I had the most relaxed meal at a luxury Sussex spa – the views are stunning

Luckily, if you have a meal at the gorgeous Botanica restaurant at South Lodge then you’re winning on both fronts. Not only is the food incredible, the attentive service, calming ambiance and stunning natural décor work in harmony to make dining here one of the most relaxing meals I’ve ever had.

Botanica, based at this West Sussex luxury country house hotel and spa near Horsham, champions a low-waste ethos. It has recently earned a three-star accreditation from the Sustainable Restaurant Association.

Nestled in the South Downs, overlooking South Lodge’s newly planted vineyard and its stunning parkland, Botanica brings the outside in with lots of wood, a natural colour palette of greens, beiges and browns and plants everywhere. It’s open plan, with an open kitchen, but rather than this heightening the noise, here it somehow serves to bring a tranquillity over the whole space.

Botanica is a Mediterranean-inspired dairy-free restaurant where head chef Jonathan Spiers focuses on locally sourced, seasonal ingredients with an emphasis on plant-based options. He has created a menu that creates bold, delicious flavours from ingredients that would normally go to waste.

As someone who often chooses vegetarian and vegan options from menus, this was music to my ears. We were seated by the huge windows overlooking the countryside, and quickly had a drink in hand. For me, a crisp glass of Pinot Gris from a local vineyard at Stopham, West Sussex, and for my husband, a Hepworth Saxon lager, also from West Sussex.

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The menu offers small and large plates, and you can either order a selection of them for the table to share, or go for the more traditional option of having a small plate as a starter and a large plate as a main.

We did the latter, and were soon sampling the lemon and leek arancini and smoked mackerel pate for our starters. Both beautifully presented, the mackerel pate really packed a flavour punch. And I loved the bright green zhoug dressing on the arancini which gave them a real kick.

We were served by the lovely Meemee, who is an absolute credit to Botanica. She gave a five-star service and was so attentive, but never made us feel rushed or uncomfortable.

For our mains we had the slow cooked pork belly, which my husband said was melt-in-the-mouth, which came with celeriac gratin which he said was divine.

More lemon for my main course with the lemon gnocchi, which was served with roasted delica pumpkin, spiced seeds and sage dressing. It was a taste sensation and brought together so many flavours to make a really well-rounded dish. Even my meat-loving husband said he’d order it.

We both had a Botanica ‘Caesar’ salad which came with kale as a side dish, which was light and fresh.

Because the meal was paced so nicely, we felt able to order a dessert. I had a ‘Dirty Cow’ iced parfait, which came with coffee caramel and speculoos crumble. If you love coffee and chocolate like me you’ll be in heaven with this one.

My husband’s sticky date tart was pretty as a picture. He loved the delicate rose flavour of the gelato it came with, and the hibiscus gel gave it the vibrant red colour.

Everything about the meal felt special. You would never know that a lot of the dishes were created using ‘waste’ products was such as vegetable peelings and leaves. Even the straws used in the drinks are made of avocado stone to reduce plastic waste.

Not only is a meal at Botanica a rejuvenating experience, it’s one that’s kind on the environment, too.

Given Botanica is located in the spa building, just down the pathway from the main hotel, we were kindly given access to use the spa facilities after our meal. It was a lovely way to continue the tone of relaxation so ably set in the restaurant. We loved the outdoor vitality hydrotherapy pool and indoor infinity edge pool with views over the grounds.

During a break from the spa, we enjoyed drinks in the lounge area of Botanica. They serve a range of signature juices and tinctures, designed with wellbeing in mind. I had the orange, carrot, ginger and pink grapefruit juice which aimed to boost my immunity. It was delicious to boot.

We also both had a Botanica shake, the cold brew shake for me and the cacao shake for my husband. Mine was just the caffeine hit I needed, and my husband said his was like a liquid Bounty bar.

A day of dining and relaxing is always good for the soul, and at Botanica they seem to have it down to a fine art. For more information and to book a table, see https://www.exclusive.co.uk/botanica/