The Botanist — Restaurant in North Island

Decided to enjoy a lovely meal at the Botanist today, it is my partner and my 13th anniversary, we come to the Botanist often and I finally decided to write a review. I will add a TLDR at the bottom for those that don't enjoy novels.

Now overall I have had some bad experiences and some positive experiences here, one of my worst experiences comes to mind and I won't ever forget it, I came with some friends on a very busy Saturday morning late 2020 around early December, on this day there was a very stressed vibe in the air, and every 2 or so minutes you could hear the most annoying sound known to man, the loud squeal of an angry individual squawking at the top of their lungs "coffee up", this experience ruined my delightful experiences i had previously, alas this is why I have a reduced rating.

Now on to the experience I had on the day of writing this review, we came during an overcast March morning, the sky had a beautiful mist and it really extrapolated my image of what could happen today.

The atmosphere upon entry was interesting, it was surprisingly busy for brunch on a Monday morning at 11, proving just how popular the Botanist is, the music was very loud and you could hear that the crowd was trying to speak over the volume of it.

I ordered a Very Berry Smoothie as a drink, it came with pretty purple flowers, it is beautifully presented for a store bought product poured into a glass, with some ice you are charged $8.50, delicious as it may be I can't give all the credit to The Botanist here.

On to discuss the meal; I ordered the Veganise me, a meal I order often as it is delicious and for those following along a normal trend where I enjoy a big breakfast at different locations and rate them. The meal was a bit cold today which didn't bode well for me, I started with the jalapeño poppers which were a delight ot my taste buds, perfectly spicy! The Facon(you read that right), i believe is home made and damn delicious, the sourdough was really well made and went well with the avocados and beans. The homemade vegan sausage was also amazing, another reason I just can't stop coming back. All in all not bad, well except for the temperature.

Why did I take so much time to write such an extensive review of my experience here? Well, you might not be able to tell, but I love this restaurant, it has some downsides yes, but the food is never disappointing, the price can get expensive, but I tell myself it's worth it. I don't come here for an experience or ambience, no, I rather dislike those aspects, but the food, it just keeps bringing me back.

TLDR: Good food, nice location, loud and often super crowded, you will never get a consistent experience, expensive. Yes, I will keep coming.

Photos attached...

One of the things we most admire about New Zealand is its incredible natural diversity — a rich flora, full of properties and abundance. We are people who truly love botany, and that’s why we had high expectations when visiting The Botanist. From its name, evoking nature, freshness, and plant-based life, we imagined a welcoming space full of greenery, offering food made with fresh, natural, and real ingredients. A place where the name and the concept would align with the overall experience.

However, upon arrival, those expectations began to fade. Yes, there is decorative flora, but many of the plants were clearly neglected and dry, creating an atmosphere that felt more dull than inviting. The space didn’t reflect the vibrant, conscious feeling one would expect from a place called The Botanist.

As for the food, we ordered a burger, hoping for a creative, plant-based option that was far from processed. But the reality was different: the burger had just a single slice of tomato and a nearly invisible piece of lettuce. The rest was a processed meat substitute, with very little presence of fresh or real vegetables. For a restaurant with such a name, it was disappointing that the culinary offering didn’t reflect a diet rooted in authentic edible flora, but rather industrial substitutes.

It’s clear that the name works well as a marketing strategy — the place has good attendance, and the staff was extremely kind and attentive at all times. On that front, we have no complaints. But we felt there was a lack of coherence between what the name suggests and what is actually offered.

This review isn’t meant to discredit, but rather to invite reflection: The Botanist has the potential to be a truly botanical place, one that celebrates freshness, flora, ecosystems, and conscious eating. But today, that essence feels more like an image...

Being in Wellington for the weekend, my vegan girlfriend brought me along to try out The Botanist (yay). Having been to quite a few vegan / vegetarian cafes and restaurants, I found The Botanist a very nice place with a lot of potential. I definitely would come back, but there were a few downsides during my first visit.

Starting with the most important factor of any restaurant - the food was amazing. The avocado bagel was worth the price, was well presented, and tasted great. If only rating for the food, the Botanist deserves a 5 out of 5.

Unfortunately we found the service very slow and disorganized, with servers coming around every few minutes with orders in-hand asking if we were the correct recipients. Not only were the servers busy running around finding tables instead of taking customer orders (the table beside us must have waited 20 minutes just to get a bottle of water) but there were clearly not enough servers for the packed Sunday brunch. Nevertheless all of the staff were very friendly, albeit in a hurry.

We both also found the washrooms fairly dirty - toilet paper all over the floor and a weird layout overall.

Lastly, the coffee was terrible. My girlfriend got a cold brew that tasted like lightly coffee-flavoured water, and my long black was as bitter as chewing on a raw potato. We also had to wait until we were completely finished our meal to get them because something was wrong with the coffee machine. Not a big deal - things happen, but I wish they would have told us before we finally asked about the whereabouts of our coffees halfway through our meal.

Overall, the food was outstanding, the servers were friendly, and the space was very nice, but don't expect to be in and out quickly when they're busy and hope they're not having an off-day with...