“We’re like a family here and many of our customers have become our friends. We absolutely love our locals and strive to provide high-quality food and drinks to keep them coming back,” says Peter Barker, the general manager of The Botanist.

Inspiration for the venue comes from the 19th century botanist Gerard Fothergill who travelled the world researching and documenting obscure plants and spices.

Fothergill is believed to have spent his final years running a bookshop on The Botanist’s very site.

“We’ve embraced Gerard’s legacy in the form of fine produce, exotic spices, the spirit of adventure and a thirst for knowledge, easily-quenched with a well-poured Botanist gin, just as Gerard would have liked it,” says Barker.

Over the years, the venue’s collection of plants and florals has grown immensely, with the botanically-themed decor branching out into global treasures and naval knick-knacks.

The food offerings have also changed direction, with The Botanist steering away from pub grub towards produce-driven dishes with a Mediterranean inflection.

“Our head chef Sa Va’afusuaga recently came back from a European holiday where he travelled through Turkey, Greece, Italy, France and Spain. You can see these influences on the new spring menu,” says Barker.

As to be expected, the new menu is awash with seafood and seaside-inspired dishes, including a chargrilled marlin with chermoula and olives ($30) a snapper crudo with guindillas peppers ($26) and the octopus tentacles with black garlic aioli and ink crisps ($30).

“We launched the new menu last week, so we’re still yet to learn people’s favourites, however with the warmer weather rolling in, we expect the beautiful seared ruby tuna with tahini buttermilk, olive crumb and sea herbs to be a hit, along with the crispy soft shell crab roll and the tasty chicharrons,” he says.

The cocktail menu has also been given a spring clean with the addition of new summery concoctions, such as the Birds of Paradiso ($18) a tropical punch made from The Botanist rum, Campari, pineapple, spiced mango and absinthe mist and the Lady Panache ($18), an elegant mix of gin, Aperol, grapefruit, rosemary and orange marmalade.

Cocktails are also available by the jug, with a Rose Sangria ($35) and Dark and Stormy ($35) keeping larger groups happy.

The quality of the drinks has never been higher with The Botanist recently short-listed for Best Wine List and Best Cocktail List at the Australian Liquor Industry Awards.