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Botanica

4.6 (62 reviews)
Closed • 4:00 pm - 9:00 PM
Updated 2 months ago

BOTANICA · YELP ASSISTANT

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Botanica Photos

BOTANICA ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Classy
Outdoor seating

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Recommended Reviews - Botanica

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some fancy gin drink
Leslie C.

Made a reservation here and i'm so glad that i did!! This is a fabulous restaurant and gin bar with a romantic atmosphere and fabulous service and food. i ordered the steak frites and a side salad instead of the fries. The steak was cooked perfectly and the sauce was so tasty. My daughter got the fries and they were crispy and salty. So good!!!!

The cocktails are always beautiful and delicious
Michael R.

Botanica is one of Portsmouth's best dining experiences. This is a super small restaurant, with a few nice tables outside during the warmer weather. The food swings French here and while there are many Gin based cocktails, there are cocktails and wine for everybody. Service is prompt, friendly and efficient. You should absolutely have a reservation here, since the dining room is so small. The bar gets busy as well. The menu offers some small bites ( the fries are delicious), appetizers as well as standard size dishes. I recommend ordering the chocolate souffle when you place your order, as it takes 25 minutes to prepare. Chef Brendan is talented and turns out so many great dishes, but if Coq Au Vin or Duck Confit are on the menu, I just can't resist. Located in Portsmouth's west end, the bonus is plenty of parking in their parking lot. If you haven't been here, just do it!

Agnolotti
Tricia P.

This was a wonderful food experience. Everything was prepared perfectly and had amazing flavor. My favorite was probably the Agnolotti. The flavors were light but perfectly matched. The steak frites were very good. I'm not a huge fan of that cut of meat but they prepared it so well I thoroughly enjoyed it. My husband had the cod and I tried a bite. The fish was tender and not overly fishy. They broth it was served in bad incredible flavor. The chocolate soufflé was very good but probably my least favorite part of the meal. I've just had some amazing soufflés in the past. This was above average but didn't blow me away. We will definitely be back and can't wait to try their other meals!

Soufflé
Summer C.

We were craving French food after watching so much of the Olympics so I searched for French food on Yelp and was recommended this little gem, and I am so glad because we never would have heard of it otherwise! It's a cozy little place with limited seating so reservations are a must. The service was excellent and the food was unbelievable. I had the steak frites and my husband had the duck. Both were superb and we hadn't even finished before we were planning our next visit. The cocktails were fantastic as well, and the soufflé at the end is a must. That's the only thing I thought to take a photo of, but the entire meal was picture perfect. We can't wait to return!

a glass of orange peel on a table

AMAZING! Service was incredible... they were as warm and cozy as the ambience. Food was fantastic and cocktails were delicious! Hubby and I sat at a cozy table and celebrated his retirement. Will definitely recommend! Thanks for an awesome time!

Different kind of cola
Peter T.

I wanted to try something new as I wasn't feeling burgers or bar food that is common in this area. I decided to come here and basically got lost for about 10 minutes circling the area trying to look for the restaurant. It is located in a private office building with a parking lot with lots of signs warning that it is a private lot and violators would be towed. After parking I didn't know which entrance to use so I entered from their outdoor dining area. I took a seat at the bar and was greeted by the bartender with the menu and asked what I wanted to drink. I ordered a Coke but they had a Maine branded Mexican Cola in a bottle. I didn't really care for it although it did have a deeper flavor than a coke does. The bartender was very busy making all kinds of different drinks. As I looked around the restaurant, I felt quite out of place. It felt like the restaurant's normal clientele were real estate agents, higher end business people, and wealthy people. But I was mainly there for the food. I ordered three items, 3 swell raw oysters (should have ordered more), the pork belly appetizer, and the duck confit for my main Entree. All of the dishes were delicious and once I ordered, the food came out very quickly. The flavors of the dishes were light and subtle but were definitely good. I was still hungry after I ate my dishes and I started thinking that I probably should have ordered the dessert souffle but had to be ordered 25 minutes prior so I just paid my bill and was on my way. Overall, I really liked the food, atmosphere, and the service. I also paid less than I thought I would be paying which is always a good thing. I will definitely be back if I am craving something different in Portsmouth.

