Sunday Roast in London: Where to Go and When to Book

A Sunday roast is the most reliably pleasant meal in London, and the most frequently got wrong. The good ones sell out by Thursday, serve from midday until the meat runs out, and do not take a booking at four o’clock because there is nothing left. Knowing how a London roast works is most of the battle.

How Sunday lunch works here

• Service starts at midday and the kitchen cooks a set number of joints. When they are gone, they are gone, often by three.
• Book by Thursday for anywhere well regarded. The best gastropubs take bookings a fortnight out.
• One sitting or two. Some pubs give you the table for the afternoon; others turn it at ninety minutes. Ask, because it decides the whole day.
• Expect £20 to £35 a head for the roast itself at a good pub, more at a restaurant, and considerably more at a hotel dining room.
• The sides matter. Cauliflower cheese and extra potatoes are usually charged separately and are usually worth it.

Choosing the right kind

The proper gastropub

A fire, a dog or two, a blackboard and beef that has been resting since eleven. This is the version most people mean, and the areas that do it best are Hampstead, Primrose Hill, Clapham, Islington and the villages along the river at Barnes and Richmond.

The restaurant roast

Hawksmoor’s Sunday roast is the one most often named the best in London, and the better steak restaurants all run a version. Smarter, pricier, and bookable further ahead.

The hotel dining room

Mayfair and St James’s hotels serve roast as a proper lunch, with a trolley in a few cases. The right choice when you want the afternoon to feel like an occasion rather than a pub.

Making an afternoon of it

The point of a London roast is that it does not end when the plates go. Book for one o’clock, take a walk afterwards on Hampstead Heath, along the South Bank or through Richmond Park, and let the afternoon go where it goes. A roast at three leaves you in the dark with nowhere to walk.

For other unhurried afternoons see brunch in London and date ideas. If you would like company for the afternoon, a two or three-hour booking with one of our London escorts suits a long lunch, and our guide to dinner dates explains how the longer bookings work.

From the concierge: pubs change their Sunday menus and their sitting times constantly, and the best ones run out early. Book, and confirm how long the table is yours.