Where to Have the Best Sunday Roast in London

Wondering where to have the best Sunday roast in London?

Sunday roasts, sometimes known as roast dinners, are a common British Sunday supper.

The practice spread widely under Henry VII’s reign around the end of the 15th century. In this era, it was usual practice for palace residents, notably the royal guards, to eat large amounts of meat. The guards began the practice of making roast beef on Sundays before attending church, and the guards’ wives carried on the tradition.

The 19th century saw the consolidation of this technique. On Sundays, the women of the hamlet would leave their meat at the baker’s shop, where it would be cooked in the closed oven until they returned from church and picked it up.

William Kitchiner, in his 1871 book Apicius Redivivus: Or, The Cook’s Oracle relates a similar tale about the Sunday roast. The author here suggests that a healthy person consumes roughly 3 kilograms of meat every week. This further demonstrates how crucial meat is to the typical British diet.

What’s in a Sunday Roast?

You’re in London and want to experience this age-old tradition? Here are what to expect in this filling Sunday meal:

Meat

Chicken, lamb, pork, or roast beef are the usual choices for a Sunday roast, while other meats such as duck, goose, gammon, turkey, or (rarely), other game birds, may be used depending on the season.

Rib (either on the bone or deboned and rolled) is a great choice of cut, as are sirloin, top rump, and fillet.

Fillet, entrecôte, rib eye, sirloin, and rump steaks are great options for a simple weeknight meal.

The platter also features a variety of side dishes, including roasted vegetables (most notably carrots and parsnips), potatoes (both baked and mashed), peas, broccoli, cauliflower, and pigs in a blanket (pork sausages wrapped in bacon).

Vegetables, Yorkshire pudding, and other side dishes

The iconic Yorkshire pudding is a muffin-like cake made of batter that was traditionally baked directly on top of the roast beef to soak up its juices.

Desserts

Traditional British desserts like trifle and crumble (apple pie) are offered. The first is a rich and beautiful baroque dessert that is built from layers of sponge cake. It is soaked in sherry or other fortified wines, pastry cream, whipped cream, and fresh fruit.

Sunday Roast Drinks

When it comes to wines, roasts are quite forgiving, so any you prefer should do. You can also choose from a wide range of Italian red wines and white wines – it’s up to you. The ideal combinations, however, can be found in this brief guide.

• Beef Roast

It’s hard to go wrong with a nice bottle of red Bordeaux or a Bordeaux-style blend like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc.

Beef also pairs well with a wide variety of wines, especially Malbec and Shiraz.

• Lamb Roast

Go for a Rioja or Ribera del Duero, red Bordeaux or Cabernet Sauvignon; the specific wine to pair with lamb depends on the cut and the season (spring lamb goes especially well with pinot noir).

• Pork Roast

Wines of any color go well with roast pork, but cider is an especially tasty accompaniment.

Chenin blanc and Viognier are great white wine options, while red wines from the Rhône region of France, such as Côtes du Rhône and comparable Grenache, Shiraz, and Mourvedre blends, are ideal.

Beaujolais is a fantastic choice if you enjoy pork and vice versa.

• Chicken Roast

You can pair either a white or red wine with roast chicken, but keep in mind that the chicken’s lightness means it doesn’t pair as well with a heavy, high-alcohol wine.

The best red wine, in my opinion, is red Burgundy or another pinot noir, whereas the best white wine is a little oaked chardonnay.

The chicken pairs well with the Viognier.

Vegetarian Sunday Roast

When paired with mushrooms, Côtes du Rhône, or Rioja, a Pinot Noir with a lot of fruit flavor is a great choice. Both Malbec and Merlot have surprising adaptability.

ALSO READ: 10 best West Hampstead pubs you should check out

Where to Have the Best Sunday Roast in London

British pubs are the best places to go for a traditional Sunday roast. Typically, these are old establishments that preserve rural ways of life, serving up dishes and customs that are representative of Britain itself.

Prices for Sunday roasts typically start at £25.00 per person.

If you’re in London on a Sunday, check out one of the following excellent roast restaurants.

1. Blacklock Soho

A must-try Sunday roast is the one at Soho’s underground Blacklock chophouse.

