18 best Sunday roasts in London

From Michelin-starred restaurants to cosy gastropubs, cure the Sunday scaries with the best Sunday roasts in London.
Four plates of Hawksmoor's Sunday roast with roast beef, vegetables, gravy and glasses of wine
Tuck into an epic Sunday roast at Hawksmoor. Credit: Hawksmoor. Image courtesy of Hawksmoor.

There's surely no better way to spend Sunday in London than with a roast. So sit back, loosen your belt and let those fluffy potatoes, gravy and whole host of delicious dishes combine for a filling meal.

Many restaurants and pubs serve this British classic; whether a traditional rib of beef, a combo of various meats, or a creative vegan or vegetarian Sunday roast in London. These top picks cover all bases.

1. Blacklock Soho

A plate piled high with roast meat, potatoes and vegetables, set on a wooden table with side dishes surrounding the plate

Blacklock Soho proclaims that its roasts are “almost as good as mum’s”, and who are we to argue. Its meats are sourced from a family farm in Cornwall, with chops and steaks the focus during the week. Available only on a Sunday, its roasts are the perfect end of week treat.

Feast on a choice of beef, lamb and pork joints cooked over coals and English oak, all served up with Yorkshire puddings, duck fat-roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables and a healthy pouring of the Blacklock gravy. If you’ve got company, go all in and opt for a mix of all three proteins plus the gorgeous trimmings.

Where: 24 Great Windmill Street, W1D 7LG

2. Kerridge's Bar & Grill

A plate with roast beef and vegetables at Kerridge's Bar & Grill

It doesn’t get better than a stunning Sunday roast by Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge at his first London restaurant, Kerridge’s Bar & Grill. Located in the Corinthia London hotel, Kerridge’s roast dinners are the epitome of British comfort food and won’t leave you disappointed.

The star of the Sunday menu is the roast ribeye of beef served with stuffed Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, red cabbage and horseradish cream. The pan roasted monkfish or Barnsley lamp chop are also excellent choices, as is the vegetarian maple glazed rotisserie celeriac with hazelnut pesto, green olive and artichoke sauce. There’s also an exquisite selection of starters, sides and puddings, if you’re still feeling peckish.

Where: 10 Northumberland Avenue, WC2N 5AE

3. Roast

The clue's in the name... Founded in 2005, Roast is serious about its Sunday roasts and offers six variations to satisfy every taste bud in London. Its location in Borough Market means fabulous fruits and vegetables are right on the doorstep, and a roast wouldn’t be complete without an array of seasonal vegetables.

The classic Sunday roasts, including Galloway beef roast with braised beef croquette, signature pork belly with pigs in blankets and Herdwick leg of lamb with braised lamb shoulder, are all served with Yorkshire pudding, carrots, mixed greens and roast potatoes. The chicken, sea bass and nut roast are also excellent options.

Where: The Floral Hall, Stoney Street, SE1 1TL

4. Rules

Head to Covent Garden for London’s oldest restaurant, Rules. Only four families have owned this quintessentially British restaurant since it opened its doors in 1798. Sit back in its red velvet booths and soak up the history of this spot, admiring the framed paintings and dark wood furnishings.

The menu at Rules is extensive and incredibly mouthwatering, and considering the restaurant has been around for more than 200 years, it must be pretty good! Tuck into roast rib of beef with buttered greens, Yorkshire pudding, horseradish cream and red wine jus for that classic Sunday dinner. Other options include braised lamb shoulder, roast monkfish tail or daube of venison, plus there are plenty of starters, vegetables, soups and of course, puddings and cheese.

Where: 35 Maiden Lane, WC2E 7LB

5. The Guinea Grill

For 600 years, the Guinea Grill was an old-fashioned pub in glamourous Mayfair. But, since opening the doors to its restaurant in 1952, this historic institution has become renowned for its dry-aged grass-fed British beef.

Devour some roast beef rib, slow-cooked pork belly with apple sauce and crackling or sirloin joints at the Guinea Grill every Sunday. Enjoy with plenty of flavourful gravy from the pan, Yorkshire pudding, baby onions with bacon and a variety of roasted and glazed vegetables. Vegetarians won't feel left out as there is a delicious blue cheese, truffle and walnut gratin served with vegetable gravy.

