Ranked by TableJourney editorial score.
The Sunday roast is a plate of roasted joint, Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, seasonal greens and gravy, eaten in London pubs on Sunday lunch. The capital's defining set-piece since the nineteenth century.
The roast joint of meat on Sunday traces to medieval landowner kitchens and church-day eating. Industrial London pubs codified the modern format in the late 1800s: a single sitting, often midday to mid-afternoon, with one carved meat, Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots, greens and a gravy made from the pan. The Eagle on Farringdon Road, opened in 1991, is usually credited as the first London gastropub to take the dish seriously as a kitchen-led plate rather than school-dinner fare. The form spread through Anchor and Hope, The Camberwell Arms, Quality Chop House and the modern pub crawl that defines London Sundays today.
5 editor picks for Sunday roast in London, ranked by editorial score. All London signature dishes · Sunday roast across every city.
Gordon Ker's basement chophouse on Great Windmill Street in Soho London, opened 2015, runs charcoal-grilled chops in a 1850s-era basement room.
OrderThe all-in chops board with beef, lamb and pork, plus the bone-marrow gravy.
TipSunday roast is £20 and books two weeks ahead through Resy. Pre-theatre chops at 17:00 walks in for half-price.
Mike Davies's gastropub on Camberwell Church Street in south London, opened 2014, runs a daily-changing seasonal menu and a famous family-style Sunday roast.
OrderSunday roast for four (booked in advance), or whatever whole-animal cut is on weeknight dinner.
TipSunday lunch books a fortnight ahead and serves until they run out. The bar room takes walk-ins all evening.
Britain's first gastropub on Farringdon Road in Clerkenwell London, opened 1991 by Mike Belben and David Eyre, still serves Mediterranean-leaning.
OrderThe Bife Ana steak sandwich, on the menu since 1991, and a pint of bitter.
TipWalk-in only. The chalkboard menu rewrites every day at 12:00; the best dishes go by 14:00 on a busy lunch.
The 1869 Farringdon Road working-class dining room in Clerkenwell London, restored under Will Lander since 2012, runs daily-changing British cooking.
OrderThe famed confit potato, then mince and potatoes off the daily menu, with a bottle from the shop next door.
TipThe wine shop next door is corkage-free if you buy a bottle there. Lunch takes walk-ins at the counter Tue-Sat.
The Jugged Hare on Chiswell Street in the City of London, opened 2012 by ETM Group, runs a game-led gastropub menu with hung-game cabinets in the dining room.
OrderWhole roast partridge or grouse in season, or the family-style Sunday roast in winter.
TipLunch and pre-theatre runs walk-in friendly. Sunday roast books a fortnight ahead through their site.
Sunday roast makes more sense with someone from London explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.
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