The Botanist

The hanging kebabs are delicious! Try them! Really cool vibe with lots of quirky bits and bobs to look at on the walls. I liked it!

I’ve been in here before on a couple of occasions to drink, but today was my first time for food, and it wasn’t disappointing.
Staff were the correct level of attentive, and let us get on with our business and rather emotional at times chit chat, service was well paced too. Soft drinks are a little dear as I’m *mostly* off the booze currently, which is a shame as I’ve loved the cocktails when I’ve been in on nights out.
It does get a hell of a lot louder in the evenings, if you want the lovely food and no noise, you want to go during the day, though it isn’t as loud as quite a few of the other venues here and as you head down call lane.

Is good for an afternoon drink/​chill but is very busy on a weekend and night.
The food is ok, I had a chicken and chips, came with a very small jug of gravy so I asked for more gravy, they gave me another very small jug and charged me an extra £1.50!!! Having said that the hanging kebabs were yummy.
Service for drinks can be slow and staff can be a bit up themselves.
I go as a meet up on few occasions but there’s better places to go with much better service

Really enjoy the cocktails in the Botanist. Although at the weekend it is completely rammed, the drinks are always made with precision. The décor is really interesting and you feel like you’re in a greenhouse (you can even have drinks in watering cans and jam jars!)
I ate here for the first time this week– the food was nice but the service was slow considering it was late afternoon and we were one of three tables eating. One thing that made me only rate it at 3stars is that the restaurant was full of flies… I’m not sure if this is part of the ‘botanical’ atmosphere but it was quite off putting!

Awesome place! Extremely tasty good, well made cocktails, nice interior, friendly and approachable staff. Bit on the expensive side but definitely worth it!

We didn’t eat here but popped in for a couple of drinks on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
It’s really nice inside, with a cosy atmosphere and cool looking stripped wooden décor. Not too cheap — a round of 2 white beers and 2 glasses of Prosecco was £19. But the atmosphere was vibrant with a merry throng filling the place and some live music going on too. Friendly and enthusiastic bar staff in there helps and we could easily have spent the whole afternoon in there although my bank balance might have suffered as a consequence!

I’ll be honest from the start, I’ve been rather looking forward to trying The Botanist out purely based on the font they use on the sign. Inside it’s like the worlds greatest stereotypical country-​garden shed, which is no bad thing. The staff were impressively efficient, which is a decent trait in my books when you’re serving me drinks.
They lose a star just based on the prices, half a soft drink shouldn’t really come to £2 however you look at it, but everything else was delightful. Some of the lemon-​based drinks friends were having looked delicious, and I was impressed we could still chat over the music. Bonus points for not being kicked out as the night quietened down!
Definitely check it out, I’ll be hoping to try something off the spirits shelf next time!

warm beer! not good.
I guess I chose a beer that had not been pulled much that evening.
But the cocktails were good.
There were some lovely smells coming from the restaurant but I didn’t actually see anyone eating. I did look but could see no food on any tables. Strange!
The bar was absolutely packed pull of people and as much as I like a vibrant atmosphere the people were too tightly crammed in.
One warm beer and it was time to leave.

Still not quite reaching that fifth star for me, but having come back for a second round of burger funs, I’m still a big fan of the eats here. For a quick burger update, this time around the entire burger was as juicy as you can imagine, and I ate the entire thing with relish. (Both literally, and descriptively.) Brioche bun, dripping patty, excellent cheese, and yummy salsa stuff in a pot. A mound of fries comes with, pre-​salted and pre-​peppered. Yum.
This time around I got to try the cocktails — namely the Basil Grande — which I highly recommend. It’s ever-​so-​slightly savoury, with pepper mixed throughout, which gives it a lovely and intriguing kick. Super sweet though, if you’re not into sugary sips. I was delighted. I enjoyed the fact we were warned cocktails would take about five minutes — nice to get a warning, and nice to know they’re made with love.
The little things tip off the experience, with presentation being high on the agenda.
One waitress was lovely, and even came around with a song book, should we like to request a number from the live duo. Not sure the music quite fit the venue, but live music is always a boon. The other waitress looked as though she’d had a long hard shift, so was less enthused. (I can’t really complain too much about that, it’s a tough gig, and often thankless.)
I’ll definitely be back. For the burgers, the cocktails, and the décor, which still appeals. I am a fan.

