Sunday Roast
We were already big fans of Cora Pearl, the second restaurant from the team behind Kitty Fishers in Mayfair. And then we went by for the Sunday Roast and we fell even more in love with the place. Any visit to Cora Pearl has to begin with the ham and cheese toastie aka the best toastie in London. This little beauty has ham hock and pig cheek wrapped up in a cheesy bechamel sauce and sandwiched in toasted white bread. The walnut pickle that comes across as a drunk, posh Branston is the clincher. Then there’s the roasts, thinly sliced medium rare beef or tender pork belly served with crispy potatoes, broccoli, Yorkshire puds, cauliflower cheese, carrots and lashings of an excellent gravy. They’re not the cheapest roasts in London but they are worth every penny. Simply one of the best out there.
With Great British Menu chef James Cochran behind the menu, this is a pretty special roast. There’s just the one roast on the menu for the Sunday main event: 42-day-aged sirloin of beef, served with all the veg. Everything is seriously tasty; the cauliflower cheese is now a breakfast snack we want for our elevenses every day of the working week. There is also carrot puree, beef dripping roast potatoes, chargrilled cabbage, Yorkshire pudding and smoked bone marrow gravy. BOOM. Even though the food for us is hands down amazing, it’s slightly on the spenny side at £32 although you do get a lot of bang for your buck.
If you’re looking for a wholesome Sunday in North London then what better way to spend it than a walk around Woodberry Wetlands followed by a roast at The Naturalist. One of the latest additions to the Young’s pub group, The Naturalist is located just a two-minute walk from the water front and it has a posh but cosy feel to it. Their Sunday roast menu is simple and traditional, with roast Angus beef sirloin, lemon & thyme half chicken and wild mushroom & spinach wellington on offer. All roasts come with cauliflower purée, carrots roasted in locally sourced honey, roast potatoes, braised cabbage and a huge double egg Yorkshire pudding. If you manage to save room after your roast then make sure you try the peach and apple crumble, which comes with lashings of white chocolate custard – the ideal winter warmer.
If you like to spend time your time dining in what is an urban sanctuary that ticks all interior goals boxes – think large oval striped oak tables, a huge marble bar and a palette of sandy and concrete tones – then Passo is the place. Sitting just off Old Street roundabout, the family-style Sunday roasts are a winner, the emphasis being on the ‘family’ in terms of portion size too. With their meat coming from HG Walter, you best be in the mood for a feast. Grass-fed Aberdeen Angus 35-day dry-aged porcini roasted rump beef, served medium rare as well as free range, corn fed, British garlic and thyme roast chicken were both excellent, soft and juicy. Served, just as they should be, with lashings of gravy, a Yorkshire pudding, truffle cauliflower cheese (hello), parmesan and thyme duck fat roast potatoes, honey roast root vegetables and chargrilled king cabbage with almonds, we felt a little spoilt. We did love, love, love this roast. Top marks.
Part of the Andaz London Liverpool Street Hotel (although it has its own separate street entrance), Lady Abercorn’s Pub & Kitchen is a good little spot to have up your sleeve, especially as the City is often quiet on the weekends and Shoreditch can get pretty damn busy. The menu is short and features some more inventive starters and puds as well as the classic roasts. You do only have two meat options, though these change regularly, and a veggie wellington to choose from so just be prepared. What you do get though is perfectly cooked meat (we had nice thick slices of beef and it was bang on medium), roasties, seasonal greens, glazed carrots and BOTTOMLESS Yorkshire puddings. Yes Lady Abercorn did not come to play. They’re also very attentive with the gravy too so you don’t have to worry about all those extra Yorkies going dry.
With a name like Roast it’s fair to say this restaurant sets pretty high expectations for its Sunday Roast, and fortunately it doesn’t disappoint. Looking over Borough Market, these guys serve up a slightly posher-than-the-pub version of a traditional British roast along with all the trimmings. The three course menu includes sirloin roast beef, belly pork and roast chicken served with seasonal veg, crispy roasties, a ginormous Yorkshire pud and the option to order mash as extra (HOORAY for mash!). The highlight of Roast has to be the desserts though, with twists on national faves including apple crumble and custard and sticky date pudding. We definitely recommend having a roast at Roast – a great place to take the in-laws or the rents when in town.
BebopALula (The Monarch) is a Stoke Newington pub with a strong 50s rock ‘n’ roll theme and an even stronger Sunday roast. It’s one of the best value roasts around, and you get a big old portion of beef, pork, chicken, or lamb served with tasty roasties, Yorkshire pud and veg. We particularly like that the plate is covered in gravy and they give you another pot of gravy on the side as standard – you can never have too much gravy folks. They also have the footy on, so you can have the double winner of the Sunday games and a good feed to banish that hangover.
They’re all about the steak of course and if you’re looking to splash out on beef, there’s really no better place to do it. Alongside the steaks are all sorts of other goodies including beef dripping fries, lobster mac & cheese and THOSE ‘Rolos’ for dessert. Breakfast is naturally a meaty one, with a smoked bacon chop, sausages, black pudding, short-rib bubble & squeak, grilled bone marrow, trotter baked beans, eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes and HP gravy. It’s meant to be for two but everyone likes a challenge, right? As you’d expect from somewhere that dishes up some of the best steaks in the city, Hawksmoor knows a thing or two about knocking up one of the best Sunday roasts in London, yes it’s beef and only beef here on Sundays. Rumps of beef are started over charcoal before going in the oven to re-create that traditional spit-roasted flavour and you get a nice, fat slice along with duck fat roasties, carrots, greens, roasted shallots and garlic, a big ol’ Yorkshire pudding and plenty of bone marrow and onion gravy to drown it in, and you will want to drown it because that sauce is something else.
THE DRAPERS ARMS
The Drapers Arms has one of the best Sunday Roasts in London and often gets booked up early so book a few days in advance if you want to be sure of a spot. Whether you choose the smart light-filled dining room or the sunny beer garden out back, it’s best to come here with a group and go for one of the big sharing roasts. The slow-cooked shoulder of lamb, roast forerib of beef, or whole roast chicken will all easily serve three people and come with perfect roasties, veg, Yorkshire puds and gravy.
When you’ve spent enough time people watching and walking around the Stables, Camden’s Draft House is a spot where you can warm up and get a good old traditional roast…that means a massive Yorkshire pudding, top notch roast potatoes, those honey glazed carrots, seasonal greens and proper gravy. With beef, pork belly, half roast chicken and a mushroom, feta and walnut wellington there’s a good selection available. If like us sometimes it’s a little hard for you to decide, you can opt for All The Farm, which as it suggests is a selection of all the meats with all the trimmings for two people. The true essence of any self respecting roast is the gravy, if that’s not right the whole thing is out the window, and Draft House manages to do this well. Crackin’ roast in a decent pub. Extra points for the giant Yorkshire too.
What’s better than a roast at a straight up old school boozer? Nothing. Tucked away off Hackney Road, The Sebright Arms is a mighty pub on the rock ‘n’ roll circuit, it’s downstairs venue being on many a tour schedule. This winter however, the headliner is their Sunday roasts with Lucky Chip in charge of the kitchen. You’ve got 32 day aged Dexter Beef, pork belly, corn fed chicken and a nut roast to choose from, all coming with roasties, carrots, parsnips, seasonal greens and that all important Yorkshire pudding. The portion size is decent with plenty of proper gravy splashing about making Lucky Chip’s Sunday roast a strong one. A simple, old school approach done proper.