Best Sunday Roast Dinner in London
Going for a roast is a very British way to spend a Sunday - especially as we head into prime comfort food season. But with so many pubs and restaurants claiming they offer London’s best Sunday roast, which one do you go for?
From traditional to unusual, meat feasts to vegan spreads, we investigate the most delicious Sunday roast dinners across the capital.
Traditional Roast Dinners
Starting off with the classics, there’s a host of pubs and restaurants that offer traditional Sunday roasts. From jumbo-sized Yorkshire puddings to rosy pink beef, here’s our list of classic options.
The Pig and Butcher
One of the best Sunday roasts London has to offer, The Pig and Butcher can be found in a pub that dates back to the mid-1800s. Originally surrounded by fields of livestock back when Islington was its own village, today the pub receives its orders straight from the farm. Inside, the pub has a classic, farmhouse feel, great for fans of high-quality meat and traditional roasts. With choices including lamb, chicken and even a celeriac nut roast, there’s a range of Sunday lunches to choose from - all served with Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese, carrots, and greens.
Crown & Anchor
Self-proclaimed as “the first pub in Brixton to bring a proper beer selection to SW9”, the Crown & Anchor are also known (and loved) for their traditional Sunday roast dinner. The pub serves a variety of hearty roasts, with beef rib eye and lamb shoulder available alongside beetroot Wellington and a sweet potato nut roast. All roasts are served with Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, carrots, broccoli, braised red cabbage, and gravy.
Vegetarian Roast Dinners
While there are plenty of London eateries that serve veggie roast dinner options, what separates the enjoyable from the truly phenomenal? Here are our top vegetarian Sunday roasts London has to offer.
The Oval Tavern
The Oval Tavern is a cosy pub with a quirky feel and eclectic, vintage decor. Every Sunday, the pub hosts live jazz music - perfect to accompany their mouth-watering roast dinners. Both vegetarian and vegan options are available, as well as meat options. Vegetarians get a choice between a mushroom, stilton, and red onion wellington, and a Mediterranean mixed nut, pepper and aubergine loaf. Alongside these ultimate roast dinner options, all roasts come with herby, garlic roast potatoes, stuffing, fresh swede mash, seasonal veg, huge Yorkshire puds, and gravy.
The Old Queens Head
A warmly-lit pub with quirkily British decor, The Old Queens Head is the perfect setting for a relaxed Sunday lunch. The pub feels instantly cosy with its wood-panel walls and comfy, chesterfield sofas. As well as its stunning interior, The Old Queens Head is also renowned for its pub roast and offers a chestnut mushroom wellington suitable for vegetarians - complemented by roast potatoes, honey-glazed parsnips and carrots, Yorkshire puddings, curly kale, shallots, garlic aioli, and smoked gravy.
Vegan Roast Dinners
While vegetarian roasts are widely found in traditional pubs and restaurants, vegan options are often harder to come by. However, thanks to London’s ever-growing vegan food scene, several eateries are serving up top vegan Sunday roasts. Here’s our list of the best vegan roasts London offers.
The Bull & Gate
The Bull & Gate pub has a rich history in the alternative scene, and in the 1980s, it became famous for hosting live indie music icons Nirvana, Oasis, Blur, and the Manic Street Preachers. It’s now best known for its high-quality food, and with this - most importantly - its Sunday roast dinner options. Vegan roast enthusiasts can choose between walnut, lentil and hazelnut roasts and mushroom, chard and smoked seitan wellington, all served with roast potatoes, creamy leeks, roasted purple carrots, rainbow chard, Yorkshire puddings and gravy. As well as its selection of vegan options, The Bull & Gate also offers meat roasts, so there’s something for everyone.
Cafe Van Gogh
Cafe Van Gogh is a top spot for Sunday roast dinner, offering a 100% vegan menu. The menu here changes regularly, and a typical Sunday roast could include a nut roast or a squash, courgette and pearl barley wellington, served up with tasty trimmings. The cafe is also a not-for-profit social enterprise that works with the charity Toucan Employment, helping people with mental health challenges and learning disabilities to gain the skills and confidence to seek paid employment.
Unique Roast Dinners
It wouldn’t be London without some weird and wonderful roast dinner options. For those wanting to venture away from tradition and explore new and exciting takes on this British classic, here are a few alternative Sunday roast dinner options to explore.
Lost Society
Set in a stunning art deco interior, Lost Society in Battersea offers a fun, boozy take on the classic Sunday roast dinner with its bottomless roast options. Choose from a variety of delicious Sunday lunches, including Dorset lamb with crispy mint, stuffed butternut squash slice, and even a fish roast. Bottomless bubbles or mimosas are available for just £20 extra per person. All meals come with roast potatoes, seasonal greens, carrots, fluffy Yorkshire puddings, and gravy, with bottomless options available in 90-minute slots up to 4:30 pm.
Yorkshire Burrito
Having served London with its British street food since 2015, Yorkshire Burrito puts an imaginative spin on the classic roast staple. As its name suggests, the eatery serves the ultimate roast dinner with all the trimmings, wrapped in a Yorkshire pudding-style burrito. Mind-blowing. Choose between soft braised Herefordshire beef, lemon and thyme roast chicken, or cauliflower cheese - all topped with sage and onion stuffing, roast potatoes, spinach, and their signature gravy. Yorkshire Burrito can be found in Camden Market and Leather Lane. For those wanting a truly lazy Sunday, they even deliver. Finally, we can order a Sunday roast in bed!
