Brunch At The Botanist (Farnham) – Reviewed

We recently visited The Botanist, an eclectic restaurant and bar nestled in the heart of Farnham, described as ‘a concept like no other’. The Botanist offer delicious delicacies for brunch, lunch or dinner, which you can wash down with a huge range of botanical cocktail creations, fine wines and craft beers from their “beer anthology”.

Upon arrival, we immediately noticed the classic yet quirky décor with it’s warm oak furniture, random wall hanging knick-knacks complemented with the huge chandelier made from bottles and trinkets. To the left, the bar area is stacked high with every type of spirit and liquor you could think of accompanied by pristine crystal cut glassware. Walking through the door was like walking through a time machine! The atmosphere was quiet due to the time we arrived but I can imagine it’s a bustling bar on a Saturday night.

We were then seated in one of The Botanists comfy chesterfield sofa booths by two attentive staff members who then handed us their brunch menu. The Botanist is very well known for it’s wonderful alcoholic concoctions so it would have been rude not to try one! We opted for two classics with their signature twists – the Smoked Garlic & Rosemary Bloody Mary and a Pink Grapefruit & Peach Sangria. Both of these imaginative cocktails did not disappoint – bursting with flavour and served immaculately.

The brunch menu had a great selection of scrumptious breakfasts from traditional full English’s to homemade butter milk pancakes. I chose the roast garlic mushroom and spinach poached egg on toast and my guest tried out the croque-monsieur that featured hand-carved ham and Gruyere cheese French toast. Our meals arrived in a timely fashion and to say they were delicious would be an under statement. The poached egg was cooked with absolute precision and served on rustic seeded bread and the accompanying hollandaise sauce was to die for! The off-the-bone ham in the Croque Monsieur had a perfect salty-sweet balance and the tangy tomato jam was an unexpected but incredible addition to the dish.

In a nutshell, The Botanist is a trendy place with a strong identity which serves tasty food and innovative drinks with impeccable service in a comfortable setting. We wouldn’t hesitate to come back again!