Botanical Hotel

I recently celebrated my baby shower at the Botanical Hotel and I couldn’t be more delighted with the entire experience! From the very beginning, Chiara was outstanding—always responsive, lovely and thoroughly professional, making the planning process seamless and stress-free. On the day itself, the two gentlemen assisting us were great, consistently going above and beyond to ensure everything ran perfectly. The food was delicious, beautifully presented, and served promptly. I truly cannot recommend the team and the venue highly enough. Thank you for making my special day so memorable! All of the guests were equally impressed and had a wonderful time.

Been around forever but the Botanical just continues to deliver and it seems that there are a lot of people who agree with me. Steak is good here, and my tip is to mark Thursday Steak Night in your calendar. Exceptional value, and you can upsize your steak for a bit more and it is still a great deal. Good selection of wines, super service by those who appreciate your custom…thanks Su May, and the place attracts a good crowd. Tip: book online…often super busy. Photos from last two visits…no negatives…highly recommended.

Definitely a cut above "Bougee Pub Grub" the food, wine & service would put a lot of Michelin starred dedicated restaurants to shame. The team at The Botanical are all friendly, attentive and knowledgeable, with a particular shout out to the female Somme (sorry I forgot her name🙏) in the main Restaurant where we had the "guest cut" dry aged TBone with an excellent red from their copious Wine list. We were visiting Melbourne over a couple of weeks in Feb & March and ate there frequently for breakfast, lunch, dinner and everything on either side including take aways from their excellent bottleshop.

If you're planning an event I can't recommend Botanical Hotel highly enough! I recently hosted my bridal shower here, and it was an absolutely fantastic experience from start to finish. Claudia, the events manager, was truly exceptional. She went above and beyond in every way—so kind, accommodating, and incredibly prompt with communication. She even helped me to carry heavy plinths from my car into the restaurant on a 32c day! The food was excellent, all the guests commented how delicious everything was. The service on the day was seamless, and the space itself was beautiful. I also really appreciated how flexible and accommodating the team was allowing decorations and personalising the space. Would highly recommend booking here!

I recently had the pleasure of hosting my bridal shower at The Botanical Hotel, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the experience. From the start, the communication was excellent. Kirsty was incredibly efficient, ensuring everything was organized to perfection and even helping me choose the wines for the day, which was such a thoughtful touch. On the day, the service was impeccable. The two gentlemen who helped serve drinks were fantastic—they were so attentive and made sure everything ran smoothly. They even confirmed the timing of the food service, which helped us stay on track and ensured the day went off without a hitch. The venue itself was beautiful, and the atmosphere was perfect for our event. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to celebrate with friends and family. I highly recommend The Botanical Hotel for anyone looking to host a special event. Thank you again for making my bridal shower such a memorable day!

Absolutely disgraceful portion of meat in their ready made meal. The photo on the package is a blatant lie. Shameful stuff. Do not buy this product!

We thoroughly enjoyed a fabulous Female Family celebration, plus two. We had wonderful cocktail canapes and a great selection behind the Bar. Cannot fault the attention given to all by every Staff member from "Greet to Eat". Great smiles all round and the ambience was superb. Thanks S&A and little S. 💕🥳💕🥳💕

Great service, great vibes. The food is ok the average side; nothing outstanding, but at least it’s reliable. Good spot for friend/family gathering.

This was a rather nice pub, and one that I had been meaning to visit for quite a while, though it is sort of one of those places that you do need to make a purposeful visit to go and check out. Since we had spent the morning in the Botanic Gardens, it was certainly that time, and the pub actually turned out to be pretty impressive, though in a way that did have a lot to do with the range of beers available. Oh, and that had quite a lovely area out the back as well. Yeah, I did quite like this pub.

"Great service. Our waiter was excellent- just the right amount of attentiveness. Strong menu with a beautifully executed cacio e pepe and the best charred greens salad I've ever had. Love the room with natural light. We had the best time- thank you!"

I wish I could rate it higher, the amount of competition in the strip makes it hard to give this more than a 3-star review, to go to the men's room at 730am on a Sunday, and discover a bottle on the floor from the night before, a blocked toilet filled to the brim with toilet paper and no sign to say it is closed, says to me they were not checked prior to opening. One size coffee that is hard to get it made right as ordered 'extra hot' is not lukewarm and sadly like a lot of places, it is hard to have a consistent barista who just gets it right with a coffee order. More attention to amenities and barista training and this place could do well. Overall, it has the looks and ambience of a great cafe, bar-restaurant they just need to put more emphasis on the important coffee trade at opening time.

Fancy restaurant, packed for a Wednesday night and the food is amazing. The sirloin is exactly the way a medium rare should be, crusty outside and juicy in. The entree is well balanced, a little under flavoured but the beautiful hand picked vege is well balanced with a perfectly poached duck egg. The warm chocolate brownie is rather sweet to my taste but the texture is beautifully crusty out yet soft and warm in, and when matched with a scoop of Whisky ice cream on top, it makes a heavenly match. Their wine list is extensive and it's a great place for function where private rooms are available for rent.

