The Botanist York in York

Fantastic cocktails and friendly staff

Me and my wife were having our anniversary weekend in York and came to Botanist for the first time and had a fantastic evening and meal. The staff were kind enough to offer us a glass of prosecco for our anniversary which was greatly appreciated. The food was excellent, can recommend the hanging skewers for any food lover. And our server Molly was a delightful young woman, ensuring we felt welcome and enjoying our food and drink.

Hanging Kebab tasty. Great staff and drinks.

expensive got orders mixed up side orders with the food and forgot part of our tables order so had to wait at least 10 minutes for that to arrive

Accomodating and friendly staff. Squeezed us in on a busy Saturday despite us booking for the wrong day, as well as offering something outside of the menu for one diner. Good food and the service was second to none, thank you.

Popped in to kill sone time and get lunch and drinks, before our train home. Fancied a hanging kebab for ages, and this place didn't disappoint us. Great friendly service, tasty food 😋

Was attending a cocktail master class. As part of a large group, I was a bit disappointed that there wasnt enough equipment for all of us to create the same cocktail together, I have no idea what cocktails we ended up 'trying' to make. The atmosphere however was really good and it was a fun activity.

The cocktails and hanging kebabs are excellent. Loved the ambience and the service. Worth a visit

This is a restaurant in York. It was a delightful experience. Freshly baked sourdough bread. Vegetarian shepherds pie! The quality of the food was exceptional. We may have to come back to York just for this restaurant.

We stopped of for lunch. Hanging kebas were lovely

We visited on a Monday evening while on a trip to York just before Christmas, arriving early (via the wrong door as the restaurant door is at the side of the building, this really isn't clear if it's dark outside!) we were guided to a nice quiet table by the stairs by some friendly and welcoming staff. They took note of my food allergy and left us some time to decide what we wanted. The starters arrived quickly and were great; the pork crackling and the onion petals were real highlights for us and we were impressed by the quality. I ordered a cocktail which was delicious and unlike anything I'd had elsewhere. Sadly things went downhill from here. From the time our starters arrived to the main courses we waited over an hour, with 2 visits from staff during this time assuring us the food would be arriving soon. They seemed very rushed and overworked, trying to attend to lots of tables at once. When it did eventually arrive it was slightly wrong, and while they did fix this quickly it wasn't worth the wait at all. The hanging kebab was a very expensive bit of overcooked and dry chicken with little flavour. It came with a garlic butter that you could pour over the whole thing which was novel but left the chicken tasting exactly the same apart from being oily. Also accompanying it was coconut rice which somehow tasted burned. The platter we had with it was a mixed bag with some things tasting fantastic and others being just OK, but even here the chicken bites were very dry. Because of the delay we had been told when the food arrived that our next drinks would be free, and so my wife ordered a Diet Coke. This never turned up, and nobody ever came to take my order. The drinks we did have were taken off the bill at the end which was a nice gesture but by this point we had been here for 2 hrs 30mins and just wanted to leave. Given how much the food cost (I'm used to Cambridge prices but it still felt too expensive for what you got) I'd have expected something better, and it's a real shame that the quality of the mains didn't match up to the starters. It's also disappointing to see that the staff seemed to be overworked and rushing around, doing their best to deal with the situation they ended up in. EDIT: It's worth adding that, as requested, I emailed them using the address in their reply (well over a year ago now) and never received a response.

Close to other lively bars. Serves food and well made cocktails. Live music on an evening.

Excellent meal and a great location

Went here for my daughters and fiancés hen and Stag do. The cocktails were excellent if slightly on the expensive side however the food was just ok. I had a Caesar salad and the chicken was that dry I needed a drink to be able to swallow it, I wasn't the only person who had chicken and said it was dry. We had a fab night regardless but the prices are too high for average food. I have to say we were a group of 23 and the service was good.

Came in on saturday after visiting york for a family reunion, a perfectly accommodating venue with perfect service and delicious cocktails (pink gin punch was amazing) - JJ was attentive, friendly, and a great laugh for me and my family and overall a gem to the establishment. We will be visiting again next time we come down ☺️☺️☺️

Came in on Saturday for drinks, wonderful service from Sam who made several delectable cocktails and recommended the best food on the menu, will be back again!!!

