If your ideal Sunday is a stroll round an exhibition followed by a roast, then Ochre is the spot for you. The restaurant at the National Gallery has the proximity to art nailed down, and with a new Sunday menu, they have lunch sorted too. There’s only one way to start and that’s with a visit from the Bloody Mary trolley, where you can get one made fresh in front of you with your choice of vodka, gin or tequila – a couple of their cheddar & Lyonnaise onion croquettes make the ideal snack pairing. You can choose from the same starter selection as on the dinner menu, including the likes of gin-cured trout with rhubarb & fennel, burrata with caponata, beef tartare, and sweet potato & pea samosa, before opting for one of three roasts. The quality of the aged Hereford beef is superb (and you get two thick slices of it), and comes with horseradish, pickled walnuts and watercress, so you get plenty of pepperiness and acidity to cut through the meat, along with the classic sides of Yorkshire pud, potatoes, glazed carrots, and greens. Then it has to be the sticky toffee pudding with gingerbread crumb to finish. Ochre is on the expensive side (that’s what you get for being on Trafalgar Square and inside a major attraction) but the restaurant really is stunning inside and it’ll defo impress if you’ve got parents visiting from out of town.
