The Good Food Guide's Best Sunday Roast 2024: Top 50
London
☆ BEST GROUP DINING ☆
Canary Wharf, London
Unrivalled if you’re with a group of friends, this Canary Wharf chophouse (part of a small London group, with a Manchester outpost), is considered a ‘Sunday wonderland’ by its many fans. With ‘super-accommodating staff’ and roasts that are ‘almost as good as mum’s’ (their words), it’s a star turn. Order the ‘all in’ sharing feast, which comprises a trio of ‘succulent’ dry-aged beef rump, lamb and pork loin with gigantic yorkies, duck-fat roast potatoes and limitless gravy.
Stockwell
The Sunday lunch menu at this classic Stockwell pub is a full-on run through the kitchen’s eclectic repertoire with pride of place going to the shoulder of salt marsh lamb cooked for seven hours and served with potato gratin and greens – and built for five to share. Fans of meaty roasts might also fancy the rare Dexter beef accompanied by roast potatoes, green beans and watercress. The atmosphere’s terrific, whether you’re in the bar or dining room.
Soho
‘A brilliant and insane enterprise that has redefined the meaning of Sunday lunch in the city,’ the all-conquering Devonshire gets every detail just right. The beef is carved with ‘so much care’ from a silver domed trolley, the accompanying vegetables are rich and flavourful, and it’s all brought together with a deep red-wine gravy. Spurred on by the pub’s lively vibe, you’ll be drinking Guinness to wash it all down. ‘A proper Sunday tradition’ indeed.
Kensington
Whet your appetite with a plum Bellini before tackling the excellent-value Sunday lunch at this proper neighbourhood pub close to Holland Park. Chef/owner Max de Nahlik’s provenance-driven offer is a thing of beauty: blushing roast beef rump, confit chicken leg or a seasonal veggie choice accompanied by crackling roasties, root veg and ample gravy. Otherwise, two or three can share a mighty 1kg rib of beef with all the trimmings.
☆ BEST VALUE ☆
Hackney, London
Part of a community brewery project, chef Elliot Cunningham’s Lagom is famous for its aptly dubbed ‘hangover bowl’ Sunday lunch – an ‘insanely delicious’ and incredibly cheap family feast cooked over a wood fire. Offcuts of beef, chicken and pork are piled high on a bowl of roast potatoes and veg, then topped with a Yorkshire pudding and ample brisket gravy – all for £12. Every detail is spot-on – all that’s needed is a house-brewed craft beer to wash it down.
Highgate
From pies and pints to booked-up family lunches, ‘all the best bits of the classic British pub’ are on show at this handsomely appointed Highgate hostelry. On Sundays, prime cuts of 35-day, dry-aged Aberdeen Angus beef are the stars (including côte de boeuf for sharing), otherwise opt for half a Devon white chicken or a slab of Jimmy Butler’s slow-cooked pork belly. Vegetarians always have something seasonal, perhaps a vegetable and chestnut roast with onion gravy.
South West England
Bristol
It’s all about the smoky thrills of open-fire cooking at this cool, independent diner. Sunday roasts get the treatment too, and the kitchen comes up with experimental flavours while staying with the traditional lunch theme. Expect anything from ‘fire-kissed’ smoked short rib with wasabi mustard to Middle White pork belly with black garlic and miso, plus a host of sides served on separate dishes: everyone raves about the garlicky potatoes and the charred cauliflower. ‘Fabulous’ cocktails too.
Tavistock, Devon
Traditionalists rave about the roast sirloin of beef with slow-cooked brisket, others dote over the best end of Saddleback pork with maple-smoked pork belly, but everyone agrees that the Sunday lunch served at this refurbished town-centre pub is ‘hearty, tasty, plentiful and simply delicious’ – especially when it comes ‘slathered with red wine jus’. Local produce is treated with due respect and more than a touch of deft creativity, while service is simply outstanding in every department.
Lydford, Devon
After a bracing walk on Dartmoor, what could be more inviting than taking refuge in this smartly renovated 16th-century inn for a slap-up Sunday roast. It’s a warm, family-run, dog-friendly place with a warren of dining rooms where the dry-aged beef sirloin comes with exceptional gravy and ‘the best cauliflower cheese around’. There’s praise for the pork loin with a slab of slow-roast pork belly and a cider apple, the nut-roast had been described as ‘the best’, and everyone agrees the sticky toffee pudding is a great way to round things off.
