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Louise Thomas
Editor
There’s nothing quite like a roast dinner, and there’s no shortage of top spots in London to get your fill.
We’ve rounded up a short and ongoing list of some of our favourites, from classic pubs to 1920s New York vibes, open-fire cooking and French-inspired elegance. We’ve got places for both meat-lovers and veggies, places where the nibbly bits reign supreme, and places where the desserts are worth saving space for. Not to mention the cocktails.
As ever in London, booking ahead is key so plan in advance, and debate the faux pas of Yorkshire puddings with roast chicken later.
The Colony
Walking into The Colony genuinely feels like setting foot into another time; there’s an undeniably sophisticated, old-world glamour. The lack of windows and dim, flattering lighting means you can almost trick yourself into believing you’re in 1920s New York.
It’s no style over substance here, though. The roast dinners are as decadent and comforting as the surroundings, with plenty to get excited about: crispy spuds, succulent meat, generous helpings of gravy and a Yorkshire the size of most human heads, as well as fantastic starters, like the “CFC – Colony Fried Chicken”, and the faultless shrimp cocktail.
The staff also have an old-fashioned attentiveness, never imposing yet never letting your glass empty. The restaurant even has a build-your-own ice cream sundae menu where you tick boxes for flavours, toppings and sauces. I challenge anyone’s inner child to remain hidden.
8 Balderton St, Brown Hart Gardens, London W1K 6TF | www.colonygrillroom.com | 020 7499 9499
Acme Fire Cult
Sharing a courtyard with Dusty Knuckle bakery and 40FT brewery, Acme Fire Cult collaborate with both, using bread, leftover coffee for ferments, and even spare beer yeast to make their own marmite. They also put vegetables front and centre, giving greens just as much attention as meat, making their coal roast leeks (served cold with pistachio romesco) a smoky, creamy, must-try.
If you want to feel a bit like Henry VIII, opt for the grilled and smoked meat platter. It’s stacked high with chicken, pork, beef and sausage, and served with gorgeous pickly bits to cut through the fat. The beef and the pork were definite stand-outs and really highlighted the use of fiery outdoor cooking.
I went in promising myself I wouldn’t order the DK sourdough with 40FT marmite, but for some reason, any will power had left my body – I’m so glad I did as it was insanely good, dripping in butter and doused in parmesan, but it did make finishing the pile of meat more challenging, so learn from my mistakes.
My only faults were that the chicken was surprisingly bland and the bloody mary with house harissa was lacking in spice and overly citrussy.
Abbot St, London E8 3DP | www.acmefirecult.com | Book through Resy
The Parakeet
The Parakeet is the platonic ideal of a pub you conjure up in your head when dreaming of a Sunday roast. Formerly the Oxford Tavern, there’s plenty of wood panelling and stained glass; step through the velvet curtain towards the enticing smells and you enter a sublimely cosy dining room flickering with candles and saintly portraits looking down on you.
Brat alumni Ben Allen as head chef and sous chef Ed Jennings are running the show, so it’s no surprise that the roast is “based around fire cooking”. Both the lamb and the beef are cooked over charcoal and wood on their custom-made grill; opt for the lamb, it’s prepared sublimely and tastes incredible, whereas the beef was tasty but unfortunately a bit too chewy for my liking.
The swede puree was a gorgeous, creamy addition and the leek gratin a necessity – move over cauliflower cheese. It’s about the whole menu here though: oysters with clementine were a fresh and zingy start and the prawns with brown butter a messy but delightful treat; don’t be afraid to get stuck in and suck on that shell, it’s well worth it.
Thankfully our waiter saw us staring longingly at the swathes of butter remaining on the plate and produced some of their potato bread to sweep through it. If you’ve got room, try and stuff down a made-in-house sticky toffee pud, it’s rich, syrupy and soft as a pillow. Their bloody mary packs a punch too.