Great bottomless brunch, very quick service for drinks and we didn't have to ask for top ups.

Great drinks! Good atmosphere, slightly loud music. We ate fish and salads, everything was very good and properly seasoned.

Great food and drink. Friendly staff. Worthwhile visit every time we’re in York

£12.95 for a double JD and coke is robbery! I know it's a chain but that speaks volumes about the company being greedy even the staff were openly talking about how they didn't want to be there 😀

Amazing food!! Caters well for allergies

JJ was brilliant - great service

Lovely staff. Food was ok. Drinks were cheap. There was live music which is a bonus.

The Piri Piri chicken kabobs were amazing! Drink menu is great. Had a fantastic lunch!

Thought I was in McDonald’s my burger wasn’t very good , I wouldn’t have been happy serving it as it looked lost on the board.

Amie really lifted an already happy evening xx

Had a great meal, our waitress Amie was v friendly and really looked after us

Visited today after a trip to the living North exhibition at the race course, quaint eatery on 2 floors with lots of tables. The food was delicious and healthy portions. The staff were all lovely, very helpful and attentive but the service was a bit slow. Pricing very reasonable too, £80 for two course and a drink each 👍🏼😊.

Very annoyed they added 10% service charge without asking us

Great service and food, Amie looked after us well making sure our evening was great.

Quick drink with the girlfriend. Botanist will neber disappoint.

Fab food amazing drinks class service

I was probably expecting more , but I thought the hanging pork belly was just bland ,lovely idea that needs to improve .

We were recommended this place for lunch and we weren’t disappointed. Our server was lovely and very attentive. We thought we were ready to order a few small plates to share until we saw other tables having hanging kebabs delivered! I chose a halloumi and chilli sauce one with coconut rice and my son had a lamb shish one with chips. So delicious. The coconut rice was amazing. The hanging kebabs are worth a visit for sure. I’d go back definitely.

Walked in for a try, walked out 3 hours later ! All good ,very broad array of cocktails. Happy hour 2 for £14 which makes it better. Bit of a wait sometimes but then all are prepared as you order.

Amazing food and excellent service.

A very cozy antique building with very cozy and earthy decor inside. plenty of seperated rooms upstairs and a cozy eating and drinking atmosphere. while a little pricey it is expected for the middle of york. i would love to visit again sometime and have a proper meal and drink with friends once i have the time definatly recommend absolutely lovely little place

Visited here numerous times for a drink, but this was first time for food. We sat upstairs. Excellent food and service, but music far too loud. Drowned out any conversation we tried to have, and became even more annoying when the live singer who wasn't particularly good kept announcing he'd left his business cards around for anyone to pick up!

Great place for cocktails if a tad expensive. But this is York right? 😉😁

Service and the location of this place was really good, our server was brilliant with us. The drinks we ordered were lovely, then we ordered our food, the scotch egg was lovely, and then we ordered the “famous” hanging chicken kebab, it was very underwhelming, the chicken was dry and tasteless and so I was very dissatisfied bearing in mind how much I was paying for it. My girlfriend went for the chicken Asian noodle salad and it was very average, chicken was dry but flavour was very good. We would come back for drinks but definitely not for food.

I've had better experience and food at wetherspoons.

Food and service very good. Would recommend.

Called in for lunch, the meals we had were very nice. I would definitely recommend this eatery. Top marks👍

Excellent restaurant. Very good menu. Staff answer all questions with no hesitation. Food is to be tasted to be believed. Will definitely return with no hesitation.

Our host angel was tremendous. Our whole party had a great time!

An excellent pub with a nice restaurant. The staff were superb and the food was good.

Myself and my partner booked to come to the restaurant on 01.02.25, after the restaurant was recommended by my parents as they come regularly when in York! The food was amazing, my cocktails were amazing and the music was good The girl Amy who served us she was absolutely fantastic the service we received from her was 5 star she is an asset to the botanist. We will definitely be back very soon.

Great atmosphere and service but £7.25 for a Guinness is daylight robbery.