Salisbury, Wiltshire
A 19th-century village inn turned ambitious rural getaway, the smartly turned-out Great Bustard is a fine choice for a seriously good Sunday lunch – especially as all the meat for the roasts is cooked overnight ‘to medium-rare’. The main contenders are lamb from the Great Durnford Estate, Springbottom beef and herb-roasted chicken, all served with local trimmings including spiced creamed kale and red wine sauce. Readers recommend a bottle of the Otarda house red on the side.
Bodmin, Cornwall
Aiming to cover as many of the requirements of a village hostelry as possible, when it comes to food, this solid, stone-built, thick-walled, and very real pub puts its faith in carefully sourced Cornish produce. It plays a starring role at Sunday lunch: a ‘consistently great combination of flavours’ – thick slices of apple-smoked beef sirloin or rare-breed pork belly, plus terrific accompaniments ranging from potatoes roasted with garlic and thyme to seasonal pleasures such as local greens, crushed celeriac and braised red cabbage.
South Pool, Devon
Chef Tom Westerland conjures up ‘absolute perfection’, when it comes to roasts at this beautiful and beautifully located pub within the deep folds of the South Hams. The meat is organically reared on the family farm: superb rare-breed beef, lovely slow-cooked hogget, or a huge portion of pork and crackling, accompanied by brilliant Yorkshire pudding and ‘cauliflower cheese to die for’. It’s dog friendly too, and there’s live music later in the afternoon on Sundays, too.
Little Somerford, Wiltshire
‘Quality’ is the watchword at this family-run free house at the foot of the Cotswolds. The owners get most of their produce from farms and growers in Wiltshire and Cornwall, and you can taste the results by sampling their excellent-value Sunday lunch. Here you’ll find ‘exceptional’ Aberdeen/Hereford beef sirloin, loin of pork and more besides, all served with big bowls of vegetables for the table (‘enough to share without being wasteful’). ‘Wonderful flavours, awesome service,’ chimes one fan.
South East England
West Hoathly, West Sussex
There’s a lot of local love for this well-tended, 16th-century inn on a Sussex hilltop, although one reader regularly travels down from Hertfordshire for the Sunday roast. Three dominate the menu and they couldn’t be more traditional: aged sirloin of beef with horseradish sauce, Orchard Farm pork belly with ‘sizzling crackling’ and apple sauce, chicken breast and crispy leg with caramelised bread sauce. In short, ‘Sunday lunch perfection’.
Hambledon, Surrey
Two young chefs have revitalized this historic 16th-century hostelry in the Surrey Hills, bringing a taste of sustainable farm-to-fork cooking to the table. Sunday means a choice of ‘impeccable’ roast platters, piled high and designed for two to share. Choose Oxford Sandy pork collar reared on the nearby family farm or Sussex/wagyu beef sirloin – both served with bubble ‘n’ squeak croquettes, duck-fat roasted veg and assorted homemade condiments, plus a proper gravy to pull it all together.
Rye, East Sussex
‘Leaps and bounds better than anywhere else in the area,’ is one verdict on the Sunday roasts served at this amicable country pub three miles from Rye. Top-notch local and seasonal ingredients dominate, from headliners such as leg of Winchelsea lamb or aged Castle Farm beef sirloin with horseradish hollandaise to bowls of cauliflower cheese made using regional cheeses such as Sussex Charmer and Twineham Grange. Plenty of effort also goes into the veggie alternatives.
Shiplake, Oxfordshire
‘It’s simple, not overstated, and exactly what we love,’ commented one reader about the Sunday roasts on offer at this rejuvenated village hostelry. Yes, it’s emphatically traditional stuff but there are always some neat touches to give the food ‘a little extra flavour’. Two meaty choices (say, beef striploin and pork loin) are served with beef-fat potatoes and Yorkshire pudding, cauliflower cheese and buttered seasonal greens – ‘nothing more, nothing less’. Top-notch hospitality and ‘fabulous service’ too.
