9 of the best Sunday roasts in London
It’s the weekend, it’s Sunday and you’re in London. That means one thing… a good old Sunday roast with all the trimmings.
Hixter Bankside
Sunday lunch is one of Britain’s tastiest traditions and London is brimming with pubs, gastropubs and restaurants serving up the finest Sunday fare, from olde-worlde pubs to decadent dining rooms and achingly cool contemporary gastropubs. Book a table at any of these Sunday lunch spots across town, and your tastebuds will not be disappointed. Just make sure you book in advance and arrive on an empty stomach…
Hixter Bankside, Southwark
Mark Hix’s Hixter Bankside specializes in meat every day of the week (chicken and steak to be precise), with Sunday celebrating the beauty of the roast. The choice of half chicken complete with stuffing or a generous slab of sirloin steak, are both served Sunday style with fluffy roast potatoes, hefty Yorkshire puddings, vegetables, jugs of hot gravy and a cool side of live music from 1pm. (Brunch is also available and kids eat free)
The Harwood Arms, Fulham
Michelin-starred roasts are hard to come by, in fact, The Harwood Arms, tucked down a quiet side street in Fulham, is London’s only Michelin starred pub. As you would expect, all aspects of their hearty and contemporary roasts and mains are top notch, cooked to perfection and scrumptiously generous in size. As well as the more traditional roast meats, they also specialise in game and wild food, so expect roast Yorkshire grouse and foraged field mushrooms as well as classics including roast rump of beef with bone marrow and roast T-bone of Tamworth pork. Book in advance and don’t forget to leave room for pudding. (Other dishes available)
The Truscott Arms, Maida Vale
If there is a group of you looking for a Sunday lunch with a difference, book a table at The Truscott Arms gastropub in Maida Vale. Not only are their roasts some of the best in the city (think juicy meat, crisp yet fluffy roast potatoes and superb seasonal veg all doused in gorgeous gravy) but it all comes served sharing style, on a large board to plate up yourselves. With roast meat this good, you can delve into a bit of everything. Happy Sunday. (Other dishes are also available as well as a gluten-free menu)
Old Red Cow, Barbican
Source: Facebook/Old Red Cow
If you like to wash your Sunday lunch down with a good beer or two, then the Old Red Cow near Smithfield Market is the choice for you. But what they offer in beer (12 changing kegs and bottles galore) they do not lack in the culinary department and their meats, the star of the show. With prime cuts such as pork belly and shoulder of lamb sourced from the market across the road, cooked beautifully and accompanied by delicious seasonal vegetables, their roasts are as much of a pull as the beer. (Other dishes available)
The Duke of Wellington, Marylebone
The Duke of Wellington is a good old pub in the centre of the city but which boasts a cool contemporary, yet classic interior and roasts to rival the rest and best of London. ‘Paddock farm’ pork complete with pork leg and pulled shoulder, beautifully slowed cooked ‘Paddock farm’ lamb and oh so tender beef, are topped off with moreish duck fat roast potatoes, vegetables and homemade sauces and condiments. (Other dishes available)
Roast, Borough
For a more formal approach to your Sunday roast (and a great spot for people watching) the aptly named Roast perched above Borough Market is a firm favourite. Roast is a restaurant, not a pub, but nevertheless its ‘deliciously British’ jam-packed roasts are bursting with flavour, quality and every detail is perfectly cooked. The beef dripping roasties, Yorkshires and thinly sliced rare sirloin of beef come highly recommended, as do the classic British comfort puddings (Other dishes available)
Galvin La Chapelle, Spitalfields
Sundays and jazz go together as fittingly as beef and horseradish, and Galvin La Chapelle’s Jazz Sundays are ideal for a chic and sophisticated Sunday lunch gathering. Escape the crowds of Spitalfields Market and sit back and take in the gorgeous high vaulted ceilings and decedent interiors, the mellow sounds of The Ray Rich Band and tuck into a roast rump of Cumbrian beef and trimmings or the restaurant’s acclaimed fine French fare as part of a three course set menu. (Other dishes available)
The Bull & Last, Highgate
Hidden away in leafy Highgate, The Bull & Last offers the perfect blend of rustic traditional pub with refined dining and is a member of the gastropub clan. If you’re feeling hungry, there is an array of delicious classic and contemporary starters, as well as yummy puds and homemade ice cream to finish; but it is their top quality meat the locals flock here for. Currently roast English pork belly and crackling and North Essex Shorthorn roast sirloin of beef are on the menu, and there’s a great beer selection too. (Other dishes available)
Dean Street Townhouse, Soho
The menu may be simple, a two or three course set menu, with a choice of Hereford beef of Banham chicken for the main, (both served with roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese and seasonal vegetables), but simple does not mean any less attention to detail. The beautiful aristocratic setting of this Georgian townhouse restaurant in the heart of Soho is the perfect backdrop to Dean Street Townhouse’s sublime but fuss free Sunday fare.
