London’s best Sunday lunches

It’s named after a song by The Strokes, there are vinyl sleeves on the walls and the tables are all scuffed up, but it’s quality all the way at this near-flawless solo venture from chef James Cochran (ex-The Ledbury and the Harwood Arms). Sunday lunch consists of just one mighty plateful – 60-day dry-aged sirloin and brisket of dexter beef with roast potatoes, roast carrots, chargrilled hispi cabbage, cauliflower cheese, yorkshire puddings, truffle mayonnaise, smoked bone marrow, horseradish cream and beef gravy (ring in advance for a veggie option). It doesn’t serve this meaty extravaganza for singletons, so team up with a mate or a date.

You’d expect a trendy British chophouse to be clued up when it comes to Sunday roasts, and Blacklock really nails it – serving up the kind of nostalgic grub that your nan might produce for the family while ‘The Billy Cotton Band Show’ was on the radio. Of course, it’s brought the whole shebang up to date, adding a touch of theatre by slow-roasting whole joints over open coals (not the way nan would do it!) and providing a choice of three meats – usually beef, pork or lamb. All the trimmings are present and correct (the gravy is off the scale for flavour) and portions are strictly family-sized, right down to the cheesecake for afters. Blacklock’s outlets in Soho and the City offer a similar menu.

Tucked away in a quiet residential street north of Clapham Common, this charming, understated gastropub does a cracking roast dinner (around £20) within the cosy confines of its cute duck-egg blue bar and dining room. Choose from a slab of slow-roasted pork belly with homemade apple sauce and crackling, half a roast corn-fed chicken with bread sauce (also homemade) or the pièce de résistance: roast sirloin of beef with creamy horseradish and Yorkshire pud – plus all the usual veg trimmings, of course. Starters and desserts take inspiration from Italy and France, with occasional Brit intruders such as apple crumble. Proper real ales and gluggable wines are there to whet whistles and quench thirsts.

The well-proportioned Camberwell Arms famously takes the classic Sunday roast and moves it up a gear, with nibbles of pork fat and scotch bonnet on toast giving way to eclectic starters such as celeriac, tarragon and caper fritters with almond aïoli. The main event is a choice of five roasts (usually spit-roasted chicken, roast pork belly, braised lamb, lamb steak or dry-aged hereford beef) served for two people to share, plus something a bit different – perhaps a pie or some seasonal game. For afters, ice creams, sorbets and cheeses are on hand for those who still have room to spare. The pub’s pared-back, 1940s brasserie aesthetic – pastel walls, bare tables, dangly lights and salvaged furniture – goes well with the no-nonsense service, daily changing guest ales and fairly priced wine list.

Big-hearted, meaty British dishes are given full rein at this sibling of The Camberwell Arms – especially on Sundays. You can drop by and get stuck into a plate of rare roast dexter beef with carrots, roasties and watercress, but why not go big, bring some mates and share the spoils from the showpiece saltmarsh lamb shoulder, cooked for seven hours and served with potato and olive oil gratin? It should feed up to five famished souls, but beware – it’s fall-off-the-bone stuff and it sells out quickly. After that, you might just have room for a helping of apple and maple syrup pudding with custard. The pub’s hugely popular and doesn’t take bookings, so be sure to get there early.

Sitting proud at the helm of Hackney’s Broadway Market, this sizeable boozer has been welcoming all sorts since 1729 – and it’s still a prime local asset. Take a Sunday stroll around the stalls before decamping to the Cat’s bar for one of its mighty roast lunches, served with ample veg, roasties and gravy (or summer style with new potatoes, vegetable salad and salsa verde). There are normally three meaty choices (aged beef sirloin, roast chicken and lamb) plus a veggie option. If they have vegan sorbets and Hackney Gelato pots on the menu, make yourself popular by ordering plenty to share around. It is the weekend, after all.

If you want to do Sunday lunch in style, head upstairs to The Coach’s first-floor dining room where you can sample some fine victuals in elegant, laid-back surroundings. The kitchen is now home to Henry Harris – a celebrated chef who made his name with carefully rendered, bourgeois Gallic food, but also knows how to pull out all the stops when it comes to delivering a proper British Sunday roast. The big hits are the 48-day hereford beef sirloin, blackleg chicken, middlewhite pork belly and the seven-hour slow-cooked lamb shoulder, although you’ll also find mighty slabs of grilled beef to share. On the side, expect yorkshire pud, duck-fat roasties, carrots, greens and leek gratin. Plunder the rest of the menu for Anglo-French starters and puds.