Mickleham, Surrey
With an idyllic cosy country feel, The Running Horses has been trading as a quintessentially traditional pub for more than four centuries. Readers confirm that its Sunday lunch passes the popular acid test – ‘better than I can cook at home’. Three roasts (corn-fed chicken, beef sirloin and herb-flecked pork belly) are served generously with ‘epic Yorkshires’ and plenty of trimmings – but the ‘carefully curated’ cauliflower cheese is the outright winner. Prices aren’t greedy and service gets full marks.
Fyfield, Oxfordshire
There’s little doubt about the main draw at this handsome 15th-century hostelry. The venerable dining room with its high beamed ceiling, stone fireplace and heavy wooden furniture is an impressive reminder of Olde England – the perfect place to hunker down for a classic Sunday lunch. Whether dry-aged beef sirloin or 12-hour slow-cooked Kelmscott pork belly with cider jus – all are served with real ‘pride and enthusiasm’. The kitchen does a good line in proper puddings (including the most ‘heavenly’ sticky toffee), and kids have their own little roasts.
Central England
Ilmington, Warwickshire
Built during Shakespeare’s time and standing by the village green, this ‘stunning’ Cotswold hostelry is a popular destination for a Sunday roast. The dry-aged Aberdeen Angus sirloin is ‘absolute perfection’, but there’s no arguing with the pork loin (from Paddock Farm in Lower Brailes) or the corn-fed chicken breast with stuffing and bread sauce. There are plentiful vegetables too (‘some I’ve never seen before,’ noted one) and extra gravy is always offered. Children and vegetarians are well served, too.
Hereford, Herefordshire
Imbued with the farming heritage of Herefordshire, and with a cosy vibe, warm service and ‘fantastic’ wine list’, you can see the appeal of this 16th-century coaching inn. When it comes to roasts, things are kept totally traditional. What you get is ‘perfectly aged’ roast sirloin of beef or leg of lamb, both with Yorkshire pudding, seasonal vegetables and ‘divine’ red-wine gravy; there’s a good nut roast too. ‘Every element is reliably spot on; comforting, indulgent and absolutely delicious.’
Stourbridge, West Midlands
Overlooking the Stourbridge Canal, this ‘lovely old-fashioned pub’ has a terrific family feel, especially on Sundays when its three-course roast menu is in full swing. The kitchen buys locally, so look out for topside of beef and pork belly from Dave Withers (a Midlands butcher with a fifth-generation family farm), as well as Cotswold chicken – all cooked to a T and heartily presented at a very fair price. Bonus points for the ‘excellent service and exceptional wine selection’.
Clipsham, Rutland
An early adopter of local sourcing, this pub success story ‘delivers on every level’ when it comes to Sunday lunch. The quality is outstanding from the red cabbage under the Yorkshire pudding through to the fluffy, crispy roast potatoes. Best value is the set deal, which offers 28-day beef sirloin or roast pork loin with ‘a full house of veggies’ bookended by, say, sweetcorn velouté and tonka-bean panna cotta. ‘Very homely and very relaxing.’
Hayfield, Derbyshire
‘A lovely place to unwind on a Sunday afternoon after a trek up Lantern Pike,’ this stylishly rustic and warmly welcoming pub is a local charmer. All the Sunday roast trimmings come as standard, whether you’re ordering the melting beef sirloin, the braised lamb shoulder, the venison loin or even the veggie option (carrot, tenderstem broccoli and Tunworth tart, say). Everything is thoughtfully prepared, full of flavour and of the highest quality, and the kitchen runs proudly with the seasons.
Wolverhampton, West Midlands
In 2018, the owners of Robinsons Butchers had the bright idea of putting a few seats in their shop, so they could cook and serve their excellent wares to customers wanting a sit-down meal. Seats (the bistro) now has its own identity, parading its prime cuts for a ‘belting’ Sunday lunch that might feature roast topside with a ‘phenomenal’ beef croquette or slow-cooked and pressed lamb shoulder, followed by a calorific nursery pud. Generous helpings, ‘awesome value’.
