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Writer's pictureNeil Greenwood

Review: The Botanist - Media City

Updated: Jun 8, 2022

This was my visit and was only a brief one as we were going to watch a show so didn't stay for drinks etc after we had eaten.

1: First Impressions


The place has really cool decor, a lot of greenery, wooden beams on the ceiling and a kind of cosy feel to it. The restaurant is upstairs and I can't say if I noticed a lift, but if I'm honest I wasn't looking as I just headed for the stairs. (if I find out I will update this bit).

There was the regular seating inside and also a kind of conservatory-style area with views out of the front of the building. It wasn't dead busy as we had come for food early so we could eat before the show, so we were seated at about 6:30pm.

It was a nice relaxed environment and you could easily feel comfortable in jeans and a T-shirt. In fact I wore jeans and a long-sleeved top (only cos it was cold out)


2: The Experience


As soon as we got up the steps we were met and gret (I don't know the past tense words are for meet and greet lol) and shown. toa table for two. There were drinks menus on the table which I always think helps speed things along better. Our server James introduced himself gave us food menus and took our drinks order while we decided on food. He also said if we needed anything just to let him know. I always think it's nice when you know who is going to be serving you and have them consistently for the night.

Lynn had a glass of prosecco and I went for a cherry and strawberry cocktail. The cocktail was really nice with nice crema on the top, which is a good sign of a nice cocktail and not a lazy bit of fruit juice with vodka ready mixed. Nice littel edible flower touch too.

For starters, we shared some salt and pepper onion petals which were really nice. Think deep-fried onion slices in a kind of KFS coating. Not spice so okay for the less adventurous palette too. These came with a creme fresh dip in the centre. I could have eaten them easily on a night out as a bar snack, lovely!





For the main course, I had the seabass on a bed of fried gnocchi, peas and a tomato sauce with pesto oil and it was lovely. Two pieces of fish with perfectly crispy skin so I was happy to wat it all. There was a good size portion and I was full afterwards. Lynn had a plant based burger which looked nice, but I didn't get a photo :-/


After polishing off the first cocktail I had a cheeky porn star martini to wash the main course down with. This was equally nice and well presented.


3: Pros and Cons


Pros:


Great location near lots of other places

Price reasonable


Cons:


More bar food casual dining than restaurant-style (but that's not a bad thing it's horses for courses)


4: The Final Score


I would give this place a score of:-

Nice food and service, caters for vegans and vegetarians on the menu. If you are wanting bar food type meals, you can't go wrong. Would definitely go back.


The Star SCoring Guide can be found HERE

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