The Best Sunday Roasts In London Published 19 November 2024
The Good Food Guide’s inauguralBest Sunday Roast 2024 is a celebration of Britain’s favourite meal. Here are the very best Sunday roasts to be found in London. Drawn from over 18,000 reader nominations, our awarding-winning best Sunday roast winners in London can be found in Canary Wharf, Hackney, Stockwell, Soho,Kensington and Highgate.
The owners of the Blacklock chophouse group didn’t fancy a contemporary glass monolith when they decided on a branch in Canary Wharf; instead, they picked a disused warehouse nestled under the train tracks of the North Dock.… Read more
The owners of the Blacklock chophouse group didn’t fancy a contemporary glass monolith when they decided on a branch in Canary Wharf; instead, they picked a disused warehouse nestled under the train tracks of the North Dock. The result seems like a perfect fit for the group’s brand of jovial hospitality and meaty cooking.
Vintage Blacklock irons are used to grill its ‘skinny chops’ – naturally reared lamb T-bones, pork ribs, bone-in sirloins and more besides. The best deal is the £27 ‘all in’ sharing offer, which brings a stack of different meats piled high on herb-flecked chargrilled flatbreads. That said, some of the best things are the supporting acts: ‘pre-chop bites’ such as potted meats with kimchi; sides including BBQ baby gems with anchovy ‘dripping’, and all sorts of extras – from chilli hollandaise and garlic marrow spread to the near-legendary Blacklock gravy served in old-fashioned ‘boats’.
Lunch brings steak sarnies and burgers, while Sunday is reserved for Blacklock’s ‘plentiful’ roasts – perfect for groups who can partake of the ‘all in’ offer of three meats plus the ‘crunchiest duck-fat potatoes’ and more of that aforementioned gravy. Round things off with apple crumble or the ‘say-when’ white chocolate cheesecake, doled out from a big bowl at the table. To drink, there are zingy cocktails (don’t miss the ‘beefy Marys’ on Sundays), plus own-label beers and non-spendy wines (some on tap).
Open-flame cooking and 'hangover bowls' in a community pub
It's located under the railway arches near Hackney Central rather than an old church, but this ‘brewery pub’ makes a sporting effort to create the spirit of community among its large congregation of supporters. Nave-li… Read more
It's located under the railway arches near Hackney Central rather than an old church, but this ‘brewery pub’ makes a sporting effort to create the spirit of community among its large congregation of supporters. Nave-like beams arch above your head, seating is on refectory benches and, at one end of the room, the service counter could almost be mistaken for a high altar. The name Lagom is a Swedish word suggesting ‘just the right amount’ or ‘that'll do nicely’.
Up-close open-flame cooking is the mood of the moment, and is executed here with impressive panache, whether for whole chickens, pork T-bones with apple mustard, lamb loin chops in green sauce or even seasonal vegetables. Expect grilled asparagus in lemon emulsion with charcoal oil in the late spring, beetroot carpaccio in molasses or leeks in romesco with smoked hazelnuts come winter. Chef-patron Elliot Cunningham has become the toast of east London for his smash burger, a consummate triumph in which the elements of meat, mustard mayo, vinegar slaw and American cheese work together in perfect harmony. Lagom indeed.
Sunday roasts also receive enthusiastic support, not least the 'hangover bowl' – a plentiful cornucopia comprising offcuts of fired-up beef, chicken and pork, piled high on a bowl of roast potatoes and veg, before being topped with a Yorkshire pudding and ample brisket gravy (all for £12). Apparently, it's even better if you're not actually hungover. Whatever your order, try to leave space for a portion of the crispy potatoes with garlic mayo. Under the adjacent arch is the brewery itself, which turns out IPAs, lagers and pilsners to beat the band. Other drinks are available.
Classically pubby Stockwell boozer with a far-reaching, eclectic menu
Those familiar with the Canton Arms’ siblings (Stoke Newington's Clarence Tavern, Southwark’s Anchor & Hope, Oxford’s Magdalen Arms) will know what to expect. There’s a resolute commitment to classic pu… Read more
Those familiar with the Canton Arms’ siblings (Stoke Newington's Clarence Tavern, Southwark’s Anchor & Hope, Oxford’s Magdalen Arms) will know what to expect. There’s a resolute commitment to classic pubbiness here, so expect plenty of drinkers congregating at the front bar with pints of real ale, while the back area is reserved for diners. The culinary spectrum is as wide-ranging as you can get, with the single-sheet menu offering an ample dose of European and Mediterranean flavours, peppered with kimchi, katsu and the like.
The daily specials board, which majors on dishes to share, might feature home-cured charcuterie, a pie for two and seven-hour salt marsh lamb shoulder – built for five to share and a headliner on Sundays, along with rare roast Dexter beef (with roasties, green beans and watercress). On the plate, the pub’s homely aesthetic dovetails with astute technical precision and the season-led food is confidently handled, producing rustic hand-cut tagliatelle with heaps of butter, girolles and a fragrant whack of tarragon, as well as a hefty spinach and feta filo pie with ‘gorgeous lemony’ Greek potato salad.
Other noteworthy dishes on our visit ranged from Tamworth pork neck with a high-octane anchoïade to perfectly cooked Cornish skate with fresh slivers of tender Romana courgettes and a smooth, rich vermouth cream. To finish, the umami hit of almost-burnt sugar and crunchy nuts was the making of a generous scoop of hazelnut-brittle gelato. In short, everything is generously proportioned and speaks of a kitchen that knows its stuff. There’s democratic pricing too, which carries through to a drinks list offering plenty below the £40 mark.