Duck Confit with Fries

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2 months ago

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8 months ago

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

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1 year ago

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1 year ago

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2 years ago

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10 months ago

Great service, best martini ever, great meal. Nice setting. We will be back. Thanks Botanica.

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4 years ago

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4 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

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1 year ago

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4 years ago

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2 years ago

Love the quaint ambiance and food was excellent. Service was attentive and kept us to our 2 hour minimum at the table.

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2 years ago

Everything was excellent. Service, food, ambiance. A little off the beaten path, but well worth seeking out.

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3 years ago

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1 year ago

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3 years ago

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7 years ago

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2 years ago

An amazing place! Great cocktails, delicious food and cool vibe. It's my wife and my favorite restaurant in Portsmouth.

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7 years ago

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4 years ago

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2 years ago

Best meal I've had in NH! Everything we ate was well thought out and delicious. Don't sleep on dessert.

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6 years ago

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3 years ago

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4 years ago

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6 years ago

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3 years ago

Perfection. Great drinks & food. Everything was unique and yummy. Would recommend coming here even if you don't love gin

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7 years ago

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7 years ago

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3 years ago

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6 years ago

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6 years ago

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5 years ago

Very nice experience. Wine is excellent, entrees are well done but are really small. Oysters are really good, I would recommend this place.

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Ask the Community - Botanica

Are reservations accepted / needed?

Accepted, yes, by phone only. Not required, but they might be needed on the weekends. It is a small restaurant with seating for about 30 people (my estimate.) Looks like Botanica will participate in Restaurant Week, too.… 

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People searched for French 1,259 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

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Cure - Espresso stout braised short ribs

Cure

4.5(739 reviews)
0.8 mi
•$$$

Many thanks to Yelp for helping us locate a fabulous place for our last evening in Portsmouth…read morebefore heading back to California. I love the vibe. It's pretty chill and classy at the same time. Our server dazzled us with his smile. We had a cocktail that we enjoyed very much. The mushroom melange on the grilled baguette was to die for. My friend and I shared the fried green tomatoes and they were perfection. My friend was quite pleased with her crab cakes that were cooked at the right amount of crispiness. I certainly will return when I visit Portsmouth again!

This was one of the best meals I've had in a while. The food, the service, and the ambiance were…read moreall excellent! It was our first time here. I loved the menu from the first look. A great selection of seafood apps, and a variety of meat options in the entree section (steak, chicken, lamb, short rib, duck) and a couple of vegetarian items. Something for everyone. It was a Tuesday night and pouring rain. We arrived without a reservation. It was very busy. The bar and restaurant were full. There were two side bar seats available which we happily took while we waited for a table. We had a delicious cosmo and a glass of prosecco while we waited. The server let us know our table was ready, and we did not need to settle our bar tab before going to the table. I love that! I find it inconvenient when restaurants ask people to do that. The server even took our sopping umbrellas and put them in the umbrella stand by the door for us. So nice! We tried 2 appetizers, the Caribbean Curry Mussels and the Seared Ahi Tuna. I can't decide which one I loved more. Both were fantastic. The broth the mussels were in was so flavorful, rich, salty, not spicy, coconut deliciousness. I wanted to eat it all like a soup. There was no bread served with the mussels to soak up the broth...which I would have loved, but not having it did save me some carbs. The seared tuna was absolute perfection. Very slightly seared and served with a well dressed seaweed salad and two sauces (coulis style ) a charred jalapeño aioli and a mango coulis. For dinner we shared the arugula salad with strawberries and goat cheese (although there was very little goat cheese) in a delicious poppy seed vinaigrette, and the miso Marinaded seared salmon with sticky rice and mango salsa. The salmon was fantastic...perfectly cooked, very flavorful, the sticky rice was so delicious and chewy, and the mango salsa added sweetness. I love that they split the salad into two dishes for us. I love when restaurants do this. It's a nice touch to acknowledge the server was listening the we intend to share, and to make it easier for us to do so. And we shared a bottle of Pinot Grigio. I will be back!

