Sesel Sa! January - March 2015 Jan - March 2015 | Page 47

Beautiful Botanica
Fine dining with a Creole touch

Nestled into the side of Mount St Louis lies Botanica,
a restaurant that fuses nature and modern cuisine
seamlessly. Owner and food designer Christelle
Verheyden expertly combines local flavours and tastes
with a contemporary execution. The small restaurant,
fittingly named Botanica (meaning derived from
plants), offers a unique dining experience – one so
wonderful you’ll want to return again and again.

“…unique dining
experience – one so
wonderful you’ll want
to return again and
again.”
OLD WORLD SENSATIONS
Driving off the main road into the Botanica parking
lot one is met with a vision of what an old plantation
house would have looked like. The sense of stepping
back in time is enhanced by the warm smiles of the
waitresses who come to greet you on the steps. The
building itself was refurbished so that the exterior
has kept its authenticity but the interior is exquisitely
and tastefully furnished to marry the old charm to
a modern functionality. The contrast between the
perfectly manicured lawns and the thriving forest that
surrounds the restaurant establishes a sense of “living
in nature” which makes sense when one sees the food.
THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING
Food at Botanica closely resembles works of art and
tastes like (forgive the cliché) heaven. The food is

plated with sophistication, yet is still indicative of
the Creole culture. Special touches such as the use
of a coco rouge seed shell as a bowl or pipette full
of hibiscus syrup make the dishes look even more
enticing.
The chef uses a style referred to as fusion cuisine
and thus maximises the use of local flavours, so that
innocuous flowers such as the hibiscus (which is not
generally well known for it’s flavour) are used.

JAN - MAR 2015 ISSUE NO. 6 | SESEL SA!

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