by Suzette Smith • Apr 8, 2021 at 10:00 am
Poke Nachos from Botanist Suzette Smith
Last summer, subterranean bar Botanist moved into a large, open-air rooftop space, formerly the home of On Deck Sports Grill. Botanist s owners Robbie Wilson and Matt Davidson envisioned it could be an open air food hall where they would provide their perfect, gin-focused cocktails and guests could choose from a variety of cuisines.
The first person they brought into the endeavor was chef Pablo Portilla, who had been working at Mi Mero Mole, but a decade before that ran a Cuban food cart called Havana Cafe. The partnership took off almost immediately and Botanist / Havana Cafe became known as an oasis of distanced tables, twinkling overhead lights, and delicious dishes that ran a gamut from garlicky Cubano pork sandwiches to crisp beet ceviche, and, of course, the much discussed Poke Nachos.