Sundays are awesome. No work, long lie ins, weekend supplements in the papers, bliss. Even God thought Sundays were too good to waste and took the day off dedicating this day to chilling out.
So what better way to celebrate this blessing than with a pub roast? The most glorious culinary delight known to man is based around the classic meat/veg/gravy combo and so it’s our duty to find you the best Sunday Roasts London has to offer.
The Albion is a delightful gastropub hidden away in suburban Barnsbury, far enough from the main roads to be a local secret but still a stones throw from Angel, Caledonian Road and Highbury & Islington stations. It won the Observer’s award for the best pub roast in Britain two years ago so it’s reputation for first class food precedes it.
The food certainly doesn’t disappoint, absolutely everything is cooked to perfection. The rib of beef is melt-in-the-mouth tender, cooked perfectly to seal the flavours in but still be perfectly rare throughout. The poussin is golden and succulent; juicy and moist. The pork belly is glorious, soft white meat topped with the crispiest crackling.
The portions are huge, but the food is so good it’s impossible to leave anything. The vegetables are fresh, the potatoes are roasted and crispy and the Yorkshire puddings are so big they must be seen to be believed. The true hallmark of a good roast though is the gravy, which is flawless. Even after this epic amount of food, we strongly recommend you find room to try the sticky toffee pudding, the dessert of “proper” British meals.
We have only one grumble with The Albion, it is always rammed. A table for Sunday lunch needs to be booked a number of weeks in advance, and queues at the bar can be lengthy. Clearly, a lot of people like it as much as we do. The prices are not cheap either, but with quality this good, it still feels like good value.
And now that Summer is here, go all alfresco in the pretty beer garden!
The Albion, 10 Thornhill Road, N1
www.the-albion.co.uk