Best Sunday Roast in London

The Sunday roast is one of Britain's great culinary traditions — roasted meat (beef, lamb, chicken or pork), roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and gravy, eaten at midday or early afternoon in a pub or restaurant. Finding a good one in London is easy once you know where to look.

What Makes a Great Roast

The benchmarks: properly rested meat (not sliced from a pre-cut joint that's been sitting), crispy-outside fluffy-inside roast potatoes cooked in fat rather than oil, a proper Yorkshire pudding (not a frozen one), and gravy made from the meat juices. The vegetables are the most variable element — good roasts have them cooked with some care rather than boiled to grey.

Pub Roasts

The best Sunday roasts in London are almost always in neighbourhood gastropubs rather than restaurants that market themselves specifically as roast destinations. Good gastropubs in areas like Islington, Clapham, Hackney and Crouch End consistently outperform central tourist- area venues at lower prices. The Anchor & Hope on the Cut (Waterloo) is a long-standing benchmark; the Bull & Last in Kentish Town and the Pig and Butcher in Islington are consistently cited. These places don't always take bookings for Sunday — arrive early (noon to 12:30pm) or accept a wait.

Restaurant Roasts

Several London restaurants take the Sunday roast seriously as a premium offering — Rules in Covent Garden, St John in Farringdon and the Sunday menu at many modern British restaurants. These require booking and cost more, but the quality is significantly higher.

Tips

• The best pub roasts rarely take bookings — arrive at noon when they open to avoid disappointment.
• Ask for beef, not chicken, if you want to judge the kitchen — chicken roasts are much harder to get wrong.
• Most Sunday roasts stop being served at 4pm — don't arrive too late.
• Gastropubs in Zone 2 residential areas consistently outperform tourist-area venues at lower prices.