Overall a disappointing experience. I went with my family (partner and children) on an early Saturday evening at 6pm. The main issue was that we waited one hour between ordering and receiving food. We received 20% off as a result, and the waitress was polite and apologetic, but I would not go back and risk getting the same service. In their shoes I would have brought some free drinks and bread, but these weren't offered. The food itself was nice when it came. However, given the prices (getting towards £20 for each main), I would expect 50% bigger portions of most of the meals. Overall I got the impression of a chain that is squeezing out more profit, for example by not employing enough staff, and sadly would not go back.

We were running late, but they were so accommodating. It was my birthday and they surprised me with the best brownie. Abi was so good with us, very attentive and friendly. Would recommend.

We came a few times during our trip and the staff were fantastic and as always the drinks were a 10/10. You can’t beat the 2-4-1 deal either

Great vibe and central location in old part of town near to York Minster. Happy hour cocktails are great!

Nice restaurant, food good but they forgot our starters ?? But made up for it with discount !

Lovely drinks and service from The gorgeous bar man Sam with the lovely hair xx

Lovely place to eat, lovely food and the staff were great, the waitress we had really looked after us, we went at Christmas and the place was extremely busy and we had to book, definitely would recommend.

Went to have some drinks to celebrate my friends birthday. Checked on Google to see what time it closed, Google stated midnight. We walked in at 10.10pm to be shouted at from the bar "we've already shouted last orders but you can have one drink each, that's it!" Not the friendliest welcoming we've had to a bar but we stayed for a drink anyway. In that time the bar staff refused to serve another 2 groups that entered. When we asked why they had called last orders so early when they don't close till 12, he replied with Google isn't relevant. We can close when we want. I don't run a business myself but I would have thought the idea is to make money from people willing to spend it! The bar was fairly full of people happy to spend more money! The drinks were lovely but one of the bar staff was incredibley rude!

Nice bar in a good location with a great menu. I like the hanging kebabs. Also love the cocktails.

Nice bar with good service - not as decorative as others like Cardiff

Great food and cocktails, extremely polite and attentive service can't wait to return!!

Great place for a light bite or meal, friendly staff that will go out of their way to make your request happen if it is within their power

Met friends for a Christmas catch-up meal. The atmosphere was busy but relaxed. Service was quick with polite waiters. The food (both vegetarian for us and meat for our friends) was delicious, well presented. The waiter asked if anyone had allergies and this was well managed. We had the crispy halloumi, lamb kofta and chicken hanging kebabs, which were delicious. Next, we had raspberry cheesecake and sticky Toffee pudding, and again, delicious. To top it off, the restaurant is dog friendly. Well done! This was our second visit and it certainly won't be our last.

Lovely little side room for our work Xmas do had an incident with a spilled drink from.staff but dealt with well. Had the Christmas menu shared starters, hanging turkey kebabs and sticky toffee puddings all round. It was amazing food.

I booked a table with you for 7pm for 12 people to celebrate my mums 70th birthday. We arrived early but were told our table wasn’t ready and asked to wait 15mins. We waited and were shown to the table at 7.15. Service was extremely slow although the food was amazing when it arrived. At 9.13pm the waitress bought the bill and handed it to me saying we need the table back. We had only just finished our meal and didn’t even get offered dessert or coffee. This bought an abrupt end to our meal and dampened our evening. This has actually put me off using a botanist restaurant again if this is what you call service. I wouldn’t have minded if your service hadn’t been as slow as it was.

Myself and my daughter visited your York venue in a day trip to York. We decided to have the Xmas menu. Firstly you could only get a starter and a main or three courses. We would have liked a main and dessert. But that’s ok. The starter was nice. Very disappointed with main. The Ham was fatty and the turkey tough. And the veg especially the carrots rather hard ( i do like my veg al dente but they were a bit more than that). We left over half of both our meals. When the server came with our bill I did say to him we weren’t happy. We visit your Newcastle bar quite frequently and food is always lovely. The server actually agreed with what I was saying. I paid the bill £96 less the service charge. The main thing I’m annoyed about is I have contacted the botanist twice since the 1st December and not had a single reply

Lovely place but staff are very rude

Great cocktails and beers, just wish we had our own table as we had to sit at the bar.

