The café at the Masterworks Museum in the Botanical Gardens in Paget has reopened after four years of closure.

It is now called The Botanist and the menu includes everything from trendy cocktails with garnishes grown on nearby park grounds, to flatbreads, salads, croissants and other items.

“One of our most popular flatbreads has pear, walnut, honey and Stilton,” said Peter Kyle, who founded the café with foodie friends Stuart Brown and Henric Ehrenblad.

The trio first looked at the space at Masterworks two years ago.

“We chatted about how we could make a difference and have some fun,” Mr Ehrenblad said.

“We talked about what we could do to offer a better hospitality experience. Here it is.”

Mr Brown said like any new business owners, they thought things would go faster, but there was always something that took longer than expected.

Part of the delay in opening revolved around a long process of tweaking their ideas for the café.

“After many conversations we started getting into it,” Mr Brown said. “It is a small space so we had to get creative.”

They now service customers directly outside Masterwork’s front door, in the restaurant and out back in the rose garden.

The garden, which technically belongs to nearby Camden, had fallen into neglect in recent years, but the Department of Parks, and the Bermuda Rose Society have nursed it back to health.

Since opening in February, The Botanist has been popular.

“It has become the go-to place to escape the hustle and bustle of Hamilton,” Mr Kyle said. “At lunch the rose garden gets quite packed.”

Saturdays are their busiest day.

“That would be double a normal day,” Mr Kyle said.

So far, the clientele has been 90 per cent local, but with the tourist season heating up, they are seeing more tourists who have come in to see the Masterworks Museum.

The Botanist has the added attraction of being dog-friendly.

The founders each bring their own experiences into the mix.

“My background is in internet start-ups and technology,” Mr Ehrenblad said. “I am very design focused. I love cooking, but not on a commercial level. I know my limitations.”

Mr Brown is a former chef, having once cooked for the Savoy Hotel in London, where he also worked as a sommelier.

“In Bermuda, I cooked for the Old Carriage House Restaurant in St George, and also the St George’s Club,” he said.

Mr Kyle worked for more than 20 years in hotels and restaurants as a manager.

“We all grew up dreaming of starting a bar, café or restaurant,” Mr Ehrenblad said.

When they took over the café, they installed a new bar and bought new furniture for the restaurant. They also repainted the walls.

“It felt natural to have The Botanist as a name, because we had all those pro gardeners dealing with the plants outside,” Mr Brown said.

They are open Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8am to 4pm and on Thursdays and Fridays from 8am until 8pm.

“As the summer picks up, we are going to extend our hours much more until 8pm,” Mr Brown said. “We have summer students coming on board to provide the staff.”

They also provide catering and cocktails for Masterworks’ events.