A look at The Botanist Sunderland menu as new Keel Square bar takes shape

The Botanist is well in bloom as it takes shape in Keel Square.

Sunderland's newest bar opens for walk ins from January 30, with bookings open now to make a reservation from February 5 onwards.

It follows the opening of neighbour The Keel Tavern, which has welcomed around 40,000 visitors in its first eight weeks of opening.

The award-winning Botanist brand is operated by national firm New World Trading Company and is well known for its botanical interiors, quirky cocktails, signature hanging kebabs, live music offering and venues adorned with tropical plants and foliage at sites including Newcastle, York, Manchester and more.

In the past few days, the outdoor area has been installed at the new Keel Square site, with the interior fit out well underway.

So what can Sunderland expect from the new venue? No prices as yet, but here's a look at just some of the items on the menu:

Food

Brunch: served until 1pm Friday to Sunday, it includes options such as shakshuka with chorizo, eggs benedict, avo on toast, full English and vegan full English. You can also add bottomless drinks to your food choice.

Nibbles & starters: Options include camembert, salt and pepper chicken wings, bang bang cauliflower wings, pork crackling and calamari.

Hanging kebabs: A broad choice including Thai red prawn, giant piri piri chicken, lamb kofta, crispy halloumi and vegan meatball.

Lighter dishes: Choices such as chicken Caesar salad, chicken katsu curry, vegan bang bang noodle salad, prawn linguine and roasted seabass.

Burgers: Choose from crispy chicken, grilled nduja chicken, cheeseburger and plant burger.

Classics: Options such as fish and chips and ribeye steak.

Desserts: Sweet tooths can choose from options such as affogato, Oreo cookie dough, sharing cookie dough, sticky toffee pudding and banoffe sundae.

Sunday dinner: Choose from roast chicken, roast sirloin of beef, pot roast lamb shoulder, slow roast honey glazed pork belly and celeriac, mushroom & pearl barley Wellington.

Kids: All kids meals are £7.25 and come complete with a mini salad and a dessert. Options include curly Cumberland sausage, cod bites, cheeseburger, chicken burger, kids' roasts and tomato linguini.

Drinks

Lager: Camden Hells, Asahi, SOL, Estrella, Peroni Red, Budvar and more.

IPA: Siren Lumina, Brooklyn Defender, St Austell Proper Job, Tiny Rebel Clwb Tropica and Complott.

Pale ale: Camden pale, Northern Monk Faith, Timothy Taylor's Landlord, Sierra Nevada, Leffe Blonde and more.

Cider: Thatcher's Katy, Thatcher's Rascal, Sassy Rose, Rekordling.

Wine: A wide range of white, red and sparkling

Low and no alcohol: Birra Moretti Zero, Lucky Saint, Free Damm and more.

Cocktails: Cocktails are a speciality of the brand and include options such as poppy and pink gin punch, cherry blossom Martini, passionfruit and basil crush, Hawaiin rum punch, Botanist pornstar, Botany Mary, Aperol spritz and more, as well as mocktails.

How to Book

Reservations can be made now for February onwards here.

Coming soon

Elsewhere in Keel Square, construction has also started on the nearby Culture House which faces on to Keel Square on the site of the old Corner Flag / Annabel's / Luciano's unit.

The building will house a new city centre library, as well as offering immersive exhibitions and creative space. It has also been mooted as a potential new home for the National Glass Centre collection after it was announced that the current NGC building would close.

It's set to open in 2025.

The Muddler is set to open in the third corner unit beneath The Holiday Inn, with a fourth bar also expected to be announced.

The Propellor artwork which was installed when Keel Square was regenerated but suffered vandalism - will be repaired in anticipation of the building opening, and surrounding landscaping works undertaken.