The Botanist: Bringing botany to Birmingham.

For years now I’ve heard murmurings about Chester’s critically acclaimed cocktail bar ‘The Botanist’ offering a sanctuary for both the young and trendy, and the well healed elite to quench their thirst with the latest ‘on-trend’ offering of botanical beverage. Relocate to Birmingham, where the hardened cocktails drinker is familiar with the well-established haunts set up by the Bitters and Twisted group, or the burgeoning independent market with the likes of The Bureau garnering attention from the Colemore Row legalites, and you’d agree that the market is already saturated (or more accurately paralytic on a Friday and Saturday!) So do we need another?

Hiding behind its intricate wrought-iron exterior, Birmingham’s incarnation of ‘The Botanist’ is centrally located on Temple Street, a mere stone’s throw from the likes of competitors Bodega and The Bureau, first impressions are good. There has already been discussion amongst my teacher friends about a proposed trip here when it opens commercially on the 6^th of April, rather annoyingly already a week into our Easter break! I didn’t tell them I’d landed an invite to the press launch last Thursday, obviously.

Inside, you’ll be greeted to a sophisticated décor that is simultaneously chic yet comfortable with the addition of tastefully acoustic live music to create an mellow vibe. On arrival I was greeted warmly by the staff and ushered to the bar to sample the extensive cocktail menu. From the outset, ‘The Botanist’s’ brand is exactly what it purports: delicate and subtle flavours that combine refreshing fruits and the best of British herbs. My criteria for a good cocktail bar is that you shouldn’t need to look at the menu and that you should rely on recommendation only. Test one: find a cocktail that will be good for a lunchtime-drinking gin lover. I was recommended the Watermelon and Sage Sling (£7.50), which was at it says, with the addition of a spritz of lime juice to add a sharp edge to the velvety smoothness of the watermelon. I was impressed: this was looking good!

After being ushered to my table with some fellow foodies, it was reassuring to see that The Botanist offers not only an extensive cocktail menu, but also a respectable food menu to boot. Unlike its competitors, The Botanist doesn’t position itself as a cocktail bar that does food, or vice versa, it very much stands in both camps.  

Both carnivores and veggies alike will find something to tantalise their tastes in the extensive food menu. I opted for the Smoked Haddock Fishcake (£5.95) to start with and it arrived promptly and was strikingly presented. The micro herb motif that adorned the cocktails that my fellow diners were sipping featured again on the food, and the opulent colours were set off by the retro style Willow Pattern plates that it was served on. A nice touch, considering that this is a chain.

Between starter and main, my attentive waiter managed to persuade me to try one of the English Mojitos (it took a lot of persuasion on his behalf, of course!) A mojito with gin and cucumber is such a simple change, yet the result in stunning. A definite recommendation from me, and if you don't like it, I'll finish it off!

The real selling point of The Botanist’s food menu is the signature Deli Boards. For £9.95 diners can select four items from an extensive range including: Roasted Red and Yellow Peppers, Scotch Egg and Picalilly, Poached Salmon Fillet and three different cheese, all served with Turkish Flatbread. For the gastronomically fussy like myself, this is a real selling point as you can tailor your menu to suit your requirements without having to spend the earth (or seem like one of those customers!) My board consisted of the Salmon Fillet, a Four Bean Salad, a generous helping of the Houmus and a slice of Lancashire Blue Cheese. Each portion was artistically presented, as I was now becoming accustomed to, and decently sized- certainly sufficient for both a city lunch to share, or a relaxed dinner.

 

 

However, I did get a bit of food envy as we all do on occasion. In addition to the Deli Boards, The Botanist has two further divisions to the menu: ‘Off the Barbecue’, and ‘From the Rotisserie’. Form the barbecue you can enjoy a hanging kebab with either Halloumi for the veggies, or chicken, prawn, lamb, or beef for the meat eaters. Dramatically presented, each diner can enjoy a hanging kebab sopped with sweet chilli, ginger and garlic butter. I know, I should have had one of those to start off with, but that gives me a reason to go back, right?

Luckily, there is a dessert alternative of the kebab, featuring strawberry and marshmallow that I plumped for and was not disappointed.  A simple dish presented in a novel way, with generous lashings of Sailor Jerry chocolate sauce. What’s not to love?

So my verdict? The Botanist has hit a niche with its equal focus on providing quality food and drinks to a more discerning customer. Think sophisticated drinks and classy nibbles on a weeknight, a couple of inspired cocktails with colleagues on Friday, or a catch up with friends over a long drink at the weekend, The Botanist will not disappoint. With 25% off during April with online bookings it is definitely worth a try.

Cocktail Trio (with some assistance)

By Friday afternoon there is a tangible quiver in the air come 4 o’clock as the many young professionals, hipsters and miscellaneous city dwellers feel the urge to baptise the weekend with alcoholic splendour. So, for those of you needing inspiration for that late afternoon tipple, here is a rundown of my 3 current favourites for the essential summer bevvy: the cocktail.

The Lost and Found: Smokey Joe

For those of you who follow my Twitter account @countryboyblog, you will have already seen that I have tweeted about this on previous occasions (and accidentally uploaded about a bazillion pictures of it by mistake...) This is essentially a whiskey and coke, but not like any you have ever tried before. Instead of standard coke, this is carbonated with smoked bubbles and finished with a shot of maple syrup, resulting in a sophisticated warmth to this beverage. At £7.95, this is not the cheapest of drinks, and can certainly be undercut by some local rivals, but what you are paying for is a quality drink, served by knowledgeable staff, in a quirky environment.

Bodega: Blueberry and Elderflour Margarita (Jack) and Raspberry Caipirinha (Sarah)

This was a bit of an impromptu cocktail stop after an afternoon at the Sea Life centre. Sarah and I (being strong willed as we are...) were tempted by the appealing offer of selected cocktails being available for £4 until 7pm. I opted for the Blueberry and Elderflour Margarita (right) and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect! Moving away from it’s more bitter counterpart, this one was edged with sugar and floated with a couple of blueberries. Flavour wise, the two main ingredients worked well together and the tequila (which I usually hate after one too many slammers in my uni days!) added spice and warmth rather than the customary burn. Sarah plumped for the Raspberry Caipirinha (left), a variation on the Brazilian classic, which met with her approval and was deemed ‘fruity but sharp’.  For two cocktails for £8 you can’t go wrong with this, but after 7pm there is a bit of a price hike so get there early to enjoy these creations.

Jekyll and Hyde: Love Heart (Jack) and Lemon Bon Bon (Amy)

The Jekyll and Hyde is part of the same chain as Bodega and as such, has the same offers on cocktails until 7pm. Amy and I had no need for this as we started mid-afternoon... on a Monday (guess that’s one of the perks of being a teacher that during the summer hols you can be slightly sozzled on a Monday afternoon!) True to it’s quirky roots, the Jekyll and Hyde is offering up sweet shop themed cocktails this summer, served in retro jam jars. What I liked about this was right from the offset, our cocktail maker knew what she was doing and was able to alter my Love Heart (left) to make it less sweet and offer her own recommendations. Both mine and Amy’s drinks paid homage to their sweet namesakes, but we were both in agreement that the Love Heart would be the cocktail of choice on future occasions.

The verdict...

Well judging by my tweets, the Smokey Joe is definitely the drink of choice for both quality and innovation, but... where did I end up going back to on Monday evening... The Jekyll and Hyde, and this time for the Turkish Delight cocktail, AND I even coughed up the full £5.50, post 7pm price for this and it did not disappoint.