Visited here on the bromance food tour of leeds with my friend. It is currently ranked second in our table.
I ordered the toad in the hole for £8.99 and what a bargain! the Yorkshire pudding was light and soft the sausages were full of flavour and fat and the onion gravy was awesome. I requested more. What made the experience even better was the live music going on. For us it was a pianist and singer and he was awesome it was fairly loud but this happens everywhere when you have live music and a packed restaurant.
The service is great very friendly efficient and offer good knowledge on their drinks. They have a good selection of beers offering different special ales as well.
For the price there aren’t many places that will be able to top here. I have been numerous times since with my wife as this is now one of her favourite places to go.

I’d heard a few good things about this place and was very excited about checking it out based firstly on the name and the things i’d heard. I couldn’t wait to be surrounded by an array of greenery in what sounded almost magical. Tucked away at the bottom of Trinitay it was immediately refreshing on the eye. It was nicely decked out and looked very cosy and well received. The heaters which were made of metal lily leaves blanketed the eating area outside and were beautifully crafted. The initial feeling on a whole brought one of warm ambiance. I really didn’t feel like I was amongst the hustle and bustle of Leeds town centre. The potted plants looked great although I did seem to think that a Botanist would care for plants — these looked dishevelled and in dire need of water aid!
There is a smoking area to the left and the dining area to the right. A little disappointing that the smoking area was a bit shabby and unclean in comparison to the well kept dining area to the right. With dirty glasses everywhere and tables covered in sticky drink and wet serviettes I reluctantly sat at the fag table. Looking over to the outside dining area I took a nosey at some of the food being offered to diners laughing and drinking bottles of wine from ice buckets, huddled around strange looking kebabs which looked rather tempting but £10 for one stick with some meat on was slightly off-​putting.
They have a good beer menu here with a vast choice of speciality beers from around the globe. I also took a glance at the food menu which looked less engulfing than many places in Leeds with a small selection of things that sounded pretty lovely. On this occasion though I just wanted to check out the place first and sample some drinks.
The bar itself is beautiful I was immediately impressed! It’s very unique and I loved the chandelier hanging over the main bar area very creative! The staff looked brilliant in there vintage attire and the bar itself looked really clean and boasted much choice! There was a guy playing guitar and a variety of clientele from families huddled in the back room to those more engaged in the music and laughter around the main bar.
I opted for a Hoegaarden as I rarely see this beer about in Leeds and on a warm afternoon I needed it! I have to say though the staff were pretty miserable although obviously well knowledge, it was pretty painful being served by stone face man. On the way back to the table I looked to my left for a quick peek at the kitchen. Sorry to say but really unimpressed here as it was a complete mess. the floor was covered in food which sets alarm bells for me I’m afraid. I stayed for another drink but nearly fell off my chair when the barman requested £14 for two glasses of wine. I thought this was ridiculous as the wine wasn’t even that nice I was pretty mortified.
Overall a nice place with an eclectic mix of people, I’d say good for catching up over some brunch outside or inhaling the ambience of the bar inside with family or larger groups of friends. I was really disappointed with the cleanliness of the place outside (although inside looked immaculate) and I thought it was seriously over priced on that basis. If they kept up appearances to a cleanly standard such as Friends of Ham I would probably be more adapting to the pricey menu. If they want to keep this bar going I think it just requires a little more TLC and Botanist love…

