"Replacing the infamous Spiders Web pub, the Jolly Botanist has done a good job in massively changing the appearance of the premises, in the process shifty out the seedy types from the bar. The bar itself has a fine selection of lagers, and it has three ale pumps, although at the time all were from the Caledonian Brewery. They do of course have much more on offer in the spirits category especially an abundance of gin. If you are a fan of gin, which many people seem to be these days, you can easily find a gin to match your taste palate. The prices are fairly steep at £5.40 for a Caorunn gin and tonic, and their cocktail list is also a bit on the pricey side. The food menu looked good, drawing you in like a sea siren, but there was no shipwreck, instead you were offered very good food at a reasonable price. For starters I shared three items of food with another person at the table, which were the Homemade Haggis Scotch Egg, Fishcakes and a Pizza Bread. The Fishcakes were okay, but the other two were excellent and came in fairly cheap for the size of portion. The main course I plumped for was the Pork Belly with Chorizo Mash, which came in at £11. The meat itself was finely cooked, but perhaps the staff would be best served giving out a steak knife to cut through the pork crackling. The only downside was the size of the portion of the mashed potato which was laced with chorizo, it could have been slightly bigger. But on taste the food won hands down. The serving staff were also very friendly and happy to help throughout, despite the bar being suitably packed due to it being a Saturday night. So for the gin enthusiast and people who like very good food in a bar, the Jolly Botanist is a fine venue."
Pizza Bread
