The Botanist in Reading - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

My wife and I had a great meal at the Botanist, with a really good menu to choose from, our waitress Paige was first class. We will definitely be going back.

Very good food, reasonably priced. Definitely worth a visit.

Went on a busy Saturday night and enjoyed the live music, cocktails and company. Great venue.

Was hyped by the reviews and pictures on the google, but wasn't happy with Food and service to be honest. Ambience is good but not great. Would recommend for a trial may be you might like it for the ambience.

Had the best time with such a big group the team were amazing. Greatful for their patience. food was amazing and the atmosphere was amazing

Me and my partner were out for a celebratory dinner. We were sat down at our table pretty quick after turning up however, we were then say waiting for over 25mins before anyone came over to take our order for food, let alone drinks. The food was great when it eventually arrived but I ordered a drink just as the food arrived and it never turned up. Once we had finished our meal we were then sat for around 30mins with all the empty plates and glasses on the table and no one bothered to come over and check on us or ask how our meal was. We tried getting the attention of a waitress and the all storm past you without looking. When it then came to our plates getting cleared we asked for he bill immediately as we didn’t want to spend anymore of our evening here. Such a shame as we have been to the restaurant in bath and it was amazing so that’s why we wanted to come here. I now feel that we won’t be returning.

A nice place to chill with friends, or to go on a date. Ambiance is rustic and cute. The cocktails are amazing and food is good. A bit pricey but it's worth the price, specially when there's live music.

Excellent service from Charlie when we turned up in dribs and drabs not actually knowing how many would arrive! The food was very good too.

Came in here on a whim and left on a high. Great service even though I discovered the staff were students doing their summer thing. Must be good training here. Had the hanging kebabs. A bit dry and lack of sauce. Gimmick? Maybe but fun dish. Great atmosphere

Fun place though service was a bit slow and haphazard. Still, beautiful, and great non-alcoholic cocktail menu 👌

I was staying in Reading last Sunday at a hotel down the road for an event I was going to on Monday, and I was looking for a decent Sunday roast. Lots of good recommendations for this place online, so I decided to go here. Very easy to book a table over the phone. A really cosy and relaxed atmosphere, loved the decor and the layout. Staff and waiters were really helpful and hospitable. I had the half roast chicken and it was delicious, decent portion with rich gravy, nice crispy fluffy roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding, generous selection of veg - carrots, tenderstem broccoli, mange tout - and I also pushed the boat out and had some pigs in blankets on the side which were delicious as well. For drinks, I had the "Botanist Lemonade", one of their non-alcoholic cocktails, and it was delightful, very refreshing especially with how warm it's been recently, nice complimentary mix of the Lemonade with elderflower and mint. Had really lovely experience and meal overall, and I would definitely return when I'm next in the area!

Beautiful! Great food, great service and great atmosphere

Stopped in for a quick pre-show bite to eat. Server was nice and smiley. Food was good, and we had a nice relaxing time.

Great place, wonderful cocktails.

Classy Bar, great atmosphere, comfortable seating. Food menu something for every taste nibbles or mains. Would like to highlight friendly, helpful staff and a Exceptional Mixologist, Bailey who makes making cocktails a Art form. Many thanks

Sea bass and sauce was fantastic... The service was terrible, and the wine glasses were filthy.

AVOID AVOID AVOID !!!!!! ABSOLUTE DUMP!!! FOOD WAS UNDERCOOKED AND TASTED LIKE FROZEN FOOD. BOUNCERS ON THE DOOR CAUGHT DOING DRUGS IN THE RESTROOMS AND WHEN CONFRONTED BY MY PARTNER HE WAS VERBALLY THREATENED WITH VIOLANCE IF HE REPORTED IT. THIS PLACE PRIDES ITS SELF ON BEING UP MARKET AND THERE PRICES REFLECT THIS....... UNFORTUNATELY THERE STAFF VENUE AND FOOD DO NOT MEET THIS STANDARD. AVOID AT ALL COST YOU MAY AS WELL HEAD TO THE WEATHER SPOONS FOR BETTER FOOD.

