The Botanist is one of my favourite restaurants in Newcastle. It is the kind of place where you can sip cocktails whilst looking over the panoramic views of Newcastle city centre or fall in love with someone whilst listening to the occasional musician that plays live music in the bar area. So, as you can imagine, I squealed with excitement when Alice asked me to be her plus one to review their vegan menu for Spring 2018.

From the moment we walked into The Botanist, we felt a lovely welcome from all the staff members. It was as though I had walked into a fairytale with magical, photography worthy features everywhere you looked. We were shown to the table with a lovely view looking over Grey’s Monument and it had perfect lighting for all those snaps. Our main waiter, Jack was such a lovely person and catered on us hand and foot. He was a young, enthusiastic and knowledgable waiter who was patient with us when we were taking a while to decide. After much deliberation, we went for the Tempura-Fried Cauliflower, Tenderstem Broccoli and Kale Manchurian and Curried Houmous. Both of us agreed that the tempura-fried vegetables was our favourite; it was served with a delicious sweet and sour sesame dipping sauce and in all honesty, I would happily have a bowl of this starter as a main. The Curried Houmous was delicious as well and I would recommend if you like a little bit of spice or Indian food. It was served with flatbread and crudités.

I went for the Falafel Burger for my main course which came with tahini dressing, harissa jam, spiced onions and rocket. For the side, I chose to have sweet potato fries because who turns down that option? My main course tasted amazing! The harissa jam was something I was a little worried about as I am not too keen on spice but the tahini dressing cooled the spice down a little. I would definitely have it again. Alice went for the Malaysian Vegetable Curry which was served with coconut rice. It was similar to a Thai Green Curry but was extremely spicy and something that I definitely wouldn’t be able to handle although it looked amazing.

We weren’t too adventurous with drinks however I would love to return for a cocktail or two in the evening. I had the Homemade Lemonade which was the best thing I have tasted in such a long time whilst Alice had the Raspberry, Grape & Elderflower Cooler which tasted so fruity and sweet compared to mine. Definitely something that I would pick in the future.

You can imagine by this moment that we were both in a food induced coma and was ready for a nap but we still had dessert left. We both went for the Homemade Banana Doughnuts which came with salted caramel sauce and peanut milkshake. I don’t even have any words for this dessert apart from – it was delicious! It’s a no brainer that you must try this dessert before the season is out.

Overall, I couldn’t fault my visit to The Botanist. The whole experience was so beautiful. The restaurant and bar is dreamy and magical, the customer service from the waiters was exceptional and go above and beyond to cater for you and the food quality is just on another level. If you happen to be around Newcastle, I highly recommend you experience it. I can’t wait to go back in the near future!

Have you been to The Botanist yet? You can find your nearest restaurant by checking the website.

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