Review: The Botanic

tl;dr – Great vegan options, but tv screens and music might distract you if you’re sensitive

We visited The Botanic – that is, the restaurant part, not the bar – on a sunday noon (reservations recommended) specifically because they offer a vegan version of the Irish classic ‘sunday roast’ menue. This one uses seitan slices as roast, which tasted amazing. The gravy served with the menue also deserves to be pointed out, as it was among the best I ever tried. There were also several sides included (carrots, cabbage, broccoli, potatoes and onion stuffing). All in all an amazing menue that probably serves one hungry adult or two not-so-hungry ones for ~18€.

The black tea and hot chocolate were prepared with oat milk on request and were also very tasty (milk is included with the tea by default). 2€ for a cup of tea is a steal in Dublin city. Nothing to complain here!

The downside with this location for me specifically is with the ambiance. Whilst the place is lovingly decorated, they clearly want to appeal to audiences that expect to watch sports events. In the main room, there are 10+ large TV screens (at the time of our visit, showing advertisements and motor racing). They did not play the TV sound on the speakers, yet I found the music slightly too loud, although this may vary. If you are sensitive to distractions, I recommend you ask for a table near the windows or in the back, where there are alcoves and the music is a little more quiet. The staff happily reseated us spontaneously and were generally very friendly and helpful!

All in all, The Botanic is an amazing place for a lively meeting of small and large groups, especially for vegans and omnis to get together. Bonus points for sports lovers. Looking for a quiet place to converse or read, you’d rather go somewhere else.