The best Sunday roasts in London

What is it? A revolutionary roast by London’s OG organic pub.

Why we love it: Don’t get all the fuss about organic grub? Islington’s The Duke of Cambridge will win you over in a single mouthful. Back in 1998 this backstreet boozer in Angel was certified Britain’s first organic pub by the Soil Association – and all these decades later it’s thriving on the same ethically-sourced ingredients. That foundation is just unbeatable: flavour gushes out of each dice of carrot, beet and swede; the red cabbage exquisitely balances sweet and sour; gently crunching roasties tickle with light saltiness, rosemary and garlic; the towering Yorkshire pud is deftly neither too thick nor thin, crispy or soggy. Making the most of the extreme quality of ingredients, the centrepiece – chicken or lamb from north Wales’ Rhug Estate, roast squash or Cornish day boat fish – swaggers in its simplicity, and it's all so meticulously complimentary. On top of all that, the Duke is an extraordinarily lovely place to see out a Sunday; all gorgeous green tiles, rustic wooden décor and, with its huge street windows and skylights, basked in natural light.

Time Out tip: Don’t just settle for just the roasts – the starters and sweet treats are just as flavourful. My pick are two olive oil-tastic dishes: the freshly baked sourdough with olive jam to start and the gloriously gloopy, olive oil drenched Montezuma crémeux to finish.

Address: 30 St Peter’s Street, Islington, N1 8JT.

Roasts available: Sundays 12-5pm.

Expect to pay: Roasts £24-30.

What is it? Fit Roasts by name, fit roasts by nature, with impressive veggie and vegan options in one of our favourite London pubs.

Why we love it: Taking residence at surely the only 1930s boozer to also feature a Britney Spears shrine behind the bar, Nunhead’s Old Nun’s Head is a treat for both drinkers and diners. Sup on an excellent selection of craft ales and, on Sundays, indulge in their impressively varied roast selection, brought to you by the saucily-titled Fit Roasts. For the meaties, there’s a quartet of options including rolled lamb shoulder, rolled pork belly, quarter chicken and topside of beef, while their plant-based options feature veggie and vegan haggis. All come with a full cast of roast potatoes, maple carrots, parsnip puree, cauliflower cheese, greens, yorkshires (including vegan versions) and gravy. Feed us baby, one more time.

Time Out tip: If you can’t make it on a Sunday, The Old Nun’s Head is also home to one of the best pizzas in London; Dough Hands are in residence from Tuesday to Saturday.

Address: 15 Nunhead Green, Nunhead, SE15 3QQ.

Roasts available: Sunday 12-6pm or until they sell out.

Expect to pay: From £16 per person.

What is it? An unfussy gem of a roast, in a buzzy boozer that makes Sunday afternoon feel like Friday night.

Why we love it: What makes a roast go from meh to marvellous? If you’re anything like us the list is simple: excellent core cookery (of course), plenty of veg, generous gravy pouring, and the sort of general ambience that makes you want to order one more bottle of wine. Rejoice then, because Notting Hill’s The Mall Tavern has all this in buckets. Its Sunday menu is fairly traditional, with chicken, beef (with the option to add bone marrow), pork belly and nut wellington all accompanied by yorkies, roasties, carrots and greens. But then we arrive at the English language’s greatest two-word combination: ‘endless gravy’. Finish it all off with desserts including a vegan brownie or ‘tiramisu from the tray’. Their summer roast menu includes the slightly lighter option of a whole lobster, and seafood platters as well as Aperol slushies.

Time Out tip: The Mall Tavern’s roast menu comes with suggested beer pairings to make your decision-making easier - a pale ale for beef or a Belgian ale for the wellington. 

Address: 71 Palace Gardens Terrace, Notting Hill, W8 4DY.

Roasts available: Sundays 12-10.30pm.

Expect to pay: Roasts are £22-26.50 per person.

What is it? An all-vegan roast with a heavy metal twist, courtesy of the kitchen at an iconic Camden rock pub.

Why we love it: Bristol-born ‘plant-based soul food’ specialists LD’s Kitchen serve up a smorgasbord of vegan delights every Sunday at this delightfully divey Camden boozer, with a quartet of options that’ll have your classic nut roast quivering in the corner. Try ‘pork' tofu belly, beef-style steak or a chicken-ish main served either classic or Southern corn fried. Unsurprisingly, their veggie trimmings are given star status, with roasted sweet potato, swede and basil puree, creamy mustard leeks and spinach, maple and fennel glazed carrots and collard greens with garlic coming alongside a crispy yorkshire pud and garlic and rosemary roasties. Shell out a little extra for truffled or smoked cauliflower ‘cheeze’ on the side.

