Botanica is located at Raja Bahadur City Center right in the heart of city. Confused? Even I was when I read the address. Raja Bahadur Mills, Raja Bahadur city center or RBCC for short is right next to Sheraton Grand. (Le Meridian for the typical Punekars). The Mills is rising quickly in the list of places to spend an evening in Pune pretty quickly.
The Mills is home to many fine dine restaurants and lounges like
What makes Botanica stand out? Why should you pick Botanica over the others?
The Concept of Botanica
Botanica means a shop that sells herbs, charms, and other items associated with alternative medicine or magic.
With the setup which is full of greenery, plants and flowers all around the alfresco seating and rustic-earthy setup at the inside AC setup makes it unique. Botanica differs from others in its approach towards the guests and its connection to the nature. Not only will you find yourself at peace but will count your blessings sitting inside calmly while the world around you is at chaos. The main attraction is the 360 degree rotating bar.
The Drinks at Botanica
Since it’s summer we opted for the following two drinks
- Botanica Punch : A whiskey based cocktail. Contains grapefruit syrup, lime juice and kahwa chai. Being a whiskey lover (Do not want to call myself a connoisseur) I loved it. The mixture plays well together. Not too sweet but if you’ve aquired the taste for a good scotch whiskey, you will like this one.
- Aamsutra : A Vodka based drink with aam ka murabba and inhouse ginger beer. This was thoroughly disappointing. More than sweet taste of mango it tasted tangy. Also garnished with orange slice this was totally out of place.
Aam Sutra 
Botanica Punch
Food at Botanica
- Classic Tex-Mex Nacho: These were not the regular old yellow nachos with a floor like substance sprinkled all over it. A masala version of the classic which is loaded with cheese sauce, sour cream and salsa. A generous sprinkle of fresh herbs makes it out top pick for the night. Highly Recommended
- Fat Indian Plate: We then moved to this platter which consists of Paneer Tikka, Malai Fondue and Crispy naan strips. The best part of the dish was the piquant naan. This goes really well with the pint of beer or cocktails. The paneer chunks were super soft and flavoursome.
- Veg / Chicken Dumplings: The dumplings were the best of the lot. Clear coat wrapping finely diced veggies or minced chicken was delightful. This came with a classic dip which made the experience delightful.
Desserts
The only dessert that is available was Brownie with Ice cream. The first portion we got was a disaster. The brownie was rock solid and we couldn’t even eat it. This happened because they source the brownies from outside and did not check it before serving. When we made the chef aware of this fact he was prompt enough to get it changed instantaneously. The second Brownie we were served was okay at max. Gooey brownie with vanilla ice-cream.
Conclusion
Overall while many places are fighting to get you attention as soon as you enter the mills, there is Botanica: Calm, quite, serene in a corner just not making importunate demands but deserving every bit of it.
What do you think? How much will you rate Botanica?
Disclaimer
I was invited for a complimentary food tasting event. This blog is a narrative of my experience at the event. These are my views that I have expressed. Others are most welcome to agree or disagree with the same.The blog is not personally or commercially influenced. I have not lifted, copied or plagiarised it from any source either. However, I have done my due diligence via publicly available information on the internet and as shared by the client/PR agency. All rights reserved.