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Founded in 2023, this stylish newcomer to the Lincoln scene is part bar, part restaurant, with an all-inclusive food offering that includes a ‘highly flavoursome’ Sunday lunch. The stars of the show are locally sourced beef rump and pork collar, both served with a harvest festival of seasonal vegetables, lusciously creamy cauliflower cheese and a rich gravy laced with red wine. There’s praise for the spot-on wine pairings, and everyone applauds the ‘next-level' service.
East of England
Rattlesden, Suffolk
‘A really well-balanced and contemporary roast focusing on taste,’ was one reader’s thoughts after Sunday lunch at this gem of pub. Ingredients are top-drawer, flavours are emphatically fresh and presentation is perfect, whether you choose the beef sirloin with Yorkshire pudding and shallots, the pork belly paired with ham hock and apple or the lamb shoulder with cauliflower cheese (a sharing treat). Just add a ‘friendly welcome and unrivalled attention by the front-of-house team’.
Thorpe Market, Norfolk
With its mighty Elk Room fire, where cuts of beef and pork are dramatically cooked to order, this art-filled pub-restaurant on the fringes of a 1,000-acre deer park really comes into its own for Sunday lunch. There are whole roasted chickens, too, carved at table and served with excellent goose-fat potatoes, vegetables from the walled garden (including bunched carrots with chervil), garlicky bread sauce and stuffing balls – plus a spectacular gravy that elevates the ‘superbly flavoured’ spread to another level.
Burnham Market, Norfolk
Cool, urbane and confident, Socius makes the perfect Norfolk coast setting for a ‘joyous’ family-style Sunday lunch. Aged beef and roast chicken are the main options joined, perhaps by a sharing special of roast pork belly with pork and bacon terrine and pulled pork. Sides ‘with a Socius twist’ deserve a special mention (creamed parsnips topped with crispy onions, say). And there’s even a ‘doggy roast dinner’ for your furry friend.
Felmersham, Bedfordshire
Deep in rural Bedfordshire, close to the Great Ouse, this family-run village pub makes much of its local farming connections – especially when it comes to seasonal produce for its Sunday lunch. This is ‘field to fork’ in action, with ‘fabulous flavours and textures’ in abundance – from joints of home-reared Middle White pork and beef fillet to vegetables, horseradish cream, homemade stuffing and gravy. There are intriguing vegetable options too. In short, ‘great cooking delivered with aplomb.’
Bromeswell, Suffolk
There’s a touch of elegant sophistication about the Sunday roasts served with consummate style at this smart, art-filled Suffolk pub. The meat is locally sourced and always ‘exceptionally cooked’, the trimmings are ‘dressed up to make them special’ and the overall presentation is simply ‘stunning’. Roast pork loin with crackling and apple sauce gets an unequivocal thumbs-up, but for a real treat, share the 50-day aged rib of Hereford beef doused with bone-marrow gravy.
North West England
Sedbergh, Cumbria
Meat sourced from local herds is the USP for a leisurely Sunday lunch at this revamped coaching inn. Star attractions are Hereford beef and Herdwick lamb from High House Farm in the Howgill Fells (served with treacle carrots, kale, roasties and Yorkshire pudding). The fiels to fork roasts also take in White Galloway beef tomahawk or rump to share, and are a little bit different from your average pub offering. The kitchen treats everything with due love and care.
Marple Bridge, Greater Manchester
‘Sophisticated yet comforting’ is the verdict on the elevated Sunday deal at this bottle shop and bistro in one of Stockport’s more comely corners. Fire-roasting is Fold’s USP, and the flames lick around everything from aged beef bavettes with ‘Yorkie bits’ and smoked salt to porchetta with Manchester ale, fennel and Pink Lady apple. Each plate comes with a wagyu-fat potato slice, but it’s worth ordering some extras (perhaps roast sandy carrots in lamb fat). Great for kids.
Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria
Given chef Kevin Tickle’s track record with Simon Rogan et al, it’s no surprise that his take on Sunday lunch is full of clever nuances and esoteric ingredients. The main event is Herdwick hogget served with home-produced sauerkraut, alliums and peppercorn sauce, plus a choice of ‘fancy sides’: how about carrot and swede mash with scurvy grass and roasted yeast. Alternatively, share a 24oz dry-aged beef rib with Roscoff onions, wild mushrooms and ramson béarnaise. ‘Sheer quality and class.’