256 Kentish Town Rd, London NW5 2AA | theparakeetpub.com | 020 4599 6302
Sussex
It’s not just about Sunday roasts at the “local and wild concept” Sussex bar and restaurant (I’ll get to those and they’re bloody great), but all the delicious little nibbly bits at the start that are excruciatingly hard to choose from. Cod’s roe cornettos? Slow roasted pork crackling with homemade horseradish mayo? South Downs venison cigars? It’s almost cruel having so many exciting things in just the top third of the menu.
I settled on the mushroom marmite eclair, confit egg yolk and cornichon because it’s pretty much all my favourite things in one mystical package. A delightful choux pastry bursting with umami flavour that doesn’t even have marmite in – they get the taste from truffle and mushrooms. It’s borderline genius and I could have had 10.
Some caviar crispbreads are a perfect palette teaser and a pan-seared Shetland king scallop with kelsey chilli and garlic roe butter sauce couldn’t be cooked more beautifully.
But yes, the roasts. Rolled Dorset leg of lamb is incredibly tender and soft, while wild fallow deer (served with a blackberry jus) is served pink with a lovely flavoursome char on the outside. Really great roast potatoes that made me realise they don’t have to be all about crunch, and cauliflower cheese that was properly cheesy, ie my kind of side.
The puddings were really good but didn’t really hold a torch to the mains and starters; a Yorkshire pudding served with bone marrow is cool to look at but not something I really understood as necessary. But come for the roasts and you will not be disappointed. I’ll definitely be going back and trying their beef Wellington and handmade Sussex chorizo crispbread.
63-64 Frith Street, Soho, Greater, London W1D 3JW | www.sussex-restaurant.com | 020 3923 7770
65a
Nestled in the heart of Spitalfields, 65a is a classy affair. French inspiration is sprinkled throughout the menu, with classic dishes such as French onion soup, steak tartare and duck liver parfait.
The latter – it was a difficult choice – was sublimely smooth and rich, served with hunks of toasted sourdough which managed to be deliciously soft, rather than the all-too common tooth-cracking variety. The roast menu has three options, chicken, beef or a chateaubriand, but the beef Wellington special was described too beautifully by our waiter to be overlooked. And beautiful it was; buttery, bronzed puff pastry encasing perfectly pink meat, as well as a layer of truffly mushroom, drizzled with a flavour-packed gravy. It’s the perfect size so as to be satisfying, but still leaves enough room for the sides.
There’s a lot to respect about 65a’s sides, but a standout is their approach to potatoes. Every roast is served with buttery, smooth mash and crunchy roasties, but don’t be fooled into thinking this will do – go ahead and order the dauphinoise, which is more of a cheesy gratin (to my delight) and you will not be disappointed. Triple-potato roasts should become the norm.
There are both dessert cocktails and several puddings to choose from; the tiramisu martini is as magical as it sounds and the tarte tatin is faultless. For those arriving with sore-ish heads, the 65a bloody mary is the ideal hit of spice and hair of the dog, paired with Carlingford oysters on arrival. Consider the cobwebs well and truly blown away.
65a Brushfield St, London E1 6AA | www.65arestaurant.com | 020 7846 6548
Origin
Making a name for itself from day one, Origin City, which opened last summer in West Smithfield, has launched its new Sunday lunch menu. Remaining on-brand, the restaurant’s pasture-to-plate, nose-to-tail ethos shines throguh, with all of the meat coming from the family’s 600-acre farm in Argyll, Scotland – even the traditional heritage breeds Black Angus and Tamworth pork make appearances.
With a choice of three meats – slow roasted Black Angus with creamed horseradish, Tamworth pork with bramley apple sauce or Texel lamb with a classic aromatic mint sauce – sides include Yorkshire puddings, beef dripping potatoes, glazed heritage carrots, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower cheese and gravy.
The Tamworth pork was succulent and a lot more tender than roast pork dishes we’ve eaten elsewhere – and we’re always impressed to see a roast lamb on the menu (you snigger but it’s not always available). The potatoes were perfectly crispy, the creamy cauliflower cheese a worthy addition (again, it’s not always included as part of the classic trimmings) and we love seeing a gravy boat, rather than some small pathetic saucer.
