Restaurant Botanica Pokolbin, Hunter Valley Wine Region

Restaurant Botanica Details

Restaurant Botanica Address

555 Hermitage Rd
Pokolbin NSW 2320
Map
Restaurant Botanica Website

Restaurant Botanica Contact Info

Phone (02) 6574 7229
Fax No (02) 6574 7276
Enquiries
General Manager on (02) 6574 7229 Emailbotanica@thevineyardsestate.com.au

Cuisines

Mediterranean, Modern Australian, Seafood, Vegetarian

Chef

Mark Stapleton

Prices

Average Meal Price $48 - based on one entree & main course only

General Price
Restaurant Botanica offers a 2 or 3 course dining experience, with the option to add an additional course. Two courses are offered at $58 and three courses at $68 which include an amuse bouche to begin your meal

Lunch
Entrees $18.00
Mains $25.00-$34.00
Desserts $12.00
Or enjoy our Picnic Rug Menu and allow our team to lay your own private picnic rug under a shady tree or amongst our vines!

Prices last updated: 01/2010

Bookings

Bookings are preferred
Maximum group booking size is 50
For all Group Reservations, we recommend contacting the restaurant as early as possible so that we can design a dinner experience around your specifications and ensure your event is a success!

Rooms & Capacity

No of Seats 50

Hours

Lunch
Thu to Sat Noon - 4pm
Dinner
Wed to Sun 6pm - 10pm
Remarks
Restaurant Botanica now also offers the option to have our friendly team lay your own private picnic rug under a shady tree or within our vineyard and enjoy lunch as a vineyard picnic!

Notes

Don't feel like driving home after dinner? Why not book a luxury suite at The Vineyards Estate and your perfect Hunter Valley dining experience is just a short stroll from you room - perfect!

Help us correct a mistake or add more info!

Restaurant Botanica Awards

2009

Restaurant & Catering Best New Hunter Valley Restaurant

2009

Restaurant & Catering Best NSW Regional Wine List

2009

Gourmet Traveller Wine List of the Year Award - 2 Glasses

Overview of Restaurant Botanica

Located at the 5 Star Guesthouse luxury retreat, The Vineyards Estate, and set amidst the properties own private vineyard, Restaurant Botanica offers a charming, regional and rustic vineyard dining experience. With a menu based around wine friendly flavours, and some of the produce coming from the estates own kitchen garden, a flavoursome food experience is assured.

Service is professional and unobtrusive, and the ambience just right, offering a warm winter fire for the cooler months, whilst enjoying alfresco dining in summer. Restaurant Botanica will please all year round.

User Reviews of Restaurant Botanica, Pokolbin

Page: 1 2 3 4 Next

Displaying: 1 - 10 of 31 reviews

9.8 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 10 Service 10 Value 9

From 2010: A perfect dining experience amongst some very dubious and overpriced options in the Hunter Valley. Lovely food, service has the right balance of warmth and professional efficiency, and great value 2-course/3-course options. Very appetising vegetarian fare (not the standard "asparagus-in-everything" after thoughts many restaurants offer).

Diners who like trendy "places to be seen" are warned: this venue is spacious and quiet with minimalist decor, so you'd better appreciate excellent food and the company you bring along, because there's not much additional stimulus on offer. Probably a bit of a trek from where you're staying and definitely worth the drive.

Update Jan 2012: Food is still amazing, but prices have risen a bit (NB above what's listed on Eatabilities) and service a little short of perfect this time. But the overall experience was still brilliant and wowed my partner on her first visit, she's been raving to friends and family about it every since.

Management, if you are reading this, Please don't let Botanica slip, it's still such a standout against all the other restaurants in Pokolbin.

Jan 23, 2012

MrSanjay
17

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 9 Value 9

We ate at Restaurant Botanica as part of our stay at Spicers Vineyard Estate and we couldn't have hoped for better. The food wowed us from start to finish. The crunchy home-made ciabatta and sourdough and the mouth-watering pork belly appetizer worked wonders at opening our appetite.

The fried stuffed zucchini flowers, quail on tomato and oregano salsa, kingfish with provencal vegetables and steak with garlic butter were true reflections of sophisticated, seasonal, country cooking. Fresh herbs were used intelligently to enhance flavours and take us on a wonderful journey of the senses. I was impressed by the chef's ability to get the best out of fairly ordinary ingredients.

