The Botanist Liverpool One — Restaurant in Liverpool

The food was great, the garlic bread was amazing and no issues with the food. The atmosphere was nice, a singer outside which was a nice background not too close to inside so we could still hear each other speak. However the service was very slow and it felt like we'd been forgotten about. On arrival a drinks order was taken promptly and we received our cocktails (which were lovely) however once our food order had been taken a few other tables had arrived and the area had got buiser. Or food came out and there was no check backs on how the food was, then during our meal I had to ask someone on their way past for another drink which then took a while to come which was just a soft drink. We got that drink and once we finished our food all the plates were stacked neatly ready to be collected a server came past our table 3 times and each time went to a different table and cleared there's and not ours and never attempted to check or come back, about half an hour later no one had been back so I asked someone on their way past for dessert menus, they went away came back with no dessert menus cleared the table and left. Also when clearing the table I asked for a lemonade which never arrived and thankfully hadn't been added to the bill so clearly was forgotten about. They then gave another table across from us dessert menus but not us and kindly the couple gave us one of their menus. We then finally ordered dessert and that came and was lovely, however the same issue with the mains no one came to check our table or clear our table. So again when someone walked passed I asked for the bill they said they would send someone over, about 10 minutes went by and still no one came with the bill, so I asked a different person and they said they will send someone over. More time went by and still no bill, so I had to ask for a 3rd time for the bill. Thankfully someome came and the bill was all sorted and we left. We had 1 drink (well one of us had 2 drinks and one had 1 as the lemonade never showed up), mains and dessert and we were there for 3 and a half hours. There were others who were unhappy around us with the very slow service as we could hear tables next to us getting frustrated too. Most of the staff seem lovely but just disorganised no one really knew what they were doing what drinks were going to which table etc, and instead of being attentive some of the younger ones were stood around talking at times. It would have maybe worked a bit better if the staff had sections to run so they can give the attention to a specific section of customers and in turn better and faster service. I appreciate hospitality is hard, stressful and can get very busy, I work in hospitality myself as a chef and previous waitress experience too, so I know all about wait times and how manic it can get. However it has made us question whether to go back or not as the food was so good but with very slow service and not the right care and attention to customers I feel like we will try another location in the future instead of going back to that particular one to see how our...

Booked a table for a party of 12 and was advised for everyone to pre-order their food and drinks before hand to 'ensure speedy service on the day' - unfortunately we had the opposite experience.

Four people arrived before myself and I was told the waitress only took drinks orders from two people so the other two had to go to the bar for their drinks. Once the rest of the party arrived it took over half an hour to get served our pre-ordered drinks.

I informed the waiter of last minute cancellations so the team were aware of what orders we were expecting. Our starters were correct and arrived promptly but when it was time for our main courses, incorrect items were being brought out, resulting in two people still waiting for their main course when the rest of the party had finished theirs. Thankfully the staff apologised for this and offered to give them their main courses free of charge.

When a waitress brought over the hanging kebabs she spilled a small amount of the garlic oil on my dress as well as the girls dress who was sat next to me.

Once the bill arrived we had to get it corrected twice - the first time they only added the drinks and they still applied the 10% service charge which I had previously asked over the phone and when confirming last minute cancellations on the day to remove. The second time we were still being charged for two main courses that we were told would be free of charge because of the delay. We had multiple members of the team asking if we were ready to pay but had to repeatedly tell them other staff were making amendments and we'd not had an update.

The only redeeming part of the whole experience was the lovely atmosphere with the live music playing in the outdoor seating area, but overall a very disappointing experience. I've visited several Botanist restaurants across the UK and I've had no issues at all so I'm gutted I didn't have a similar experience for my...

Went for dinner one evening with my mum, and needless to say I won’t be going back.

The food was average at best, but the worst thing about it was the service. After we’d placed our orders, our tap water and drinks took over 20 minutes to arrive, and the food took almost an hour. More importantly, they did not take my mum’s food intolerances seriously and ended up serving her food with ingredients she can’t eat.

My mum has a garlic and onion intolerance which we had made clear to the staff beforehand, and they ensured us that the food would be handled accordingly. However, when the food did eventually come my mum’s entire dish had been topped with shallots (which is… an onion), and her noodles had a very strong garlic infusion. My mum tried to endure it, very patiently picking off every single shallot, but she couldn’t stomach the noodles.

When the staff came later to collect our dishes, she very politely told them that her dish had had onions and garlic on it. At this point, I expected the restaurant to apologise, and for us all to move on. Instead, the staff INSISTED that the dish did not have any onions at all, a manager was called over, and only when we actually showed him the shallot that my mum had picked off her dish did he finally admit that they had made that mistake (despite profusely denying it just moments before).

Overall, it was not a good experience, especially since my mum is usually a very non confrontational woman so it was hard enough for her to talk to the staff about it, and this was only made worse when they refused to acknowledge their mistake.

In the future I’d recommend that the staff please take one’s intolerances more seriously, and also take the time to listen to their customer’s feedback rather than be on the...