After having ventured into The Alchemist (Botanist crazy scientific brother) I decided to try the latest addition to Leeds rapidly growing bar scene. Located at the bottom of Trinity Shopping Center and to the right of Trinity Church this little gem is unique in so many ways.
There are two things that hit you before you even enter the premises.
1: The ample covered outside area with a bounty of patio heaters.
2: The Kitchens pass leads directly to the outside seating area. Yes a little weird but seems to generally work.
Following the stairs to the entrance, the door on the left, you are faced with 2 directions. Head left and be greeted by a multitude of smiley servers or head right and face the bar. I chose the bar, no surprise there then.
A Botanist, someone who likes gardening, suggests this place would be very garden orientated. You wouldn’t be wrong in that surmise. Decked out to look like a worn Victorian greenhouse/​potting shed the décor is tactfully done. In places there has been a tendency to fill the place with a multitude of garden paraphernalia but this luckily has not taken away from the space and led you down the garden path towards tackiness. Carefully selected pieces of equipment have been used to decorate the interior with the clever use of 6 different sized soil graders as a lighting fixture (it has to be seen to be appreciated) and traditional styled oil lamps as the lighting for the bar itself. If Alan Titchmarsh walked in he’d think he had died and gone to heaven. A Groundforcers dream.
Laid in front on the bar, very similar to The Alchemist, is a cacophony of herbal delights to add to, to flavour and to enhance the many cocktails they offer. Now when I say cocktails I don’t want you thinking these are any other ordinary cocktails you’d get in any other ordinary cocktail bar. No sir, these are not. Amongst the plethora of delights you will find these little beauties all aimed towards the botany side of life.
Red Pepper & Porchini Manhatten
Fennel Floridian
Lemon, Lime & Dill Capiroska
Watermelon & Sage Sling
Blackberry Mojito
Sitting alongside these in the menu, like a puppy and its mother all cuddled and warm, is a series of entertaining (if not overly exciting) array of bottled products. Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier is amongst the best of the bunch. But what is it that got me all excited and giddy? Well unlike The Alchemist, The Botanist has Real Ale. Laid upon the back bar, coming out of two large wooden barrels, are 4 taps all serving gravity fed ale. So while the line-​up is not overly exciting it is one up for this branch of the company.
Surrounding the bar area is an L shaped ‘eating section’ full of the smiley people trying to help you at frequent intervals. The space for seating in the bar section is limited with the main focus on getting people to sit and eat. I didn’t eat this time but will be back to try the food at a later date.
Generally, this is a good bar with scope for growth. The staff are attentive and seem happy in their work, the food looks good, there is ample external seating and the beer range is decent for a chain bar. I am more than happy to return to this lovely establishment.

It’s a little like someone blended all the members of Mumford and Sons in a big industrial mixer, sprayed what came out of that mixer into an empty storage space and waited for it to grow.
Or a scene from a 1960s mining town in middle America.
But I kinda like that. For now.
No doubt it’s going to age about as well as The Trinity centre it’s a part of, or the fantastic multicoloured arena we’re all looking forwards to opening so much this year.
The clientele seem to be a combination of suits and hipsters both out from work and out to prove themselves worthy; and it seems like the kind of place that jeans and tees probably works quite well next to Armani and Hugo Boss suits. Though that’s only a guess based on a late Wednesday night.
Drinks are as expensive as you would expect from a Leeds bar, though the addition of draught ales is a nice touch which the likes of Oporto and Call Lane Social have yet to jump on, and so set The Botanist apart; of course the place is expected to be frequented more so by cocktail lovers than ale aficionados — but it’s Wednesday, and cocktails on school nights are a no-​no, so their long, short and martini drink list was sadly not tried on this occasion.
As for the people pouring the drinks, they seem a combination of happy, delighted and downright in love with their job — maybe it’s something in the drinks?
Much like the cocktails, I didn’t get to try the food but those around me definitely seemed to be enjoying theirs and so if for nothing else I’m looking forwards to going back to try their scrumptious nibbles.
I’ll be going back to try it out more fully, but the staff, décor and not massively overpriced drinks make it a more than decent enough addition to the eateries and drinkeries of Leeds if you ask me.

