From traditional pub classics to stylish, chic bars, here are the best options in London for slow-roasted meats, fluffy Yorkshire puddings, crispy roast potatoes, and deep, warming, plentiful gravy.
Fallow - St. James
Creative, sustainable, stylish, and delicious, Haymarket’s Fallow provides a trendy, zero waste, yet classy British dining experience with an ambient, post-industrial interior, open pass, nose-to-tail ethos, and reasonable prices for high quality ingredients and warm, convivial service.
Their nose-to-tail ethos – that is, using every part of the animal with minimal, if any, waste – not only carries with it a message of sustainability and waste consciousness which are appreciated by the chic East London types, but also opens up many more possibilities in recipe design, cooking methods, plating, and prep.
Roasted meats include dairy cow rump, rolled pork belly, maitake mushroom, dairy cow fillet, and lamb leg, all served with roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, glazed carrots, braised red cabbage, greens and gravy. The ergonomics of their butchering, their attention to sustainability, the uniformity of their preparation, and the quality of their presentation are all here evidenced. It is their ultimate offering, which is why Sundays are famously hard to book for and manically busy. My recommendation? Sit on the counter. Better service, more ambience, and you can watch the chefs work. Their tranquil proficiency greatly contrasts the popular stereotypes of chefs which we often see on Boiling Point and The Bear.
The George - Fitzrovia
A comely and familiar Grade II listed gastropub, The George impresses with original 18th century features which include marble fireplaces, mahogany wood, ornate plastering, and period-accurate wall-hanging lamps that are sure to impress your tourist or out-of-towner friends and well-wishers.
Sunday roast seekers may reel at the idea of a homely, cosy Sunday roast held at such a central venue, with most preferring the breezy outskirts to feast upon the Great British meal, yet The George faithfully recreates and evokes the pastoral. The tarted-up, green-heavy and overly posh sensibilities of upstairs’ interior make one feel as if they are seated in the dining hall of a major aristocrats country home, that the airy sash windows open out to a view of endless dairy cows and wheatfields instead of the bustle of Great Portland Street.
Sundays come with a range of apetisers that offer variations on classics, like Welsh rarebit croquettes, black pudding Scotch egg, and red curry pork scratchings, and of course, their roasts. Options include Cumbrian native rump of beef with bonemarrow gravy and horseradish cream, slow roasted chicken with sage & onion stuffed leg and bread sauce, a whole shoulder of lamb with garlic & herb sauce (by far the most expensive option at £75 but intended for sharing with gravy for two or three) and mushroom & celeriac pithivier for the veggies and vegans amongst us.
Despite being in the centre of central London, The George mesmerizingly transports you to a time long since passed, inducing pre-industrial notion of Britishness with enough reserves of modernity to hold appeal for contemporary audiences. A fine balance.
The Bull & Last - Highgate
Somewhere between a pub and a restaurant, The Bull & Last shows no fear in combining the two to create something greater than either. Be it a lively pub with quality food, or a restaurant with a dizzyingly large drinks menu, one could come for either purpose and leave wholly satisfied.
Food lovers will no doubt delight in a menu containing this much love and evident expertise. Watermelon Tataki, Mullet Carpaccio, House Cured Gravalax, and a steak selection to rival an actual steak restaurant, these are only the highlights of what they boast.
Their Sunday roast, definitely one of the best in the capital, comes with several meat options including English Lamb Rump, Sirloin of Shorthorn Beef, and an Aubergine Parmigiana Wellington for veggies and vegans. All come with the fluffiest of Yorkshire puddings, and proper gravy. Their rationalised presentation takes the loftiness of fine dining but with portions that would please the average joe. A great balance.
What you’ll notice straight away upon entering is its uniquely constructed interior. It looks like a pub, with dark wood panelled walls, a bar lined with taps, frames on walls, et cetera, but its arrangement of tables, each candlelit, has more in common with restaurants than it does with pubs. Essentially, it’s a restaurant masquerading in pub clothes. The best of both worlds. Downstairs for the pub times, upstairs for the dining times, and if you’re a bit worse for wear, you can rent an incredibly fancy room upstairs. Not many pubs offer bed and board these days, but the Bull & Last stands tall.