Tom Conran’s Cow has been putting the ‘gastro’ in gastropub for more than 20 years, and his bovine-themed hybrid venue still delivers in spades. Despite the meaty moniker, seafood is the main attraction here (oysters and Guinness in the saloon bar is something of a local tradition), but the kitchen also comes up trumps with a proper sit-down roast served in the colourful upstairs dining room on Sundays. There’s no choice, but when the chefs can produce a beautifully cooked forerib of beef with Yorkshire pudding, roasties, carrots and horseradish cream, no one’s complaining. Rest assured, you’ll also be properly looked after in the drinks department too.

Famed for its rooftop garden/greenhouse/growing patch, this ice-cool east London gastropub with knobs on is also a diamond for Sunday roasts – although you’ll need to be an early bird to catch the pick of the meats. Expect lamb, chicken or pork, served in mind-boggling, stomach-challenging portions alongside made-to-order yorkies, fluffy roast potatoes, carrots glazed in the meat juices, and greens grown just a few floors up on the aforementioned rooftop. You can eat in the upstairs dining room (noon-6pm) or take pot luck in the airy ground-floor pub, whose bare bricks, eclectic vintage chairs and industrial lighting reference a hip New York loft.

Pitched right on the riverbank (with a huge garden to boot), this pleasingly posh Victorian boozer doesn’t simply rely on its location for custom. On Sundays, the kitchen goes out of its way to keep up with demand for roasts, cooking fresh joints from scratch several times throughout service to ensure that your cut is juicy regardless of when you order. It’s a rolling feast that might see gloucester old spot pork belly and suffolk barn-reared chicken, as well as 28-day aged rump cap of angus beef with appropriate condiments, piles of roasties, yorkshire pudding and seasonal veg, all doused in red-wine gravy. Kids can have a mini half-price roast, plus ice cream for pud.

A sedate distance from the jumble of loud music and fried chicken around Brixton station, this smart neighbourhood boozer is known for two things: its prodigious line-up of craft beers and its heavyweight all-day Sunday lunches. Ordering at the bar is easy: simply take your pick from half a roast chicken, roast rib-eye of beef, lamb shoulder, pork or a couple of veggie/vegan options, then grab a table and wait for the juicy slabs of meat, roast potatoes, veg, vast yorkshires and red-wine gravy to arrive. If you’re still hungry, then sweet temptation beckons in the shape of chocolate brownies or sticky toffee pud with custard.

All things to all people at all hours, whatever the occasion, this buzzy Soho all-dayer has the smooth and swanky feel of a private members’ club, but the food of your favourite British auntie. On Sundays, there’s a set roast menu of two or three courses, offering (usually) hereford beef or banham chicken with stuffing, plus roasties, cauliflower cheese, seasonal veg and yorkshire pudding. You can bookend your meat with soup or a posh starter (potted salmon with pickled cucumber) plus a comforting dessert (sticky toffee pud) or a plate of British cheese. Enjoy it all within the suave confines of a Georgian-era townhouse overlooking Dean Street’s comings and goings.

Famous as an iconic music venue and comedy club, this sprawling Balham boozer is now making some noise as a foodie destination following its relaunch. At the back is a proper pub dining room serving a proper all-day Sunday roast (till 9pm) with all the trimmings – and cocktails. Choose chicken, beef, pork belly with apple sauce or a vegan nut roast with roasties, veg and gravy, plus extra dishes of cauliflower cheese for sharing. If you fancy the full three courses, kick off with some British charcuterie or half a pint of skewered meats with miso mayo, before finishing with a few scoops of Jude’s ice cream or a nostalgic pud.

