Botanist Broadgate Circle — Restaurant in London

I had lunch with a friend today and specifically asked him to meet me at the Botanist, as I really like the food there - or should I say I DID like the food there. Sadly, today was NOT a good day and I am second guessing it as my go-to-restaurant, which is a shame as I literally work right next to it and my colleagues and I go there ALL the time.

Maybe not in the future?

I ordered a burger and my friend commented on the price - £17.50 - and I thought, well, surely, it will be a big burger. I asked for the burger to be cooked medium rare and they said that they normally cook their burgers well done.

Hmmm, I thought... You only cook burgers well done in restaurants if they are not sure of the quality of the meat, i.e. the burger is not made from freshly ground steak meat. Hence, they need to freeze it first and cook it well done.

The burger came out and it was tiny and lonely. In fact, it looked like a Big Mac.

The burger was small on an empty plate with no salad leaves or tomatoes of any kind either as garnish or to accompany the burger. Nothing except for a small bucket of French fries. Certainly NOT worth £17.50!

I told the manager that £17.50 was an extortionist price for a lonely burger and fries with no garnish except for a pickle on top of the burger. The patty was two flat patties like a McDonald's Big Mac and not a juicy steak burger you would expect in a restaurant or for £17.50. The manager said he would take my feedback but that is what was included, i.e. nothing.

OK - so I expressed my disappoint and continued eating.

Less than 30 seconds later, I found myself chewing on something that was really chewy. I pulled it out of my mouth and it was either a piece of parchment paper that had separated the meat or cling film!! What the hell? Definitely NOT worth £17.50!!

I called over the manager again, pointed at what I had pulled out of my burger, after having chewed it a bit. He was apologetic but really - NOT ENOUGH!! I didn't apologise perfusely. He didn't insist on removing the plate from me and stop me from eating the rest of the burger. I said I was hungry and wanted to eat but wouldn't pay for it. He should have insisted to take it away, as what's to tell the rest of the meat wasn't contaminated with more paper or cling film??

But after another bite, I just lost interest. I was absolutely dumbfounded at the whole experience that I lost my appetite.

In conclusion, poor quality of food, extortionist prices with little to show for, poor customer service and attention to detail.

I've told my colleagues about my experience. I think the Crab Tavern next door is looking like a better option for us in the future.

Shame...

We booked the Soda Rooms for my husband 40th Party. The booking process was very easy and Josh was really on the ball with ensuring all the finer details were cleared to ensure everything ran smoothly on the day. His responses were super quick and he was as accommodating as can be. My only criticism is the venue require a bit more of a variety of nibble food then the selection they have and the cocktails they provide. Thankfully the kitchen were able to prepare a chicken dish for the event, which we was pleased with. In regards to the actual day, the staff were really organized and knew exactly what was going on. They arranged a mini cake for my husband which was a really nice touch. The food was supposed to be served canape style to ensure everyone go to have some but unfortunately they were one person down during the time of service and all the food was left at the bar. My husband and I moved some of the plates to the tables and and I asked Dani if she can arrange for the rest to be moved, which they did. We had casino tables in the room which worked really well and the guests really enjoyed this experience. The door staff were good, however I think they were a little bit to paranoid about some of the guests. They suggested on a few occasions of guests that might be too drunk and therefore may be requested to leave. I had spoken to those guests and personally thought they were fine. The door staff also pointed out my husband and at one point refused to let him back into the venue, which I thought was quite poor of them considering it was his birthday and he was the one paying for most of the event. I had to speak to them to make them understand. They made us get him to sit outside in the cold and drink water and only allowed him to come inside just over an hour later if we provided him food, which wasted a lot of our time where we missed the DJ playing the music. This could have been handled better where we could have sat him inside the venue and given him water and food rather than wasting time outside. We missed guests leaving, which really was not a great situation. I understand that the venue want to avoid trouble or any disruption, but my husband was not in any state to cause any of this, he was just a bit merry, which you would expect on the day of a birthday party in a bar where alcohol is accessible. I am giving a 4 star as we did have a good time, however this does slightly leave a bitter taste for the...

All in all (read details below), the food was sub par esp at the above average rate you pay, the drink options were fairly limited but the staff were attentive enough bar a minor hiccup. Would I recommend? Nope - the vibe is nice, but have had a better meal in whetherspoons / we have cooked at a fraction of the price.

Went here as a group of thirteen on a Saturday, an area was set up for us but with little logic used so the staff helped us re-arrange it so we were one long table.

When we arrived though, we booked the table for 9pm but they had it in their computer system for half 9, but we arrived early so they accommodated so not a massive issue there

I found the staff to be fairly attentive (they forgot someone's dessert though). Quite a few opted for the bottomless drinks at £17.50 a head for 2 hours, and they were good at topping up the drinks so credit due there ! Their range of drinks (esp ciders) were lacking though

The food was not great, we all had the bottomless dinner (2 courses £20 / 3 £25). I had the mac and cheese croquettes, longhorn cheeseburger and white chocolate cheesecake. There were 3 croquettes with a ketchup/mayo mixed dip (this was also the dip for the burger) which were OK - can't go that wrong when you deepfry things, very salty though. The burger was disappointing, just dry and bland in flavour - we honestly cook a better burger at home with Sainsbury's taste the difference range. It came with thin chips which were also bland and dry, I didn't end up finishing the meal (which is rare for me !). The cheesecake was a step up from the starter and main, and was quite nice. Others in my party felt the same. I understand that you don't come here for amazing earth shattering food, but I expect a certain quality (above standard) at the prices here.

We didn't have any issues re the bouncer outside the toilets (like other reviewers) but 2 of the gents cubicals were out of order. The taps were nice though, and the toilets clean so credit...