Sunday Roast

Hawksmoor in various locations seems to have amazing reviews across the board. Not been myself as a little out of my price range, but know the name. Not all roasts are equal, so wherever you end up, try not to pick a place without checking reviews first.

I’m a regular at Blacklock; they were started by a couple of the Hawksmoor team who opened their own place. I do like them both so you can’t go wrong with either.

While pubs often offer a very acceptable Sunday roast, I think the dedicated steakhouses do an outstanding job of understanding the meat and respecting the various components.

We had an outstanding Sunday roast meal at Cora Pearl in Covent Garden this past July. It was my favorite meal of our 3 week trip to England and Scotland. The meal was outstanding. We made reservations for our party of 7 and we all really enjoyed the meal. I'm getting hungry thinking about how fantastic our meal was there!!!!

just want to point out that Sunday Roast is usually what us Americans would call a lunch, not dinner. We were surprised to be out looking for a Sunday Roast in the evening only to find out we had missed it everywhere we looked.

Sunday Roast is usually what us Americans would call a lunch, not dinner.

@John - Most people in my part of the US would call the big midday Sunday meal “Sunday dinner,” not lunch. (“Lunch” would be sandwiches).

So I always assumed Sunday Roast was a big midday meal. But I’m glad to have confirmation of that, because my assumption could have been wrong!

This topic comes up fairly frequently on this forum. The responses from most Brits are that Sunday lunches out are something that tourists not locals do! I haven’t had a Sunday roast out for years.

Hawksmoor is often recommended.

That's quite true Jennifer because very few of us could afford to go to a restaurant often for the Sunday main meal. Most of us have that multi-course delicious (at least in France) meal at home with family and friends. However, whenever we do go out to a brasserie or restaurant, at least in France, we're with plenty of locals having a rare meal out, or families celebrating a baptism or communion, or friends celebrating a birthday. It's not just relegated to tourism.

That's quite true Jennifer because very few of us could afford to go to a restaurant often for the Sunday main meal.

The reason isn't cost but rather because an authentic British roast is best achieved in a domestic environment. It's very difficult to cater roast dinners for large numbers of people over a period of several hours simply because the primary elements of a roast such as the potatoes and the meat need to be served as soon as they're done, a roast potato sitting around under a heat lamp is a sad affair.

I've only once had a very good Sunday roast in a restaurant however it was for a birthday event with 30 guests and was cooked and served at once to all guests.

Most pubs will serve a roast on Sundays and they are often busy however I think that is more to do with less and less people wanting or able to cook a roast themselves.

Thanks everyone for the recommendations and comments ... growing up in the US (New York specifically), I remember Sunday dinner was usually some kind of roast with the usual fixins' ... continued that after I moved to Texas and my kids were younger ... now with everyone moved out, way too much effort for that kind of dinner for just the wife and I ... kinda wish I had friends in London, I'd pay for all the food if they would do the all the cooking, then we'd all have a good ol' Sunday Roast together ... home-cooked is sooooo much better.

DQ, that sounds wonderful. My mom used to cook Sunday dinner which was usually roast beef with mashed potatoes and maybe some green beans and rolls. Soooo good! I hope you find a good place. And let us know where you end up and how it was. I'll be in London in June, and I'll try any suggestions you have.

I just had my first Sunday Roast last Sunday (in a town on the south coast of England) and it was fantastic, we loved it. It is a huge meal, not “lunch”, but it is eaten at lunch time. Ours reminded us of Thanksgiving dinner. Our English friends, and all their English friends, go out for Sunday Roast at least twice a month. And the restaurant was full of Brits. So no, it’s not “something that tourists not locals do!”

Going out for Sunday lunch is nothing to do with cost, it’s just that it’s better done at home. If we go out on a Sunday, we don’t have a roast, we eat pasta, fish etc.

Obviously some Brits eat a roast, but I don’t know of anyone that does this often, other than those with small children meeting their friends, but then some judge the quality of a meal by how much you can fit on a plate from the carvery rather than by how fresh the food is.

60-70 years ago, when families were larger, it was usual to have a roast joint on Sunday, followed by cold meat from the same piece on Monday. Monday was the traditional washing day, so,there was no time for cooking. If there was any meat still left on Tuesday, it would be minced and made into a cottage pie. Some people like to continue that tradition, perhaps because they like the meal itself. And the opprtunity to have it without the work of cooking it makes a visit to a pub or restaurant an attraction. If we go out as an extended family, it's usually on a Saturday, when a full menu is available, and a reservation easier to get. Some family members like roast meat; the majority prefer something different.

Going out for a Sunday roast very much IS a thing that British people do. Every pub will serve one and anywhere decent will be fully booked. Tourism is only a large part of the market in a few select areas of the country. You will find roasts served absolutely everywhere.

Thank you Helen.

It’s wrong to say because you/your friends don’t do something, no one does it.

Susan. I did say that some people do have roasts. I have worked with people from secretaries to directors paid lots and lots of money and few from any social strata go out for Sunday roasts. They make Sunday roasts for their friends. Most go out Saturday night. The roasts offered by most pubs aren’t as good as you can make yourself.

Fewer places where I live offer roasts compared to 20 years ago.

Not originally Jennifer. My experience is that many do, as Helen said.