We were recently invited to experience After Dark, The Botanist Broadgate Circle’s fun new way to spend your Saturday evenings! After Dark incorporates a two or three course meal complemented by bottomless Prosecco, house wine, beer or Bellinis and live music! The Botanist is a popular venue with a great atmosphere and we had a wonderful night of delicious food, amazing live music and free-flowing drinks! If you’re on the hunt for a venue for a special night or a fun way to spend your Saturday evening in London, then After Dark is the perfect choice!
The Botanist is a very stylish restaurant and bar and we loved the buzzing atmosphere! The whole place was packed with people having a great time and enjoying the live music. The band was fantastic and performed a great mix of popular cover songs which we and the crowd loved! The restaurant area was on a slightly higher level to the bar area, ensuring diners could relax and enjoy their meals whilst still being able to experience the live music. The service was fantastic and the wait staff were super friendly and attentive throughout the whole evening, assisting with menu queries and ensuring that our drinks were always kept topped up!
A few minutes after we were topped up with Prosecco, a lovely plate of Black Pudding Sausage Rolls served on a wooden board arrived to our table! They were packed full of flavour, were deliciously flaky as sausage rolls should be and were accompanied by a delicious BBQ sauce. They were a wonderful start to our evening!
I chose the Sweet potato and avocado salad with tigers milk & beet crisps served with sour cream and topped with a mixed leaf salad for my entree. I loved the combination of avocado, sweet potato and sour cream, with the crunchy beet crisps being a wonderful addition! The dish was beautifully presented and a very generous size for an entrée.
Dan decided on the smoked chicken, wood pigeon and trompette mushroom terrine which was served with toasted bread and piccalilli. He really enjoyed the combination of flavours from the smoked chicken, wood pigeon and mushroom terrine, which was a unique and delicious dish. The piccalilli had a very strong flavour and was enjoyable in small amounts as we aren’t generally big fans of pickles. I am sure though, that those who enjoy pickles would leave the ramekin of piccalilli completely empty! Again the size of the dish was very large for an entrée, so if you are planning to come for more than one course make sure you come hungry so you’ll be able to fit it all in!
Being a huge fan of tortellini, kale, walnut and pesto, I had quite high expectations for my Artichoke tortellini served with roast Jerusalem’s and a walnut and kale pesto. I was extremely impressed and loved the combination of textures and flavours in the dish. It was beautifully presented, the tortellini cooked perfectly and packed full of lovely green, healthy colours and flavours. I was very impressed with the meal and pleased with my choice of main course. For me, it was the stand out dish of the evening.
Dan was really excited to try the Gloucester Old Spot pork belly served with baked potato purée, greens & salsa verdi but unfortunately they had run out of pork. He settled on the Longhorn beef burger with cheese and bacon. He cheered up the moment he discovered that The Botanist had Bintang beer on offer as he had not had it since his visit to Bali many years ago! The Botanist have a very impressive and busy bar which served an incredible range of beers, wines and cocktails. Our table gave us the perfect view to watch the talented bartenders and mixologists whip up elaborate and fancy cocktails all night long!
The burger was enormous and was well presented with the freshly cooked chips in their own separate dish. The Longhorn beef burger itself was cooked to perfection and Dan enjoyed it so much that he somehow managed to finish every last bite!
We had to take a break between our main course and dessert because we were both absolutely stuffed! It was lovely to sit back and relax with our prosecco and enjoy the live music, which was wonderful! Eventually we decided that we didn’t have enough room to eat a dessert each so decided to share. We settled on the sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce and cornflake milk ice cream. The sticky toffee pudding was a hit, we loved the warmth and flavour especially when combined with the creamy ice cream and sweet butterscotch sauce. We weren’t so sure on the cornflakes but still loved the dessert and our bowl was left completely empty! It was a lovely, sweet way to end the evening.
When we truly didn’t think we could fit another single thing in, these two gorgeous dark chocolate bite sized truffles arrived at our table. Of course we couldn’t say no and the lovely rich, dark chocolate bite sized truffle truly did end our dining experience perfectly!
Our lovely waiter then suggested we top the evening off with an Amaretto Sour and we certainly weren’t going to say no! We watched as the bartenders whipped up our beautiful cocktails which were then quickly whisked across to us! They were the perfect combination of sweet and sour and I love the strong almond flavour in Amaretto. We enjoyed the final live music sets and then headed off when our cocktails were finished.
We had a great night at The Botanist enjoying their new After Dark experience! We absolutely loved the live music and atmosphere, bottomless drinks and our excellent three course meal! We left absolutely full to the brim, so make sure if you plan on coming for a great evening at The Botanist you come hungry as the meals are huge and you’ll want to be able to try and fit it all in! If you’re looking for an entertaining night full of delicious food and bottomless drinks in a fun environment, then you will love The Botanist at Broadgate Circle!
For two courses & unlimited Prosecco, ETM wine, beer or Bellinis it is £45 per person & for three courses £50 per person.
The Botanist
Broadgate Circle
London
EC2M 2QS
020 3058 9888
www.broadgate.thebotanistlondon.com
The Aussie Flashpacker was invited to review The Botanist at Broadgate Circle.
Our opinions are as always, our own.
