London's best Sunday lunches
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Time Out Restaurant editors. Photography Rob Greig and Ed Marshall
Updated: Tue Nov 24 2009
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East-
Carpenter's Arms
73 Cheshire Street, E2 6EG
There’s a lot going on in Bethnal Green on a Sunday, with the markets in Columbia Road and Brick Lane both bursting into life, and The Carpenter’s Arms provides an appropriately convivial place to refuel. They recognise that Sunday lunch doesn’t have to be just roasts, and there’s an adventurous menu of starters and alternative mains including oysters, chicken liver pate or own-made Scotch egg with piccalilli. On our visit, a pumpkin soup was soothing and smooth, if a little lacking in punch, but potted mackerel with pickled cucumber was a tasty choice. Traditionalists will enjoy the roast beef or chicken with crispy spuds, sticky parsnips, Yorkshire pud and good gravy, available in two sizes. Sunday lunch served 1-5pm. Sunday lunch for two with drinks and service: around £40. Read more
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The Luxe (upstairs restaurant)
109 Commercial St, City, E1 6BG
‘Masterchef’ guru John Torode’s new restaurant has a ground-floor brasserie, but it’s the first-floor restaurant which does the Sunday lunch. The menu matches the venue, a beautifully renovated building in Old Spitalfields Market with a relaxed glamour that combines contemporary furniture and (loud) music with warm Victorian brick walls and a lovely parquet floor. Torode’s trademark big-flavoured, straightforward dishes only work if the cooking is spot on. Our set Sunday lunch starter of kedgeree with soft-boiled egg was good Sunday hangover fare, with a warm buzz of chilli and spices. A salad of wood-roasted pumpkin, marjoram and blue cheese was spoilt by the pumpkin being a touch chilled in the centre, and a main-course chunk of turbot, served with an olive dressing, was slightly underdone. The braised pork cheek with autumn fruits was a proper warmer, with super-buttery mash, but the braised red cabbage had a crude vinegary edge. But shame on the set menu chicken – it was dry and lacking in delectable brown roastiness. The roast potatoes had just one single shard of crispness on the outside and a less-than-freshly cooked quality within. Perhaps the set menu we tried is for the diners in second class – the wood-roasted vegetables on the à la carte were in a different league. Puds were better, with poached quince and honeycomb ice cream an autumnal star. A good number of well-picked wines are available by the glass and in 250ml and 500ml carafes. Sunday lunch for two with drinks and service: around £75. Sunday set lunch: £18 for two courses, £22.50 for three. Read more
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Princess of Shoreditch
76-78 Paul St, Shoreditch, EC2A 4NE
This gastropub changed hands recently, and the cooking has gone up a few notches. On Sundays the food has a traditional slant, with lots of roasts – belly of pork, leg of lamb, sirloin of beef, even a mixed roast, with all the trimmings, of course. Afters include sticky toffee pudding, apple and plum crumble and a selection of British cheeses. Sunday lunch for two with drinks and service: around £45. Read more
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Water Poet
Water Poet, 9-11 Folgate St, Shoreditch, E1 6BX
The Water Poet is a carefully refurbished Spitalfields pub which caters for a calendar of occasions: a quiet pint, a place to watch the game, a night out or, yes, a Sunday lunch. The small menu has three starters and around eight mains, including the appealing belly of pork with trimmings and ‘proper gravy’, and a classic ploughman’s lunch. Sunday lunch served noon-5pm. Meal for two with drinks and service: around £45. Read more
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St John Bread & Wine
94-96 Commercial Street, City, E1 6LZ
You don’t come to St John looking for a bog-standard roast, and adventurous eaters will be well rewarded with selections including deep-fried pig’s head, nettle soup and cold mutton with chicory and anchovy for starters. There are few mains, which are simple and to the point: Middle White pork with purple sprouting broccoli, perhaps, or grey partridge with a creamy bread sauce and sharp damsons. The menu changes each week, so log on to their website in the mornings to see what great British treats await past elevenses. Sunday lunch served noon-4pm. Sunday lunch for two with drinks and service: around £55. Read more
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Café de Luxe
St Botolph's Hall, 35 Spital Square , City, E1 6DY
The Galvin brothers’ latest opening, Galvin La Chapelle in Shoreditch, is already hot news; but head to the more casual Cafe de Luxe right next door for Sunday lunch, French-style. You can start with escargot or steak tartare before moving swiftly on to mains such as slow-cooked pork belly with savoy cabbage and quince purée. Sunday lunch served noon-3pm. Sunday lunch for two with wine and service: around £65. Read more
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46 comments
The Stag on Fleet Road in Hampstead does an amazing Sunday roast, all ingredients are locally sourced, service is attentive without being too on your face and they have live acoustic sets from 7:30pm every Sunday. Do give it a go!