Where: 30 Bruton Place, W1J 6NL

6. The Albion

With a wisteria-covered facade, picturesque walled garden and log fires, The Albion is the cosiest spot to enjoy a Sunday roast in London. Head to Islington, where you can find this gem offering seven roasts options as well as pre-orderable sharing plates.

Choose from all the usual roast options such as beef sirloin, half roast chicken, slow roast lamb shoulder and pork leg. Or, opt for the saddleback porchetta, cod loin with mussels and saffron emulsion or the celeriac, truffle and butternut squash wellington. A Sunday roast wouldn’t be complete without the roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables and Yorkshire pudding. If you've got room, taste the banana, miso and peanut butter ice cream sandwich or the earl grey custard tart with rhubarb.

Where: 10 Thornhill Road, N1 1HW

7. The Guildford Arms

While riverside pubs The Cutty Sark and The Trafalgar Tavern serve mean roasts of their own in maritime Greenwich, a local’s pub tucked away in the back streets has been quietly making waves in the top roast stakes (not steaks) in recent years. 

Sink your teeth into The Guildford Arms' epic Sunday lunch, from slow cooked lamb shoulder with mint sauce to rump of beef with horseradish cream and pork belly with oat, sage and apricot stuffing. Round off the meal with warming desserts including panettone bread and butter pudding and warm chocolate brownie with salted caramel and whipped cream.

Where: 55 Guildford Grove, SE10 8JY

8. The Holly Bush

The exterior of the Holly Bush

Wander into The Holly Bush to get the feel of a cosy village pub rather than a busy London spot, thanks to its open fire, stripped wood floors, excellent ales and very popular Sunday roast lunches. 

Try the roasted porchetta, roasted rump cap of beef or a roasted vegetable and feta pithivier for something different. Alongside the classic sides, enjoy squash mash, cauliflower cheese and of course, plenty of rich, homemade gravy. Take a long walk on Hampstead Heath post-meal to round-off the perfect Sunday.

Where: 22 Hollymount, NW3 6SG

9. The Harwood Arms

A table spread of roast dinners, with gravy being poured onto the plan in a small white jug

Try a roast at the only Michelin-starred pub in London, The Harwood Arms, sitting quietly in the back streets of Fulham. This west London gastropub champions wild food and game, so you can expect some alternatives to traditional Sunday fare of beef, lamb and chicken.

Designed for sharing, savour a sirloin of belted Galloway, Cumbrian pork belly, slow cooked deer shoulder or Cornish skate wing, all served with classic Sunday roast sides. Start with a warm blue cheese tart and venison scotch egg or go sweet with an apple parfait, pumpkin tart or milk flan.

Where: Walham Grove, SW6 1QP

10. Hawksmoor

A sharing dish of Hawksmoor's Sunday roast with beef, vegetables and gravy

If you’re in the mood for some incredible beef, head to Hawksmoor to get a taste of its hand-butchered, 35-day dry-aged British beef. With seven London restaurants, Hawksmoor takes Sunday very seriously, serving up an award-winning roast for locals and visitors. 

Enjoy succulent charcoal-roasted beef rump alongside crispy beef dripping potatoes, buttered greens, carrots, enormous fluffy Yorkshire puddings and cauliflower cheese. This is all then topped with glistening bone marrow gravy to complete the iconic British dish. If there’s a group of you, choose the Sunday Feasting option for any of the blackboard sharing cuts plus the much-loved trimmings.

Where: 157A Commercial Street, E1 6BJ

11. The Jugged Hare

A wooden board with cuts of roast beef, potatoes, carrots, Yorkshire puddings and two sauces

Enjoy a Sunday lunch at The Jugged Hare, right by the iconic Barbican Centre. With a focus on sustainability, British ingredients and seasonal game varieties, this City restaurant and gastropub is an excellent dining spot for a Sunday roast.

Start your Sunday off with some black pudding croquettes, whipped salt fish with caper hash browns or baked sea snails before savouring Longhorn beef, Tamworth pork belly, Welsh leg of lamb or rotisserie-cooked Suffolk chicken for that quintessential Sunday roast. There’s always room for dessert when the options are sticky toffee pudding with a butterscotch sauce, berry compote baked cheesecake and a dark chocolate tart with whipped crème fraiche.

