The best Sunday roasts in London

What is it? A lavish luncheon by Elm - the Peckham gastropub side hustle from Australian chef Mike Bagnall of the very good Auguste restaurant in London Fields.

Why we love it: A perfectly proportioned plate, the roast at Elm is a masterclass in Sunday lunch. It doesn’t shout about its greatness, but whispers it coyly. Our portion of Iron Age pork loin is silky and flirtatiously fatty, served with a mound of puffed pig skin, serious carrots, excellently unmushy kale and roasties done right, in a pool of murky gravy which (though we order an extra jug on the side) proves to be just the right amount. Also on the menu is a 1/4 Somerset Saxon chicken, aged beef rump and a wild mushroom and celeriac pithivier for the vegetarians, but we plan to return to attempt the hearty and intriguing sharing roast of whole pheasant with house pancetta and pickled onion sauce. Elite stuff.

Time Out tip: Start proceedings with a bloody mary oyster or two. Then linger in the pub after lunch for some live jazz, which starts around 7pm.

Address: 43 Choumert Road, Peckham, SE15 4AR.

Roasts served: 12-5pm. 

Expect to pay: Roasts £22-27, sharing roast £50. 

What is it? A roving contemporary Cantonese residency from chefs Jenny Phung and James Shepherd, currently serving up fusion-y Sunday roasts at hip-yet-low-key Essex Road natty wine pub Godet.

Why we love it: If you’re gonna put a spin on such a time-honoured tradition as the Sunday roast, you’d better know what you’re doing. Ling Ling’s really does, striking just the right balance between comfortingly familiar and pleasingly innovative (think sesame seed-studded Yorkshire puds, nori-spiked mustard and miso gravy alongside your five-spiced seabass or pork belly). Come hungry; like all good roasts, this one is of nap-inducing proportions, and you’ll want to start with a round of crunchy radish cakes doused in a zingy soy and pomegranate dressing.

Time Out tip: The staff are very happy to box up your leftovers if you need to save some room for their outstanding dessert of velvety, earthy-yet-light matcha and white chocolate tiramisu.

Address: 382 Essex Road, Islington, N1 3PF.

Opening hours: Roasts served 1-5pm Sundays.

Expect to pay: Roasts £25-30.

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 all-vegan roast with a heavy metal twist, courtesy of the kitchen at Camden rock pub The Imperial Palace of Big Red.

Why we love it: Bristol-born ‘plant-based soul food’ specialists LD’s Kitchen serve up a smorgasbord of vegan delights at this Chalk Farm Road 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  Southern corn fried. Unsurprisingly, their veggie trimmings are given star status, with garlic and rosemary 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.

Time Out tip: Shell out a little extra for truffled or smoked cauliflower ‘cheeze’ on the side.

Address: 40-42 Chalk Farm Road, Chalk Farm, NW1 8BG.

Roasts available: Every Sunday from 12-6pm.

Expect to pay: All roasts are £22, plus £8 for cauli cheeze.

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 aka The Duke Organic 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? This airily retro Kensington boozer from Allsopp’s brewery is designed as the platonic ideal of the pub. The Blue Stoops was the name of proprietor Jamie Allsopp’s nine-time great grandfather’s tavern, with this new one is an attempt to imagine – or dream – what its 18th century namesake might have been like.

Why we love it: Friendly, unpretentious service is The Blue Stoops’ mission statement, and it’s easier to be friendly and unpretentious when you have the food to back it up. The roasts are hearty classic pub fayre that look exquisite: my perfect crackling-encased spiral of Gloucester Old Spot pancetta could model; I didn’t order the little blackened roast Somerset Saxon chicken, but it looked so good I wanted to get a selfie with it.

Time Out tip: It’s the only pub in London where you can get a crisp pint of Double Diamond, the once hugely popular pale ale made by Allsopp’s that was massive in the middle of the century but was almost wiped out by the 1980s lager revolution. Now it’s back!

Address: 127-129 Kensington Church Street, W8 7LP

Roasts served: Sundays 12-6.30pm.

Expect to pay: Roasts £28-30.

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? A great Green Lanes gastropub from the Papi chappies, aka chef Matthew Scott and sommelier Charlie Carr.

Why we love it: This superior roast is delivered in the dining area of this new pub near Newington Green, and is one for the ages. Grilled Yorkshire hogget chops come smeared with luminescent mint sauce, rolled pork loin is encased in the most perfect, puckered crackling and dolloped with bramley apple ketchup while beef fat roast potatoes are some kind of heavenly bastard child of chips and jacket spuds. Sleep on the mint choc chip ice cream at your peril. 

Time Out tip: Plonk for local-ish wines from Kent - Charlie Carr will show you the way with passionate recommendations. 

Address: 79 Green Lanes, Newington Green, N16 9BU.

Opening hours: Roasts served 12-7pm Sundays. 

Expect to pay: Roasts £26-32.

What is it? A sturdy Sunday offering in a 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 bona fide meat feast cooked over wood that puts sustainable technique and heaps of flavour front and centre.

Why we love it: In the courtyard of Hackney brewery Five Points, From The Ashes is a Sunday roast for people that treat Sunday roasts as an occasion. An elasticated waistband kind of occasion. A short and sweet list of starters (the pork pibil tacos are an unexpected highlight) gives way to the main event: beef rump, porchetta and smoked chicken, all grilled or smoked over live fire. As you might imagine, this is flavour central: each cut is perfectly seasoned, with big, smoky, barbecue flavours and just the right amount of char. Opt for the sharing roast for a healthy helping of each cut, served on a tray heaving with charred cabbage, roasted carrots and parsnips, stuffing made from the roast’s offcuts, fluffy yorkies, and some of the crispiest roasties in east London. The sharer is designed for two – but could quite comfortably stretch to three, making it one of the best bang-for-your-bucks roasts around.