This was our final stop on our Christmas trip to York. What a fantastic little place. It was a really busy day as it was the first Saturday in December, a lot of jolly Christmas Market goers We stayed for around 1.5 hours and had a few drinks between us. Pricing is about what you would expect for this kind of bar. Pleasant, hard working staff who were really under the cosh with the amount of people in. Didn’t have anything to eat, but my partner Infact did have dinner at the Newcastle one the day before and said it was absolutely superb! Well done all round

Unfortunately, we had a (not so) bottomless brunch here yesterday. Firstly, the girl who served us was amazing and I actually felt really sorry for her to have to work in that environment. Secondly, the food was ok and the cocktails were nice too. The problem was with the management of the day there was obviously too many bottomless brunch groups booked in and they couldn't keep up with the demand. I just managed to have 3 cocktails in the space of 2hrs and then was told we couldn't order anymore because it wouldn't be made in time. The poor staff was trying their best but I'm afraid that the management didn't really seem that supportive or customer friendly. The experience was not great, but I do believe this to be a particularly tricky day for them but they definitely need to look at what they offer and what they CAN offer and deliver.

Have been before and both food and service was absolutely fantastic, however when visiting again, even though we had a reservation tables were still a 30 minute wait and service was terrible! If it’s a busy night don’t overbook people!

Awful service. Had to wait at least 25’ for the drinks and 1hour for the food to be served. We mentioned twice that they had forgotten our extra sides and had to wait again for them, had almost finished our meal when they came. Would not recommend to go during busy periods like close to the holidays as gets very busy and takes a long time to get served.

Came tonight and we counted the manager in green roll her eyes at us 4 times. Service was extremely slow however the food was really lovely. We saw online that it was happy hour 4pm-7pm on signature cocktails. Our party ordered a sharer kebab (2x chicken and 1x halloumi) and 2 of the plant pot cocktails - as they were on the signature cocktail menu which we were under the impression were part of the 2-4-15. Upon receiving our bill, we opted to take the service charge off as we felt nothing was worth tipping for due to the staffs attitude and almost 45-minute wait despite the establishment being quite quiet. The waitress that took our payment as well as everyone else’s had a conversation with everyone else, asking them if they were going anywhere else and what else they were doing today etc and we got nothing. Quite disappointed with this being my first visit to a Botanist.

We booked in tonight 11.11.24, the like music was amazing, the food was amazing and the girl molly that served us was also amazing! She was so attentive and helpful I had to tell another lady on the way out who shockingly informed me she had only been there a week!! From her confidence and knowledge of the menu I would never have believed it! Well done molly xx

Good cocktails and nice little pub downstairs. We went early on a Monday so it was very quiet.

Visited here recently for a meal as the restaurant we aimed for was closed. When we entered the Botanist a rude man ignored us as he was too busy on the phone and simply looked away. We waited 20 minutes to order drinks, and when we asked the waitress if we could order food she stated it wasnt her job. Food did eventually turn up a long while later and was average. The atmosphere and male waiter in here were great, though sadly will not be returning. Get more staff.

Food is good quality but portions are a little on the small side considering the price. Service was a tad slow, taking almost an hour to receive food from placing order. Ok it was Saturday lunchtime but the place was quiet when we went in.

Meh ?. I am guessing short of staff based on the other glowing reviews. Food took ages, was warm enough but not hot, except the fries which were cold and greasy. Replaced, but had nearly finished the meal before they arrived. Nothing special, but good location and staff were friendly, just running around a lot !. And for God's sake, take one table out and fit a dumb waiter. Poor staff.

Not impressed. Food was so so. Good for students.

It was busy so atmosphere buzzing. The food is just average. The brownie pudding was the highlight.

Been for my friend's party last night. Very busy restaurant located in city centre, food was very tasty, nice atmosphere, and I'll definetely be back!

Visited York for the first time today and fancied the Botanist for drinks as have had great times there in Newcastle. Arrived into the Botanist York as a group of 6 (1 family member with a walking stick) and went to the desk, we said we are here for drinks to be greeted by a very rude staff member that suggested to “go and stand at the bar then” i then told her we were a group of 6 (and it was clear that we had a family member with a stick and could not squeeze into the bar) she replied very passive aggressively with “amazing??”. Safe to say we felt very unwelcome and will not be hurrying back. Very disappointing from what we thought was a great bar!