Time Out tip: LD’s Kitchen have also set up London’s first wholefood plant-based smokehouse, running Wednesdays to Sundays at Hackney’s Saint Monday brewery.

Address: 3 Greenland Place, Camden, NW1 0AP.

Roasts available: Every Sunday from 12pm, last sitting at 7.15pm.

Expect to pay: All roasts are £18, plus £6.50 for cauli cheeze.

What is it? Voguish kitchen talent dealing in upmarket roasts with a difference.

Why we love it: This classy London Fields boozer offers a sublime Sunday lunch, that isn’t like other roasts. Not only are the vibes immaculate (candlelit tables, friendly dogs roaming about, and a some harmless, tipsy hipsters), but where else can you score a couple of confit duck legs, Toulouse sausage, or a fallow venison and bone marrow pie alongside your standard spuds, carrots and greens? Everything comes with lemon butter cabbage, glazed parsnip, heritage carrot, crispy potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and gravy, with head chef Will Samuel making meaty magic in the kitchen. (And do order the creamy bavette tarate on chicken butter toast as a starter if you have a competitive appetite).  

Time Out tip: Can’t make it on a Sunday? The Prince Arthur has consistently ranked on the podium of Time Out’s best London gastropubs so any visit here is a winner.

Address: 95 Forest Road, London Fields, E8 3BH.

Roasts available: Sundays from 12.30pm; last booking at 6.30pm.

Expect to pay: Roasts are £22-39 per person.

What is it? A sturdy Sunday offering in a newly revamped pub with big bistro energy.

Why we love it: This charming Highgate Village gastropub is now run by the same team as the nearby Red Lion & Sun. Roasts are hefty; our slow roasted belly of pork was a whopper, with a vast crust of golden crackling, a hilariously large yorkshire pudding, spuds, carrots and a deeply meaty gravy. Vegetarians are well catered for - the beetroot and mushroom wellington was a beast of dish, complete with all the trimmings and a veggie gravy to boot. Airy and bright, the space feels more like a Parisian brasserie than a north London boozer.

Time Out tip: Not many gastropubs have a frozen margarita machine. Make use of the one at The Angel and order a fro-marg as the perfect pudding replacement. 

Address: 37 Highgate High Street, Highgate, N6 5JT.

Opening hours: Sundays 12-5pm.

Expect to pay: Roasts £24-25. 

What is it? A two or three-course feast in an iconic Victorian dining room.

Why we love it: This one means business. The cherry on top of the Quality Chop House’s magnificent meaty menu, their Sunday roast is one to truly dedicate a whole afternoon to. In the starter corner, you’ve got an elevated selection that immediately sets them apart from your average pub fare, from a red mullet soup to Norfolk asparagus, hollandaise and potato. Mains include Aberdeen Angus rump and brisket, but also a turbot option; served with roasties, leafy escarole, mustardy turnips and more. You’d be remiss not to pop on a side of their legendary confit potatoes for good measure. Finish up with a Kentish strawberry trifle or a decadent 72% chocolate mousse and revel in a Sunday well done. 

Time Out tip: One of London’s most atmospheric dining rooms, you’ll want to stay for as long as possible. Pre-roast snacks such as smoked cod’s roe and sweetbreads will help.

Address: 92-94 Farringdon Rd, Clerkenwell, EC1R 3EA.

Roasts available: Sundays 12-3.30pm.

Expect to pay: £49 for two courses, £59 for three courses. Snacks start from £6.

What is it? A lovingly curated, herocially sized historical meat-feast. 

Why we love it: Currently in residence at Highbury gastropub The Compton Arms, Rake like to serve up a touch of British culinary history with their meals. You’ll not find hot honey-battered carrots here, but rather sides of old school clapshot (the trad Scottish dish of mashed swede, turnips and spuds), hefty bowls of medieval-looking spring greens and brimming bowls of cauliflower cheese. Roast pork belly, roast chicken, marinated beef rump, lamb leg or mushroom and veg turnover are your options for mains, and all are cooked impeccably.

Time Out tip: Order the house bread with whipped rosemary butter and braised cuttlefish with smoked sausage (a kind of cockney gumbo) if you want to go full King Henry VIII. 

Address: The Compton Arms, 4 Compton Avenue, Islington, N1 2XD.

Roast times: Every Sunday, 12.30-4.30pm. 

Expect to pay: All roasts £25. 

What is it? Sharing roasts in a south London gastropub from the gods.

