The Botanist York — Restaurant in England

Lovely place, went last year and was fine. This year however was a different story. We were greeted nicely by the lady who showed us to our table and then it just went down hill from there really. We a had a lad come to take our order and when we asked for the offer menu we'd actually booked in for, he got all defensive and straight away told us that he'll "go get the manager if we liked but he'll just tell us the same thing", which left us a little puzzled as we'd literally just asked for the offer menu and sat quietly whilst he continued on as if arguing with himself? We never mentioned anything to him, just a question and no mention of complaint or manager. So we said we didn't need a manger, he left and got one anyway? Manger came over like he was ready for a fight and was a bit off to start with but then probably realised we werent causing any trouble just asking a question and seemed to calm down. We were so embarrassed I wanted to leave, but my partner convinced me to stay as it was booked for a special occasion for us and didn't want it spoilt.

So to the food, Starter was ok, had the hummous it was presented nice but not much to it (as you would probably expect for hummous really so no issues there). Mains we had the hanging chicken kebab, it's ok, it's more style over distance really, we had it before the previous year and it was ok, but this time it was cold, as in fridge cold in the middle! And the chicken was raw in the middle, couldn't eat it. No one around to ask so just ate the side dish with it. We kept getting served by different members of staff throughout the meal and all were very miserable and non came to check if the food was ok at any course and honestly even if they were nearby I don't know if I'd say anything incase they lost their rag with us as they were all very highly strung. Pudding was nice but nothing special can get a hot cookie dough from most places and they're all pretty much the same, this one was on the weaker side but pleasent enough. In all our evening was spoiled with bad tempered miserable staff who seem to get themselves into battle for no reason, I dread to think what they would of been like if we'd of actually complained, but because of this we paid and left and won't be going back. The manager did know that the mains weren't right as he took our plates away and asked why id left the food, but he didnt offer anything else or try to rectify the issue, so was a wasted dish for me that we still had to pay for. Shame really as this was meant to be a special night out....

We visited on a Monday evening while on a trip to York just before Christmas, arriving early (via the wrong door as the restaurant door is at the side of the building, this really isn't clear if it's dark outside!) we were guided to a nice quiet table by the stairs by some friendly and welcoming staff. They took note of my food allergy and left us some time to decide what we wanted.

The starters arrived quickly and were great; the pork crackling and the onion petals were real highlights for us and we were impressed by the quality. I ordered a cocktail which was delicious and unlike anything I'd had elsewhere. Sadly things went downhill from here.

From the time our starters arrived to the main courses we waited over an hour, with 2 visits from staff during this time assuring us the food would be arriving soon. They seemed very rushed and overworked, trying to attend to lots of tables at once. When it did eventually arrive it was slightly wrong, and while they did fix this quickly it wasn't worth the wait at all.

The hanging kebab was a very expensive bit of overcooked and dry chicken with little flavour. It came with a garlic butter that you could pour over the whole thing which was novel but left the chicken tasting exactly the same apart from being oily. Also accompanying it was coconut rice which somehow tasted burned. The platter we had with it was a mixed bag with some things tasting fantastic and others being just OK, but even here the chicken bites were very dry.

Because of the delay we had been told when the food arrived that our next drinks would be free, and so my wife ordered a Diet Coke. This never turned up, and nobody ever came to take my order. The drinks we did have were taken off the bill at the end which was a nice gesture but by this point we had been here for 2 hrs 30mins and just wanted to leave.

Given how much the food cost (I'm used to Cambridge prices but it still felt too expensive for what you got) I'd have expected something better, and it's a real shame that the quality of the mains didn't match up to the starters. It's also disappointing to see that the staff seemed to be overworked and rushing around, doing their best to deal with the situation they ended up in.

EDIT: It's worth adding that, as requested, I emailed them using the address in their reply (well over a year ago now) and never...

January 2024

Finally got to go back to the wonderful city of York, and the amazing restaurant, the Botanist. This is a city famous for their fantastic food/restaurants, and the Botanists is right up there!

It was so good that, again, this short trip we went twice, two nights in a row.

The first night I had their piri piri prawns with sourdough to sop up the oil. They were perfectly cooked, and that's not always how they arrive as prawns tend to be overcooked. My husband had the chicken skewers, hanging over a bowl of perfectly cooked chips. The marinade on the chicken was delicious and completely new to me, slightly fruity. Chicken juicy, full flavoured and perfectly cooked.

Our lovely dining companions had the katsu curry with rice and it too was delicious and plentiful, and the Bang Bang chicken, which was historical. It was so good we both had it the next night!

The lovely people looking after us were, Michael and Richard. They both were utterly charming, funny and knew their business; masterclass in how to front a restaurant.

The second night we repeated some dishes, all as wonderful the next time, but we also had the fried onion flower (?) Which was one of the best dishes I've ever enjoyed.

This night we had the gorgeous Freya, and were delighted to see that Richard was working. Again, he took marvellous care of us and was just great fun. He introduced us to the Botanist's beetroot pina colada (OMG delicious), chili margarita (swoon!), kiwi whiskey sour (yum), all utterly delicious, and I would definitely order again if I could.

I think this superb, small chain are located strictly up North - if only we could have one in London!

Great food, lovely location (inside and out), outstanding staff and great prices, oh, and super star cocktails! What's not to love...

March 2022 Lovely restaurant with a very interesting menu! We shared the melted cheese bread boule as it was so big, and glad we did as it was delicious and enough for 2. We've decided to go back, again, on our short visit to York as we liked it so much.

Our server, Olivia, was a super star: fast, efficient, knowledgeable and a great laugh, a real breath of fresh air. Prices were great and all'in-all a...