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Korean BBQ Pork Belly

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Cava - Basque-style cheesecake

Cava

4.3(431 reviews)
0.9 mi
•$$$

This little restaurant was a fantastic find on our visit to Portsmouth. It was tucked away along a…read morelittle alley and had seating outside, which was perfect because we had two dogs with us. They were very dog friendly. We had the set menu, which was four courses of small plates, and it was perfect. The food was excellent.Well prepared and delicious.. The staff were very friendly, as was the owner. I also had a whiskey and cider based cocktail, which was delicious. I would wholeheartedly recommend this wonderful restaurant for anyone in the Portsmouth New Hampshire area.

I honestly am not sure where to start and end with my wife and l anniversary dinner at Cava this…read moreevening. My wife and I have close to or more than 1000 dining experiences in our time together. If Cava wasn't the best overall, it was an extremely close second. Our server Dan was awesome from start to finish. On point, Attentive, professional, and exceeded expectations on every level. Cava is a very intimate dining experience with a warm comfortable indoor and outdoor seating option. It is also very practical as a stop before going to the Music Hall, an important date or like us an anniversary. Cava is unlike many of the places we have visited over the years in the food category. Every course was exceptionally prepared, thoroughly thought out and professionally executed with excellent plating. I won't go into detail on every dish but suffice it to say there was enjoyment with every mouthful of every course. I ordered: Espresso Martini An Italian Pinot Grigio (with dinner) We shared the charcuterie plate First course - Mussels Second Course - Italian Meatball dish Third Course - Braised Flank Steak Fourth Course - Torte My wife ordered: A wonderful Rum with blackberry cocktail An Italian Pinot Grigio(with dinner) First Course- Warm Potato Soup Second Course- Stuffed and wrapped dates Third Course- Shrimp with Polenta Fourth Course- Blueberry Cheesecake

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Cava - Lower level bar

Lower level bar

Cava - Stuffed Dates and Stuffed Peppers.

Stuffed Dates and Stuffed Peppers.

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Louie's - portsmouth restaurant wine craft cocktails pasta boston portland kittery sommelier james beard italian charcuterie cheese west end best chef

Louie's

4.8(15 reviews)
0.2 mi

Great atmosphere, great food, great cocktails but the prices were far too steep for what you're…read moregetting. To clarify, the cocktail prices and entree prices were fair. Do NOT order the charcuterie. $9 for a single slice of cheese (some varieties of which you could purchase at market basket) or for a single piece of prosciutto. Absolutely absurd. And charging for bread and butter is kind of....different. Additionally, and not unimportantly, the music they were playing was so loud it made it difficult to hear people at our own table. And the air conditioner made the room extremely cold. Overall, could have been a better experience for the prices we paid (about $500 with tip for 4 people).

I love discovering restaurants that support local farmers and butchers and make everything from…read morescratch. You can truly taste the difference, especially in the fresh homemade pasta. The atmosphere is warm, inviting, and perfect for a relaxing meal. We ordered three appetizer-sized pasta dishes so we could try a variety, and every one of them was outstanding. Our favorite was the clam pasta with its bright, citrusy sauce--it was absolutely delicious. The lamb stew parppadelle was flavorful, although a little saltier than we prefer. We finished with dessert, and they were just as impressive as the rest of the meal. I'm so glad we discovered this gem during our visit to Portsmouth. It's exactly the kind of restaurant we love and one I'd happily return to.

Photos
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Louie's - Lamb, flank steak and smashed potatoes

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Botanica - french - Updated November 2026

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