Overpriced for mediocre cocktails

Restaurant wasn't even full yet the service was very slow. Food was decent enough.

We hired the side room for a big occasion and the staff couldn't have been more accommodating. The room itself was perfect for a more private setting & the staff were so kind to allow us to get in there early so we could set the room up with our own decorations. They were also incredibly welcoming and treated us to some on the house bottles as we were celebrating a big occasion. The live music was great, the food was amazing & there were plenty of drink options. Couldn't fault it- we'll certainly be coming back.

We hired the side room for a big occasion and the staff couldn't have been more accommodating. The room itself was perfect for a more private setting & the staff were so kind to allow us to get in there early so we could set the room up with our own decorations. They were also incredibly welcoming and treated us to some on the house bottles as we were celebrating a big occasion. The live music was great, the food was amazing & there were plenty of drink options. Couldn't fault it- we'll certainly be coming back.

It was my second time visiting the Botanist, thought it would be a great place to visit again as I had an enjoyable experience last time round. Unfortunately, it was very underwhelming. I’ll start off by saying that on the whole the food was okay. For start I had the hummus and and my friends had the calamari, and that was good. And then for main I had the Buddha bowl, which was nice. However my friend ordered a sirloin steak, priced at £25, and it was poor. He ordered it medium rare and evidently came out at well done, and overall it looked like a really poor cut of meat. But the food wasn’t the main disappointment. The dissatisfaction came with the service/waiting time. Initially it took just over 30 mins to even take our food order, and considering it wasn’t busy, it was concerning. In fairness the 3 starters came fairly quickly after our order was taken, but once cleared it took around an hour for our mains to come. At around the 30 min waiting time, the waiter came over to tell us that “our food is on its way and won’t take long” but then took a further 30 mins. There was no apology about the wait when the food came, neither were we asked if everything was okay. There seemed to be a lack of awareness from staff that things were below par, evident from adding 12.5% onto our bill. Overall it was just very underwhelming. Perhaps they had a lot of new staff, so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. But it’s fair to say it’s unlikely I’ll return.

Do not come here if you want a good experience. Firstly, all of our plates and glasses were dirty. When we wiped our plates, the napkin picked up a greasy yellow stain. Our second lot of plates were no better. The food is extremely expensive for the poor quality of ingredients, it reminded me of Wetherspoons food. The poor staff were doing their best but they were understaffed despite it being a Saturday. Avoid at all costs!

Last Saturday 11 of us came for my 18th birthday party and it was fantastic! All of us loved the food and the atmosphere was great and our server Grace did such a good job at looking after us all. We all had a great time and the cocktails are to die for! Thank you to Grace and the workers at the botanist for giving us such a fantastic night and great birthday for me!!

Really nice food and friendly service.👍

Lovely place in Central Reading. Loved the food and ambience.

Booked a table and walked in. Not been here before and really wanted to try it. Walked past staff to the waiting area. Had to ask the bar man for assistance. Slow service. The food took 40 minutes and we had to ask if the kitchen had gotten out order. My burger was tasty but the kebab was disappointing. Portion size where small. The restaurant was filthy. Sticky floors and the covers on the seats where all stained. I would not recommend this place to anyone. Staff where busy with other jobs and could not manage customers as well. If your going to reduce staffing make sure they are front of hous focused. You need a deep clean.

Had fantastic evening out. Great atmosphere, live music, great food and drink. Can't wait to do again.

Very nice place and cute cocktails, good service.

Only had drinks here, so I can't comment on food. Very happy, helpful staff. Great pub with plenty of character.

Great place to eat, friendly staff

Loved the place! Cocktails were nice, dessert was lovely however the chocolate sauce was sour 🤯 they replaced it but it was quite watery so will avoid that dessert next time

Good vibe, great food and staff that go the extra mile.

we enjoyed eating here - the staff were super friendly and accommodating. The food was lovely - we ordered the goats cheese salad and the kofta kebab. We really enjoyed being served by Ope who was new to the role but very knowledgable!

