There are a few buildings in Plymouth with more history than a plaque can hold, and The Bottling Plant is one of them. Tucked into the Barbican at 5 Southside Street, it sits in a Grade II listed building that was once the original bottling plant for Plymouth Gin, and later the art studio of Robert Lenkiewicz. It now wears several hats at once — bar, restaurant, café and cocktail lounge — and sits directly opposite The Distillery, the home of Plymouth Gin. Inside, the space is a bit of a time capsule: original stone floors, beams and metal pillars, with an eclectic mix of Edwardian, up-cycled and naval-inspired furniture and walls lined with art.
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Eating here is split into three distinct areas, so the table you end up at changes the mood. Barrels gives you a glass-topped whiskey barrel to lean over, Dining Tables is the more luxurious Chesterfield seating, and Relaxed is exactly what it says on the tin. The kitchen leans hard into the coast, with locally sourced seafood handled by classically trained chefs. A few standouts worth knowing about: pan-seared scallops with a pig cheek croquette and pea and wasabi panna cotta, Fowey mussels in a cream 'ndjua sauce, baked fillet of hake, a lamb burger, grilled bavette and oven-roasted lamb striploin. Beyond that, there are mussels, scallops, lobster, cod, swordfish and prawns, plus small plates, large plates and vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options, including a vegan curry and a vegan sharing platter.
It is not only the seafood that keeps people coming back. A traditional Devon cream tea is served daily at lunchtime, and if you want afternoon tea — traditional or savoury — you will need to book 48 hours ahead. Sandwiches run from avocado and blue cheese with caramelised onions and rocket to smoked salmon with dill cream cheese. On price, afternoon tea starts at £21.95 a head, a canapé menu at £24.50, a buffet at £25.50 and a three-course meal at £34.50, with sharing platters for two from £34.95, sandwiches from £8.50, a cake and coffee deal at £6.50, hot drinks from £3.00 and homemade cocktails from £9.50. There is also a deal on house wine when you share a platter.
That seafood focus has not gone unnoticed. The Bottling Plant holds a One Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence for 2024-2025 and was named Best Seafood Restaurant of the Year in the Southwest 2024-2025 by the Prestige Awards, alongside TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice awards for 2022 and 2023, a food hygiene rating of 5 and strong ratings on Google and Tripadvisor. It is wheelchair accessible with a Changing Places toilet, keeps high chairs on hand and is dog-friendly, with treats always available. The upstairs boardroom and private event room take baby showers, hen parties and birthdays, and the place is family-friendly, LGBTQ+ friendly and safe for trans people.
One thing to plan around is the opening hours, which shift by the day. It is closed on Sunday and Monday, opens 4pm to 11pm on Tuesday, 11am to 11pm on Wednesday and Thursday, 11am to 11.30pm on Friday and 10am to midnight on Saturday. The building also houses Luxury Barbican Apartments, with the two-bedroom Barbican Suite available by stairs only, so it is worth knowing that before you book. For everything else, a phone call to +44 1752 511511 or an email to info@thebottlingplant.co.uk should sort you out.