Time Out tip: Save space for the dessert: doughnut bread and butter pudding swimming in custard.

Address: 61 Mare Street, Hackney, E8 4RG.

Roasts served: Sundays 12-4pm.

Expect to pay: Roasts start at £20.

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 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: £59 for three courses. Snacks start from £6.

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? A surprisingly good value luncheon in a Grade II-listed former courthouse in Clerkenwell.

Why we love it: The stunning Sessions Arts Club feels like a tatty but much loved Tuscan villa, complete with faded plaster walls, beautifully restored double-storey columns, detailed arched windows and a mezzanine from which you can people-watch the others diners below. It’s a truly stunning place and the Sunday lunch is just as impressive. Visting on Easter weekend (with the sun streaming through the windows), our lamb (cooked two ways) came with some seriously classy sides: crushed potatoes with garlic and thyme, watercress and tropea onions, wild garlic salsa verde, and grezzina courgettes with mint and parmesan. A light but punchy vodka tomato spritz (kind of like a Bloody Mary on Mounjaro) kicked things off a treat. 

Time Out tip: Ignore the dessert trolley at your peril. For £10 you get both old school puds on offer, expect the likes of creamy rhubarb trifle and chocolate prune tart. 

Address: Old Sessions House, 24 Clerkenwell Green, EC1R 0NA.

Sunday lunch available: 12-5pm, every Sunday. 

Expect to pay: £30 for mains, £10 for dessert.

What is it? A rowdy Portuguese luncheon in a revamped Hoxton boozer.

Why we love it: This former indie sleaze hangout now serves excellent Portuguese cuisine and as of February 2026 has added a Sunday menu to its repertoire. Trad diners can go for roast beef with all the trimmings, but the roast chicken with a heap of flavourful rice and house-made piri-piri sauce is the must-order, coming on like the most elite Nando’s you’ve ever had the pleasure of dealing with. Perfectly smooshy spuds are slotted onto the plate, for extra carb-on-carb realness, and it comes with a heroically dressed and super-fresh feeling salad as well. Alas, when we went they had just run out of a sensational looking side of cheesy leeks, but order their seasonal vegetable gratin if you can. There are also sharing fish pies and starters of salami, as well as majestic little bifanas. 

Time Out tip: Our rhubarb and banana pudding was a creamy and layered tiramisu-adjacent revelation. If it’s on the menu, order it. 

Address: 70 Hoxton Street, N1 6LP.

Opening times: Sunday lunch served 1-5pm.

Expect to pay: Half roast chicken £27, roast beef £28.

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? An upmarket roast in a posh gastropub with a fab wine list.

Why we love it: I enjoy a roast where everything comes on one plate. I don’t want any of this plonking a load of veg on a shared platter in the middle of the table nonsense. So I was very pleased when my beef strip loin (perfectly pink, btw) at the Salusbury came with cauliflower cheese and buttery greens and carrots all served on the same plate. All of the other trimmings were spot-on too – generous slices of meat were flanked by crispy, golden spuds, and adorned with a massive Yorkshire pud, all drenched in glistening gravy. Plus, I was offered extra gravy half-way through the meal, which is always a win.

Time Out tip: Don’t skimp on starter or pud – go the full three-course mile and bookend your meal with a glorious crab cacio e pepe and retro rhubarb trifle. Also the bloody marys look like they slap.

Address: 50-52 Salusbury Road, Queen’s Park, NW6 6NN.

Roasts available: Sundays 12-5pm.

Expect to pay: Roasts are £19-29.

What is it? Upmarket roast at Tom Kerridge’s Chelsea gastropub.

Why we love it: If you blindly wandered into the Chalk Freehouse you might imagine that the handsome but superficially unflashy Chelsea pub might offer an unremarkable Sunday lunch. Far from it. Its chef is Tom De Keyser – until recently resident at the Hand and Flowers in Buckinghamshire, the only double Michelin starred pub in the world. Unsurprisingly it’s not his intent to trot out the bog standard meat’n’two veg. Although there is that in the 30 day dry aged rib of beef, with comes with yorkshire pud and other trimmings. Beyond that it’s basically a heartier-than-average selection of extremely classy modern British food that happens to be served on the sabbath. Baked mushroom rice with buttermilk and black winter truffle and De Keyser’s old signature dish the Hand and Flowers chicken and duck parfait come highly recommended. Roasted ray wing with pickled mussels is great to look at and even better to taste, a perfect mix of meaty fish and piquant mussels; pork chop schnitzel with smoked bacon and pickled cabbage and fried duck egg was on the stodgy side, but isn’t that what we want on the Lord’s day?

Time Out tip: Beef with trimmings accepted, there isn’t actually that much difference between the Sunday menu and the a la carte. So feel free to go on a Tuesday, a Wednesday or whenever if you’re in the market for hearty, classy, soon-to-be-Michelin starry fair.

Address: 27 Tryon Street, Chelsea, SW3 3LG.

Roasts available: Sundays from 12pm.

Expect to pay: Roasts £32.50-38.50.

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? 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 Star of Hackney Downs and 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.