We’re probably not the easiest family to please in a restaurant. On top of the everyday chit chat we always discuss the food and service in minute detail. This Father’s Day we ventured to the newly opened The Botanist on Sloane Square.

It takes time for new establishments to settle into a routine; The Botanist only opened in May, a short month before our visit. But basic mistakes kept creeping in and with five sister restaurants I had expected the whole operation to be a bit slicker.

The restaurant is located next to the recently renovated Sloane Square Hotel. It was a busy Sunday and customers were certainly crammed into the dining area, making our table of five slightly uncomfortable. The place has a clean feel to it with calming tones and a historical mural which ties in with the restaurant’s name.

So to the meal… The ladies forwent starters, so it was left to my father, brother and myself to sample: Stilton and white onion tart with roast pears, steak tartar and globe artichoke, morel and baby spinach risotto.

The tart pastry was perfect – crumbly, but solid enough to hold the very flavoursome stilton filling. I was disappointed with the pears which, served cold, seemed more raw than roasted, and didn’t have the required sweetness to offset the stilton’s saltiness.

The risotto sounded wonderful, but the creaminess which typifies risottos was swapped for a thin bland sauce which drowned the rice.

The steak tartar was the first sign of trouble with the service. First my brother was brought a stilton and onion tart – not what he had ordered. As my father and I tucked into our starters, and finished them, he was still waiting. Steak tartar doesn’t require huge amounts of cooking. Yet when it arrived it was “overcooked”. Had it perhaps been sitting on the passe for a bit too long.

Being a Sunday it was beef roasts for the lads and fishcakes for the ladies (not that fishcakes are particularly Sunday food!). The fishcakes were a good size but a little bland. The meat was beautifully pink and tender. The jus arrived in a wonderful little copper saucepan. The Yorkshire puddings were also scrumptious: crispy on the outside and light and fluffy inside. The vegetables however were underdone and the potatoes were far too salty and reminded me of those packet roast potatoes from the supermarket.

After the waiter finished spilling water over the table, and forgetting to wipe it up, we ordered dessert. Tarte Tatin was excellent. The pastry once again perfect. Just the right amount of caramel too. The chocolate fondant just dreamy. And the Knickerbocker Glory was, well… just like being a kid again.

The cheese plate ended an average meal. The minute slivers of cheese presented an uninteresting selection.

Slow service, a clumsy waiter and average food (the quality of the met was a surprising highlight though) resulted in the manager gracefully removing the optional service charge from the bill. How kind! But as I said at the start, it takes time to settle down, so I look forward to a second visit to an establishment some promise.

Food                  3/5 – Fantastic meat

Service              2/5 – Get to grips with the basics

Environment      3/5 – Calm decor but much too crammed

The Botanist

No 7 Sloane Square

London

SW1W 8EE

Tel:      020 7730 0077

Web:   www.thebotanistonsloanesquare.com

Restaurant reviewed on Sunday 15th June 2008.