The Best Sunday Roasts In Central England
Published 19 November 2024

In 2018, the family owners of Robinsons Butchers in Tettenhall had the bright idea of putting a few seats in their shop, so they could cook and serve their excellent wares to customers who wanted a sit-down meal. Fast-forward six years, and Seats now trades as an ‘intimate and friendly’ bistro with its own identity, dealing in breakfast and brunch (sourdough toasties, chilli flatbreads, various Benedict riffs) as well as evening meals dominated by dry-aged steaks and other locally sourced meat from the shop. Those prime cuts also feature on the ‘belting’ Sunday lunch menu – think roast topside with a ‘phenomenal’ beef croquette or slow-cooked and pressed lamb shoulder, followed by apple and blackberry crumble.

Some pub restaurants flatter to deceive, with fancy menus that don’t deliver. Others offer a short repertoire of dishes that transcend expectations. The Howard Arms is of this second happy breed – and some. A handsome and venerable Cotswold hostelry, it is well-used by locals who gather in the bar to sup pints of local ale. Up a few stairs is the restaurant, which provides decorum as well as conviviality (note the old pictures of country scenes, all fashionably decorated with allium seeds in November). 

Chef Chris Ellis (formerly at the Killingworth Castle) has produced a brief menu that has space for the classics (burgers, fish and chips) as well as more elaborate dishes. Choose the latter and you’re unlikely to be disappointed. For us, a thick chunk of pork belly set the tone: luscious fat, crisp skin and tender meat, accompanied by mouthwateringly tangy homemade brown sauce, plus crunchy rémoulade and a mound of flavoursome black pudding. To follow, a perfect, plate-filling lemon sole was cooked with split-second accuracy on the bone and matched with an abundance of potted shrimps, samphire and new potatoes in a pool of butter. Meat-based mains more than pass muster too, judging by an equally generous portion of juicy duck breast with Puy lentils and beetroot.

To round things off, an exemplary apple and blackberry crumble with custard was zesty, crunchy and creamy in all the right places. The concise wine list provides admirable back-up, service is informative and friendly, and prices are moderate for the Cotswolds. What’s more, Sunday lunch receives special acclaim for ‘melt in the mouth’ meat, a ‘great veggie option’ and (our favourite) ‘unlimited gravy’. How civilised.

In historic Hereford, on the fringes of the Wye Valley, this coaching inn with rooms has been sympathetically renovated by its current owners. Delightfully wonky wooden beams divide the high-ceilinged dining room with large stone fireplaces at either end. Tartan banquettes in warming colours offer comfy seating at polished wooden tables and everyone praises the ‘welcoming, friendly and helpful staff’. Using excellent local produce, the kitchen makes almost everything in-house, from the bay-infused butter accompanying the complimentary olive focaccia to the ice cream laced with Wye Valley Butty Bach ale that is teamed with a moreish (indeed Moorish) sticky medjool date pudding.

You are welcome to mix and match between the carte and bar menus, which is good news because the warm, runny-centred Welsh Dragon Scotch egg with fruity brown sauce from the former is a cracker. Otherwise, choices from the main menu might include a Lancashire Bomber cheese soufflé with red onion jam followed by fillet of cod on a bed of monk’s beard and herby potato cake dressed with a slick of hot homemade tartare sauce. Generous desserts might feature a ‘coffee lover’ duo of tiramisu and affogato puddings, and there's a tempting, locally sourced cheeseboard too.

Sunday roasts featuring perfectly aged sirloin of Herefordshire beef or leg of lamb garner particular praise from locals.‘Every element is reliably spot on; comforting, indulgent and absolutely delicious,’ notes one fan. The short, workaday wine list is supplemented by excellent local ales and cider on tap, plus an enticing cocktail selection.

Squeezed between a busy road and the Stourbridge Canal basin, this recently renovated industrial-era pub attracts fervent local support – especially for its Sunday roasts, where ‘perfectly pink’ beef, ‘amazing’ beetroot Wellington, and ‘phenomenal’ Yorkshires are singled out. The modern interior, with wooden flooring, sensitive lighting and a woodburning stove, has a homely, family feel in winter, while a tarmacked beer garden with views of the canal adds summertime appeal and is soon to be converted into a separate dining area.

Local suppliers are proudly name-checked on the main menu, which offers an appealing blend of modern pub food and Mediterranean-accented cooking. The kitchen is renowned for 'very generous portions’, and our visit began with an unnervingly huge ‘small plate’ of tender beef brisket surrounded by cheesy Parmesan polenta and topped with salsa verde. A request for horseradish brought a saucer of the freshly grated root in cream – the kitchen’s attention to detail is impressive. The ensuing ‘large plate’ was equally full flavoured and bountiful: a glisteningly white fillet of cod resting on a stew of beans, tomatoes and chorizo.

