I went to the Botanist and ate hummus out of a trowl and put a 'bath bomb' in my drink

The Club House at Chavasse Park was transformed into its sister venue, The Botanist, earlier this year as part of a rebranding move by its parent company, The New World Trading Company. Smugglers Cove followed suit, turning into Liverpool’s second The Botanist site shortly after.

While Smugglers Cove looks pretty different, losing its pirate theme, the Chavasse Park site still resembles its former self and we paid it a visit to try The Botanist’s new summer menu.

Walking up to the venue, we were greeted with live musicians and twinkling lights, before being taken to our table. Feeling like a new and improved version of its old self, the restaurant donned tons of green plants and cosy seats, with the botany theme really showing. Not knowing what to expect food wise, we asked our server what she would recommend and knew we had to try some delicious-sounding small plates and ‘famous’ hanging kebabs.

Small plates

As part of its new summer menu offerings, The Botanist has a huge selection of small plates available, from patatas bravas and roasted cauliflower to calamari. With any three dishes available for £22.50, we decided to try a selection of small plates for our starter, opting for the hummus, patatas bravas and Korean chicken.

Each dish arrived promptly and the presentation was incredible, with the hummus arriving in a trowl, accompanied by pitta bread in a garden box. The hummus itself was incredible too and a generous amount. The patatas bravas was unbelievable, made with baby hassleback potatoes on a bravas sauce with garlic aioli and I was very impressed that it was vegan too! Sadly, I couldn’t try the chicken but it looked amazing and my dining partner said it was 10/10.

Kebabs

For our main courses, my dining partner and I opted for the ‘ famous hanging kebabs’, which come with either fries or coconut rice. I chose the vegan kofta with coconut rice, while my partner chose the giant piri piri chicken with fries.

While my kebab was delicious, I was disappointed with the presentation as it wasn’t hanging and just came on a plate. Of course the presentation doesn’t change the quality of the food, and it was really really nice but, priced at £17.95, it was a little disappointing and not particularly big. As we had some small plates as starters, the portion size was perfect for our visit but, had I ordered it by itself, I think I would’ve still been hungry, The main menu did feature a large range of different options, with plenty for veggies and vegans, and gave me the chance to try my first ever kofta, so I can’t complain too much!

The giant piri piri chicken kebab, however, was presented beautifully and really was giant. Served with pitta bread, coleslaw and fries, the portion size was very generous and well worth the £23.95 price tag. My dining partner loved pouring the sauce down the dish at the top of the kebab and watching it drizzle all over the chicken and peppers.

Drinks

I was very excited to try the new cocktails at The Botanist, after hearing that one came with a ‘bath bomb’ for your drink. Choosing the Disco Fizz for my first cocktail, I was presented with the drink and a little shot glass containing a star-shaped fizzer that I dropped in and watched my drink turn pink. Consisting of prosecco, lychee liqueur, Fever-Tree raspberry and orange blossom soda - as well as the raspberry flavoured fizz bomb - it was delicious and I’d definitely recommend it for a little bit of theatre with your meal.

For my second drink I chose The Botanist, the venue’s signature serve containing 42 Below Vodka, Bacardi Carta Blanca, St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur, jasmine syrup, red amaranth, mint and lime juice, lengthened with lemonade. I think this was my favourite of the two, tasting like a boozy lemonade and it was beautifully presented too. Not fancying a cocktail, my dining partner opted for a beer - can’t go wrong there.

Thoughts

The Botanist still feels like the Club House - a venue I really loved - but feels brighter and is filled with plants. I think the rebrand suits the restaurant perfectly and will be even better during the summer months when the sun finally decides to make an appearance. The staff - including those from the Newcastle branch who came to help out - were all attentive and friendly and I don’t think we could have asked for better service.

The small plates deal is definitely worth it if you fancy sharing a range of dishes with your mates, and the cocktails were pretty well priced at around £9.50 - which is fairly reasonable nowadays. The outdoor space is gorgeous and we had the pleasure of hearing live music throughout our visit, so it’s a brilliant spot for an al fresco meal or drink when the sun is shining.