Botanic restaurant cafe s.r.o. — Restaurant in Prague

I am amending my review after our last visit. Botanic drops from a 5-star to 2-star…

Last week we went to Botanic at Budejoviska to celebrate my wife’s birthday. For years, Botanic had always been our “go to” place for special occasions, and my first choice to impress business colleagues, but we were very disappointed to discover it isn’t what it once was. From the new menu, that features cheaper ingredients at the same or higher prices, (and deleting our favourites) to the condescending waiter that gave the impression we were wasting his time, the overall experience was lacklustre. We found ourselves trying hard to enjoy the meal in spite of the poor experience. The bill topped over five thousand kc for two adults and two teenagers; a total of four glasses of wine included. For this amount I think it’s reasonable to expect much better. I’m only guessing, but I think the chef has changed. The steak tartare was a modern art disaster, poorly mixed, without the traditional fried bread and topped with mussels (?!?!) a artistic attempt that fails miserably. The egg was missing and the Worcestershire sauce was never mixed in so I got a whole tablespoon of the stuff in a single bite. I ordered a rib eye and got something else completely (and was charged at ribeye prices). The waiter tried pushing the seafood specials, then when we tried to order the broiled sea bass, he argued it would be too big and didn’t want to let us order it. He seemed too preoccupied to take care of our table and only tried to rush us through our order. Superficially, it looks the same but Botanic has unfortunately become a hollowed out shell of its former self. Does this look like a ribeye?? Not to me. I’d guess it’s actually a flank steak, also not bad, but costing about 1/3 less from the butcher. There are so many other great places in Prague where you can enjoy a meal we see no reason to return and I suggest you take a pass as well.

Previous review from two years ago below:

My favorite restaurant in Prague. The food is perfect, the great steaks are my favorite, but you will be happy with everything on the menu. The cuisine is a good mix of modernized Czech and international recipes for meats, fowl, and some limited fish (only the freshest available.) The attention to detail with the food preparation and service is impeccable. Each meals is paired with some starch and vegetables so it’s a complete meal. The prices are very fair for the portions and quality. Nice wine list as well. The restaurant benefits from being a bit out from the center so it doesn’t suffer from being spoiled by tourists. The atmosphere is comfortably upscale and the waiters attentive, professional and friendly. A good place for a special evening or a prospective...

Following a very pleasant visit earlier this week I returned with my wife to this restaurant for dinner. The ambience is very relaxing, the chairs comfortable and a good sized table to sit us both. However, today's experience fell someway short - in fact, we cut our time there and skipped the deserts. We ordered drinks - my wife a gin and tonic and I had a glass of Rioja. We also (twice) asked for some tap water. but were provided with a bottle of Mattoni. We supposed that they use these bottles for tap water but it seems not - we were charged for Mattoni water on our bill. The gin and tonic was 'lazy' - no flair in its presentation at all and my red wine was so cold I had to warm it in my palm for some while before attempting it. First of all, I having enjoyed the tomato and basil soup previously, we had this classic soup this evening but it was over-sweetened, very oily and over-seasoned. It would have benefited being served with some bread (which we requested). My wife then decided on the steak tartare and I plumped for the quail. My wife left most of the steak tartare - it was overpowered by truffle making it rather unpleasant.. I tried it myself and absolutely agreed with this analysis. My quail was nicely cooked and overall, it was not a bad dish. The service was good from the gentleman who partly served us but the young girl who also participated in our service did not seem to reflect the high standards that the guy provided. Anyway - it is about the food. My wife was disappointed which meant I was as well. This can be a good experience as many have found out before and indeed, I did a few days ago but today it did...

The price tag is set quite high for a restaurant outside of the centre of Prague. Our expectations were therefore equivalent. First thing was that you can not park next to the restaurant, because of the blue zone on both sides. It's located 15 min by car from the centre.

The interior of the restaurant is cozy, but tries too hard to be rich and turns to be artificial. Also the wardrobe for guest's coats is just next to the entrance door without anybody to service or watch it, so it was not convenient to leave the jackets there.

Now to the main topic- food and service.

Food was nothing special - you can get it in any middle-range Czech restaurant. I've had a soup from pork rib - broth was good, but the meat was unchewable. I left it on the side, and while taking back the plate the waitress did not even ask me about the reason why I did not eat it or at least how I liked it.. As 2nd dish I had grilled octopus( 520 CZK). It was really dry and hard, obviously it was overcooked. I ate only half of it and again, taking the plate away the waitress did not ask me about my impression of the dish.

My partner had a salad and it did not look very fresh - the leaves obviously were left cut for quite a while. The grilled goat cheese was cold, no special sauce added.

Based on the price level of the Botanic restaurant I'd expect higher quality and sophisticated food than what I've got. Waiters did not provide me any special attention and obviously they did not care much about the opinion of the guests about the restaurant. OUR CONCLUSION It is just a typical local restaurant with...