Someone at my dinner party mentioned they filmed the Real Housewives of Melbourne here and I can see why. It's a posh establishment with great decor, clean linen tables, an impressive wine collection, and a nice outdoor area. Service was on point throughout the evening. Guests arrived at various times and were always greeted, drink orders taken immediately and an attention to detail that was impressive. The dinner menu was equally impressive and everyone in my group had visually stunning dishes that were all empty at the end of the night. I chose the lamb rump which was decadently tender and perfectly cooked to order. The glazed daikon looked like a scallop and tasted divine amongst the beans and buttermilk puree. It was a beautifully well crafted dish. A surprise highlight to my evening was the espresso martini. They literally brewed the coffee just to make the drink, yet it was chilled to perfection. It was smooth, flavourful and I nearly ordered another, except at $20, it was hard to justify. So why the 4 stars? Where the restaurant excelled in great food, service and decor, it lacked in depth and a personal feel. The ambiance was a bit shallow, with many pretentious guests more concerned about their appearance than truly enjoying themselves. It seemed like a place that rich men dined at with their mistresses, or to find a new one. The restaurant can work on improving its reputation to keep the regular folks / happy hour crowd around and step out of the 'Housewives' backdrop to prove it has more than just pretty faces.

For a place called botanical not to have even 1 vegetarian main dish on the menu is amazingly poor. The waitress was lovely and suggested removing the anchovies from the gnocchi (as that was my only option for a meat free meal). The interiors are lovely, the staff are nice but while my dining partner got a wine straight away my beer took about 10 minutes to arrive! The food was reasonably tasty, very small portions (which is not necessarily a bad thing) but very expensive for what you got. I would not go back here deliberately and couldn't recommend it when there are so many other great options in the area. To not have a serious vegetarian option in Melbourne is plain lazy.

This place was a bit on the "beautiful people" side of things, but I had an excellent meal for a decent price, and had service with a smile. My group had a great time. I know that there are other reviews elsewhere that disagree, and I've only been there the once last week, but we liked it a lot. We were hesitant because it seemed like an "in crowd" place to be, but the staff were very nice as we asked - without a booking on a Thursday night - for a table for three. They said it would be about 20 minutes and would we like a drink at the bar? Yes, we did, and had some cocktails. They called us to our table within about 5 minutes, yay! It was very busy, with tables quite close together, so you certainly get a feeling of a lively, bustling place. The menu is pretty fine, with prices to match, but they have a special on each night that in the reasonable low- to mid-$20 range. Thu was steak and the person who got that said it was fantastic. The whole menu leans into French cuisine. We other two had the port belly and roast veg. The belly was nice, long strips that were juicy, not the fat block you usually get. Tastes were delicious. The wine list is perhaps the biggest I've ever seen. They tend to high end, for sure, but there are a couple of decent lower-cost choices. (The bottle shop in the restaurant must be the priciest in the city.) We shared a serving of cheese for dessert, which was lots. There are three nice cheeses in a case, and they bring plenty of crisp breads for it. Best of all, they had my favourite after-dinner drink: armagnac. In fact, they had *6* different kinds of it! Wow. We didn't eat a massive amount. They brought bread, so we had no starters. We each had a main. We shared a bottle of wine between three, as well as dessert. And I had an armagnac. The bill for the three of us came to just under $150, I think. Not terrible. For us, it was a high-end place that delivered the atmospheric, service, and culinary goods.

The first time I came here I thought 'meh', the second time I came here I thought 'whoa'. I was lucky enough to attend a most extravagant Hens Party in the Archer Room of The Botanical - a spectacular private function room with an exclusive bar and a glass roof. The table was set out beautifully for around 30 people and the staff were incredibly attentive as a glass of sparkling was gracefully placed in my hand as soon as I entered. We were treated to a two course set menu with the most delectable seafood and steaks on offer - all very ladylike portions and sizing, I assure you. The Botanical really offers the perfect venue for a Hens Party or any other function where you want your guests to feel elegant and sophisticated.

A very cool and busy restaurant/bistro in South Yarra, Melbourne. Also has a well-stocked wine shop and great for breakfast, lunch and people watching. Easy to find - on the No 8 Tram route.

I am giving the botanical a one star solely because it's a nice looking venue. The service was average at best and the food was 100% inedible. We had the squid ink cannelloni and also the beef burger. Both of which we took two bites and left the rest. I would think that this venue to look so good and have a prime location would have a much better quality of food.

Went to the botanical wanting a relaxed boozey lunch and was extremely disappointed. Not only was the wine list over priced and unexciting, the food was disgraceful. It tasted and looked like tarted up Woolworths frozen food. Ordered prawns and were served tiny shrimp that weren't deveined! Croquettes served to us were dry and lifeless much like the inattentive wait staff. Should have gone next door to the Gilson, hind sight is a beautiful thing!

Solid 3 stars. Thursdays has a steak & beer/wine night for $20, which is a fantastic deal, but otherwise there is nothing that particularly stands out (good or bad). Nice location for a post-run coffee or snack.

Been here twice for brunch and sadly The Botanical has been consistent with two things: mediocre food and slow service. Oh, and for a city that boasts good coffee, this place can't even deliver on that. Definitely will not be going back.

Perfect winters day in Melbourne. Sunny, no wind. So we called into the Botanical for lunch. Bad decision. This place used to be a Fav of ours but the food has gone off. Its now very ordinary. French onion soup was terrible. Fat Chjps were awful. But the Bread was still fantastic. Yay!