Accommodating, friendly and well laid-out. Went here for a birthday meal with family and found the servers really friendly. I've had previous negative experiences with restaurants such as All Bar One so I was anxious asking them to turn the music down slightly as the bass was causing some sensory overwhelm. They were so good about it and immediately turned it down. Service was a little slow but the food was nice and the interiors were beautiful! We'd definitely come back for a special occasion (as it is pretty pricey) and the cocktails are really good. Thanks for a lovely experience.

Wouldn’t say the food is good value for money (on our occasion). However, their cocktails and service were excellent

Have eaten here a few times and have always had a great meal and experience. Unfortunately today we ordered two of the 'famous hanging kebabs' and one came out completely undercooked. The chicken was pretty much raw. The Botanist lager I had also tasted off. I can't fault the front of house staff, who dealt with the issue well, but they were let down by the chefs. Unfortunately a one off experience like this puts people of from returning.

Lovely long haired chap serving my friend and I drinks, confident, cheery and charming! And the drinks were delicious, and the place is beautiful

Lovely décor & aesthetic. Good dessert. Visited on a weekday evening and were rushed to pay the bill although there was still 30 minutes till closing. Servers were not friendly, wouldn’t visit again.

Food is lovely, good service, very friendly and helpful

Whole group of us went here for a birthday meal and it was great, Lovely plentiful, great service and the atmosphere of the room to the left of the entrance was stellar.

We ordered a vegan platter despite the fact that none of us are vegan (or even vegetarian!) and it surpassed our expectations! Delicious, lots of flavour, different textures. I was originally interested in coming for the brunch, but unfortunately they don't offer it at this restaurant. We therefore came on a Saturday night when there was live music, which was excellent! The servers were all very friendly, polite and professional.

Felt dirty to me. Nice server though.

The Botanist was the bomb for my going away party! The vibe was on point - gorgeous decor and awesome live music. Their famous kebab with halloumi? To die for! So flavorful and that halloumi was the perfect creamy touch. But real talk, the service made the night. Those servers went above and beyond to make our night special.

Our recent visit to a restaurant I've previously enjoyed was quite disappointing, to say the least. We had a 7pm reservation, but things didn't go smoothly from the start. The hostess at the front desk couldn't find us a suitable table in the main dining area, so we were offered seating on the benches next to the bar instead which was fine. After settling in, we waited around 15 minutes, but no waiter came to check on us. Feeling a bit neglected, I went to the bar to order our drinks. That's when I learned from the bartender that, due to our seating location, it would be easier for us to order directly at the bar. We went ahead and placed our food order there too. The restaurant wasn't particularly busy, so we expected our meals a bit sooner. When our food seemed delayed, I went back at the bar, checking on our order. Eventually, the bartender brought our meals to the table. Throughout our visit, no waiter ever stopped by our table to ask how we were doing or to take any orders—it was quite the change from the great service I've experienced here before. It was disappointing to see the service wasn't as attentive or welcoming as it used to be.

Hostile member of staff spoilt our lunch. Fish was overcooked. Prawns and fries were delicious

Great beer and for a fat bloke like me having toilets on the ground floor is an absolute godsend. 10/10 would pee again.

Great food, especially the hanging kebabs and the sharing cookie dessert. Service was good. Gorgeous venue.

Tasty food in a too extraordinary decoration.

Outstanding service fantastic and amazing place Delicious food reasonable prices Very nice and clean and had brilliant time At the botanist in reading Thank you

Did cocktail making experience with friends and it was really good fun, despite my initial concerns. Our staff member (Callum, thank you owner!) was really chill and knowledgeable and made it really fun, great customer service. Afterwards we got cocktails and this was quick, good service and a really nice atmosphere. I do in retrospect worry though that the cocktail making might have been disruptive to others cos we were quite excited.

