The Botanist

Very popular spot on Sunday lunchtime, maybe due to a Forest match starting just up the road at 1400, so quite busy and noisy. Had requested a quiet table because we had our nervous dog in tow but we were placed right under a loudspeaker. As I was driving I had the non-alcoholic Mind Mojito to drink but it was mainly just ice with hardly any 'drink'. Not good value. Food was good though, and very tasty, so can recommend the Hanging Kebabs - I had the Lamb version with Giant Couscous. Probably a good place to come at a quieter time (I.e. no Premiership match or cricket match on at the grounds next door creating big crowds).

Food was great, big portion sizes for the main and the hummus starter was absolutely delicious. Service could be improved upon. Our table was more out of the way and definitely lacked attention and there was confusion over drinks orders (but they were gracious enough to give us a couple on the house).

Cocktail-making masterclass with James! We booked a cocktail-making session to celebrate a birthday on a Saturday afternoon and had such a great time! James, who took the session, was very knowledgeable, demonstrating how to make each drink before letting us loose behind the bar in small groups to make our own. We made three cocktails off the menu, then invented our own creations with James guiding us on what kinds of ingredients work well together. Very good value for money too - just be sure to allow an extra hour afterwards to actually finish drinking all the cocktails you’ve made! 😂

My family and I came in yesterday, Sunday 17th Sept, for a Sunday roast. When we booked it was mentioned there were 7 vegans out of 8 and 3 were children. Before we arrived we received a phone call to let us know that the vegan Sunday roast was limited and would we like them to be reserved which we very gladly accepted. This was so thoughtful of the team to take the time to call us and let us know what was happening. When we arrived we spoke to the staff about the phone call and they said they still had them saved. However there weren't any vegan Sunday roasts for the kids but that was absolutely no problem for the Chef. He came to our table and double checked with the kids the types of things they would like to have in their vegan pie and went away to make them up. I didn't catch the chefs name but it was so unbelievably kind of him to go to the effort of making fresh pies for the kids to have a Sunday dinner. He also would check in to make sure it was okay. Everyone enjoyed their meal and drinks. All the staff were so kind and attentive and made it such a wonderful evening. Thank you so much!! Definitely will be back.

Update (Aug 2023). Dropped in for a Sunday lunch, DOG FRIENDLY, which is great as there are few such venues on Central Avenue. Lovely service from the staff, and the food was very good indeed, definitely a notch up from standard pub grub. Needs a bit of fresh paint and a good scrub up, but has a food hygiene rating of 5, and so I think it's just the well used bar area that needs some TLC. Some good live music on too. Well worth dropping in for lunch or dinner. (Old review below) Busy and fun bar, but whoa! It's pricey..

Visited for the first time (3/8/23) for the music bingo and a meal. Staff couldn’t do more for you, recommending food choices, having a chat and checking you heard the songs etc.the food was fantastic and the concept of listening to a live pianist and ticking off titles or artists on a bingo sheet is genius.the whole restaurant got involved singing along and the staffs clear joy in helping tables complete their sheets was fun to watch. A unique night out (I believe it’s every month on first Wednesday) - parking is easy in the library car park opposite which is free after 8pm too - we had great fun