Why we love it: A supercharged roast that knows how to kick off a party (ie. with scotch bonnet pork fat on toast), the Camberwell Arms’ entire Sunday lunch menu is designed with similarly outrageous feasting in mind. Most of their mains are sharers for two, with slow cooked lamb, roast chicken, and sandy and black pork served alongside variations of roast potatoes and cabbage (hispi, cavolo nero and savoy), while their current veggie option is a courgette, moghrabieh and lemon aioli affair. The south London institution’s menu changes often, but there are always eclectic starters, with ice creams, sorbets and cheeses on hand to finish.

Time Out tip: Take a snap on rooftop bar Frank’s Cafe’s iconic pink staircase during the summer season. You’ll find it a short hop away in Peckham.

Address: 65 Camberwell Church Street, Camberwell, SE5 8TR.

Roasts available: Sundays 1-5pm.

Expect to pay: Sharing roasts start at £50 for two.

What is it? No nonsense roasts in one of London’s finest, independently owned LGBTQ+ pubs.

Why we love it: If you’re looking for a Sunday roast that does what it says on the tin for a reasonable price and with a side order of genital drawings on the walls, then Hackney queer institution The Nelson’s has got you covered. There’s beef rump, pork belly, lamb shoulder and - curveball alert - soy-marinated fried chicken thigh for the carnivores, plus veggie or vegan cauliflower wellington or Mediterranean vegetable tart for the plant-based munchers. All served up with perfectly crisp roast potatoes, maple glazed carrots, a sizable yorkshire pudding, and gravy that’s just the right kind of thickness.

Time Out tip: Another Sunday institution, pop to neighbouring Columbia Road Flower Market and, when it all gets too much, The Nelson’s will be waiting with a much-needed Bloody Mary.

Address: 32 Horatio Street, Hackney, E2 7SB.

Roasts available: Sundays 12-6pm.

Expect to pay: Roasts are £20-22.

What is it? A stylish and airy dining room hiding above an iconic Fitzrovia pub.

Why we love it: The George in Fitzrovia is one of the area’s heavyweight boozers. It’s one of a clutch of pubs in the area that has proper heritage. And, despite its proximity to the tourist Tartarus that is Oxford Street, the Grade II-listed property has an authenticity not shared by many places in the area. Now, thanks to the very capable JKS restaurant group (Bao! Hoppers! Berenjak! Bibi!) it has a stripped-back but friendly feeling upstairs dining room in which you can experience all manner of posh-ified pub classics. And what would a pub be without a roast? This one is excellent, making most Zone 1 Sunday lunches look like pasty plates of reheated freezer food. I got the roast beef (billowing rose-red slices) and all the sides. Everything was cooked beautifully and portions were generous (or maybe just… appropriate, considering the prices).

Time Out tip: There’s a selection of clever sauces that can’t quite stifle their inherent cheffiness. The bone marrow gravy is worth ordering, as is the chip shop curry sauce.

Address: 55 Great Portland Street, Fitzrovia, W1W 7LQ.

Opening hours: Sundays 12-8pm.

Expect to pay: Roasts £30-35.

What is it? A carnivorous menu, with a show-piece lamb shoulder for five.

Why we love it: Sharing roasts for two are fairly de rigeur, but if you want to go full banquet then head to Stockwell’s Canton Arms, where you and four meat-loving mates can feast on a mighty, fall-off-the-bone Salt Marsh lamb shoulder with potato and olive oil gratin, and greens that’ll fill up most of the table. Feeling a little less excessive? That’s also fine. They’ve got two types of beef (rare roast Dexter, and slow-cooked shin), guinea fowl and smoked ham pie, plus multiple fish options and more. Be warned, mind: there’s not a huge amount of variety for veggies on their current menu aside from an asparagus, mushroom and cheddar tart. 

Time Out tip: The lamb shoulder sells out quickly, so book in advance and aim to eat early.

Address: 177 South Lambeth Road, Stockwell, SW8 1XP.

Roasts available: Sundays 12-3.45pm.

Expect to pay: Mains from £24; lamb shoulder for five is £145.

What is it? A chic gastropub with stained glass windows and top level atmos.

Why we love it: Rumours once told that Jimi Hendrix was the first man to introduce parakeets to London, which would explain the day-glo rendering of the guitarist in this Kentish Town pub’s stained-glass aesthetic: it’s like eating in the belly of a particularly rock’n’roll church. The back dining room vibe is cosy yet subtly fancy, with attentive table service and starter morsels such as oysters and potato bread with smoked butter to get you in the mood. Mains include hay-smoked chicken and melt-in-the-mouth lamb, all served with sharing trimmings: pillowy yet crunchy spuds, zesty greens and great gooey spoonfuls of cauliflower cheese.