Starters include a heartwarming Scottish mussel and clam chowder, with other mains dishes available to order, if you’re not feeling like taking on a full Sunday roast. Just make sure you leave room for dessert – both the vanilla crème brûlée and sticky toffee pudding will seal that food coma quite nicely.
Origin is also offering “The Mother of All Roasts” for guests dining in larger groups, where £32 per person will get you a selection of the three meats with all the trimmings, served family sharing style. Blacklock’s All In, watch out.
12 West Smithfield, London EC1A 9JR | www.origincity.co.uk | 020 4568 6240
Duck and Waffle
While most of us have fond memories of enjoying Duck and Waffle’s eponymous dish at all hours, from bougie drunk food to gorgeous sunrise breakfasts, the restaurant also now offers a three-course roast lunch to enjoy every Sunday. If you’re not confined to tucking into a roast dinner at a cosy pub, why not elevate the weekly tradition, with sky-high, panoramic city views to accompany that succulent roast chicken?
With a variety on the menu, the starters include a delicious lobster roll with spicy Marie Rose sauce on a doughy brioche; corn ribs in an addictively tasty black garlic sauce and flavoursome beef tartare. Moving onto the mains, there is the choice of a classic roast chicken, succulent rib of beef with braised ox cheek and horseradish creme fraiche and a vegetarian mushroom and camembert Wellington. All served with spiced carrot purée, a fluffy Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes and lashings of gravy. While we are personally meat-eaters (meat-lovers, if you wish), it was the mushroom and camembert Wellington that came out on top. This is one of our favourite vegetarian roast offerings in the city and stands on its own feet in this menu selection here.
Also, it does not go unnoticed when a restaurant serves Yorkshire puddings with all roast meats – it is seriously frustrating when you just fancy a chicken but want your Yorkshire pud, too. You should definitely leave room for dessert, with options including the iconic sticky toffee waffle, drizzled in butterscotch caramel sauce and finished off with a dollop of clotted cream, but our winner had to be the moreish biscoff cheesecake. Coming in at £55 per person, it’s certainly not a cheap Sunday roast menu – but it was a satisfying one – and if you’re looking to dine with a view, then it’s definitely one to try.
110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY | duckandwaffle.com | 020 3640 7310
Temper
A Sunday roast is often synonymous with colder weather, you shouldn’t wait for the sun to disappear to try the one at Temper. If you head to the Paddington site, you’ll be able to enjoy streams of sunshine coming through the windows – or even dine al fresco.
Temper doesn’t do anything by halves so make sure to arrive hungry. Do not skimp on starters. Your stomach might regret it later, but not as much as missing out on the beautifully aged beech nachos and the goats cheese taco. With a few roast options on the menu, you can choose between aged beef, smoked and pulled lamb shoulder, pork belly and baby chicken – or, if you are struck by decision paralysis, Temper offers a “three beast feast” for a family-style sharing situation. Whatever you order, you’re sure to leave stuffed but satisfied. The aged beef has a gorgeous grilled taste and texture, while the pork belly is not only sizeable but the chefs have really triumphed on the balance of the textures of soft, succulent meat with a crispy exterior. The lamb is not the most aesthetically pleasing (and part of us wishes they’d carve it at the table) but you soon forget about all of that after you have your first mouthful. Last but not least, the baby chicken is soft and tender, packed full of flavour. They come with all the trimmings: a sizeable, fluffy Yorkshire pud, perfectly roasted potatoes, carrots, cauliflower puree, plus red and green cabbage (because Temper won’t be responsible for you not getting your five a day). But of course, we’ll think you silly if you don’t also order a classic cauliflower cheese on top.
You will have meat sweats – there’s no doubt about it. You will need to enjoy a spicy lychee margarita (or three) to cool down before moving on swiftly to dessert. We recommend you try the boozy serves: milk ice cream with Cazcabel coffee, lime sorbet with Cazcabel honey or coconut sorbet with Cazcabel coconut. All deliciously divine in their own way – and the perfect sweet treat that isn’t overly heavy after you’ve worked your way through an entire farm.
