Chelsea sprouts The Botanist

Sloane Square has sprouted a serious rival to Oriel, the café that’s as much a Chelsea trademark as being called Rupert. The Botanist isn’t so much a brasserie as a chic, rolling restaurant — a triumphant culmination of owners Tom and Ed Martin’s gastropub empire.

This upmarket venue is a world away from a gastropub, but still boasts interesting yet crowd-pleasing food, an informal atmosphere and the guys’ original touches. It is named after Sir Hans Sloane, pioneering naturalist and Chelsea Physic Garden benefactor, whose presence is indicated by huge backlit illustrations from his journals.

Staring at a large picture of a black beetle over my date’s shoulder hardly whetted my appetite. But the menu had tastier specimens. My starter was a prettily presented salad of chorizo, Alsace bacon and fresh pea shoots (£9). My friend washed down the peppery kick of her creamy steak tartare(£8.50) with a glass of sparkling English wine (£6).

For mains, her hearty cutlet of rare-breed British pork (£15.50), accompanied by a plump baked apple stuffed with black pudding, was so tender she couldn’t resist gnawing the bone. I chose the Botanist seasonal salad (£12), bursting with crunchy green and white asparagus and fresh peas.

This left me plenty of room to bag the lion’s share of the our cheeseboard (£9 or £16 for two to share). Full of English species, like Mrs Bell’s Blue and unpasteurised Waterloo Hampshire, it was a quirky hand-picked collection that would have done Sir Hans proud.

The Botanist
Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8EG