Directly opposite Balham station, this self-styled modern British pub has all the hipster trappings you could wish for. It also serves up a cracking Sunday lunch that will appeal to vegans as well as diehard carnivores. If meat is your thing, get the juices flowing with some duck croquettes before tackling the main event – dry-aged beef rump cap, suffolk chicken, west country pork belly or slow-roast devon lamb shoulder with all the necessary accompaniments. If meat isn’t your thing, order a plate of ssamjang fried cauliflower, sweet peppers, ginger and spring onion before the vegan wellington with roasties, roots, greens and plant-based gravy.

As popular with well-heeled locals as a flash sale on Range Rovers, the Sunday roast at this Young’s-owned Wimbledon stalwart is everything you’d want from a home-cooked lunch, but without the faff. Juicy, pink-middled 21-day aged striploin, dingley dell pork belly with apple sauce and crackling, or half a succulent lemon-and-thyme-marinated chicken come with all the trimmings: potatoes roasted in goose fat, herb-specked root veg, lashings of gravy, and a giant yorkshire pud. Eat in the main bar (no table service here), the Scullery next to the open kitchen or in one of the quieter overspill areas.

A relatively recent addition to Camden’s famous pub scene, the Farrier puts most of the neighbourhood’s foodie boozers to shame. Expect high-quality food in a welcoming, warm environment. The Sunday roast is one of the best we’ve had for ages, with the beef and chicken cooked to perfection and all all the trimmings bang on the money. 

If the Sunday scrum of people around Spitalfields gets a bit much, you can always retreat to the cosseting surrounds of this Michelin-starred high flyer from the Galvin brothers. Billed as a ‘family Sunday lunch’, their offer is exactly that, with a mini menu for the under-12s (such as roast chicken with mash) and toys to keep them amused while you lap up the food, the glorious wines and the jazz soundtrack. The menu is largely French, with the odd English dish thrown in and a centrepiece roast – usually sirloin of Cumbrian beef with a Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, glazed carrots and green beans. For afters, some Fourme d’Ambert cheese should do the trick.

Officially Fulham’s worst-kept secret, this terrific gastropub gets booked up weeks in advance – you could be looking at a month-long wait for a Sunday lunch table. However, patience brings its own rewards in the form of 45-day aged Hereford beef with roasties, Yorkshire pudding, cauliflower cheese croquettes, horseradish cream, roots, greens and bone-marrow gravy. Alternatively, you might stumble on roast rump of Tamworth pork or one of their famed game specials (Yorkshire grouse with wild mushrooms, cabbage and bacon, say). Go with an empty stomach and savour every Michelin-starred mouthful, from venison faggots with chestnut and prune to blackcurrant jam doughnuts with citrus cream. And if you want your Sunday lunch for supper, they can do that too.

Finding a decent Sunday roast in the centre of town used to be a mission fraught with the fear of greying beef. Now there’s a Hawksmoor in just about every corner of the capital, serving a slap-up lunch with all the trimmings for £22. And holy cow, the British-reared beef rump is delicious, full of flavour and cooked to a rosy medium-rare – first over charcoal, then in the oven. It’s paired with fluffy potatoes roasted in beef dripping, greens, carrots, garlic cloves and sweet roasted shallots, plus lashings of bone marrow and onion gravy. Truly a roast to boast about. Just remember the caveat: ‘We can’t guarantee roasts will be available after 5pm’.

Don’t be put off by the stylishly spartan interiors of this converted butcher’s shop, because Tom Pemberton’s big-boned British cooking provides all the visual nourishment you'll need. Mr P started out working for the groundbreaking St John Bread & Wine, and the ‘nose-to-tail’ influence of hero owner Fergus Henderson is apparent when it comes to sourcing and handling ingredients (humble or otherwise). On Sundays, there’s always a roast – usually a forerib of beef with Yorkshire pud, roast potatoes, roast parsnips and gravy, or perhaps roast Middle White pork with apple sauce and all the trimmings, plus more adventurous options such as mutton and game when in season. Try to bag a booth in the no-frills dining room.

Birthplace of Camden Town Brewery, this enterprising pub keeps the tables in its front bar reservation-free on Sundays. That’s the good news. The bad news is you really have to be there at noon to nab one if you haven’t booked in the separate dining room at the back. Roasts run from opening time until they’re gone, although the centrepiece rare-breed meats such as dry-aged hereford beef sirloin or tamworth pork belly sell out fast. Meanwhile, the stylish bar keeps pace with demand for Bloody Marys, sophisticated wines and the full range of Camden beers (including Hells Lager and Ink Stout). There’s often some live music to get your feet tapping, too.

