Last Updated on September 17, 2025
Iconic avocado toast with a cocktail (or four)
4.0 out of 5.0 starsA Sloane Square stylish stalwart since 2008, The Botanist is well-known for its popular cocktail bar and contemporary British restaurant. This summer, the restaurant introduced a great new brunch menu, running between 11 am and 4 pm on Saturdays and Sundays, with the option to make it bottomless with their ‘Weekend Freeflow’ drinks packages, from an extra £27 for the ‘bubbles’ prosecco and beer package up to £44 for freeflow champagne and more.
It was a warm morning when we arrived, and the tables out front of The Botanist were busy with people enjoying the last of the September sun as the trees fluttered gently in the light wind.

Inside, the bar is on the left and to the right is the spacious dining room. The interior is sophisticated and elegant but relaxed, with leather booths, banquettes and chairs in a colour palette of aubergine, mint green and blush pink. Not surprisingly, given the restaurant’s name, the décor includes botanical prints.
We chose a booth. It was very comfortable, and I had a great view of Sloane Square and the top of the King’s Road. We started with coffees, one deliberately cold, the other deliberately hot. My companion appreciated the nice touch of three coffee beans adorning her iced oat milk latte.

We moved on to Bloody Marys, which were excellent, as you’d expect given The Botanist’s reputation for cocktails. They were a perfect level of spice and a good consistency. They paired very well with the Jersey Rock oysters we had, which were pleasingly plump and came with a piquant Mignonette sauce. Again, the presentation was thoughtful, with decorative seaweed on the plate of ice. At the waitress’s recommendation, we’d ordered sourdough bread, which came as a warm, small loaf on a wooden board with salted butter.
We also shared the Lobster & Crab Cake as a starter. This had a good ratio of lobster to crab to potato, although it was at slight risk of drowning in the very generous portion of champagne cream that it came with.
And then on to our mains, which we ordered from the special sub-headed brunch section.

My twenty-something companion had the Avocado Toast, her staple breakfast-or-brunch order, and declared it one of the best she’s ever had. It looked excellent and tasted even better. Labelled as plant-based, The Botanist’s avocado toast includes smoked dried tomato and Burella, a non-dairy ‘faux’ version of Burrata. Being neither vegetarian nor vegan, my companion was optimistically cautious about this. Still, in fact, her only criticism of the dish was that it could do with a bit more Burella. She said she will be back again for the avocado toast, especially since at £12.50 it’s pretty reasonably priced given the quality of the ingredients and The Botanist’s prime location.

I had the Smokehouse Cruffin (a muffin-croissant hybrid). The cruffin itself was a bit too dense in consistency, although the smoked salmon and egg were good. What lifted this dish, though, was the addition of an outstanding side of Fennel, Apple & Cabbage Slaw with a citrus dressing. It was refreshingly unusual and crisp, and just very tasty.

To accompany my Cruffin, I had a Mimosa, which was lovely. We didn’t take full advantage of the bottomless aspect of the brunch on this occasion, but we’ll return to do so in the future. The Botanist is an ideal spot for a relaxing brunch, perhaps before having a browse on the King’s Road or going to a matinee performance at The Royal Court theatre.
The Botanist, Sloane Square
No. 7 Sloane Square
London
SW1W 8EE
Tel: 020 7730 0077
Leave a Reply