Time Out tip: With a wide selection of aperitifs, digestifs and more, allow their knowledgeable bar staff to lead you astray booze-wise.

Address: 256 Kentish Town Road, Kentish Town, NW5 2AA.

Roasts available: The dining room is open from 12-7pm on Sundays.

Expect to pay: Roasts start from £25.50 per person, or push the boat out and share a sirloin for £90. 

What is it? Oak-smoked meats and live-fire cooking, with meat sourced from top quality UK farmers.

Why we love it: The Dragon Flame know how to barbecue. Serving up high-end British produce with a focus on fire, this isn’t your average flame-grilled affair; instead, they’re giving us a roast with a flavoursome twist. There’s dry-aged oak-smoked beef brisket and oak-smoked half chicken, rare breed roast pork cooked on a spit, and celeriac, spinach and mushroom wellington for plant-based Sunday lunchers. All come with seasonal veg, braised red cabbage, roast potatoes, yorkshires and red wine gravy, and you can order extra portions of the latter trio, or add on a no-holds-barred cauliflower cheese. The Dragon Flame also deliver a more comprehensive pud selection than most, including a sticky toffee pud, chocolate and orange tart, or a classic apple crumble.

Time Out tip: As well as also serving up at the Heathcote and Star in Leyton, south Londoners are in luck too. The Dragon Flame offer their signature Sunday lunch at Orbit Beers Taproom in Walworth.

Address: 35 Queensdown Road, Lower Clapton, E5 8JQ.

Roasts available: Sundays 12-8pm.

Expect to pay: Roasts from £17, kids roasts from £10.50. Desserts range from £5 to £6.50.

What is it? A recently revamped 200 year old Victorian boozer, with a candlelit dining room.

Why we love it: Hoxton’s William IV treads the line between classic and modern with gusto. Their upstairs dining room provides the perfect low-level lighting to guzzle yourself giddy on decadent fennel and rosemary porchetta or perfectly-cooked 28-day-aged top rump, while their main roast menu features a vegan wellington and whole roast chicken for two. Their classic trimmings (roasties, yorkshires et al) are embellished with additional sauteed leeks, while their starter menu is not to be ignored. The Guinness soda bread and marmite butter is a must, as is their house speciality: plump, palate-awakening pickled mussels. 

Time Out tip: William IV does an extremely good Guinness pour, while their 2:1 coastal martini is simple and sublime.

Address: 7 Shepherdess Walk, Hoxton, N1 7QE.

Roasts available: Sundays 12-6.30pm.

Expect to pay: Roasts start from £19.50 per person, with sides and starters from £4.50.

What is it? The actual restaurant from Boiling Point, but far less stressful.

Why we love it: A vast dining room in a hidden Dalston courtyard, the on-screen celebrity status of Jones & Sons certainly isn’t its only selling point. Here, Sunday roasts are a weighty affair: not just in terms of importance, but also in sheer girth (their yorkshire puddings are the largest we’ve ever seen). These towering monuments to batter accompany some equally hefty mains, including a mega chunk of old spot pork belly and a vegan smoked tofu and butternut squash wellington the size of a paving slab. We can only imagine what a goliath their meat platter - featuring rib eye, pork belly and lamb chops - must be. Accompanied by an impressive selection of veg that includes confit shallots and parsnip puree, there are also starters galore.

Time Out tip: Dalston's most excellent independent cinema, the Rio is a two minute walk away - the perfect place to sit and digest after lunch.

Address: Stamford Works, 3 Gillett Street, Dalston, N16 8JH.

Roasts available: Sundays 12-6pm

Expect to pay: Veggie roasts are £18, meaty ones start from £22.

What is it? An elegantly revamped Mayfair boozer with an arty twist.

Why we love it: If you eat with your eyes first, then at The Audley your peepers are in for a treat. Oh-so-delightfully revamped with a specially-commissioned ceiling by London artist Phyllida Barlow, the glammed-up gastropub does trad classics with extreme flair, plus there’s plenty on the Sunday menu for roasters and non-roasters alike. In the former camp, their immaculate beef roast comes with a yorkshire filled with surprise stew, plus all the usual trimming suspects. In the latter, enjoy St. Gallen bratwurst, chicken, ham and leek pie, and other hearty fare. Get there early to nab the sharing braised shoulder of lamb. 

Time Out tip: Above The Audley sits Mount St. Restaurant where you can dine surrounded by art from the likes of Andy Warhol, Lucian Freud, Henri Matisse and other huge hitters.