I visited the Botanist on a Saturday night with a couple of female friends for drinks. We did not eat there, but the atmosphere was great, & there was live music. They found us a table even though we hadn't booked

Best customer service and lovely food

Fantastic food and service, I had the Lamb hanging kebab which was delicious, this was my first visit to the botanist, I would recommend it and will definitely go again.

Good food, service was great, nice selection of cocktails!

One of the few good bars left in the town centre. Good range of beers, wines and spirits. Doesn't attract the teen crowd.

Great experience. Food and service were good, and live music added to the atmosphere. Would recommend.

Sadly I received some raw chicken. Did they do anything about it? No they just took my plate away and nothing more. Service was not great and they waiters were playing around with their friends/customers in the booth. So it's a no for me

We just stopped in for a drink. Great cocktails, lively and friendly atmosphere. Loved the live music. Was a good start for Mothers Day

Our table booking for 4-6pm. We were sat 20 minutes late to our table, no one came to take our order for 15 minutes, we were then told at 6pm our table was needed. We explained we were sat late as the table before us were still eating desserts. We hadn’t even been offered desserts at this point. We asked to order desserts to be told we had to order one within 2 minutes. They didn’t come back to take our order for another 10 minutes. We were being rushed out, even though we sat down late. I thought the service was appalling

First time visiting this place and although it was busy the staff were friendly and the place was great. Such a relaxed atmosphere, the live band was brilliant! with greats songs. The star of the show was the food. It was AMAZING! I got the vegan platter omg! it was so delicious!! and there was so much! My other half got the kebab & chips, which came out on a horizontal skewer, such fun! He’s normally very picky about his food and he loved it as well. Cocktails also were very tasty and done well. Will definitely visit here again.

Lovely place. Good food, great atmosphere.

Ridiculous! Had booked a table for 22 people on Saturday night on 17/02 for birthday drinks sat down! When we arrived we found out that no tables had been properly put together to accommodate us all. Although when booking I was told a few tables near the bar would have to be put together possibly. I thought…ok cool fair enough as long as there will be a seat for everyone around a certain area. On arrival there was not. We were told to get drinks at the bar and was shown a free table near the bar that could only seat about 10 of us. We were told it was far too busy to accommodate the other half of the group onto another table. I can understand it was very busy. However, If you think you can’t accommodate a certain amount of people for whatever ever reason, for example if it’s too busy, then just say and be honest! Don’t lie or make false promises! Especially during the time of when I was booking, if it seemed too good to be true, you should have just said sorry that won’t be possible. Despite this I wasn’t too bothered in the end, I can understand it’s not everyone’s fault but whoever manages bookings in advance/accommodates people shouldn’t have given it a go to! It was unacceptable.

Dropped in here for a casual drink after eating across the road. Live music! Yes, live music! The staff were friendly, wasn’t too crowded, prices of the drinks very reasonable. We were also able to get zero alcohol gin, which was good for our duty driver.

The place has a great ambience and lovely vibe to it. But that is where the positive part of the review ends. This place is pretty much about all show but no substance. The food is below average. Absolutely no flavors. Everything is presented and served in an attractive way but as soon as we took the first bite, it was a huge disappointment. The bang bang noodles salad was the worst. Absolutely no flavors and lumpy noodles. The hanging chicken kebabs made me feel like hang myself for ordering them. Hardly any flavors. Our server looked sick and we could see she had cold-like symptoms. Why the hell would a restaurant allow a sick staff member to work? Certainly not something one should be doing in the restaurant industry. The service is below par. We had to wait for more than 15 minutes before going and asking the staff for the check.

A lovely venue, they provided great food and drink on a nice valentines sharer menu with live music. Polite and outgoing staff, pleasurable experience. Good portion size for the meal too.

Second visit to The Botanist Reading. Such a lovely place. Staff so friendly and lovely. Food and cocktails absolutely delicious. 😊

Can't say anything wrong about food and drinks, except the fact that are much more expensive then other places but what did bother me and find it very rude and unprofessional it was that we were told "you have to leave in 5 minutes".We ve booked the table for 6 pm on Saturday night, we had dinner plus 2 drink each and by 7.30 we were told to clear the table. Unbelievable.