Hidden little gem in york all freshly cooked friendly staff romantic setting low light

Poor Service waitress could learn to smile she did not make us feel welcome. Was not asked about allergies, waited 20 mins for drinks and an hour for food. Children spotted in the bar area on a Saturday night after 9pm.

I booked Sunday lunch for 5 people whilst staying in York after some good reviews. Lunch started at midday so booked for 12:15. Arrived as was greeted very warmly and we were shown to our table. Attentive waitress came and took a drinks order and then we ordered our food. Shortly afterwards we were advised there had run out of carrots for the roast (which, considering it wasn't even 12:30) seemed a bit strange. 50 minutes later our food arrived. The greens and potatoes came separately but was to be shared between 3 people so seemed rather light. The roasts came with the meat and Yorkshire pudding on the plate and a very small amount of thin gravy over. The pork belly was excellent and the beef was tender. The Yorkshire puddings were barely warm though and the small jug of gravy that came was to be shared amongst 3 as well. The other 2 people ordered chicken burgers which looked nice. One of our group had ordered one without the sauce, mayo and pickles but, alas, received it with mayo and pickle (and the other one who had not ordered anything to be left off, received no pickle or mayo but with bbq sauce). We had to raise this and the burger was taken away for a fresh one to be made but this came out after the rest of us had finished eating. Very disappointed with this. They did take the cost of the burger off the total bill which was appreciated. Overall, the politeness of the waiting staff and the amending of the bill (without asking for any concession) merited the 3 stars. Without this, the overall food experience was not in line with expectations and would have been a 1 star review. I hope it was just an off-day based on other reviews

Lovely place. The food was delicious and the waiters were lovely and friendly.

Not bad here, had a few cocktails on the 2 for 1 offer. Very friendly staff

Recently visited for some afternoon drinks and some small bites with my wife. We both enjoyed the food and couldn’t complain at the service we received. We quite regularly visit York and always make a point of calling in here as we really enjoy the atmosphere and the location is perfect for a break between looking round the shops.

Great location, just very busy and more expensive than other establishments. Beer was not as tasty for me

Deliciosly wicked cocktails in the bar.

A nice little cafe on Redcar sea front

I came here on Sunday for my birthday. The food was super tasty and the service from the staff was lovely. The only issue was that the service was quite slow and we were waiting quite a while for empties to be taken away and to ask for the bill

Beautiful cocktails but very overpriced for the size. Alot of the drinks on the menu don't show on the barcode scan app,which they do serve if you go up to the bar and ask rather than order on the app, which was odd it was almost like they took a ton of the cocktails off the apps for ease on their side.

The food was very good quality, but portion size was very very small, i ate at 6 pm, and had to eat again a few hours later. Service was prompt, but not what i would call service with a smile. Unfortunately i was my first and last visit

I loved the fish and chips, the restaurant had a very vibrant atmosphere, and the company was amazing, my family had the hanging kebabs which were amazing

Great atmosphere. Nice cocktails

Great food and service. Layout of rooms means that you cannot eat and see singer at same time which was a shame.

Ordered a kebab and it arrived incinerated, I mean black and unedible. Sent it back and the manager gave the kitchen staff a "talking to" Would have been nice if he came to me but that didn't happen. My husband's meal was a little better but that just meant I was sat not eating. Still hungry and left without paying the 10% added service charge. Not for me and won't revisit.

Very good Bloody Mary cocktail, blended and correctly spiced.

I recently visited with 2 friends and was greeted by Becky Morris . She was so helpful and friendly. Her knowledge of cocktails and wine choices was really appreciated . The quality of the preparation of our drinks was first class. Some of the best service we've received in a long time. Thankyou Becky .

Amazing sunday roasts and great service!

Went on Wed night, my young daughter (13) insists we go to a Botanist wherever we are. The waiter was lovely even recommending mocktails for my daughter and myself, excellent recommendation. Meal was excellent hanging kebabs and burger. Will definitely visit again when in York.