The lemon tart with kumquat jelly, meringue and lemon curd ice cream was another brilliant example. The lovely atmosphere and attentive service completed this delightful experience.

Nov 20, 2011

dodo67
41

10 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 10 Service 10 Value 10

Absoutely loved this restaurant. Came here for to celebrate a birthday and received complimentary wine on the night. Staff were absoultely helpful without being intrusive. Food was delicious. cannot fault this palce, very intimate and great views of the vineyards with french doors. Will definitely come back here again.

Sep 19, 2011

peakachu
1

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 10 Service 10 Value 9

A very nice restaurant in the Hunter Valley. The food is amazing and there is the option of a 2 or 3 course menu. Had the pork belly with scallops for entree which was absolutely delicious and for mains had the most tender piece of beef fillet. The atmosphere was very relaxed and peaceful set amongst the Spicers Estate. The service is very attentive and warm without being too intrusive.
There is little to complain about and would definitely go back again and again.

Aug 28, 2011

finefoodeater
1

8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 8

The restaurant is tucked away in the Spicers Estate and has a wonderful old school charm. Food is based on seasonal and regional produce and veggies were grown in the resturant's own garden.

Botanica does fine-dining with an emphasis on comfort and flavour... it is a wonderful experience. There is no whiz bang cookery about this place - and this is meant as a compliment. There is such wonderful flavour in every dish... and they were wonderfully filling and comforting. You can truly taste the passion and love that the chefs put into each dish.

The wine list here is also something to behold. 29 pages of wonderfully researched history about the vineyards and various vintages. I read the wine list like a great book in between dishes!

All in all, a fantastic dining experience!

Aug 06, 2011

the_sydney_foodie
8

7.5 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 6

We ordered the kingfish and the lamb. They were both very good quality dishes, but the food lacked a bit of excitement for the price we paid, $62 for two courses. (You can get excellent 4 courses somewhere else in Sydney for $75). However, this is the Hunter Valley where food prices are inflated.

Jul 15, 2011

jojoba82
4

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 7 Service 10 Value 7

Positive points: Mains of Kingfish or Lamb were both excellent. Service was fantastic and the wine selection was fantastic.

Negative points: Lighting had been dimmed so much we had trouble reading the menus and the dimmer switch made the lights flicker a little at times.

Overall: A wonderful evening.

Jul 04, 2011

pleasantheidi
1

9 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 9 Service 10 Value 8

A little bit hard to find in the dark but the restaurant is very cosy and we were greeted and seated immediately. My partner and I ordered the duck liver pate and pork belly as our entree. The pork belly was tender, well cooked and delicious and the servings were very generous for the pate. We had the lamb and veal for our main course which were cooked to perfection with delicious condiments.

For dessert I ordered the raspberry parfait which was topped with meringue and chocolate ice cream, all flavours complimented each other very well. The wine selection was extensive and impressive. Staff were also very friendly and polite, definitely would return here for dinner!

Apr 23, 2011

Anniepop
5

10 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 10 Service 10 Value 10

What a find! We had a most wonderful meal here for our tenth wedding anniversary. Every bite poured out exquisite flavour, the wine was lovely, the atmosphere refined but not 'stuffy' and the staff were attentive and very polite. Best meal I've had in ten years if not ever. We ended up here by accident after failing to get a booking at 'Muse', the most raved about fine dining in the Hunter. How fortunate were we!

We ended up at Muse the next night, which was nice, but Botanica for my two cents was a notch higher and it has become my new favourite restaurant. The freshness of their produce is outstanding. The herbs are garden fresh and the home made flavours in this relaxed country setting are exemplified in all their dishes, especially the duck Pate, which is gold. It was pretty good value and perfect for s special occasion type evening. We'll be back to the Hunter, not for the wine but just for a meal here!

Mar 20, 2011

Simon R.
1

9.8 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 10 Service 10 Value 9

Beautiful. Just beautiful. Started off with the amuse which was sensational. Unfortunately, they had run out of Kingfish for our main but offered a brilliant Atlantic Salmon in its place. Every dish was superb. Service was very attentive and helpful but definitely not overbearing.

Only very minor slip (kitchen forgot a vegetable dish) was covered by staff brilliantly. It is often how they recover from errors that I think makes the mark of a place. Pricey, but absolutely worth it. I will most definitely be back.

Jan 25, 2011