Botanico

Went to Botanico for dinner last night with Kelly and Danielle - early birthday dinner as I'm away this weekend for my birthday.

I went to Botanico for brunch with Holly not longer after it opened back in October and been wanting to go for dinner. We got there at like 7:15pm and it wasn't too busy and got a table without having to book.

Service was a lot better than when I went last time which I'm glad as it has been open for a while now.

I got a matcha latte which is very random especially with dinner but I love a matcha! It wasn't good though and looked better the last time. This was just hot frothy milk, couldn't taste any matcha even though it was green

Ravioli Lobster - £18

Filled with lobster, served in a creamy sauce

I got the lobster ravioli which was nice. The crab & lobster one from Al Dente was better from the other weekend though. That's set the mark for ravioli now!

Italiana - £13

Mozzarella, Parma ham, rocket, cherry tomatoes, and parmesan shavings

(Please note the toppings on this pizza are served cold)

Danielle's pizza

Nduja - £15

Tomato sauce, mozzarella, Italian sausage & Nduja topped with burrata

Kelly's pizza

They both couldn't finish their pizza so boxed them to take home

After food Kelly told me I needed to go the toilet so they could write my card and asked for the bill then they did the awkward Happy Birthday with a cake over. A strawberry cheesecake as she just said anything that wasn't chocolate

Strawberry cheesecake - £8

Didn't get a photo with the sparkler candle!

It was very sweet with a lot of strawberry sauce

Was a nice night and food was good and reasonably priced. Would go again for dinner. Need to try it again for brunch as service was bad the last time.

Didn't get a photo with Kelly so looks like I just went for dinner with Danielle!

Off to Barcelona tonight for my birthday with Holly. Very much needed holiday! Need sun, time to chill and some paella which I'm so excited for. At the time of writing this as well I'd just about packed because I've just been so busy working. Barcelona posts pending...

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Botanico

Went to Botanico in Woolton Village for brunch this afternoon with Holly. It's only just opened - it was previously Crust then changed to Il Ristorante by Crust which didn't last long and now Botanico Brunch & Bistro, Bakery, Afternoon Tea. Still has the Italian vibe as it does woodfire pizzas and pasta from 12pm. Brunch is served all day till 5pm. They have a bakery at the back with baked goods, cakes and gelato.

The interior was great with all the plants - the new thing now. A lot of places are going for this vibe.

It was really busy and we booked for 12:15pm and was 15 minutes early. The host girl didn't know what to do - so the manger who was running around had to deal with the situation.

Holly got a Soy Cappuccino and I got a Matcha Latte. Holly said her coffee wasn't great and really bitter. My matcha didn't look great and wasn't made properly. They didn't give me a spoon to mix it and it was really bitter. I only managed to drink half of it.

On the menu they do Buttermilk Chicken & Waffles and Pancake stacks. But no other waffle option so I asked if I could get the waffles with one of the pancake toppings

Waffles with forest fruits & lemon creme fraiche - £9

The fruit was really sour and I wished I went for something savoury. It would have been better if it was American waffles and I wished I asked before ordering it!

Holly got Smashed Avocado on Sourdough - Topped with crumbled feta, toasted seeds, roasted cherry tomatoes, green salsa and added 2 poached eggs - £10

The interior was nice and the menu looks good and we want to go back for dinner but the service was awful. There was a lot of staff but most of them didn't have a clue what they were doing. Our drinks went to the table next to us. They didn't bring us the jug of water we asked for. We got our food, finished it and had our plates taken away then our waitress came over to ask if we had our food! We asked for the bill and paid on card, then as we were putting our coats on, our waitress came over to ask if we needed the card machine. The host girl was just useless was watching her as people were coming in and she just had no service and just didn't want to be there at all. She wasn't greeting people and didn't know what to do. We were early by 15 minutes but that shouldn't have thrown her off as she had the screen up with all the bookings so should have just went ok let me just check if your table was ready and she just stood there like "I don't know what to do" until the manager came over to sort the situation out.

Considering the awful service we do want to come back and try dinner - they also do afternoon tea. The food did actually come quick and hopefully given a bit of time the staff will find their feet and know what they're doing - so we hope anyway! I hope this is just new place nerves and they do find their feet as this is definitely something we've been after in Woolton village and hope it does well.

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