The Botanical

Well, after walking out of neighboring Café Domain who no longer offer table service in the PM, it was so refreshing to walk into the Botanical that was ‘pumping’ be greeted, and have a wine in hand in record time. Great service, water poured as well, a great ambience, love the wine list, reasonable prices and a cheese platter to die for. You have won me The Botanical, I will be spreading the word.

Someone at my dinner party mentioned they filmed the Real Housewives of Melbourne here and I can see why. It’s a posh establishment with great décor, clean linen tables, an impressive wine collection, and a nice outdoor area.
Service was on point throughout the evening. Guests arrived at various times and were always greeted, drink orders taken immediately and an attention to detail that was impressive.
The dinner menu was equally impressive and everyone in my group had visually stunning dishes that were all empty at the end of the night. I chose the lamb rump which was decadently tender and perfectly cooked to order. The glazed daikon looked like a scallop and tasted divine amongst the beans and buttermilk purée. It was a beautifully well crafted dish.
A surprise highlight to my evening was the espresso martini. They literally brewed the coffee just to make the drink, yet it was chilled to perfection. It was smooth, flavourful and I nearly ordered another, except at $ 20, it was hard to justify.
So why the 4 stars? Where the restaurant excelled in great food, service and décor, it lacked in depth and a personal feel. The ambiance was a bit shallow, with many pretentious guests more concerned about their appearance than truly enjoying themselves. It seemed like a place that rich men dined at with their mistresses, or to find a new one. The restaurant can work on improving its reputation to keep the regular folks /​happy hour crowd around and step out of the ‘Housewives’ backdrop to prove it has more than just pretty faces.

Perfect winters day in Melbourne. Sunny, no wind. So we called into the Botanical for lunch. Bad decision.
This place used to be a Fav of ours but the food has gone off. Its now very ordinary.
French onion soup was terrible. Fat Chjps were awful.
But the Bread was still fantastic. Yay!

The first time I came here I thought ‘meh’, the second time I came here I thought ‘whoa’.
I was lucky enough to attend a most extravagant Hens Party in the Archer Room of The Botanical — a spectacular private function room with an exclusive bar and a glass roof. The table was set out beautifully for around 30 people and the staff were incredibly attentive as a glass of sparkling was gracefully placed in my hand as soon as I entered.
We were treated to a two course set menu with the most delectable seafood and steaks on offer — all very ladylike portions and sizing, I assure you.
The Botanical really offers the perfect venue for a Hens Party or any other function where you want your guests to feel elegant and sophisticated.

For a place called botanical not to have even 1 vegetarian main dish on the menu is amazingly poor. The waitress was lovely and suggested removing the anchovies from the gnocchi (as that was my only option for a meat free meal).
The interiors are lovely, the staff are nice but while my dining partner got a wine straight away my beer took about 10 minutes to arrive! The food was reasonably tasty, very small portions (which is not necessarily a bad thing) but very expensive for what you got. I would not go back here deliberately and couldn’t recommend it when there are so many other great options in the area. To not have a serious vegetarian option in Melbourne is plain lazy.

Solid 3 stars. Thursdays has a steak & beer/​wine night for $ 20, which is a fantastic deal, but otherwise there is nothing that particularly stands out (good or bad). Nice location for a post-​run coffee or snack.

Been here twice for brunch and sadly The Botanical has been consistent with two things: mediocre food and slow service. Oh, and for a city that boasts good coffee, this place can’t even deliver on that. Definitely will not be going back.

This place was a bit on the «beautiful people» side of things, but I had an excellent meal for a decent price, and had service with a smile. My group had a great time. I know that there are other reviews elsewhere that disagree, and I’ve only been there the once last week, but we liked it a lot.
We were hesitant because it seemed like an «in crowd» place to be, but the staff were very nice as we asked — without a booking on a Thursday night — for a table for three. They said it would be about 20 minutes and would we like a drink at the bar? Yes, we did, and had some cocktails. They called us to our table within about 5 minutes, yay!
It was very busy, with tables quite close together, so you certainly get a feeling of a lively, bustling place. The menu is pretty fine, with prices to match, but they have a special on each night that in the reasonable low– to mid-​$ 20 range. Thu was steak and the person who got that said it was fantastic. The whole menu leans into French cuisine.
We other two had the port belly and roast veg. The belly was nice, long strips that were juicy, not the fat block you usually get. Tastes were delicious.
The wine list is perhaps the biggest I’ve ever seen. They tend to high end, for sure, but there are a couple of decent lower-​cost choices. (The bottle shop in the restaurant must be the priciest in the city.)
We shared a serving of cheese for dessert, which was lots. There are three nice cheeses in a case, and they bring plenty of crisp breads for it.
Best of all, they had my favourite after-​dinner drink: armagnac. In fact, they had *6* different kinds of it! Wow.
We didn’t eat a massive amount. They brought bread, so we had no starters. We each had a main. We shared a bottle of wine between three, as well as dessert. And I had an armagnac. The bill for the three of us came to just under $ 150, I think. Not terrible. For us, it was a high-​end place that delivered the atmospheric, service, and culinary goods.

Located on Domain Road on South Yarra amongst a few restaurants, the Botanical is sophisticated and classy establishment that attracts the affluent residents of South Yarra. A bar, a restaurant, a café, and a bottleshpp, the Botanical is several businesses in one with a large target market.
Whilst I rarely go south of the river, I was in the area around dinner and decided to grab a bite to eat. We were placed in the café, which has a limited menu compared to the restaurant. We ordered mussels ($ 18) that were usually a main for our entrees. The mussels were good, but over salted. I had the wagyu burger ($ 22), which was good, but nothing spectacular. There was also a daily special — a dish with a beer or wine for $ 20. Friday’s special was pasta with shrimp, capers, and lemon, which was under salted. The food was 2 stars.
However, the drinks menu was 3 stars with an amazing selection of wines. I opted for a cocktail ($ 16) made with pomegranate liquer, lychee liquer, pinot noir, lemon, and soda. It was completely refreshing.
The service was initially prompt, but got slower and slower as the night went on. My second cocktail didn’t come out until I was nearly done with my meal. I doubt I’ll be coming back.
I wasn’t too incredibly impressed by the place and the place was not my scene — lots of women dressed to the tee with make up and high heels on. Apparently, there is a bar upstairs that is pretty swanky. If swanky bars are your scene, you might give this place a try, but based on their café, I won’t be coming back.

A very cool and busy restaurant/​bistro in South Yarra, Melbourne.
Also has a well-​stocked wine shop and great for breakfast, lunch and people watching.
Easy to find — on the No 8 Tram route.