Botanic House | Sydney Food Review

Tucked away in the middle of the Sydney Botanic Gardens is Botanic House a restaurant owned by Luke Nguyen known in many roles including from Masterchef.

For months we have been trying to catch up in person but with covid and busy schedules it’s been hard to see each other. We finally found a date that suited us and eventually agreed on a location. I arrived a little early so I decided to sneak in a quick pre-coffee.

Pop over and say high to @vivinsyd for more pics and thoughts on Botanic House!

Botanic House – Decor, Menu and Service

We met up on Martin Place on the Macquarie street end which is really close to the domain. I initially thought the restaurant was closer to the art gallery. But its actually more towards the middle. So it took a little extra walking, oops!

After navigating our way through the garden we came across a beautiful building that didn’t look out of place in the gardens. Inside we were met with a light and airy space.

The tables were really well spaced out and all staff were wearing masks. It was wonderful to see how Botanic House went above and beyond with regards to covid rules.

Once we were seated we selected our drinks and the wait staff checked in to see if anyone had any allergies. The service overall was friendly and attentive. For the food, we chose the tasting menu in which dishes are shared. It was nice not having to decide what to eat!

Entre

The first dish was Edamame and Avocado Salsa served with delicious rice crackers. This light and the refreshing dish was a great way to start the meal. The salsa had a really nice texture. The combo of Edamame and avo meant that the avocado wasn’t too overwhelming.

Shortly after the Seared Hokkaido Scallops arrived. We didn’t grab a photo of this one so you will have to take my word for it that this was delicious. The scallop was perfectly seared, served with a really well-balanced mini salad.

The last dish from the entre was salt and pepper squid. This dish was up there with the best S&P squid that I’ve had. The batter was light and not oily and the squid wasn’t overcooked!

Mains and Dessert

Moving onto the mains we were served fours dishes plus steamed rice.

The lighter of the mains included a salad and Sashimi King Fish. The salad was full of flavour and a nice break from the heavier dishes.

The Kingfish had a little spice to it and a really nice flavour from the dressing!

The heavier plates included fish and Chicken dish. The fish featured a perfectly cooked salmon with fish skin and a delicious sauce that went so well with the rice.

The chicken was served with a thick and creamy curry sauce, which was perfect given that it was getting a little chilly as the clouds headed towards us.

For dessert, we were served two plates filled with Caramel Pudding, sponge cake, Vietnamese coffee tres leches and soy ice-cream. I loved the touch of the fresh berries which gave a nice break from the sweet dessert. Each element was amazing, I especially loved the Vietname Coffee tres leches. The only issue was it was a little hard to split up with two plates between three people but we managed pretty well.

Overall – 4.5/5

This was an amazing meal with great company! There was plenty of food and it was so much fun sharing and trying each dish.  It’s really nice to be able to walk around the gardens afterwards!

I highly recommend visiting Botanic House!

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