It was my and my partners first time in this place. We went there for my birthday meal. We really wanted to try hanging kebabs which were really nice. We were really please with starters as well. The service was great and fast. The waitresses were making sure that we are happy with everything and if we would like any more drinks. When we got to dessert , unfortunately we didn't like it. Overall I would go there again for drinks starters and main food. I would happy to recommend this place to someone else.

I have visited The Botanist in Exeter several times now. I have always had a good meal there and I think the food is good value in general. I booked a table for a friend and I to celebrate a birthday. When we arrived the restaurant was very busy so noisier than I had experienced before. This wasn't a huge issue obviously just unexpected with it being a Wednesday night. However, literally within 15 minutes of sitting down, some live music started up also. Apparently the first Wednesday of the month includes a bingo style game where players cross off songs, or artists names, from songs being sung by the band from their bingo card. Quite a good idea I thought but we chose not to get involved as we were trying to chat and eat food etc. It would have been lovely to have some live music being played in the background BUT the volume of the band was ridiculously high and it was simply annoying to the point it spoilt our evening. I literally could not hear my friend at all and so we (and everyone else in the restaurant) were having to shout and also lip read to stand any chance of being able to hear one another! It was just way too much. We both left at the end of our night with very sore throats and ringing ears!! I have never had any issues of this nature there before, so I'm hoping this was just a one-off, but I will definitely think twice and check the music situation in advance before ever going there again. We were incredibly relieved when the band finished and the volume lowered to a more reasonable level.