A revisit to this Opera House cafe and diner affirms it as a worthy option for toothsome vegetarian fare, but the dessert menu needs attention
Green keto salad
The first time we visited Botanica on a rain-soaked night in June, the all-veg restaurant near Opera House was three days old. The expansive menu, with a mix of Mexican, Italian, European, Asian and modern Indian dishes - think cottage cheese sushi burgers and makhni ravioli - had taken us by surprise. The neighbourhood it is located in has quite a few pure vegetarian restaurants, most of them being decades-old establishments serving either Gujarati-Rajasthani fare, or "continental" dishes like nachos and sizzlers.
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Exotic Kolhapuri
So, whether the menu remains as vast is the first litmus test we apply to the casual dining space when we revisit it; this time on a crisp Sunday night. It is abuzz with patrons, from couples to multi-generational families, who seem to have embraced the menu, which isn't missing a single dish from six months ago.
Mixed Asian veggies dimsum
Since the restaurant takes pride in its mocktails, we start with a botanical martini (Rs 300). It arrives in a wide-rimmed goblet that requires us to be extra careful. But all that is quickly forgotten, for the heat of the jalapenos laced with notes of thyme teases the palate, making it a refreshing concoction, and a step up from the sugar-heavy drink we had tried the first time. While we wait for our green keto salad (Rs 380) and mixed Asian veggies dimsum (Rs 380), we notice the absence of the potted succulent on the table, which added a nice touch of green, in keeping with Botanica's theme. That said, the interiors remain chic and the music, peppy.
Botanical martini
The service seems to have become quicker, too. But when the salad arrives - mixed greens, paneer, feta and a meagre sprinkling of mixed nuts - it does make us wonder how long it could possibly take to whip up such small portions. The delicately prepared dim sums, however, make up for the disappointment, with six pieces and delicious dips on the side. For the mains, we call for exotic Kolhapuri (Rs 380), and a lacha paratha (Rs 100) and multigrain roti (Rs 65). The addition of red and yellow bell peppers and sweet corn attempts to exoticise the dish, which though tasty is not very different from a regular Kolhapuri gravy. In fact, the overload of the corn kernels only takes away from the dish, which we mop up with the soft multigrain roti.
The Guide first reviewed Botanica in June 2018. We conduct select, anonymous follow-ups to assess maintenance of standards
It's dessert time, and we are all gaga over memories of the delectable basundi with rose caviar that we'd tried the last time. We realise it's not just a personal favourite when we are told the restaurant has already run out of it. We pick tiramisu (Rs 300) and chef's special South East Asian ganache (Rs 320) instead. And that's when a pleasant dining experience takes a turn for the worse. The tiramisu is unlike anything that the coffee-flavoured Italian treat should taste like. We manage to have a couple of spoons, hoping for the ganache to save the day. But that's just about as disastrous, with nothing Southeast Asian about it - given the restaurant's inroads into world cuisine we were expecting fluffy pandan cake bits in it. On the contrary, the ganache is stodgy and greasy.
Would we revisit Botanica on a whim? Yes. For, it still remains one of the few vegetarian eateries in the city that dares to go beyond the tested formulae. But we'll skip the desserts, and instead, head next door to Bachelorr's.
TIME: 12 pm to 12 am
AT: Patel Chambers, Opera House.
CALL: 23802828
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