners called out to his turned back that he reluctantly returned, and did his job.
The cauliflower was an absolute triumph, there’s no real criticism that we could offer. Two sauces that were both nice, excellent batter, well cooked, well seasoned. Perfection.
The cheeseburger was super tasty. The Botanist is plant based, and their fake-meat patty was delicious. Great texture, great flavour, the right thickness and a good cook. It wasn’t dry, but was perhaps a bit crumbly. There was too much cheese, melted vegan cheese often comes out quite liquid-ey, but they had just put on too much. Certainly too much for the bottom bun which was disintegrating far too quickly to eat with any dignity.
The soup was a bit sad, especially because it sounded so nice. It started better than it finished, once it had cooled down a bit things got wearisome. A bit of a slog, a bit bland, it’s hard to put a finger on exactly what was wrong, but it just wasn’t good. The bread was excellent though.