Indulge in the All-In, a massive platter enough for two that comes with meats like beef, lamb, and pork as well as all the fixings.

Crunchy pig cracklings accompany the succulent, juicy meat cooked to medium-rare perfection. Huge, chewy Yorkshires, ultra-crisp duck fat roasties, a selection of seasonal vegetables, and a boatload of rich bone marrow gravy round out the meal.

This is among the best Sunday roasts in London. That said, make sure you arrive hungry, so you won’t be overwhelmed by the abundance of food.

2. The Camberwell Arms

The Camberwell Arms is consistently voted among London’s best pubs for Sunday lunch, and who are we to argue?

It serves the best grilled lamb with roast gem, mustard, and parmesan; Hereford rump with anchovy butter and watercress; and hog belly with white cabbage.

The huge Sunday meal served at this popular gastropub in southeast London is perfect for bringing together a group of friends or family. Collect your loved ones and pay a visit.

3. The Harwood Arms

The only pub in London to receive a Michelin star is known for its excellent Sunday roasts. An authentic weekend hangout, you can tell you’re in a gastropub because of the relaxed, casual atmosphere.

The three courses here are filling, so be sure to come hungry.

The 45-day dry-aged beef is the restaurant’s signature dish. It comes with the best potatoes on this list and bone marrow gravy that should be required across London.

The Harwood Arms also carries some excellent wines. If it’s on, you can also enjoy some gaming tea, which is more of a drink than a food item.

4. Hawksmoor

Also located in other various London locations like Borough, Spitalfields, etc.

Hawksmoor’s award-winning steakhouses are quickly expanding beyond its home city of London, with locations in other major cities like Edinburgh and Manchester.

On Sundays, they serve a single roast: a slow-roasted rump of beef. Beef-dripping potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, carrots, greens, roasted shallots and garlic, and oodles of bone marrow and onion gravy are included in the service.

Hawksmoor only uses grass-fed beef from British cattle, which is why it tastes so much better.

5. The Princess of Shoreditch

The Princess of Shoreditch is a traditional British bar tucked away from the busy main drag of Shoreditch.

A cast-iron spiral staircase leads to the first floor, where you’ll find the elegant dining room. Sundays here are simply beautiful.

A sirloin of beef from Yorkshire, a whole roast chicken from Norfolk, and a slab of pork belly that has been cured in salt are just a few of the options — all with Yorkshire pudding, as well as unlimited roast potatoes and fresh seasonal vegetables.

I did say unlimited, so feel free to stuff yourself until you resemble a baked potato.

Rich gravy and cauliflower cheese are also available, with the latter’s flavor enhanced by the addition of black truffle for the truly extravagant.

6. Roast

It should come as no surprise that a restaurant with a name like Roast serves a delicious Sunday meal.

This establishment is known for serving roast dinners every day of the week, but on Sundays, they provide a more extensive menu that includes a variety of traditional dishes.

You can have their roast beef Wellington with red wine and shallot gravy, 1/2 roasted cob chicken with lemon thyme gravy, or their Old Spot pork belly with apple sauce.

Sticky toffee pudding is their specialty, so save room for dessert and order some of it.

7. The Rose & Crown

The Rose & Crown, often regarded as Clapham’s oldest pub, has lately undergone a period of renovation that has resulted in some very respectable Sunday fare.

Try their roast pig belly or beef if you’re in the mood for a traditional roast. They’re both served with beef dripping roast potatoes, beef gravy, beef dripping Yorkshire pudding, braised red cabbage, honey-glazed carrots, and Yorkshire pudding.

You can round out your meal with a side of gratin cauliflower cheese and some Hispi cabbage if you’re feeling very decadent.

8. Rotunda King’s Cross

The Sunday Beef Club at Rotunda is where Sunday roasts are taken seriously.

Canapés and an opening cocktail are first on the four-course meal, followed by a seafood platter and dressed Cornish crab with “bloody” marie rose. The main course is a roast of sirloin with unlimited duck fat roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables, Yorkshire puddings, and plenty of gravy.

If you don’t have to work early on Monday, you can also order this with paired drinks.