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Chelsea sprouts The Botanist
Larushka Ivan-Zadeh, London Lite 11 Jun 2008
Sloane Square has sprouted a serious rival to Oriel, the café that’s as much a Chelsea trademark as being called Rupert. The Botanist isn’t so much a brasserie as a chic, rolling restaurant — a triumphant culmination of owners Tom and Ed Martin’s gastropub empire.
This upmarket venue is a world away from a gastropub, but still boasts interesting yet crowd-pleasing food, an informal atmosphere and the guys’ original touches. It is named after Sir Hans Sloane, pioneering naturalist and Chelsea Physic Garden benefactor, whose presence is indicated by huge backlit illustrations from his journals.
Staring at a large picture of a black beetle over my date’s shoulder hardly whetted my appetite. But the menu had tastier specimens. My starter was a prettily presented salad of chorizo, Alsace bacon and fresh pea shoots (£9). My friend washed down the peppery kick of her creamy steak tartare(£8.50) with a glass of sparkling English wine (£6).
For mains, her hearty cutlet of rare-breed British pork (£15.50), accompanied by a plump baked apple stuffed with black pudding, was so tender she couldn’t resist gnawing the bone. I chose the Botanist seasonal salad (£12), bursting with crunchy green and white asparagus and fresh peas.
This left me plenty of room to bag the lion’s share of the our cheeseboard (£9 or £16 for two to share). Full of English species, like Mrs Bell’s Blue and unpasteurised Waterloo Hampshire, it was a quirky hand-picked collection that would have done Sir Hans proud.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Reader views (4)
As a resident of Chelsea I have to say that I and my friends are absolutely delighted about The Botanist on Sloane Square. It is a superb and most welcome addition to the area and is way out ahead of anything else I can think of around here and London generally for that matter. The design is beautiful and befits the area completely, the drinks (cocktails especially) are professionally made and of the highest standard. I have only eaten in the restaurant twice but on both occasions the service and quality of the food was second to none. It is no wonder that the place is completely packed every time I go by. Well done to the owners for bringing such an original and professional operation to this area which was so much in need one one. Please keep it up!
- Turlough Murphy, London, 13/07/2008 13:33
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I love this place! I recommend at least one Passion Royale!
The brassiere is light with great atmosphere and the food and service impressed me. I dine out a lot with clients and without question will be going back... staff are friendly and the food looked and tasted divine!
Cant wait to try out more of the menu! Enjoy.
- Sophie, London, 11/07/2008 14:23
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Of all the restaurants we dined at on our trip to London it was The Botanist that stood out, pre dinner cocktails in the bar were divine, despite it being too full to get a seat. Once seated in the dinning room the food arrived quickly and was beautifully presented, I thoroughly recommend the roast halibut. Despite the restaurant being packed the staff were incredibly attentive with a broad knowledge of what they were serving. I cannot praise it highly enough.
- Sheila, Dublin, Ireland, 11/07/2008 13:26
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We had some really fantastic food at this stylish brasserie, however the staff let it down somewhat with their poor grasp of English and lack of knowledge regarding the menu. Some items we ordered were forgotten altogether, and we were also told they had run out of cheese...entirely. They did their best and we had a very enjoyable meal, but I think the teething problems need to be ironed out quite quickly. For the price, I wouldn't settle for the same service again, however lovely the food is.
- Amanda, London, UK, 12/06/2008 18:09
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