Sunday at this crisp, clean-lined Crystal Palace institution is mainly about brunch, but Joanna’s does offer just one meaty roast – and it’s a good ’un. Most of the year, it consists of a high-quality hunk of 28-day aged sirloin with gravy, a Yorkshire pud, duck-fat roasties, seasonal veg and horseradish, all for £21. On really hot days, they might swap the beef for half a roast chicken (breast and leg), served with salad and fries. We suggest calling ahead if you’ve got your heart set on one or the other. If pud is required, there are cinnamon doughnuts, scoops of dulce de leche ice cream and even some dessert cocktails.

Superior Sunday lunches at user-friendly prices bring crowds of Kentish Town weekenders to this enduring popular watering hole. There’s sirloin of beef (cooked rare) and slow-roast pork loin with apple sauce (plus a couple of veggie/vegan offerings), or you can share one of the biggies – perhaps a whole chicken, all served with yorkshire pudding, gravy and a harvest festival of essential veg. The menu kicks off with a selection of Med-influenced starters and snacks, but unless you’re feeling heroically hungry, sacrifice them in favour of the roasts, then fill up any extra available space with one of the excellent desserts. The fun continues right through to 9pm, supplies permitting.

Roast potato alert! This light and airy Stokey boozer is a wonderfully calm place to get your spud fix. Pick a table next to the open side doors on a sunny day or a sofa by the fire when it’s wintry, but make sure to arrive early; even with two meat options (chicken or rump of beef) plus an unusually tempting nut roast (mushroom and Stilton, perhaps), the lunches will be sold out well before the 4pm cut-off. Clearly word has got out about how damn fine they are – from the Yorkshire puddings right down to the gravy, not forgetting generous seasonal veg and even a side of cauliflower cheese. Best book ahead to be on the safe side.

If you like your Sunday lunches big and bold, the Marksman on Hackney Road is bang on target – whether you plump for the bar’s polished oak surrounds and green leather banquettes or graduate to the strikingly modern first-floor dining room. It’s not cheap, but you’re paying for the calibre of the cooking. Check it out by ordering the hereford beef rump with a yorkshire pudding so big it threatens to eat you first. Otherwise, go down the sharing route by bagging a whole roast chicken or a full hereford wing rib with all the trimmings. You can get extra helpings of roasties and buttered greens for a fiver each, while pud might be brown butter and honey tart.

An elegant rebranding of Chelsea’s famous old Cheyne Walk Brasserie, No. Fifty is a timeless, plush and inviting setting for Sunday lunch with a touch of class. Special roasts are served alongside the regular menu but stay with the traditional stuff and you’ll be treated to a choice of three options (cumbrian chicken breast, 35-day dry-aged beef sirloin or veggie roasted cauliflower) with yorkshire pud, glazed carrots, roasties and sausage stuffing. You can also ring the changes by ordering some beef-fat chips, garlicky grilled broccolini or a tomato and shallot salad. Bookend your roasts with a house-made Bloody Mary and a bowl of sticky toffee pud with vanilla ice cream. Fancy afternoon tea later on? This place does that too.  

The notion of trad British Sunday lunch fits right in with the faux-rustic, green-and-pleasant vibe at this Battersea eatery from the go-getting Gladwin Brothers (owners of Rabbit and The Shed). Top-notch seasonal ingredients from the family farm in Nutbourne, Sussex figure prominently on the menu, so take your pick from home-reared sirloin of beef, pork loin or lamb shoulder, all served with yorkshire pud, roast cornish new potatoes, peas, cabbage, heritage carrots and gravy. You can also plump for British cheeses and puds such as a honeycomb crunchy with vanilla mascarpone and tarragon sugar. Wash it all down with a patriotic English wine from the restaurant’s sister vineyard.

Home to one of north London’s most photogenic dining rooms, the Old Queen’s Head can also now boast one of the area’s most accomplished and rewarding Sunday roasts. When we visited, the leg of lamb was expertly prepared and served with loads of delicious trimmings (which included the eternal favourite: honey-glazed carrots). Air-punchingly good food, complemented by a bouncy, fun atmosphere and very polite, obliging staff.