Unit 53, 5 Merchant Sq, London W2 1AS | temperrestaurant.com | 020 3967 7578
Fitz's
Fitz's brasserie, in the Kimpton Fitzroy in Russell Square – a hotel designed by the same man who did the first-class dining room on the Titantic – manages to pull off that great thing of being really, really fancy yet utterly relaxed. This is probably largely due to the wonderful staff who are completely unimposing yet always seem to be there with anything you could need. The bright dining room feels open and spacious but boothy tables offer little pockets of privacy.
The most surprising thing about this place is how much of a bargain their Sunday lunch is – two courses for £32, or three for £39.50. Get three, as the starters and the puds aren’t worth skipping. For the former, there’s creamy, rich chicken liver parfait piped exquisitely on brioche with dollops of spiced apple gel and tiny pickled mushrooms; or poached white and green asparagus with a golden raisin dressing adorned with a perfectly jammy egg. The latter includes one of the most dangerously good sticky toffee puddings I’ve had.
As for the roasts, Devon white chicken is juicy, tender and encased in its gloriously crispy skin, roasties are crunchy delights and the gravy is thick and luscious. They’re also ideally portioned – something that has become a bit of pet peeve of mine is when a roast arrives with triple the amount you could ever possibly eat and still make it home – meaning there’s still room to head to the pub for a few swift pints in the sunshine after. Fitz’s feels almost too good to be true, with fine-dining standards at mid-range prices – it’s definitely worth a visit.
1-8 Russell Sq, London, WC1B 5BE | www.fitzs.co.uk | 020 7123 5000
108 Brasserie
Though a little less consistent than some of the other roasts in this list, 108 Brasserie has a lot to like. From the excellent people watching when sat outside on Marylebone Lane to the bloody mary trolley they wheel out to make your drink exactly as you like it – pick your spirit, spice level and garnishes. I went for a 9/10 spice and it was divine.
Plus it’s the first place I’ve encountered that offers roast lobster as part of its Sunday lunch. I obviously had to order it; it was beautifully buttery and came away from its shell with ease. I swapped the Jersey royals for chips as I just think lobster and chips is a superior combo – but for roast purists the lamb rump is great, it’s just a shame that the roasties were a little greasy and the veg a bit, well, meh.
However, I loved the smoked salmon, Guinness bread and dill creme fraiche to start, as well as the lemon cheesecake with blueberry compote. As I say, a lot to like, the roast is just a little let down by the trimmings. And if you’re a bloody-mary stan, the trolley alone is reason enough to go.
108 Marylebone Ln, London, W1U 2QE | www.108brasserie.com | 020 7969 3900
Claridge’s
There are Sunday roasts, and then there are Claridge’s Sunday roasts. This one’s for those looking for a real treat, as three courses come in at £100, and that’s before you’ve had one of their must-order bloody marys. If those aren’t your thing, the cocktail list is broad, my favourite being a peach piquant – summery, light and with a bit of a chilli kick. It’s up there with one of the loveliest drinks I’ve ever tried.
But back to the roasts. Think classic – but with a Claridge’s twist. Chicken with truffle stuffing, lamb rump with asparagus and morels, halibut with smoked caviar. All the sides come for the table which gives this sophisticated affair a lovely homely feel. The seabass and crab fishcake with tartare sauce and Wakame seaweed to start was incredible, and the only problem with pudding is they all look exceptional. I eventually settled for a meringue tart which did not disappoint, but it was a tight toss-up between that and the apple crumble.
As expected with somewhere of the clout of Claridge’s, the meal is faultless, served by wonderful staff who seem to love and are proud of what they do. The dining room is stunning, its warm ambient lighting providing the perfect atmosphere to while away several hours on a Sunday – also, if you’re a nosey people-watcher like me, I spotted two authors I’m a fan of while there.
Brook Street, Mayfair, London, W1K 4HR | www.claridges.co.uk | 020 7107 8886
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