Came here to celebrate Valentines Day. Not happy with the chicken wings, it came not well cooked, still with red veins and pinkish, I complained to the waitress, she brought the wings to show to somebody, just came back a while later saying it's cooked, that the red are just veins. I checked more of the inside parts just to find out it's more raw inside. I didn't eat them as I can't, afraid of salmonella. Sorry Botanist, but I can't recommend, especially chicken wings.

Great service from Charlie, excellent recommendations and really pleasant Tuesday evening. Two hungry guys saw away three kebabs no problem - don’t be shy with ordering the chicken katsu

We had lunch here for my hubby's 50th bday this week . His first time in Botanist. The food tasted 5 star.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The staff especially Alex in the reception is a Superstar✨✳️🤩 Speak to him & explore what Botanist has that other place don't have.Fab!!! We had sharing hanging kebab with coconut rice & giant cookie dough for pudding. The battered onion for starter is epic. They gave hubby a complimentary Birthday icing in plate.& discount%% Highly recommended👍 I rebooked for an upcoming celebration.

We order starter which was good. But the kebabs and the Sunday banana dessert had no flavour at all and not salt in the rice. Also, order food took around 30 min. I will not come back

Won't be back. Service was good but undone by raw food that was returned multiple times. A really disappointing night.

Great food and very good cocktails. Hanging kebabs and the Hot Board were excellent.

This place is like out of a fairy book amazing place with amazing staff but the food WOW soooo yummmmy

The juiciest and most succulent rib eye steak I have ever eaten and believe me I had sampled it a lot. You can take medium rare or well cooked as you choose, comes with veg salad or chips and one can choose buffalo chicken gravy dip to make the whole package unblemished. They also have hanging kababs which look fancy and tastes delicious especially the lamb kofta one. For dessert one must try is the chocolate orange hanging kebab- an amalgamation of brandy orange sauce, brownie kebabs and vanilla icecream.

It was fairly quiet but the staff were busy chatting to notice we had food before drinks! Over 20minutes waiting for a Coke and wine!! When hanging kebab arrived I was told a plate would be brought over with the offer of condiments and neither arrived, I had to chase a plate with another staff member and then chase the condiments each time No acknowledgment they had been forgotten or took a long time to be brought over! I went to the Marlow one end of last year and the service and atmosphere were 10x better

Had roast lamb it was amazing meat Just fell apart , customer service was great now to save up to go back , best Sunday roast ever

Good food and drink friendly staff

Really disappointed with our visit on this occasion. Service was slow. Ordered salt and pepper chicken wings and asked for them extra crispy, they arrived and literally looked like they’d been boiled, white and soggy skin. Asked to change for cauliflower wings. They arrived after my friends had finished their food so I hate half of them. Cocktails weren’t great and martinis arrived in tiny glasses, not great for nearly £10 each

The staff are welcoming, polite and warm. Food was great. The downside is you can only book a table for 1.5hrs. We were offered the desert menu but only had 15 mins left at the table so had to decline. We had ordered drinks and food without delay and only had mains. We aren't slow eaters by any means so am not sure how you could achieve 2 or 3 courses without needing to order everything at the same time or risk having to finish off in the bar area, which was where we had to finish our drinks. Great if you're in a rush and want a quick meal but not so good for a relaxing evening. We would have ordered desert and coffees had there been time, but had them elsewhere.

Charly was an amazing waitress. Her customer service was above and beyond. Food was awesome too and the cocktails delicious!!

Had a mixed experience at The Botanist. The starters were delicious but on the smaller side, especially with the hummus lacking enough bread. The vegan meatball hanging kebab was a highlight, though. Would appreciate more vegan dessert options. Staff was friendly, but some dishes arrived later than expected.