☆ BEST VEGAN ☆
Chester, Cheshire
Sunday lunch doesn’t necessarily have to mean slabs of meat, and this vegan restaurant proves the point with an inspired plant-based take on things – the highlight of the kitchen’s week. Oyster mushroom Wellington is the main event, accompanied by a vegan ‘yorkie’, charred cabbage, assorted vegetables, seasonal purée and gravy. ‘You miss nothing and gain everything,’ as the bits you take for granted become the stars of the show.
Aughton, Lancashire
Chef Tim Allen’s converted roadside pub is a brilliant local asset, and on Sundays he cleverly weaves a traditional roast into a mini tasting menu that is refined enough to wow but thankfully is delivered with ‘zero pretentiousness’. Perfectly pink beef is the star attraction, perhaps 65-day ‘Blue Grey’ crossbreed aged in Himalayan salt and served with an indulgent brisket-stuffed Yorkshire pud, local veg and red wine gravy. ‘What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon.’
North East England
☆ OVERALL WINNER ☆
Byland, North Yorkshire
A dream-ticket location by the Gothic remains of Byland Abbey is one reason to visit this handsome hostelry. Another is the exceptional quality of the Sunday roasts, which feature rare-breed Berkshire pork and Herdwick lamb from owner Tommy Banks’ family farm in nearby Oldstead. Expect a proper feast with lots of clever nuances – everyone mentions the glorious toad-in-the-hole filled with slow-braised ox cheek that comes with the salt-aged rump of beef. A buzzing family-friendly atmosphere makes it the pefect all-rounder.
Brighouse, West Yorkshire
‘The trimmings, the portions, the meat, the flavours’ – readers love everything about the family-style feast (aka the ‘Sunday lunch club’) served at this welcoming gem of a place off Brighouse’s main drag. Roll up for top-quality seasonal food and plenty of it, including two roasts (striploin of Hereford beef and outdoor-reared pork belly) plus a veggie/vegan option and an array of ‘posh sides’. If you have room, the set deal also includes a dessert: steamed treacle sponge pud, anyone?
Hawnby, North Yorkshire
Sunday lunch comes with stunning views of the North York Moors National Park at this former drover’s inn. ‘As soon as you walk in, you know you’re in good hands,’ and the kitchen doesn’t disappoint. Fans of traditional meaty roasts have the choice of aged sirloin of beef with horseradish cream or rolled shoulder of Yorkshire lamb, both served with duck-fat roast potatoes, locally grown veg and gravy laced with Theakston’s beer. Look out for roast game birds in season.
Leeds, West Yorkshire
A keen eye for detail is evident at this brasserie in a former textile mill, and everything is given that extra push for added flavour. The aromas of fire-grilling and roasting that emanate from the kitchen are enticing and a Sunday here transcends the traditional notion ‘without losing the hearty, rib-sticking essence of the occasion’. There is plenty of love for the roast rump cap of beef with bone-marrow gravy, and for the ‘insane’ fennel and apple porchetta – an incredible collation with smoked trotter, fennel gravy and perfectly cooked pommes Anna.
☆ BEST TWIST ON A CLASSIC ☆
Hull, East Yorkshire
Hull meets Bangkok at this lively, noisy hangout, named after a US punk band of the 1970s. Serving up its ‘misfits’ take on the classic Sunday roast against a painted black backdrop, you might order slow-roast beef or pork with a soy glaze, ‘prik laap’ cured duck breast or even tamarind-glazed celeriac – all shot through with ‘unreal umami flavours' and served in the old style with a fabulously fragrant gravy. ‘Uniquely different but still tastes like home.’
Scotland
Muthill, Perthshire & Kinross
Formerly Barley Bree, this reinvigorated 18th-century coaching inn is earning plenty of plaudits, especially when it comes to Sunday lunch. The vibe is cosy, friendly staff seldom miss a beat, and the food is as local as possible. Among the delicious offerings, you might find loin of Perthshire pork, roast top rump of Scottish beef or whole roast corn-fed chicken to share. Seasonal greens, artisan cheeses, luscious desserts, excellent wines – ‘every detail is rich and delectable.’