Address: 41-43 Mount Street, Mayfair, W1K 2RX.

Roasts available: Sundays 12-6pm

Expect to pay: Roast beef for one is £36; sharing roasts for two start at £62.

What is it? A sparkly new surf and turf spot upstairs at Mare Street Market in King’s Cross.

Why we love it: Sunday lunch at Island isn’t for the fish-phobic. Starters are all deeply aquatic, with bloody mary oysters (or cheesey rarebit ones if you fancy your bivales warm), alongside hot pepper fish wings with punchy buffalo and ranch dips, as well as herocially addictive salt and vinegar chockle popcorn. Which is all before we get to the main event - if you’ve managed to save some room, which might be hard considering the sheer level of class act cookery on display from Michelin star chefs Tom Brown and Brad Carter. There’s a fish of the day option for the roast as well as seaweed roasted cauliflower, but you could go slightly more trad with beef cheek & rump or porchetta. Roast spuds are uber crispy, greens zing with rosemary and orange butter and yorkshire puds are the size of a small baby. 

Time Out tip: Fried cherry pie with tonka bean custard makes for an epic, Twin Peaks-adjacent pudding. 

Address: Mare Street Market, Lewis Cubitt Square, King’s Cross, N1C 4DY.

Roasts available: 12-4pm every Sunday. 

Expect to pay: Roasts £28 with all the trimmings.

What is it? A ravishing Jamaican-inspired roast in Deptford.

Why we love it: According to Buster Mantis - a sleek eatery in a railway arch - they serve ‘neither a traditional Jamaican Sunday lunch, nor a British one, but borrow some bits that [they] like from both’. It works. Starters include oxtail croquettes, saltfish fritters and pepper shrimp, while the fusion extends to their main event. Pork, chicken and lamb options come with roast potatoes, rice and peas, veg and a yorkshire pud, while their veggie option is a pumpkin-stuffed cho cho with callaloo. A trio of punches - Guinness, rum and tropical - ensure the drinks also follow the Caribbean flavour trail, while sides of mac and cheese and plantain are a must. 

Time Out tip: Back in 2022, Deptford High Street was crowned Time Out’s coolest London street. A few years later and there’s still oodles there to help you fill a whole day of pleasant mooching.

Address: 3-4 Resolution Way, Deptford, SE8 4NT.

Roasts available: Sundays 1.30-6pm.

Expect to pay: Roasts start at £20.50 per person, with sides up to £6.

What is it? A highly decent roast option from BBQ pros Black Cactus.

Why we love it: Now in residency at Walthamstow’s Burnt Faith Brandy House, these pit masters have just come back from a stint in Texas, and are whipping up an epic Sunday lunch tray that includes a host of inarguable hits. There’s smoked lamb sirloin with pomegranate glaze, ginger beer brined smoked turkey crown, aged beef hot link with fennel, ancho and honey, roast spuds slathered in beef tallow, a highly unhealthy baby gem wedge salad, and a couple of tallow cowboy flatbreads. Then there’s the carnival of pickles and sauces; including candied jalapenos, apricot harissa creme, and smokey baba ganoush.  One tray between two or three folk is more than sufficient. 

Time Out tip: If you can fit it in alongside the BBQ tray, check out the weekly changing special. When we went it was a dry aged ‘tomapork’ served with a light and zingy lemon and anchovy salsa verde. 

Address: 57 Sutherland Road, Walthamstow, E17 6BH.

Roasts available: 1-5.45pm every Sunday. 

Expect to pay: Sharing BBQ tray is £75. Small plates £14-18. 

What is it? Sunday lunch with live jazz in an old tram shed.

Why we love it: A classy alternative to your classic pub lunch, Clapton Country Club switches out leather booths and low-level bustle for chandeliers and a live jazz band. Largely used as a wedding venue, Sundays is when it opens its door to punters. Food-wise, the meat options are fairly traditional - beef, chicken and pork belly, all served with roasties, veg, creamed leeks and yorkshires - but their plant-based options are a cut above. Choose from aubergine nut roast, wild mushroom and truffle wellington, and roast butternut squash with pomegranate and quinoa stuffing. Finish it all off with desserts including a sumptuous rum and raisin bread and butter pud, and let the trumpets play…

Time Out tip: Live local and don’t feel like leaving the house? Clapton Country Club also deliver their roasts - rejoice!

Address: Unit J2, The Tram Depot, 38-40 Upper Clapton Road, E5 8BQ.

Roasts available: Sundays 12-7pm. Last bookings 5.30pm.

Expect to pay: Roasts from £23.80; puddings are all £9.50.