Botanic — Restaurant in Opelika

Wow little speechless what transpired at this restaurant, my wife after months of planning and reservations was literally asked for her party to leave the seating today. These girls are hospice nurses that work tirelessly to care for in home patients and witness death and tragedy on a daily basis showing care and compassion to everyone in their darkest times , most times working 7 days per week. A rare occasion for them all to be off on a single day at a single time so yes this took a lot of planning for a special day, after other visits they had this planned to come back here for a wonderful day. Arriving at 11:10 at reservation time, asked to be sat on the porch with the view. Was immediately told these were “reserved” mind you she had reservations for a month in advance. Then while seated one of her friends came in and was sat there, she spoke to her saying hello , when she told them she did not have a reservation at all and this is where she was sat by hostess. After slow service, no menus then being given menus and the waiter standing over them awaiting an order rather than walking away and giving them a minute , they ordered along with drinks. They ate their food and approximately 12 minutes after finishing the lunch time the very entitled manager whom posses zero people skills came over to and said “I know you guys are solving all of the problems of the world but we need you to move along”.. mind you they had not even brought back the cards from paying the bill as of yet !!!!!! Rather than make a scene they got up to leave, never getting a receipt , then chased out the door to return the card that was used as they were making them get up to leave as stated prior to even returning from paying the tab. As it turns out the general manager is momma and daddies child who own the place, so don’t expect good service ! Even after all of this nothing was said nor offered, not that they were entitled to anything , but they then had a reservation for this upcoming weekend which was certainly cancelled on the spot and the manager literally replied , “ we don’t care if you don’t come here”… so please keep this in mind when choosing a special night out. We certainly will not be back.

**update.. Owner wants to reply and call me a liar, hmm well one the exact same review from another patron being kicked out of their seats. Camera footage? Good thing as the entire thing was recorded as well on an iPhone they will be sure to use the hashtag #botanicauburn when it goes viral on TikTok and socials for you to see as well..also if you pulled cameras your excuse of those other tables being filled would be invalid as you would see they were empty when seated and followed by someone else who happens to be a friend was seated there afterwards with no reservation.. Gaslighting and trying to spin to a dishonest review is unbecoming and well shows character as this was 100% exactly what happened this day. With numerous...

When the general manager on 6/21/25, aka probably a relative, came up to our table and said to three women, “ I realize that you are solving the world‘s problems, but we really need this table for other reservations.” I was extremely disappointed at this. When I tried to address the issue he was extremely condescending and rude. We were celebrating birthdays and so excited to be here. Slow service yet kicking us out! WORST experience ever!!!!

UPDATE: Please see the owner's response. I am appalled. We are not liars. Your nephew said, "I realize you are solving the world's problems, but we need this table for another reservation". I have no idea about video footage but I stand in MY truth this is what he said to me and my friends. Who knew we could overstay a reservation time? We were not told anything about that, besides I have never been at a restaurant that would do that. I do not usually go to the extreme like this but you are questioning the character of three professional women. I may not have handled it well at the end, but the way his nephew treated me with such a condescending response, I had enough. This review may not effect any one else's decision to go, but I will not be disrespected any further by a business owner. You should be ashamed.

Owner's response: Anybody that has visited Botanic will know this is not reported truthfully. I also went back personally and reviewed the camera footage minute by minute to see our teams missteps. What I found and can now say for certain is this is not true. We are always happy when people want to stay with us for extended lengths of time. We feel very honored that people like to join us for their special occasions. Our GM, who we are proud to say is our nephew, kindly approached your table and offered to help you all continue your party in the bourbon bar so the table after you could also enjoy their reservation. I am sorry that you were offended by that offer. That is never our intention. I do imagine that if you had made your reservation months in advance and were then told you could not be seated because others had overstayed their reservation time, you wouldn’t mind if we offered for those people to continue their visit in the bourbon bar if you were the ones waiting on your table. None of what you stated is true according to...

This is hard to write. I am from Columbus, Ga, and I am getting married in December. I was planning on having my wedding reception at Botanic in the greenhouse. My mom and I drove to Botanic to meet the event planner, tour the space, and booked the venue. We even have a paper trail confirming the greenhouse from the event planner. We tried to start planning details but couldn't get a response from Botanic. They dismissed all calls, texts, voicemails, and emails for over two weeks. During this time, my other venue options had been booked. We are talking about someone’s wedding, a once-in-a-lifetime event I have dreamed about for years. Every other decision we needed to make regarding the wedding depended on Botanic. After over two weeks, I called from an unfamiliar number, and they answered. They told me I could no longer have my reception there, and had zero remorse. I was devastated. Not only were my plans ruined, other venues were no longer available. Words cannot explain the entire sequence of events, which is why I hesitated to post this. The unprofessionalism, inconsideration, and apathy of the whole “leadership” team are unforgivable. We had already told all my guests, and now they are aware of the situation. Sharing this experience isn’t easy, but I feel compelled to do so in the hopes that others can learn from it. Your wedding day is meant to be one of the most important and cherished moments of your life. I sincerely hope that others won’t have to endure the same kind of disappointment. Your special day deserves to be everything you dream of, without the kind of...