The Botanist occupies a former Victorian conservatory on Sloane Square — a glass-and-iron structure built in 1924 that has become one of the most atmospheric bar rooms in London. The interior is greenhouse logic applied to a drinking establishment: tropical plants overhead, a Victorian tile floor, the bar positioned where the potting bench would have been, a mezzanine gallery around the perimeter. It operates as both a cocktail bar and a restaurant; the time to experience the space correctly is a Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon in October, before the evening crowd arrives, when the light through the glass comes in horizontally and the plants are at their most legible. The Aperol Spritz here is served correctly, which is not the same as everywhere.
Chelsea, London, United Kingdom