The Botanist on Ipswich Cornhill offers cosy atmosphere with Instagrammable bar and restaurant

Since opening in the spring, the Botanist in the old post office building in Ipswich, has become a go-to destination for drinkers and diners in the town.

So on a damp, cold, winter evening I met up with a friend to see what the Botanist, which has locations dotted around England, has to offer.

Having heard mixed reviews, I headed to their only venue in Suffolk with an open mind.

Ipswich Cornhill is certainly looking festive right now and, as we headed inside, the Botanist also had a festive glow.

For a Thursday night, the bar and restaurant were absolutely packed with Christmas meals and both the bar (downstairs) and restaurant (upstairs) looked beautiful.

On arrival we were swiftly greeted by a friendly waitress who found our booking and took us to our seat, then diligently checked if we had any allergies.

As we were on a bit of pre-Christmas budget we opted for cocktails instead of starters, unfortunately they were the non-alcoholic variety as we were both driving.

However, as mocktails go, the Botanist's Mountain Blossom Martini, ticked all the boxes: it looked pretty and had a fruity and refreshing taste.

We did of course eye up the 'proper' drinks menu which included some tempting winter specials.

But then it was time to think about food, where there were once again Christmas options available, including pigs in blankets and a turkey kebab, with all the festive trimmings.

I am not a fan of pies, but my friend went for the wintry sounding Steak, Stout and Stilton pie with chunky chips and mushy peas.

After deliberating over ordering the pie for a while, she was very happy with her choice and even as an anti-pie eater, I had to admit it looked liked the perfect dish for a winter evening.

The Botanist claims to be famous for its hanging kebabs so in the name of research I went for the lamb kofta - and photographed it badly.

The portion sizes for the main meals were decent and we both pretty full afterwards.

Despite the service being ever-so-slightly on the slow side my meal was piping hot and all the waitresses were polite, friendly and helpful throughout the evening.

Obviously we forced ourselves to have a dessert, to share, as we didn't think we would be able to manage one each.

Billed as one of the highlights of the Botanist's dessert menu was the build your own cookie dough.

Essentially there is absolutely no 'building' involved, you simply pick what what you want on top of your dough - we went for Oreo.

Again the portion size was generous and and it was the ideal, warming dessert for a winter evening.

Our meal: two mocktails (£5.95 each), two mains and one dessert came to a total cost of £53.74. However, we were working on a budget.

Undoubtedly our total would have been significantly higher if we had opted for the 'proper' cocktails which tend to range between the £8 to £9 mark.

Starters cost an average of £7 and most main courses cost around £14, desserts range from £4.95 for ice cream to £7.50 for the cookie dough.

The Botanist remained busy throughout the evening and as we ate we were entertained by a musician playing in the bar downstairs.

This only added to the cosy, Christmassy atmosphere of the town centre venue.