The Best Sunday Roasts In London
Published 19 November 2024

The owners of the Blacklock chophouse group didn’t fancy a contemporary glass monolith when they decided on a branch in Canary Wharf; instead, they picked a disused warehouse nestled under the train tracks of the North Dock. The result seems like a perfect fit for the group’s brand of jovial hospitality and meaty cooking.

Vintage Blacklock irons are used to grill its ‘skinny chops’ – naturally reared lamb T-bones, pork ribs, bone-in sirloins and more besides. The best deal is the £27 ‘all in’ sharing offer, which brings a stack of different meats piled high on herb-flecked chargrilled flatbreads. That said, some of the best things are the supporting acts: ‘pre-chop bites’ such as potted meats with kimchi; sides including BBQ baby gems with anchovy ‘dripping’, and all sorts of extras – from chilli hollandaise and garlic marrow spread to the near-legendary Blacklock gravy served in old-fashioned ‘boats’.

Lunch brings steak sarnies and burgers, while Sunday is reserved for Blacklock’s ‘plentiful’ roasts – perfect for groups who can partake of the ‘all in’ offer of three meats plus the ‘crunchiest duck-fat potatoes’ and more of that aforementioned gravy. Round things off with apple crumble or the ‘say-when’ white chocolate cheesecake, doled out from a big bowl at the table. To drink, there are zingy cocktails (don’t miss the ‘beefy Marys’ on Sundays), plus own-label beers and non-spendy wines (some on tap).

For anyone with misgivings about pubs with restaurant inclinations, this ‘characterful’ urban hostelry should set you straight. As befits a sibling of Southwark’s Anchor & Hope and others, the Canton Arms is fully committed to its role as an old-fashioned city boozer. ‘Buzzy and unpretentious’, there’s pretty much a 50/50 split between drinkers knocking back pints of real ale and nibbling toasties in the front bar, and those who come for the consistently delicious food served in the dining area at the back. Ingredients are seasonally spot-on, while the daily changing menu ‘makes you want to come back and try something else’ – perhaps celeriac and potato pithivier ahead of East Coast skate grenobloise or slow-cooked Provençal-style lamb shank with white beans and parsley. After that, you might fancy steamed blackberry jam sponge pudding or a little custard pot with raspberry compôte. It’s all considered good value – and that includes a line-up of drinks ranging from a terrific selection of regularly rotated real ales and an impressive selection of classic cocktails to a perfectly judged European wine list.

Are Oisín Rogers, Charlie Carroll and chef Ashley Palmer-Watts champions of a new era in pubs? The Devonshire is certainly one of the most enjoyable places to eat in the capital (if you can get in) and looks set to become an institution. Ingredients are impeccable and the strong meat-focused menu delivers hugely appealing dishes in the lively environment of a central London watering hole. If you’re after value as well as quality, look for no further than the fixed-price lunch, which delivers prawn and langoustine cocktail, skirt steak with duck-fat chips and béarnaise sauce, plus luscious sticky toffee pudding – all for £29. Otherwise, flames are at the heart of things, with wood-fired Ibérico pork chops, lamb cutlets, steaks and lobsters keeping company with the likes of lamb hotpot or ‘a pile of langoustines’ on the hand-scrawled menu. On Sundays, roast ribs of beef carved from a silver-domed trolley have helped to restore the tradition in this part of town. Guinness is the tipple of choice in the permanently rammed bar, but you can also drink well from the mainly European wine list. The pub has a rooftop terrace for fine-weather dining, too.

A short walk from Holland Park and the Design Museum, the Holland is a proper neighbourhood pub that stands out from the area’s many chains with its laudable commitment to social responsibility and sustainability. The rustic interior feels relaxed and inviting, while the chic lived-in look (think emerald tiled bar, woodwork painted in dark green, exposed brickwork, repurposed furniture and floorboards) is offset by a nostalgic 60s/70s soundtrack. A second dining room on the first floor is designed for larger groups.

Chef/owner Max de Nahlik heads the kitchen, his short, produce-driven menu showing respect for the seasons and leaning towards simplicity with the likes of asparagus risotto or rib of beef with red wine sauce. To start, rich white and brown crabmeat spread on toast delivers a spicy kick. After that, flavourful roast leg of lamb is complemented by a colourful mélange of datterini tomatoes, pesto and charred cime di rapa, Cornish new potatoes with green mojo, and a veal jus. Rounding things off, ripe Baron Bigod cheese is a great precursor to an apple and rhubarb crumble.

The set lunch is good value (especially for the W8 postcode) and the Sunday roast offer is ‘a thing of beauty’ with its ‘blushing’ beef rump, ‘crackling’ roasties and more besides. Service is enthusiastic and friendly. Craft beers, cocktails and around three dozen well-selected wines (including plenty by the glass) complete a terrific offer.

Tucked deep within Highgate at its most herbaceous, the Red Lion & Sun makes every effort to appeal to what a dining clientele expects to find in a modern pub. Inside, it's done out in cool light blue, with simple wood furniture and a long bar with stools, plus a glassed-in conservatory room and two open garden areas (with heaters) too. It's as near to the ‘country pub’ experience as a hostelry in the metropolis can get.

A well-drilled team fronts the place, and the kitchen turns out a daily changing menu, updated every morning on the website, and formulated in conjunction with the local Highgate butchers: not surprisingly, the Sunday lunch session is always wildly popular, when prime cuts of 35-day, dry-aged Aberdeen Angus beef are the stars (including côte de boeuf for sharing). Meanwhile, the regular repertoire covers a lot of ground: Korean-spiced chicken wings or Dorset crab served in Basque style suggest a cosmopolitan approach to starters, or there might be chargrilled sardines doused in olive oil, lemon and garlic. Roasts typically take in slow-cooked, properly crackled pork belly with a cloud of buttery mash, but casserole cookery is good too – duck cassoulet appears in its canonical bean stew, elevated by the fat from chunks of smoked sausage. 

Desserts plough a populist furrow, taking in Eton mess, sticky toffee pudding or passion-fruit cheesecake. For those who are already sweet enough, British artisan cheeses come with Dorset pear paste and crackers. A conscientiously curated wine list starts at £8 for a glass of organic Montepulciano d'Abruzzo; there are also good cask ales, and not one but a whole selection of mezcals for the truly intrepid.