Overview
City Works Depot café/bar/florist/plant nursery The Botanist has been a go-to lunch spot in the CBD since opening in 2014— and a very pleasant, leafy locale for those looking to hangout in an old underground parking block. Building on the ever-changing rotational service, the establishment has introduced a new menu that aims to push the boundaries of breakfast.
Chef Ryan Pearce was poached from K' Road's brilliant Lebanese restaurant Gemmayze St, and has a vast culinary background in Melbourne and London. His fresh breakfast vision leaps far beyond your average eggs on toast, including numbers like a coconut panna cotta with roasted fruit, oat and coconut crumble and mango jus— an incredibly sweet yet refreshing start to the day.
Savoury fans are also in for a treat with inventive options like beurre noisette potatoes topped with pork belly, blue cheese, mushrooms and a perfectly runny fried egg. The kahawai cakes are both pleasantly salty and comforting, accompanied by braised cabbage, anchovy gremolata and a soft boiled egg. Then there's chilli eggs, cauliflower salad, and waffles with espresso chocolate and rum mousse. A few classics remain on the menu, like the Angus cheeseburger and the reuben sandwich, plus, there's first-rate coffee being poured all day.
The Botanist's new breakfast menu is in full force now. Drop by Mon-Thurs: 7am-4pm, Weds-Fri: 7am-10pm, Sat-Sun: 8am-3pm.
Photos: Florence Noble