The Botanical
| Where | 169 Domain Road, South Yarra, 3141—View map |
Contact | 03 9820 7888 info@thebotanical.com.au |
Website | www.thebotanical.com.au |
Open | Monday to Friday 7.00am to 11.00pm Breakfast until 11.30am |
Payment | EFTPOS, Visa, Mastercard, Diners, AMEX, Cash |
Diet | Check with venue |
Seating | Inside and outside |
Kids | Welcome |
Pets | Welcome |
The Blond and the Beautiful
Ellie Parker 22 April 2008
The Botanical is Beautiful and Blond. Blond women and blond wood mostly. It is one of those places that makes you feel buoyant and terrified at the same time. This is where serious ladies do serious brunch. They wear serious frocks and drink seriously French champagne and exchange seriously good gossip. If you put your head under your table you will find a sea of skinny ankles in stilettos.
To match their patrons, The Botanical serves up a seriously good breakfast.
The famed Botanical Breakfast involves BBQ bacon and eggs, with roasted tomatoes, cheese kransky, braised cannellini beans & black pudding served with toasted English muffin. You certainly get bang for your buck with this dish. Cooked to perfection, the Bot Breakfast is a triumph deserving only the most serious of hangovers. Human consumption is at its finest when you realise you have enjoyed two eggs, a cheese kransky, a thick rasher of bacon and a black pudding before 9am. Washed down with a bottle of bubbles, the Bot hits the spot.
For those of us who are of a more delicate constitution, the chilled watermelon, summer berries and honeyed vanilla yoghurt is a delicious alternative. The Bircher muesli with poached gingered red fruits is another scrumptious option. Refreshingly juicy, these dishes are also great if accompanied by The Botanical’s selection of freshly baked pastries, especially if sharing with friends.
One of the highlights of the menu is the boiled free range duck eggs with soldiers, sea salt and French butter. This dish looks handsome. The soldiers are neatly stacked. The yolk is golden. The French butter sublime. It tastes like a posh version of childhood. Simple, yet elegant.
The Botanical menu is actually one of the more extensive breakfast menus in Melbourne. From eggs benedict to hot cakes with basil poached peaches, this restaurant crosses all the t’s and dots all the i’s. It is a great breakfast spot for entertaining out-of-town guests or for special occasions that deserve bubbly and cheer. Most dishes look like they have sprung from a professional kitchen with two hats, which they should. The Lavazza coffee is fine, but I suggest you dive into a Bloody Mary and contemplate that black pudding. You only live once.