Botanya Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Richmond

Was so excited to try this new place on Cary, arrived on time for a 6pm reservation and we were promptly seated. Service was slow at first, but we weren’t in a rush, so didn’t mind too much. After getting cocktails, we ordered the meatball appetizer (which was delicious, btw), and also ordered entrees at the same time (table side carbonara and lobster ravioli). The meatballs arrived about an hour after we were seated, but again, delicious. The server confirmed with both of us our entree orders when she served the meatballs, which was fine, but also gave us another chance to reiterate our entree order. We quickly devoured the meatballs and had to ask for another drink, but it was now 7:15. Other tables around us that sat after us were eating their entrees at this point, but we just got a second round of drinks and didn’t worry at that point. Around 7:45, we asked the server if she could check on our meals, as it had been 45 minutes since we ate our appetizer. She came back and told us that there was a mixup in the kitchen with our order, and the ravioli was done, and had been for a while, but they had to make the carbonara in the kitchen. So, after two hours of being seated, we we’re served a plate of lobster ravioli that had been sitting under a heat lamp for an hour and what can only be described as carbonara soup (see photo). This was served to us while the two tables next to us, that arrived and hour after we were seated were having their table side carbonaras made (insult to injury at this point). We told the server that we were disappointed and she went to get the manager. The manager explained it was the waitresses first day and she mixed up our order and the carbonara had to be made in the kitchen, so “missed a step”. While I can understand a mistake occurred, what was served to us from the kitchen was virtually inedible, and that is not the fault of the server, at all, all while other tables were eating the same meal, an hour after we ordered. The manager, after explaining that the kitchen had to “miss a step” to serve inedible food, that it would be taken off the bill. The lobster ravioli would’ve likely been delicious, had it not been under a heat lamp for an hour. There was little to no lemon taste in the béchamel, and it was overly salty, likely due to sitting under the lamp, which evaporates the sauce.

The cocktails we were first served were delicious, as were the meatballs. The service was disappointing, and the managers response to the kitchen serving inedible carbonara soup that took 2 hours to arrive was beyond disappointing (“well, of course it’s soupy, it missed a step”), especially given how many adjacent tables had delicious looking table side pasta after arriving an entire hour after us. Overall, will not be returning and I caution others that are expecting good service and edible food in a timely fashion. And for the record - two cocktails, two glasses of wine, an appetizer, and two disappointing entrees, one of which was removed from the bill, was $120. I can think of better ways to waste 2.5...

We’ve been really excited to try Botanya. We were bummed to be so let down.

Let’s start from the top. We were in Carytown for another event and looked for reservations but they appeared booked until 9:15. We were hungry and had been wanting to try Botanya, so decided to see if they had room for a walk-in at 8:40. When we arrived, they weren’t busy at all. There were multiple bar seats and tables. We asked for a table for two, told the host we didn’t have reservations and were happy to sit at the bar. She offered us several tables in the dining room, surprised, we gladly accepted a table.

The service from Felix was phenomenal. He was helpful, upbeat and attentive. I ordered the Pesto Sour drink. The flavor wasn’t bad, but the alcohol was really missing. I like my tequila drinks with some bite and this had none of that normal fire that comes with a tequila drink. The focaccia and white beans they bring out were really good so we had high hopes for the rest of the night. It was unfortunately all down hill from there.

We ordered the Barbabietola (beets and ricotta on bread) and it was really lacking flavor. Big chunks of beet and super hard bread made it difficult to eat as well.

They were sold out of the Paella so Felix sold my partner on the fettuccine. I ordered the Ravioli de Cachete. Mine came out first. Barely warm. And the serving size was shockingly small. I was done by the time the server came by with the cheese block and cart to make his fettuccine (didn’t get a picture). She used her blow torch to heat up the 18 year aged Parmesan, mixed in some cream and served the noodles straight from the cheese bowl, albeit surprisingly watery when she scooped it all out in to the tiniest portion of fettuccine Alfredo know human kind.

Look, I’m Italian. We know good, homemade pasta. We like our portions substantial. This place just continued to miss the mark on flavor, portion size and quality. We didn’t bother with ordering dessert. I love tiramisu too much to have it ruined by what might have come out at this place.

I don’t give two stars often. But when I do, it’s well deserved. The service was the only thing that brought this place up from one...

Let me start this review by saying I want Botanya to succeed. It offers higher end Italian/mediterranean cuisine in a contemporary setting, which is a welcome addition to Carytown. Good energy, pretty space. There is potential, and hopefully they can iron out some of their service issues as they get in the groove. The 4 of us arrived on time for our 8:30 Saturday reservation and were seated immediately. The restaurant was busy, but not entirely full - there were a few empty tables. Our server greeted us and informed us that she had been double seated. After some time, she filled half of our water glasses, but seemed to forget about the other 2 - we eventually reminded her and she filled the other 2 glasses. We ordered wine and 2 appetizers. The first appetizer came out before the wine (prosciutto croquettes - very tasty, but delivered lukewarm) - all told, it was over a half hour from the time we sat down until the wine arrived (we had to remind her). Second app was the mussels - delicious, but a small portion size for an order of mussels. After apps, there was a very, very long wait for entrees. As we waited, at about 10 pm, the staff started cleaning and breaking down the dining room - we had to flag down our server a few times for drink refills and to check the status of our order. At one point she told us they were plating our food now, but then at least 15 minutes went by while she cleaned with no food. Entrees arrived around 10:20. The food is very good to excellent, though the pasta portion sizes are on the smaller side. My wife had the seafood paella, which she loved. I had the pasta with mushroom ragu, which I enjoyed. For the price point (~$75 per person), the service needs to be more attentive. I'm used to waiting for food on a Saturday night, but this was excessive. We will give Botanya another try in a few months, which hopefully will give them time to dial in some of...