The Botanist have launched a brand new brunch menu that’s an absolute dream for ‘side orderers’ and picky tea lovers. Their ‘build your own’ brunch boards hit the menu in June, and offer 98,280 different combinations including eggs, pastries and vegan options.
Served on an Instagrammable wooden board, diners can pick five different items to create their own culinary experience that sits somewhere in between tapas and charcuteries.
The botanical inspired bar is well known for their imaginative creations, and this innovative concept is no exception. So I headed down to their Deansgate branch to see how it all works, and what you get for your money.
READ MORE: Deansgate cocktail bar now serving up eggs and avocado boozy brunches
Foodies can pick five small plates from a choice of 28 options for £15.95 per person, with the option to add extra dishes at £3 each.
The menu is split into five categories: from the bakery, protein punch, hearty, on the side and sweet treat. You can pick one from each, or two from one, one from another and so on - it really is your personal choice.
When I arrived, a few of the menu items weren’t available, including the Cumberland sausage and smoked trout eggs benedict - neither of which I’d planned to order, but it was nice this was communicated to me before consideration.
I ordered the croissant, Turkish egg, croque monsieur, mini hash browns and Nutella and Biscoff French toast, adding a pork belly bao bun and sourdough toast. The extra £3 per dish is a great option to have, though I do feel it’s only really worth it for some of the bigger menu items, leaning on the verge of pricey for extra toast or a pain au chocolat.
The food came expertly arranged and beautifully presented on the board, complete with accompanying dips, jams and breads to mop up with. The Botanist is a brand who knows that first impressions count for a lot, and that you eat with your eyes before anything else - and it looked fantastic.
The croissant came served with a blueberry and lavender jam, while the mini hash browns were accompanied by a moreish truffle mayo that I ended up dunking everything in. Turkish eggs are my new latest obsession and consist of a poached egg on a bed of natural yoghurt and drizzled with oil - on this instance, it was sundried tomato oil - and the croque monsieur consisted of flaked ham hock, truffle and Shorrock's cheese toastie.
All of the flavours were really indulgent, and, as someone who loves to order a lot of side dishes for the ultimate taste and texture combo - this board really hit the spot. The bao bun was ordered in blind panic because it sounded too delicious not to, and while it lived up to its expectations, the extra dishes aren’t needed as the board is deceptively filling. Though, I do think the sourdough toast should come as standard, rather than a paid-for extra.
For those of us who love dessert for breakfast, the Nutella and Biscoff French toast was totally dreamy, and I love that you get to somewhat pick a pudding that’s served up with your board.
For the little ones, a selection of dishes including Ham Hock Egg Benedict, Smashed Avocado Toast and Bircher Muesli are available for £5.95 each.
Bottomless brunches are all the rage these days, and The Botanist are offering diners a drinks package upgrade for an extra £15.95 per person, which includes their expertly crafted Aperol, Raspberry, Blood Orange or Elderflower Spritzes, as well as prosecco and house beer.
New brunch cocktails have also been curated by The Botanist’s in-house cocktail wizards, including Smoked Rose-Mary, Campari Gin and Tonic and Watermelon Garibaldi. I opted for their pink gin and tonic cocktail, but was also able to sample their strawberry and elderflower mojito and the poppy and berry punch, the latter of which was a surprising favourite.
The Botanist Brunch is available from 9am at participating sites, including Deansgate, and runs until 12.30pm. This does mean you can’t get a hanging kebab before midday now - but the new brunch board offering is well worth trying out. Visit your local Botanist page for exact menu and opening hours at https://thebotanist.uk.com .
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