Part of the Cubitt House group, this grand building in the posh part of Pimlico might look like a gastropub, but deep down it’s a smart restaurant in mufti. The Sunday roast is equally as impressive, whether you plump for a plate of porchetta or fancy half a castlemead chicken or saltmarsh leg of lamb, with all the traditional accoutrements, of course. Those who don’t want a roast can choose a pizza, pie, burger or something flashier from the full menu. Unless you hanker after the bustle of the ground-floor dining space, request a table in the upstairs room, where the refined vibe is spot-on for a lazy Sunday afternoon with drinks and chatter.

A bright gastropub on the outskirts of Angel, The Pig & Butcher is meticulous about meat, sourcing rare-breed lamb, pork, beef, chicken and specialist cuts with care, butchering the carcases on site and serving them up with gusto. For around £22, you get a bountiful portion of meat cooked perfectly – rare for lamb and beef – atop freshly steamed greens, crisp beef-dripping roasties and Yorkshire pudding. They don’t skimp on gravy, plus all orders come with a dish of silky creamed leeks. This is roasting as an art form.

Visit in a group of four if you can, because it’s all about sharing at this rejuvenated Stokey local. While you can order a solo plate of slow roast beef brisket with some handsome trimmings, the sight of the pub’s sharing roasts, presented on boastfully shiny silver platters will have you green with envy. Portions are beyond generous and all meats come with more spuds than it’s safe to consume. Amiable staff, bountiful supplies of gravy and the hum of local chatter really warm the cockles.

You can choose to eat your Sunday lunch in the elegant downstairs bar of this handsome gussied-up Shoreditch boozer or head up the spiral staircase to the chic surrounds of the first-floor restaurant. Both are packed with convivial throngs all day long. Little wonder, since the kitchen manages to tease out every last bit of flavour from each bite, be it a stuffed Norfolk Black chicken or a salt aged pork belly with apple sauce. All are served with a big, tasty yorkshire pudding, plus roasties, seasonal veg (including kale) and chicken sauce (we’ll continue to call it gravy). For afters, treat yourself to a wedge of British cheese with malt loaf.

Meat is put on a pedestal at this popular joint on an Islington backstreet, and it has the balance between pub and restaurant spot on. Sunday roasts have an edge here, particularly as the carefully sourced flesh is smoked in-house: Herdwick lamb shoulder is a heavenly mound with beautiful burnt ends that fall apart when teased with a fork, although the pork ribeye and Hereford striploin are equally tempting. Best of all, first-rate yorkshire puddings come as standard, so there’s no need to worry about dish envy. Nachos and other starters are top-notch too, while the sticky toffee pudding will have you begging for mercy. Strange global brews feature heavily on the beer list.

Those who scoff at pitiful gravy portions will be pleased to hear that the Sunday roast at Temper comes with bottomless smoked gravy. The choice of meats is an ever-changing feast that might see roast porchetta, smoked beef, goat or pork, all served with seasonal sides including chunky veg, a huge yorkshire pudding and (the best bit) a heap of gloriously moreish beef-fat potatoes topped with melted ogleshield cheese (sit at the open fire-pit kitchen and salivate as the chef blow-torches the stuff). Roast-averse? You can order a juicy steak or even some wood-roasted fish on Sundays, too. Just remember that supplies are limited: when they’re gone, they’re gone.

Occupying a perfectly proportioned Regency townhouse named after a celebrated Victorian master builder, The Thomas Cubitt is a venue of two halves: downstairs has a more casual gastropub vibe, whereas the muted grey first-floor dining room oozes elegance – just like its Belgravia clientele. On Sundays, a choice of sharing roasts is served alongside the regular menu – pick from the likes of beef sirloin, saltmarsh lamb, middlewhite pork, whole castlemead chicken or pheasant (in season), all served with nicely al dente veg, roasties and a fluffy yorkshire. High-ish prices can be justified by super-attentive service – staff place your napkin on your lap and proffer advice on the expansive wine list. For an extra kick, begin with a Bloody Mary and round off with a British pud.