Le Cassoulet © Michael Franke
Give your tastebuds a sensational sabbath. Let Time Out’s experts guide you through the tastiest Sunday lunches in London, from traditional roasts to world-cuisine wonders, as well as places to get your fill of culture, music and where to dance off those calories
Le Cassoulet © Michael Franke
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Central
Great Queen Street
One sitting
To
our joy earlier this summer, this convivial spot followed the lead of
gastropub sister Anchor & Hope and began serving Sunday lunches.
The robust menu changes weekly. On one visit, we were spoiled with
meaty pork rillettes and a gorgeous roast spring chicken with aioli; a
more recent menu proffered crab and scallop bisque (a dish we fell in
love with), pressed tongue and pig’s cheek with sauerkraut. Hearty meat
options may range from a belly-warming ragù to roast Hereford beef with
béarnaise; all mains are served with the fluffiest chips and a hefty
amount of salad greens. Leave room for dessert if you can – the little
chocolate pots provide a naughty-but-nice finish. The room can often
feel a bit sparse, with stolid, utilitarian wooden furniture and
blood-red walls, but the buzz of customers and energetic, chatty
service compensate.
Great Queen Street, 32 Great Queen St, WC2B 5AA (020 7242 0622). Covent Garden or Holborn tube. Lunch served Sun 2pm (one sitting).
Feature continues
Duke of Wellington
The Duke, runner-up in this year’s Time Out Eating & Drinking
Awards for best gastropub, is a scrubbed-up boozer that walks the line
between proper old-fashioned pub and contemporary pretension, but we
like it for its thoroughly good taste in food. Sunday lunch options
veer from the traditional without being too nouveau. Crab bisque may be
a little froufrou but we found the deep-fried baby artichokes with
aioli hearty and flavourful. Mains showcase ingredient provenance, with
an excellent roast 40-day-aged beef sirloin from the nearby Ginger Pig,
and fillet of line-caught cod with heritage tomatoes, capers and
brandade croûtons. Desserts are big and proper: Jersey cream rice
pudding, sticky toffee pudding and chocolate mint pot are among the
stars.
Duke of Wellington, 94a Crawford St, W1H 2HQ (020 7723 2790). Baker St tube or Marylebone tube/rail. Lunch served Sun 12.30-4pm.
Hix Oyster & Chop House
One sitting
A
characterful restaurant headed by a great chef (Mark Hix), Sunday lunch
here is something special. The room is comfortable, decked out with
retro touches – the cream walls, dark wood chairs, ceiling fans and the
like hark back to a simpler era. A modest lunch selection is available
on Sunday. You might start with smoked salmon on toast; crisp duck, pea
and pea shoot salad; or soft-boiled duck-egg mayonnaise. The no-choice
main course might be a roast rib of Herefordshire beef with Yorkshire
puds, roast potatoes, spring greens, buttered peas and carrots and
copious amounts of rich, velvety gravy.
Hix Oyster & Chop House,
36-37 Greenhill Rents, off Cowcross St, EC1M 6BN (020 7017
1930/www.restaurantsetcltd.co.uk). Farringdon tube/rail. Lunch served
Sun 2pm (one sitting).
National Dining Rooms
Culture
You don’t have to be an art fart to appreciate the beauty of
both the NDR’s elegant interior and its British staples. Chicken liver
pâté with piccallili is an arresting starter, while mains offer a good
range of meat, fish and the odd veggie option.
National Dining Rooms,
Sainsbury Wing,
National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, WC2N 5DN (020 7747
2525/www.thenationaldiningrooms.co.uk). Charing Cross tube/rail. Lunch
served
Sun 12noon-3.30pm.
Royal China Club
Dim sum
No joke – RCC’s dim sum are fit for royalty. Families have
made a point to come here every weekend to enjoy the faultless dim sum,
from basic pan-fried turnip cake to delicate deep-fried taro-root
dumplings.
Royal China Club, 40-42 Baker St, W1U 7AJ (020 7486 3898). Baker St or Marble
Arch tube. Dim sum served Sun 12noon-5pm.
Tamarind
Good for vegetarians
This
capacious and stylish pan-Indian restaurant’s
Sunday-lunch tasting menu features a flurry of treats from yellow
lentils with cumin, tomato, garlic and coriander, to seasonal
vegetables in a creamy tomato sauce. A special two-for-one offer
applies to Sunday-lunch tasting menus until the end of October.
Tamarind, 20-22 Queen St, W1J 5PR (020 7629 3561/www.tamarindrestaurant.com). Green Park tube. Lunch served Sun 12noon-2.45pm.
Tate Modern
Culture
The Level 7 restaurant has the best views; alternatively, the buzzing
café on Level 2 is another good choice.
Tate Modern,
Bankside, SE1 9TG (020 7887 8888/www.tate.org.uk). London Bridge tube/rail or Southwark tube. Lunch served Sun 11.30am-3pm.
The Wallace
Culture
After perusing the Wallace Collection’s unrivalled display
of eighteenth-century artworks, settle down in the restaurant, housed
in the museum’s covered courtyard. Roast nettle soup, native oysters
and devilled lamb’s kidneys on toast are among the starters; follow
with roast salt-marsh lamb with roast parsnips and minted gravy, or
grilled giant puffball mushroom with duck egg, parsley and garlic
sauce.
The Wallace, Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square, W1U
3BN (020 7563 9505/www.thewallacerestaurant. com). Bond St tube. Lunch
served Sun 12noon-3.30pm.
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14 comments
Not only no prices but no indication of whether kids are welcome or even catered for with a kids-size menu.
I'd have to recommend The Dove in Hackney. Fantastic Roast Chicken - £20 for two to share but enough for three and delicious stuffing!
Im just shocked that Time Out 'Best Local Restaurant' 2008
is in Croydon. Its really near. Nothing is as rubbish as living in the Sutton Wallington Croydon South londonish triangle.
Because it is a restuarant and I love annoying Neo Lib types who secretly pick their nose and eat it.Other than that prospect I like your style plus the idea of alarming the typical Guardian reader. I'm very self-centred but not as self -centred as the Neo-Lib Independent reader from Islington.
The best roasts in EC1 are at The Old Red Cow nr the Barbican on Long Lane. I had roast topside of beef the other day and it was to die for. I think they make veggie meals to order too which is quite a nice touch.
"Best place to eat in London is Wetherspoons"? Then why are you bothering with a restaurant review page?
You think that you are neglected in West London? Almost everything ever recommended in East London is either in the City (really more central than East - Look at the postcodes, EC1, EC2 etc) or Hackney. With the very odd occasional mention of Walthamstow and the Docklands, the rest of East London may as well not exist. Although in reality, I know why. . . . there must be some gems out there somewhere and I think it's Time Outs responsibility to find them.
If you are looking for good Sunday lunch in West London two great spots on Teddington High Street; L'Auberge (at The King's head) And Noel's- virtually opposite each other
The best place to eat in London is Wetherspoons.Best lamb burger anywhere a fiver with a pint.
Could it be because West London is a bit rubbish? I mean, it is though, isn't it?
I know, I think it's ridiculous there's only two for West London.
They sound great but it would be very helpful to at least have a price range if not specific menu examples.
A hint of the price for these delicous sounding meals would have been appreciated.
Why does TimeOut always neglect West London? Why only two reviews when there are some excellent restaurants and pubs that you have failed to mention?