Our pick of the best roast dinners in London for cosy season
Whether your weekend is all about resetting after a busy week, or getting back into routines (temporarily) abandoned on Friday night, nothing that quite hits the spot like heading to a lovely pub for a Sunday roast.
There's something almost healing about tramping through your nearest green space, breathing in the chilly air and rounding off a day outdoors with a plate filled with top-notch British and Irish meat, piles of seasonal vegetables and lashings of homemade gravy.
That's why we've pulled together some of the very best roast dinners in London, all selected for their whole food-focussed, seasonal and sustainable menus, fit for feeling cosy this autumn.
The best roast dinners in Central London
Hawksmoor
While roasts might have you thinking of rambling across Hampstead Heath or stomping up to Hackney Marshes, one of the capital's best roast dinners can actually be found around the corner from Piccadilly Circus. Hawksmoor's famous Sunday roast keeps things simple with a blackboard chalked up with all the 100% British beef cuts designed to share, all served with beef dripping roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, carrots, greens, roasted shallots and garlic, and bone marrow and onion gravy.
Hawksmoor, Air Street, W1J 0AD
Fallow
If you're looking for a Sunday roast with style, Fallow will do the job. Set right in the middle of Haymarket, this sleek dining room serves Dairy cow fillet and rump and Middle White pork for meat eaters and smoked leeks with Bermondsey Hard Pressed cheese for veggies. Finish things off with one of Fallow's creative desserts like English strawberries with artichoke cream and pink pepper for a proper treat.
Fallow, Haymarket Street, SW1Y 4RP
The Quality Chop House
Clerkenwell's Quality Chop House is a London institution, and the tiled walls and bench seating will take you right back in time. The Sunday menu boasts three courses for £55 and includes options like Suffolk lamb shoulder with mint sauce, Belted Galloway bone-in ribeye and herb and butter roasted celeriac. Our tip is to fork out the extra £8 for the confit potatoes - they are the ultimate weekend indulgence.
The Quality Chop House, Farringdon Road, EC1R 3EA
The best roast dinners in East London
The Marksman
Consistently rated as one of the best pubs in London, The Marksman has a stellar two or three-course menu for its Sunday roast offering. Begin proceedings with one of The Marksman's negronis (complete with a Marksman stamped ice cube) before tucking into a roast Hereford rump or chicken and preserved mushroom pie. Pudding is not to be skipped here, and the brown butter and honey tart may just be one of the city's best desserts.
The Marksman, Hackney Road, E2 7SB
Blacklock
Now with five locations across the city, Blacklock is a London classic that brings meat lovers in time and time again. The Shoreditch branch is a mainstay of the East London food scene, and its simple Sunday roast menu is hard to beat. Choose from the beef rump, aged lamb leg, aged pork loin and celeriac roast with duck fat-roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables and plenty of Blacklock gravy. At £25 per person for a sharing roast, it's excellent value, too.
Blacklock Shoreditch, Rivington Street, EC2A 3DZ
The Axe
Stoke Newington has no shortage of excellent roast dinner options, but the crown jewel in the collection has to be The Axe. There's a real community feel that's abundant as you tuck into to fragrant fennel porchetta or juicy beef topside with all the trimmings. If you fancy a Sunday tipple, the wine list focuses on natural wines and the bar has 22 local and international beers on tap.
The Axe, Northwold Road, N16 7HR
The best roast dinners in West London
The Harwood Arms
If you were thinking that London's only Michelin-starred pub would have a completely brilliant Sunday roast, you'd be correct. The Harwood Arms' Sunday menu starts with bar snacks like a Glamorgan vegetarian scotch egg and potato crisps with cod's roe, before moving on to slow-cooked Sika deer shoulder, Sladesdown Farm duck or roast Cornish monkfish with brown crab sauce. You can even bring a bottle of your own wine for £30 corkage.
The Harwood Arms, Walham Grove, SW6 1QJ
The Cow
No Sunday at Notting Hill's The Cow is complete without a round of Guinness and oysters. Once you've got this delicious long-time tradition out of the way, a selection of pub classics like lamb chops with colcannon and roast red onion and a beef roast are available alongside fresher dishes like whole cracked chilli and garlic crab and grilled chicken ‘Diavola’ with watercress and scallion salad.
The Cow, Westbourne Park Road, W2 5QH
The Cleveland Arms
Take a step into this Paddington pub, and you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd stepped back in time. It's all opulent, dark wood interiors and candlelight in this 1800s old-school gastropub, and the roast menu is divine. Beef top side with horseradish cream or roasted Cauliflower with salsa verde would be our top Sunday-scary-bashing picks, with a few smoked almonds to snack on while you're taking in the surroundings.
The Cleveland Arms, Chilworth Street, W2 6DT
The best roast dinners in South London
Canton Arms
Stockwell locals couldn't keep this South London institution a secret for long. The Canton Arms is famed for its top-notch roast, which includes a damson gin negroni aperitif and plentiful Sunday scaries-banishing sharing roasts. Slow-cooked Dexter short rib with ale, onions and mash or Salt Marsh lamb shoulder, with potato and olive oil gratin and greens would be our top picks.
Canton Arms, South Lambeth Road, SW8 1XP
The Laundry
Inspired by European all-day bistro culture, The Laundry is one of those restaurants you could easily lounge in for hours. Their roast menu has just been updated for 2023, and now includes a free-range, slow-reared spatchcock chicken for two to share, served with honey-mustard bread sauce and Yorkshire puddings, and a new vegan leek and mushroom wellington with vegan gravy.
The Laundry, Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8PL
The Camberwell Arms
Camberwell is home to some of London's best eats, and its roast offering is no different. The Camberwell Arms is just the sort of neighbourhood pub anyone would like to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon, and with a brilliant menu to boot, it's hard to find better in the area. Options are plentiful, with roast beef, lamb, pork and chicken to choose from, as well as a dreamy-sounding beef and ale pie for two to share.
The Camberwell Arms, Camberwell Church Street, SE5 8TR
The best roast dinners in North London
The Parakeet
New to the London restaurant scene for 2023, The Parakeet's roast has already garnered fans for its focus on open-fire cooking and beautiful stained glass windows at the bar. The Sunday menu boasts a hay-smoked roast chicken, roast beef, roast lamb and a celeriac wellington for meat-free eaters. All roasts are served with greens, roast potatoes, seasonal root veg, a Yorkshire pudding, and carrot and swede puree.
The Parakeet, Kentish Town Road, NW5 2AA
The Bull & Last
Set in smart Highgate in a 300-year-old building, The Bull & Last just screams *cosy Sunday.* The roasts range from sirloin of Shorthorn beef and roast corn-fed chicken to aubergine parmigiana wellington, as well as classic pub alternatives like fish and chips. Got friends in town? The Bull & Last also has six beautifully decorated rooms up for grabs.
The Bull & Last, Highgate Road, NW5 1QS
The Red Lion & Son
The search for the perfect pub for your post-Hampstead Heath hike lunch is over because this charming Highgate village gastropub is the answer. Start with Jersey rock oysters, cabernet sauvignon vinegar and shallot dressing before tucking into braised new season Cornish lamb shank, slow-roasted belly of Middle White pork or 35-day dry-aged Hereford côte de boeuf.
The Red Lion & Son, North Road, N6 4BE
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