The Botanist Restaurant Lunch Review

I had noticed The Botanist a few weeks ago; its prime position on the corner of London`s exclusive Sloane Square makes it that that bit more appealing and having read that Geri Halliwell had been spotted there I was keen to sample the dining experience for myself.

We walked through the intimate bar area to the more formal restaurant, as it was bitterly cold outside it had an extremely warm, relaxed and welcoming feel. The interior colours combined with the natural light that flooded through the windows gave a soothing effect and we were seated right by the window. One element that did catch my eye was the illuminated light blocks on the back wall featuring interesting illustrative botanical references.

Having already browsed the lunch menu online, we didn`t waste much time selecting our food choices. To start with I opted for the crayfish lasagne, cucumber, shellfish bisque and for main, the salmon fishcake, spinach, beurre blanc with a side of French fries. Seafood of any kind is my absolute favourite so naturally it made these courses easy to choose for me. My guest for starter chose the roast wood pigeon on toast, puy lentils and hazelnut hollandaise then for main course she asked to have the Dorset crab linguine with parsley and chilli as a starter portion. We opted for a bottle of house white and I have to say this was divine to drink at lunchtime, incredibly light and refreshing. We had the opportunity whilst waiting for our starters to admire the array of luxury sports cars cruising by our window and passersby dressed in smart Sloane business and leisure wear. Our starters arrived and mine looked exquisite, my guest`s on the other hand looked a little well done. I polished mine off in minutes, as it was very tasty but as my guest had never tried roast wood pigeon before she commented that it was a little tough although it was served pink. Moving onto the main course my salmon fish cake was served as one large helping on top of spinach surrounded by the beurre blanc, and for me lacked any sort of presentation. My French fries came served on a small plate and by the time they arrived weren`t as hot as they could be. Having said that I did really enjoy the salmon fish cake, it was full of flavour and consequently tasted far better than it looked. On the other hand my guest found her Dorset crab linguine with parsley and chilli a little bland and a little disappointing so was pleased she had opted for the starter size. After both courses we still had room for dessert, a rarity these days so it was really satisfying to finish on something sweet. I chose the baked pumpkin cheesecake, apple and blackberry compote, and my guest had been craving the dark chocolate fondant with parsnip ice cream. Both were absolutely delicious and so we completed our dining experience on a real high!

During our meal the service was a little inconsistent but I do have to praise our waiter, Lorin who was amazing and very attentive, he really did make our dining experience a memorable one at The Botanist so I`d like to thank him for that.