Edinburgh, Lothians
Like its siblings in London, Manchester and Liverpool, this branch of the Hawksmoor steakhouse group shows off flavoursome cuts of dry-aged native beef at its hugely popular Sunday lunch, when a whole rump is slow-cooked over charcoal, then finished in the oven. ‘The quality of the meat is unrivalled,’ observed one fan, while others rave about the crispy beef-dripping roasties and ‘bottomless’ bone-marrow gravy. A ‘cracking wine list’ seals the deal. Also look out for the new ‘feasting menu’.
Glasgow, Strathclyde
‘Good times and great scran’ is the owners’ promise at the West End branch of Glasgow-based Loveable Rogue – and that certainly applies to their spectacular Sunday roasts. Expect comfort food in the shape of rare, ‘butter-soft’ Speyside beef, gigantic Yorkshires, garlicky roast potatoes cooked in beef fat, brisket mac 'n' cheese, honeyed roots, crushed vegetables and lashings of red-wine gravy. Amazingly friendly, affable and on-the-ball staff add to the upbeat vibe.
Glasgow, Strathclyde
Dry-aged beef is king at this steakhouse and cocktail bar, so expect a proper meat-fest on Sundays. The main event is thick slices of tender meat ingeniously paired with a nugget of melting braised ox cheek (‘so soft and delicious’), a suitably gnarly beef-dripping Yorkie, an extensive selection of oven-roasted vegetables, plus ‘an incredibly rich and beautiful bone-marrow gravy to pour over it all.’
Wales
Cardiff, Cardiff
The Spanish know all about lavish family-style Sunday lunches and this atmospheric love letter to Spain upholds the tradition in its own way. Pride of place goes to the incredible slow-cooked shoulder of Welsh lamb, finished on charcoal and served with deliciously salty duck-fat potatoes, flame-grilled leeks, spiced celeriac, salsa verde and lamb sauce (‘an absolute winner’). Alternatively, go for the mighty family-sized paella cooked over open fire. Either way, it’s ‘a great occasion all round’.
Brecon, Powys
Full of country style, this welcoming inn delivers on all fronts - bare floorboards, modern artwork, capacious sofas, a blazing fire and plenty of cosy nooks and side rooms. Sunday lunch is an ultra-traditional, decadent feast, and one that is also extremely good value. Meat is from the lowland hills – so expect roast beef or pork belly with all the expected trimmings, plus Welsh cheeses or caramelised bara brith to finish. Full marks for the service too: you’ll be well looked after.
Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan
‘A must for a family day out,’ this enterprising operation brings together a farm shop, restaurant, butchery and events space on Penllyn Estate. Sunday lunch is a showcase for joints of home-reared, organically produced meat, including topside of beef and loin of pork, supplemented by home-grown vegetables and all the traditional accompaniments. The atmosphere is lively, staff are super-friendly, and ‘children can play outside while dinner is cooking.’
Cardiff, Cardiff
Tommy Heaney’s uncluttered restaurant is renowned for its devastatingly clever tasting menus, but on Sundays he thrills with a consistently excellent three-course lunch. Between creative starters and desserts, the stars are dry-aged beef with oxtail and Yorkshire pudding or BBQ Welsh lamb with confit shoulder and mint, all with duck-fat roast potatoes and top-class vegetables. ‘A perfect blend of “proper fancy” and heartwarming comfort.’
Groesffordd, Powys
In the heart of the Brecon Beacons, this ‘solidly established’ country inn attracts visitors from far and wide with its ‘absolutely incredible’ Sunday lunch. You will eat and drink well here. Service is spot-on and the kitchen delivers a choice of roasts – topside of Welsh beef and leg of lamb figure prominently – accompanied by all the classic trimmings, served in separate bowls. ‘A perfect pub in every way – it should be on everyone’s bucket list.’
The Good Food Guide's Best Sunday Roast 2024 winners:
Overall Winner: The Abbey Inn
Best Group Dining: Blacklock Canary Wharf
Best Value: Lagom at Hackney Church Brew Co
Best Vegan: Shrub
Best Twist on a Classic: The Social Distortion