Any Toby Carvery for me £8 and you can keep going back for veg you will be stuffed to the brim for the price you cannot beat them I use the The Eagle in Snaresbrook. its great.
The Sunday Roast at Lost Society in Clapham was fantastic. Plus their bloody mary was one of the best I've tasted.
The Alma in Newington Green on 73 bus route does an amazing roast every Sunday. There is always a delicious veg roast aswell as the meat options, and usually fish and other stuff too. The atmosphere is so cosy and the staff are lovely.
Well worth the trip
me and my friend Nicola had so much fun at The Great Queen Street and oh how we laughed!!
Great food and great company, Thanks Nicola!!!!
Can't believe they didn't stop in at Luigis, Gipsy Hill, Dulwich for Sunday Lunch!
A general rule of thumb.
Avoid Sarf of the river(=its full of would be loonies who are really nerds) for eating out and ABOVE ALL avoid Yappie Neo Lib Gastro pubs=what are they? Basically you rip a trad boozer by the bollocks inside out and tranform it into some psys ida of Paris or some other place of the imagination.See my blog THE WORLD for pubs
to JRC
Dont woirry bout getting embarrassed in front of an Italian .I live in Milan and have a holiday home near Gallipoli in the Salento and believe me I've eaten some really crap meals in the land of Dante.Its more or less the norm unless you pay big bucks.When I bring Italians to my home in Arsenaland (alas) I take em up Wetherspoons-they love it!!! Especially the beef night.If you don't knw Italy apart from occasional visits well you don't know the food.
Best Sunday Lunch and value for money at Corelli's in Battersea Park Road (and not only on Sundays; the chef Enzo serves top Italian grub any time, any day of the week).
The tastiest Sunday Lunch I've had in ages is at the Britannia in Victoria Park, especially the sharing dishes of chicken for two or rib of beef for four and excellent value for money. fantastically, they serve from midday till 8pm, so it doesn't matter how late you got in the night before you can still get your roast on Sunday all accompanied by some great loungey DJ's till late.
The Anglesey Arms (west London) is a firm favourite for Sunday lunch. Comfortable. relaxed atmosphere and they are very child/family friendly.
Spitalfields & Shoreditch aren't the only places in East London. I think this article should have tried harder; they've barely left The City. East17 in E17 Walthamstow is great for instance. King Edward VII in Stratford E15 gastropub is good. Islington has loads of places too.
The address for the Carpenters Arms (as featured in the 'East" section of 'best Sunday lunches') is wrong. It is not in Hammersmith (west!). The correct address is 73 Cheshire Street, E2 6EG.
The Water Poet? Are you sure?? I had the worst Sunday Lunch there ever a few months back. It was like reheated school dinners.
Worst still, I was introducing an Italian friend to a traditional English Sunday lunch and all he got was confirmation that English food is stodge!
Thankfully, when he came back a few weeks later the Peasant on St John St came up trumps for us.
The Bull and Last in Kentish Town is by far the best for Sunday lunch or any day of the week......