Love this place.. went for lunch and had the hanging sharing kebabs .. so nice and plenty for 2 people. Irish barman was great ..nothing too much trouble for him ..

Great place. Food was amazing. Service: you could see they were rushed off their feet, but I’ve worked in hospitality my whole life and I can tell when the staff care and they really did. Charly especially was great - and sorry again I made you jump! Keep up the good work guys. You’re all ace.

Delightful drinks and delicious food in a super cute and cozy setup!

Food was great value for money and the team were all very helpful

We were a large group on what became a busy Friday night. Our server, Charley, was fantastic! She handled all 13 of us, two of which hadn’t pre-ordered, and all of our drinks amazingly. She even had a printout of our pre-order so that she knew who to pass to. The food was super tasty.

Quantity of food was really poor so not good value for money. Was left feeling hungry and felt like I had eaten a starter rather than a main meal.

Food was mediocre. One meal had raw lamb meatballs, the katsu curry was dry and it would have been nice to have had greens with the steak

Was greeted by the very funny Irishman, Alex, at the door. We only wanted drinks and a few nibbles so he pointed us to the bar tables. Callum and Rose were behind the bar and they made me and my friend some very good classic cocktails! Lilly was our waitress and her service was superb, a real asset to the team. I highly recommend the buffalo loaded fries!

Nice ambience and food Great cocktails

My friends and I went out for a meal on my birthday , they charged us like crazy and made no sense we asked to split the bill they were so unorganised unhelpful and overall terrible my friend has now complained and the manager is not in and it’s genuinely awful experience they don’t respond and don’t care about us with a 170£ bill charging 20£ for service with no option to take with dreadful service

Large group. Service a little on the slow side. But good night overall

A large group of us booked to come for our Christmas meal; as there were 14 of us we were required to pay a £140 deposit which was absolutely understandable, and we ordered from the set Christmas menu so we knew what the end total should be after removing the deposit total. The food and drinks were delicious and we had a lovely time. However it took over half an hour between requesting the bill and being able to pay, and we still did not see a copy of the bill. The restaurant was incredibly busy and we also had another booking we were now late for due to the wait, but we were assured the deposit had been taken off the total amount. However when we added up what we had all paid for later that evening, we realised we had paid the full bill, which the deposit has not been deducted from, meaning we paid an extra £140. I have sent multiple emails to both the restaurant and to David Murray and have not heard back. If you are booking in big groups, ensure you see a copy of the bill showing the deposit deduction so you don’t accidentally pay that money twice!

The person who met me at the start of the evening was helpful, our table wasn’t ready. Sadly the food did it all come to our table together and when my did arrive, it was to say the best, ok. The person on the bar was good.

Food was average. For me anyway. My wife said her burger was ok, our friends said that his stake was good, but her bang bang noodles were ok (she left most of it). My katsu chicken curry had clearly been sitting under a hot light for some time. Wasn’t great, but couldn’t be bothered to complain. The baked Camembert was average. Not great, although it looked it. Prompt, polite service, we stayed 4 hours and no one asked us to leave (long over due catch up) so freedom to sit and chat was hugely appreciated. We didn’t really go for the food - it was a good place to meet. Men’s toilets not working so queues for the single disabled toilet. (I’m sure this isn’t an ongoing issue though!)

Atmosphere was ok but we were sat in view of the servers' station so was in view of a bin and near the door so was cold. The food was average at best, all probably made from frozen, tasteless. Was ok for a catch up over drinks but wouldn't be back.

Thoroughly enjoyable meal with friends pre Christmas. Atmosphere and food were excellent. Only slight grievance was the manager advising us we were nearing the end of our time slot when a delay in service had meant we hadn’t been able to order 3 courses! Appreciate this is probably only a December problem

One of the best recommended restaurants iv been to everything I was told about this place was true great food good from starter to pudding every mouthful was a delight my starter was so good I got another to accompany my main service was very attentive they couldn't do enough for us chilled vibe live music after nine o'clock good night out enjoyed by all five of us