You know that place near you? The vegan place? It's a nice local cafe or restaurant or something, and you keep meaning to go, but you haven't got around to it yet? That's the one.
There's one of those that's not a million miles from where I live. It's a place called Botanique, near Brighton. It's an all-vegan place, with an interesting seasonal menu. On weekdays, it serves upscale plant-based plates, and there's a tasting menu if you want to try all the highlights. If you go on a Sunday, it's a more affordable brunch menu. Obviously, I went on a Sunday.
When we turned up at peak Sunday lunchtime, we couldn't tell if the place was open - there were empty chairs across the restaurant. When we pushed open the door, we found we were the only people there, and we were alone in the restaurant for a good hour during our meal. It would have been awkward were it not for the lovely service.
We started off with focaccia and smoked butter. Or, to put it another way, it's pretty much just fancy bread and butter. But what cracking bread and butter it was.
The focaccia was the right mix of soft and bouncy in the middle and sharply crisp on the outside, but it was studded with soft, almost caramel-sweet carrots throughout. The smoked butter was incredibly good - with a smoke flavour that was present without being overly assertive, making you feel you've been hammered in the mouth with wafts of charcoal. Luckily, there was more butter than the focaccia needed, and I kept it to hand for anointing the dish that came next.
Botanique's brunch mains are a handful of brunch classics: a benedict, pancakes, french toast. I chose the potato hash, because potatoes are very clearly the king of vegetables and this is a hill I will die on.
What do you think of when a hash? For me, I think of fried cubes of potatoes, with vegetables or other treats mixed in. The Botanique hash was more a big pile of mashed potatoes, shot through with leeks. To pep up the soft, mild mash, there was a chunk of grilled hispi cabbage, some pink pickled onions and a top of romesco sauce. I don't know if the proportions were a little off, but I would have loved more of that delicious sauce to partner the mash.
It's a terrible picture, but a sweetly comforting plate. I would have eaten it twice over (that's both because I'm greedy and because the portion wasn't huge).
What I wouldn't have eaten twice over was Mr Flickingthevs' choice of pancakes. Those fellas were about the size of dustbin lids. They say you should never eat anything bigger than your face - but I would have eaten two head-sized things to finish off those pancakes.
There was a lot to love about those pancakes, apart from the fact they were massive. They were gluten free, but you could't tell. There was coconut yoghurt everywhere, which usually I don't love, but it made sour counterpoint to the sweetness of the pancakes. The crumble top and the berry compote were more of the sweet-sour dance. There's a reason pancakes exist on brunch menus, and it's because they're great.
Having finished off the pancakes, Mr Flickingthevs had no more room for dessert. Thanks to the more moderately proportioned hash, I definitely did.
Normally, when I'm perusing a dessert menu, there's always one or two things that leap out as demanding of my order. Botanique's tiny but perfectly composed dessert choices all looked equally appealing. After much debating and flipping of coins, I chose the pumpkin option - cashew cream, spiced chai parfait and praline crumb. Where was the titular pumpkin? I guess in the parfait?
Either way, it's the sort of bowl that makes you grateful there are autumns.
As I mentioned, we were the only people in the restaurant for a good chunk of the Sunday lunchtime. This seems a real crime. A friendly, tasty, all-vegan restaurant with barely a customer or two? I get with the economic situation being the way it is, people are probably choosing to eat out less. But if you are planning on heading out to get food on a Sunday lunchtime, make sure you get to that place - the vegan one, the one you've been meaning to get to but haven't quite managed it. It definitely deserves the love.
Botanique
botaniquebrighton.com
31a Western Rd, Brighton and Hove, Hove BN3 1AF
01273 567200
I would feel guilty about all the places that I would love to support but as we get out quite a bit, I feel I am doing all I can but there is such a tyranny of choice in Melbourne! This brunch looks great - always impressive when they can do the usual suspects like pancakes but also can step up to something a bit special that you would not have elsewhere. I love the sound of your hash but I think I might have tried the vegan benedict because the idea of these always intrigues me.
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