Restaurant Botanica

5 Reviews on “Restaurant Botanica”

• I'm Hangry

  If you’re staying overnight in the Hunter Valley, my dinner recommendation for somewhere a little fancy that won’t completely blow your budget is Restaurant Botanica in Spicers Retreat. You can get two courses for $69 or three courses for $79 – and it was totally worth it. The service was phenomenal – our waitress for the night was so friendly and chatty, and we really did feel at home. They also served complimentary bread (including their own sourdough) with a beautiful honey butter that we could have eaten by the spoon. The waitress recommended that we eat the bread with the honey butter and a sprinkle of their shiraz infused salt though personally I felt that the sweetness of the honey butter didn’t need the salt for balance. They also served a complimentary amuse bouche which was a gorgeous mushroom soup with a sampler of a white wine (I think it was semillon but don’t remember for sure). I really dislike mushrooms, but this blended mushroom soup was great – really savoury with strong mushroom flavours and almost a toasty fragrance.Entree 1: Moreton Bay Bug, gnocchi, prawn butter, chilli, finger lime, tomatoThis was the star dish of the night for me and my dining companion (who had been the one to order the bug but was forced to share half with me). Really light dish with almost Asian flavours. The gnocchi was lightly fried and not the dense texture that I was used to from other gnocchi I’ve had before. The dressing was a little tangy from the lime, a little spicy from the chilli and overall, so nice and light. Perfect start to the meal!For the full review go to imhangry.net/2018/05/06/restaurant-botanica-hunter-valley/

  August 6, 2020, 2:22 am

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• Tige

  I’m a lucky lady because I’m lucky enough to stay at Spicers Vineyards Estate. We dined at restaurant Botanica during our stay. We opted for the a la carte 3 course option. Food was well presented and quite refined but portion sizes were on the smaller side. Service was polite but at times extremely slow between courses and for drinks to be ordered and topped up. Breakfasts each morning were also quite lengthy due to extended wait times for orders to be taken and food to arrive. The setting is beautiful and it’s worth a visit just for the surrounds.

  December 20, 2019, 2:22 am

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• Ninahooo

  Came here in a group of 4, we all had the signature tasting course (5 courses) which consisted of 3 entrees, 1 main and a dessert. A really well thought out menu by the chef, wine pairings were also spot on. Food is modern and refined but also celebrates the ingredients used very well.Service was prompt, friendly and professional without making diners feeling overserviced. Definitely my favourite restaurant in the hunter!

  February 12, 2019, 2:22 am

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• Breaking Bread Australia

  We had a beautiful lunch here. The service was great, topping up wine glasses and changing them for new ones when the variety differed. Eight guests enjoyed entrees and mains including one vegetarian who noted it was the best vegetarian menu she had come across.  I personally enjoyed the Wood grilled quail and the Pork Belly. Many of us had the pork belly for our main and whilst delicious the only disappointing part for some was that their’s was a lot smaller in size, both the pork and crackling compared to others. Lovely breads served as a starter and the complimentary amuse-bouche of a mushroom soup was an amazing start to the lunch. Great scenery from the enclosed verandah, however a little disappointing from the private dining room, with you only having a view from three small windows that didn’t overlook the vines. If the restaurant had of been full then you would of appreciated the room for the privacy of it, however in our case there were only another couple of tables of diners and I would of much preferred to have been able to sit overlooking the vines.  A lovely note that the chef came out and had a chat to us. We didn’t have dessert here.   I would definitely recommended this restaurant to others and look forward to dining there again myself as the food itself and the presentation of it is well worth it.

  September 25, 2017, 2:22 am

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• Dolce Bunnie

  Spicers Vineyards Estate is nestled on eight acres of private vineyard. Our car reached the destination just before sunset, the sky was a palette of pastel blue, cream white and light orange, which made it the prettiest backdrop against the tranquil green vines, elegantly waving their leaves in the wind. Our waitress brought over a small basket of warm bread to the table before she took our orders. The menu here is regionally distinctive in flavours and style. You can order anything from quail, venison, beef cheeks and of course, crusted lamb so we agreed on the 3-course option at $79 per person. While waiting for our entrées, I couldn’t help but take a walk outside to steal some snaps before the sun disappeared below the horizon.

  March 1, 2017, 2:22 am

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