Puddings are also enticing – our tangy Bramley and cranberry crumble (paired with salted-caramel ice cream) came with unexpected squares of toasted gingerbread to boost its crunch. Staff receive universal praise; we found them polite, on-the-ball and exceedingly prompt. Breakfast (served Thursday to Sunday) includes the likes of kedgeree and shakshuka as well as the ‘Full Monty’. Wines are supplied by a local vintner, and the brief, good-value list is a cut above the norm; alternatively, enjoy a pint of real ale from a choice of four regularly rotated brews. This is, after all, a proper pub.

A pubby success story if ever there was one, this handsome stone hostelry was gifted to Clipsham by a local squire in 1890 and rescued from extinction by three friends in 1999. Since then, it has become a shining star on the Rutland scene with its open-minded community spirit and forward-thinking approach to food and drink. The Olive Branch was an early adopter of local sourcing and still name-checks its ever-growing list of suppliers, as well as topping up its larder with home-grown produce from an increasingly productive ‘pub paddock’.

The kitchen caters for all appetites and predilections – whether your preference is for haddock and chips, courgette and sage tagliatelle or venison haunch with braised onion, roast beetroot and chocolate tortellini. Starters are equally creative, ranging from cockle-warming leek velouté bolstered by Westcomb Cheddar dumplings, miso leeks and croûtons to trendy cured salmon with nori, yuzu, pickled tapioca and buttermilk sauce, while dessert might bring tonka-bean panna cotta, mulled poached figs or an Eccles cake with Barkham Blue cheese.

Sunday lunch also ‘delivers on every level’, with locally sourced beef sirloin or roast pork loin supplemented by a ‘full house of veggies’ and rich, dark gravy. On the drinks front, top-notch regional ales and an ever-changing list of good-value wines receive equal billing, with Coravin selections signalling the owners’ serious intent in this field. Readers are also keen to praise the pub's relaxing, homely vibe and the top-drawer service from polite, attentive staff who are happy to ‘go that extra mile’. Accommodation is available at Beech House, across the road. 

Hayfield in the Peak District was the birthplace of Arthur Lowe, Dad's Army's Captain Mainwaring, and is a favoured rest-stop for those tramping the Derbyshire hills. At its heart, the stone-built Pack Horse aims to be more than just the standard village pub, with a conscientious ethos of sustainable supplies from local sources, ranging from meat butchered only four miles away to unimpeachable regional fresh produce.

Menus follow the rhythm of the seasons (as celebrated in the kitchen's own cookbook) and the food has the kind of contemporary appeal that makes the place a destination. Glazed High Peak lamb belly appears surprisingly in a starter with a leafy salad and yoghurt, while scallops in brown butter gain an edge from pickled apple and kohlrabi.

Fish is generally handled with assurance, producing a main course of charcoal-roasted halibut with mushroom and smoked bacon bourguignon and pommes Anna accompaniments, while similar inspiration from the French provincial cookbook informs a dish of pork belly with a cassoulet of trotter and beans plus a salsa verde dressing. The charcoal oven comes into its own on Wednesdays, when a special menu includes Barnsley chops and rump steak.

To finish, there might be blood-orange and olive-oil cake with whipped ricotta or salted-caramel custard tart and almond Chantilly. Quality growers abound on the inspiring wine list, which opens with small glasses at £5.70, before darting acquisitively around both hemispheres.

Opened under new ownership at the end of 2023, this old red brick pub on a city-centre backstreet has a deceptively large and modern interior. For drinkers, there’s a bar and a cosy snug (along with high-quality real ales and cider on tap), while diners have various options: a section off the bar with round tables as well as seating for couples, a first-floor space (the Gallery) for private parties, and a bright ground-floor ‘Orangery’ overlooking the little urban garden.

Like the decor, the food is contemporary in style – a collection of small and large plates (available all-day on Fridays and Saturdays) served by enthusiastic young staff who also get an honourable mention from readers. There’s ambition here, both in the drinks selection (pairings from the well-thought-out wine list are offered with main courses) and the food, which incorporates fusion assemblies as well as pub food of the burger/meat-platter ilk.

Results can vary, with the stars at inspection being an expertly judged ‘small plate’ of three ox cheek tacos (tender meat and crunchy cucumber salsa, topped with a generous squiggle of spicy chermoula), and a moreish pudding of warm carrot and pecan cake with delectable ‘beurre noisette’ cream cheese and ice cream. Less accomplished was a ‘large plate’ of smoked tofu laksa (one of several diverting vegetarian options), where authentic Asian flavours were hard to discern among the general creaminess. A convivial hubbub and a groovy soundtrack of obscure 60s and 70s tunes (chosen by the staff) add to the vibe, and we've had abundant praise for the Sunday roasts.