Michelle N.
Yelp
One of our friends suggested Botanica as a dinner spot and since we had never heard of it or been, we decided to give it a shot!
- PARKING -
North Park parking... can be difficult - we got lucky and found a spot on the adjacent street nearby, but our friends had to circle around a couple times before landing on a spot several blocks away and needing to walk.
- SERVICE/ENVIRONMENT -
Not a big establishment at all; there's some patio seating with heaters, and the inside is quite narrow, maybe enough room to fit 30-45 people? The inside is decorated quite nicely, with neon lights matching the restaurant's signage outside, and tons of botanic-related items as well. We got here earlier than our friends and had to wait for them to find parking for about 15 minutes, but luckily the hostess said it was no problem. Once they came and we ordered, they explained the food would be coursed out instead of served all at once. No utensils here, all finger foods!
- FOOD -
Happy Hour is Wed - Sun, 4-6pm!
Tona Lager & Shot ($12.00): My fiance ordered this and I actually really enjoyed the Nicaraguan Lager! Really crisp and nice flavor profile to it.
Shrimp Skewers (HH: 3pc - $8.00): Don't be frightened when you see these, it's meant to be black! The squid ink tempura batter surrounds the shrimp, and provides a crispy exterior alongside the color. These were yummy, especially with the Curry Lemon Aioli!
Trumpet Mushroom Musubi (HH: 6pc - $8.00): The flavors in this musubi were great, but the rice kept falling out, and the seaweed fell apart for a lot of the pieces!
Truffle Fries (HH: $8.00): We're all suckers for fries, so this was a no-brainer favorite! I absolutely LOVED the Miso Aioli it came with, but the Masala Ketchup was also super unique!
Baja Oysters (4pc - $14.00): Not fishy at all, great fresh taste, and the Beet-Cider Ponzu had a nice tartness to it!
Oester Tartaar (4pc - $18.00): I preferred this oyster over the Baja ones; the Wagyu Tartare was so good!
Thai Chicken Skewers (4pc - $16.00): I preferred the Shrimp Skewers over these, but still was tasty!
Spam Musubi (6pc - $15.00): Similarly with the Trumpet Mushroom Musubi, these fell apart very quickly, and without utensils it was hard to pick up all the rice grains.
Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice (5pc - $17.00): Really beautiful presentation but I wish the rice was more crispy! This also left me wanting more flavor, possibly because I had eaten the Spam Musubi right before, but this was much lighter in flavor.
- OVERALL -
Really nice intimate spot for a date night, couples night, or just a quick drink and tapas night!