All-conquering Soho boozer with impreccable credentials
Are Oisín Rogers, Charlie Carroll and Ashley Palmer-Watts champions of a new era in pubs? The Devonshire is certainly one of the most enjoyable places to eat in the capital – if you can get in (far too many people wan… Read more
Are Oisín Rogers, Charlie Carroll and Ashley Palmer-Watts champions of a new era in pubs? The Devonshire is certainly one of the most enjoyable places to eat in the capital – if you can get in (far too many people want to eat here). Yet it looks set to become an institution – and long may it continue, for this is no ordinary pub. Ingredients are impeccable and the strong meat-focused menu serves the kind of dishes you want to eat, especially in the lively environment of a central London watering hole where drinkers have their own space and staff are noted for their relaxed expertise. Dining rooms are divided between the first and second floors where, under the direction of Ashley Palmer-Watts (formerly executive chef at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal), the kitchen applies a certain simplicity and accuracy of cooking to impeccable ingredients.
Flames are at the heart of the operation, with wood-fired Ibérico pork chops, lamb cutlets, fillet, ribeye and T-bone steaks (plus lobsters) keeping company with the likes of lamb hotpot or beef and Guinness suet pudding on the hand-scrawled menu. Three wonderfully meaty scallops, lightly roasted, served in the shell with nothing more than a buttery, vinegary sauce and strips of crisp bacon, is a terrific opener that hammers home the kitchen’s modus operandi – namely sourcing prime ingredients and treating them with the utmost simplicity. And there’s something deeply comforting about a fixed price, no-choice lunch that can deliver real quality and value in the shape of prawn and langoustine cocktail, skirt steak with excellent chips and béarnaise sauce, and light, luscious sticky toffee pudding – all for £29.
Sunday's roast ribs of beef carved from a silver-domed trolley are terrific value too and have helped restore the tradition in this part of town. To drink, everyone orders Guinness – it’s fast achieving cult status here – and you can drink well without breaking the bank from the mainly European wine list. The pub now has its own 40-cover rooftop terrace for fine-weather dining (note that you can't book this separately).
Chic neighbourhood hostelry with a punchy seasonal menu
A short walk from Holland Park and the Design Museum, the Holland is a proper neighbourhood pub that stands out from the area’s many chains with its laudable commitment to social responsibility and sustainability. The rustic… Read more
A short walk from Holland Park and the Design Museum, the Holland is a proper neighbourhood pub that stands out from the area’s many chains with its laudable commitment to social responsibility and sustainability. The rustic interior feels relaxed and inviting, while the chic lived-in look (think emerald tiled bar, woodwork painted in dark green, exposed brickwork, repurposed furniture and floorboards) is offset by a nostalgic 60s/70s soundtrack. A second dining room on the first floor is designed for larger groups.
Chef/owner Max de Nahlik heads the kitchen, his short, produce-driven menu showing respect for the seasons and leaning towards simplicity with the likes of asparagus risotto or rib of beef with red wine sauce. To start, rich white and brown crabmeat spread on toast delivers a spicy kick. After that, flavourful roast leg of lamb is complemented by a colourful mélange of datterini tomatoes, pesto and charred cime di rapa, Cornish new potatoes with green mojo, and a veal jus. Rounding things off, ripe Baron Bigod cheese is a great precursor to an apple and rhubarb crumble.
The set lunch is good value (especially for the W8 postcode) and the Sunday roast offer is ‘a thing of beauty’ with its ‘blushing’ beef rump, ‘crackling’ roasties and more besides. Service is enthusiastic and friendly. Craft beers, cocktails and around three dozen well-selected wines (including plenty by the glass) complete a terrific offer.
Tucked deep within Highgate at its most herbaceous, the Red Lion & Sun makes every effort to appeal to what a dining clientele expects to find in a modern pub. Inside, it's done out in cool light blue, with simple wood furnitu… Read more
Tucked deep within Highgate at its most herbaceous, the Red Lion & Sun makes every effort to appeal to what a dining clientele expects to find in a modern pub. Inside, it's done out in cool light blue, with simple wood furniture and a long bar with stools, plus a glassed-in conservatory room and two open garden areas (with heaters) too. It's as near to the ‘country pub’ experience as a hostelry in the metropolis can get.
A well-drilled team fronts the place, and the kitchen turns out a daily changing menu, updated every morning on the website, and formulated in conjunction with the local Highgate butchers: not surprisingly, the Sunday lunch session is always wildly popular, when prime cuts of 35-day, dry-aged Aberdeen Angus beef are the stars (including côte de boeuf for sharing). Meanwhile, the regular repertoire covers a lot of ground: Korean-spiced chicken wings or Dorset crab served in Basque style suggest a cosmopolitan approach to starters, or there might be chargrilled sardines doused in olive oil, lemon and garlic. Roasts typically take in slow-cooked, properly crackled pork belly with a cloud of buttery mash, but casserole cookery is good too – duck cassoulet appears in its canonical bean stew, elevated by the fat from chunks of smoked sausage.
Desserts plough a populist furrow, taking in Eton mess, sticky toffee pudding or passion-fruit cheesecake. For those who are already sweet enough, British artisan cheeses come with Dorset pear paste and crackers. A conscientiously curated wine list starts at £8 for a glass of organic Montepulciano d'Abruzzo; there are also good cask ales, and not one but a whole selection of mezcals for the truly intrepid.
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