Where: 49 Chiswell Street, EC1Y 4SA

12. Bull & Gate

Join the regular crowd at Bull & Gate for a variety of roasts every Sunday. This north London pub has been around for decades and was once a lively indie music spot in the 1980s, with Coldplay, Blur and Oasis having all performed there.

The menu features traditional meat roasts with mouthwatering trimmings and equally fantastic veggie options including a beetroot wellington with mushroom, feta and spinach. If you’re feeling extra hungry, opt for “the whole damn barn”, which comes with succulent roast chicken, beef, pork belly, pigs in duvet, pork, apricot and sage stuffing and cauliflower cheese. 

Where: 389 Kentish Town Road, NW5 2TJ

Best vegan and vegetarian Sunday roasts

13. The Wilmington

Former music venue The Wilmington in Clerkenwell has been lovingly transformed into an elegant public house. Diners can sit in an airy 19th-century glass atrium with candle lit chandeliers, while enjoying some open kitchen action.

From roast chicken with pigs in blankets to roast beef with horseradish cream and a squash and kale pie for vegetarians, this historic restaurant ticks all your Sunday roast criteria.

Where: 69 Rosebery Avenue, EC1R 4RL

14. Mildreds

Mildreds vegan Sunday lunch

Enjoy a top-notch vegan Sunday roast at Mildreds venues across London. This 100% plant-based restaurant has been serving internationally-inspired food and drink since 1988.

Pop by to delight in the creamy leek dauphinoise lattice, toast pine nut cannellini loaf or the mushroom ale pot pie, served with all the classic roast trimmings.

Where: 45 Lexington Street, W1F 9AN

15. The Old Queen's Head

Snap up a delicious Sunday lunch at Islington’s The Old Queen’s Head pub, featuring a lively vibe in a traditional setting. 

Dry-aged beef, lamb and chicken are all tempting options for a lazy afternoon with Bloody Marys, board games and Sunday newspapers. As is the vegan mushroom wellington with vegetable gravy. All roasts come with roast potatoes, carrots, parsnips, curly kale and Yorkshire puddings, with the meat dishes dripping in bone marrow gravy. For that something sweet, devour an oreo doughnut or white chocolate and ginger cheesecake.

Where: 44 Essex Road, N1 8LN

Best for Sunday entertainment

16. Boisdale Canary Wharf

A roast dinner spread at Boisdale Canary Wharf

Get into the swing of things with a three-course Sunday lunch and live jazz at Boisdale Canary Wharf. With views of the city skyline, enjoy tempting Scottish produce with the likes of mini Dumfriesshire haggis and Dunkeld oak smoked salmon. 

Tuck into the roast chicken, pork, beef or mushroom and lentil wellington alongside goose-fat roast potatoes, bashed neeps, seasonal greens and Boisdale’s signature claret gravy. End with a choice of desserts or a selection of British cheeses served with spicy pear chutney and Scottish oatcakes.

Where: Cabot Place, E14 4QT

17. Cora Pearl

Sunday lunch at Cora Pearl

Savour a stylish Sunday lunch in London with soothing jazz tunes at Cora Pearl. The old-school yet trendy vibe at this Covent Garden eatery features simple yet delicious British dishes. For starters, enjoy a warming parsnip soup, beetroot, macadamia and pear salad or a classic ham and cheese toastie.

Follow with roast beef, lamb and chicken plus all the trimmings: crispy potatoes, cauliflower cheese, honey glazed parsnips, hispi cabbage and fluffy Yorkshire puddings. Complete with milk and cookies, chocolate cremeux and praline, blackberry sorbet or cheddar and spiced pear on crostini. 

Where: 30 Henrietta Street, WC2E 8NA

18. Swan London Bar & Restaurant

The Great British roast "needs no introduction”, according to the Swan, located next to Shakespeare's Globe by the river Thames. But here's a taster... beef or chicken, plus all the trimmings and mouthwatering puddings, are all present on the menu. And why not sit back and enjoy a show at the home of Shakespeare in London afterwards?

Where: 21 New Globe Walk, SE1 9DT

Find more weekend inspiration with our guide to things to do each weekend in London, and check out our top tips for Saturday and Sunday activities across the capital. 

After a hearty London Sunday lunch, you may want to go for a stroll in one of the city's top parks or luscious gardens, or recline in front of an open fire in a cosy pub.