Digging the new spring menu at The Botanist, West Bridgford

So, first things first, for those of you reading from afar West Bridgford is but a stone’s throw over the River Trent from Nottingham city centre. Once upon a time it used to be referred to as ‘Bread and Lard Island’, which was seen as a sly dig at the bourgeois residents’ over-exaggerated lifestyles.

It’s fair to say now that West Bridgford’s culinary offering goes far beyond such a term, with many options for locals and visitors alike. One of the newer members on the scene is The Botanist, a chain but a select one at that, with our offering in WB just the fifteenth in the UK.

Its USP, as you might have guessed, is botanically themed wares. This also extends to the décor, with a memorable trip to the Newcastle cousin last year seeing a larger-than-your-average tree sprouting above the bar. My dining partner Jayne informed me each bar has its own centrepiece, with the West Bridgford one amounting to a chandelier crossed with dad’s tool-shed (it’s much better than that sounds!). They also like to localise each bar so look out for the reference to Bramley apples as you approach the front door!

Onto the primary reason for our visit; the new spring menu. You’ll want to order a drink before you read, as the menu is vast. I plumped for the ‘Flight Board Betty’ from botany & beer menu, which in its own words is “a mini cocktail of rich yet refreshing lemon, mint and blackcurrant, paired with a chilled can of Beavertown's dark IPA Black Betty”.

It was a new one on me to combine a can of craft ale with a fruit cocktail, but it worked, with the tangy fruit complementing perfectly the strong, dark beer. It goes without saying, as it’s so renowned for its cocktail menu, if cocktails are your thing then pay The Botanist a visit, as the menu is endlessly inventive. Jayne chose the Strawberry and Elderflower Bellini. Her only criticism? It’s a little too more-ish! She’s made a mental note to leave the car at home next time.

As for the food menu; as well as your bog-standard starters, mains and desserts there’s options for: pies, salads, ‘from the grill’, ‘from the rotisserie’, their ‘famous hanging kebabs™’, something called ‘activated charcoal flatbreads’ and *breathes* The Botanist deli board. If you read through the menu and can’t find anything you fancy, then really you don’t deserve to ever eat out.

From experience I know how amazingly moreish the salt and pepper onion petals are, but we were there to give the new menu a spin, so we shared some calamari and tempura-fried cauliflower, tenderstem broccoli and kale manchurian(?) to start. Thumbs-up all around. Sometimes I find calamari can taste like you’re chewing a balloon, but this was light and delicate. Likewise, the tempura veg were of a high standard, with the sweet and sour sesame dipping sauce a revelation. Jayne commented on the delicious melt in your mouth batter.

For my main I went for the pork schnitzel, which was accompanied with ‘Shorrocks Lancashire macaroni cheese with spicy ‘nduja sausage’. This was primarily because I wasn’t entirely sure what a schnitzel was, and I love macaroni cheese. Schnitzel is a bread crumbed tenderised meat, either veal or as here, pork. And I can report that one with the other is delicious, rich, creamy cheese and a quality piece of meat. The portion size certainly is not to be sniffed at either.

Jayne chose the Botanist deli board. Somehow, you have to narrow down 23 mouth-watering and quirky options to four, though for those who find that too much of a challenge, extra items can be requested.

Her choices? (She’s written this bit): Rich and tasty Shorrocks Lancashire macaroni cheese with spicy 'nduja sausage – an Italian salami packed with spices. Creamy Buttermilk coleslaw (this does count as at least one of my 5 a day, right?), Camembert stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes – perfect for pairing with the jalapeño and cheddar bloomer bread that comes with the deli board. Oh and crispy chicken fillets with Scotch bonnet hot sauce (This visit was also educational – I now know that a Scotch bonnet is a type of pepper. What do you mean – you all knew anyway?).

We would have let the side down without having a pudding and so went for the sharing chocolate fondue. Presentation-wise it was a winner, with a neat little trio of ramekins, the centre one full of the ‘fondue’, which I would argue is pretty much just chocolate sauce but then what in life isn’t made better by being able to dip it in chocolate sauce? In this case the dipping foodstuffs were brownie, strawberries, marshmallows, honeycomb and coconut macaroons. There are plenty of other eye-catching options too including a bitter chocolate and roasted pineapple pot and homemade banana doughnuts.

A word too for the dining space, which I find particularly warm and welcoming. Before I first visited I hadn’t realised quite how vast the building is, but it’s designed in such a way which creates natural barriers throughout to section off tables here and there, providing both intimate areas as well as larger spaces for groups. This means the atmosphere is neither too quiet or too rowdy, which can be a particular bugbear of mine.

The Botanist also holds other events semi-regularly, including ‘musical bingo’ (which I can personally vouch for as being great fun) and a bottomless brunch, amongst other one-offs. In fact, our waitress for the night was also the fabulous bingo caller – they definitely are a friendly and talented bunch.

We can highly recommend The Botanist. The menu choice is without a doubt a step above others in the city and the venue itself is warm and welcoming. It also has vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free menus, which is never to be sniffed at in 2018 either. Go and gorge, you’ll never look at the tool-shed in the same way again.

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The Botanist is on Bridgford Road, West Bridgford and is open seven days a week.

This blog was written by Chris Hickman, Communications Manager at Visit Nottinghamshire.