The Princess of Shoreditch - Old Street
Just on the Shoreditch/City border, tucked behind the Kingsland Road, in what would be considered by many to be the trendy capital of London, it’s a mighty challenge for any pub to stand out from the hoard. The Princess of Shoreditch doesn’t only stand out, but stands far above any in the area, for its 2 AA Rosettes weren’t earned for nothing.
Their selection of meets for Sunday roasts include Yorkshire Dales sirloin of beef (with a delicious horseradish cream), Free-range chicken, Plantation pork loin, and walnut and apricot nut roast for the veggies, and all properly garnished, this is where British food hit maximum class.
If you're not bothered about the food, then the downstairs will always welcome you to a night of high-class boozing, complete with a drinks menu of elephantine proportions, and tasty craft beers sold at the going rate of pints in East London these days. All round, The Princess of Shoreditch is one of many jewels in the crown of British Gastropub experiences.
The Jugged Hare - Barbican
While not cheap, it certainly is a massive treat. Pushing the boundaries and expectations of British food, The Jugged Hare innovates with its selection of unusual accompaniments for roast dinners. Smoked cod’s roe, whipped salt fish, caper hash browns, baked sea snails, Middle White pork & peppercorn terrine, all seem unlikely pairings for a traditional roast dinner. The Jugged Hare doesn’t care, but instead relies on its knowledge and confidence to know what works and what doesn’t.
Unusually still, they serve Sunday roast from the rotisserie: Suffolk free range chicken, pigs in blankets (all year round), sage stuffing and bread sauce. Otherwise, their classics of 45 day aged Longhorn beef, Tamworth pork belly, and Welsh leg of lamb make for one of the best roast dinners in the capital. All served with yorkies, duck fat roast potatoes, seasonal veg, and rotisserie gravy, the roasts on offer at the Hare are nothing short of sublime.
The Three Stags - Lambeth
Just a step away from the Imperial War Museum, you’ll find a pub that’s much more than just a pub. One of the founders of the Sustainable Restaurant Association, The Three Stags is a gastropub that places much more emphasis on the gastro end, while still accommodating those who stumble in mistaking it for a pub. While we may all be bored of hearing ‘British classics with a modern twist’, what really sets Three Stags apart is their quality of ingredients, emphasis on seasonal foods, and, for those interested, their curated wine list.
Unsurprisingly, they’re very popular in the area of their Sunday roasts, of which come with a tempting selection of meats: 32 day dry aged Argentine picanha roast beef, salt marsh braised lamb shank, cornfed chicken supreme with chicken croquette, porquetta stuffed with sausage meat sage, and a butternut & lentil wellington for the veggies among us. The picanha comes highly recommended if you like a big cap on your meat. All come with roasties, yorkies, veg, and gravy, of course, and, if you’re a traditionalist, you can order a side of cauliflower cheese. With restaurant-tier plating but with pub-like portion sizes, the Three stags combines the best with the best.
The Rookery - Clapham Common
There are few spots more suited to the area that they are in than The Rookery. It is leafy and trendy Clapham at its finest. The ideal spot to end up after a Sunday stroll in Clapham’s greenery. For those who came to Clapham to recreate the Surrey life in the city, The Rookery is no doubt known to them well, and there’s no doubt that they’ll keep banging on about the south-facing terrace.
With an ever-changing menu, it’s hard to make specific recommendations, but their Sunday roasts are a major selling point. The meat choices are typically roast rump of Longhorn beef, their signature slow-roasted pork belly, Swaledale roast chicken, and of course, homemade nut roast, with all the trimmings. Gravy comes in no short supply, with yorkies large and fluffy enough to soak it up.
Note: the kitchen is closed for the summer and reopens in Autumn