Sloane Square borders some of the most luxurious and exclusive areas in London, namely Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Chelsea, and is surrounded by wonderfully large town houses in the mixed style of Gothic, Classical and Edwardian. It is an exclusive area and was given its name after Sir Hans Sloane who owned the land at the time. The Botanist occupies a prominent corner of the square and was so named after the aforementioned Sir Hans, who was a famous botanist and collector whose other claim to fame, after naming the square, was that he bequeathed his collection to the nation which formed the beginning of the British Museum.
The Botanist is an iconic bar and restaurant where people can drop in for a drink after a hard day’s shopping along the King’s Road and watch the London elite sipping Champagne or the signature botanical cocktails, or dine in the restaurant which serves a mix of modern European food.
We visited the Botanist on a Sunday lunchtime to enjoy a relaxed Sunday Brunch, and even then the bar and the restaurant had a lively buzz, but we resisted the lure of the art deco bar and immediately went into the restaurant.
The restaurant is split from the bar and is airier due to the large floor to ceiling windows providing lots of light, but the de´cor in both is an eclectic mix of colours and designs. Rousseauesk painting of animals in vivid colours rub shoulders with light mauve leather chairs, wooden tables and red and blue leather chairs in the bar. This explosion of colours really shouldn’t work, but in a crazy way it does, and this crazy mix of things flows into the menu choices and dishes.
The Brunch Menu is available from 9am to 4pm at weekends and the menu is split into 4 sections, Lighter Options, Starters, Salads and Mains. The lighter options section focus’ more on breakfast dishes but with a twist, so porridge is twinned with coconut milk and passion fruit (£7.5) and sweetcorn and chilli fritters are served with grilled tomatoes, watercress and mint yoghurt (£9).
Our brunch started with the starter section where I selected the Tuna Tartare, Avocado, Radish, Macadamia and Prawn Crackers (£11.5), and my wife selected Burrata, Isle of White Tomatoes, Avocado and Chilli (£13). The Burrata was light and creamy and the chilli gave just enough heat to the fresh English ingredients. My tuna was a generous size and was good, but unfortunately the wonderful fresh, meaty tuna was swamped by the overpowering taste of sesame oil. There was a lovely oriental flavour, but unfortunately at the expense of the main ingredient.
The salad options are perfect for those health-conscious people with Superfood Quinoa (£15), along with that classic Caesar Salad (£12), but we resisted the healthy options and selected from the Mains section. My wife opted for the Scottish Salmon Fishcake, Poached Egg, Spinach and Parsley Sauce (£16) with a side of Mash Potato (£4.5), whereas I opted for the Longhorn Beef Burger, cheese, caramelised onions and fries served on a choice of buns (£17.5). The Botanist sources its ingredients from English sources and many are selected from small family owned business’ as the thought process is that these business’ care more about their products, and this is borne out by the taste. The fishcake was perched expectantly on a bed of wilted spinach smothered in a light and creamy parsley sauce which was nicely soaked up by the smooth mash, and my burger was a first for our meal, as instead of mixing lots of ingredients and tastes, this dish rested on the quality of the double beef patties which was sensible, as they happily stood up to the test.
The portions are so generous we were too full to partake of a dessert, well it was brunch! But the selection has many English classics and a imaginative selection of cheeses which sorely tempted me. Prices are reasonable for this part of the city, and that is emphasised by the wine selection where we chose a crisp and fresh house white for under £25, which would give many grander labels a run for their money.
The Botanist is a perfect place to enjoy a drink or a meal at any time of the day or night and offers quality in a lovely relaxed atmosphere.
The Botanist 7 Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8EE - Telephone: 020 7730 0077