The botanist, part of the Trinity centre in the city centre is tucked away next to the church at the rear of Trinity. You can immediately see that it is a little bit of something unique, with big metal Lily pads suspended over the outdoor seating area, cleverly disguising patio heaters.
The cocktail list is really original, with a distinctly gardeny theme. The red pepper and Portabello mushroom martini being one of the more unique features! However if cocktails are not your thing, the wine and beer list is also extensive with beers from all over.
The food is also good and again in a nod to the bars name, certain condiments and sides are served in teeny flower pots, watering cans and wheelbarrow. Just adorable!
The bar is owned by the same company that own the Oust House (I reviewed this place last year and was less than impressed with the service received) so was a little apprehensive coming here. In stark contrast the staff at the botanist are attentive, polite and friendly. My only negative was that the service was a little slow, however the place is only newly opened so I will happily put this down to teething troubles.
All in all a nice place to head for something a bit different and definitely a great addition to Leeds sometimes samey bar scene.

So had a bit of family in Leeds the weekend and thought we’d try out one of the new Trinity places for lunch… I’d had my eye on this place since it opened t’other week with it’s promise of a ‘World Beer Pub’ and with a menu of classic comport food type English pub dishes thought we’d give it a whirl. As expected it was pretty busy on a Saturday afternoon, the ‘newness’ of the whole Trinity thing is still packing the place out with crowds and here was no exception, though unlike the restaurants on the top there was only a short wait here for a table. Around 2/​3s of the inside is given over to tables for eating with a smallish bar area usually with a busker strumming away, you can just nip in for a pint but that doesn’t seem to be what they’re going for, almost everyone in the bar was waiting to be seated for food. The main draw seems to be the ‘quirky’ décor, the place is set up like a very large potted plant shed that Mumford and Sons grew up in, and though an improvement from the bland franchise restaurants in Trinity (this place is also a chain) it’s definitely got the feel of ‘market research approved quirkness’ to it.
Good choice of drinks with ‘call lane’ quality cocktails, some cask ales and a standard selection of wines and lagers on offer, trying one of the casks pretty much put the beer on a level with what you’d get in something like a Wetherspoons (Friends of Ham doesn’t need to worry).
Thought I’d go classic and grab a burger, which even though it arrived in a wooden tray (this obsession with serving up food in gastro pubs on planks of wood needs to end!) was pretty nice, I’d say standard for a gastro pub. I’d never come here for a burger over Nation of Shopkeepers though.
All in all, yeah it’s pretty decent, Leeds is already well catered for gastro pubs and other than location and it being new I wouldn’t recommend it over places like The Adelphi, White Swan, Shopkeepers or Whitelocks… Though while also foodie pubs those places aren’t what The Botantist is aiming at, with the cocktails and more restaurant type service they are definitely going for the crowd that would class those places as too casual (or even rough) but don’t fancy a full blown restaurant. It’s a gap in the market they’ll make a lot of money out of in Leeds I think.

The Botanist, another new addition toTrinity, opened it’s doors on Thursday.
Having oggled over the menu before opening, I could not help but look forward to this one.
The cocktail menu gestures an enthusiastic nod at the establishments name, with delectable and intriguing concoctions such as red pepper and porcini manhattan and basil and plum caipirinha.
The food menu is parallel in offerings from hearty home comforts, BBQ, salads and an excellent array of mezze dishes and mouth watering sides.
I thought best to leave my lunch plans until Saturday in the hope of teething problems being ironed out. Despite being Saturday lunchtime over Easter weekend, a table was promptly found for us, and drinks orders taken. With food orders to follow once I had finished contemplating and taking in my amazing surroundings. (Shabby chic in the greatest sense of the term).
The service was excellent, the food arriving quickly, the portions were of a good size, not so big that they were phasing though. All in all this mid shopping well earned lunch break was enjoyable.
HOWEVER, I did have to repeatedly ask for mayonnaise which arrived in something of similar proportion to a thimble, I think I got through about 7 of these until I just gave up and ate the remainder of my chips dry.
Despite all the alcohol being of a very reasonable price, £4 for a coke is just a tad extortionate, especially considering a large glass of wine is £5.