The Best Spots In London For A Sunday Roast
Image: THE LAUNDRY/HARRIET LANGFORD
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The Best Spots In London For A Sunday Roast

It’s officially Sunday roast season, so we’ve rounded up the best pubs in London that serve hearty portions with all the trimmings. From local favourites in Islington to the capital’s only Michelin-starred pub, here are the spots to book now…
By Sherri Andrew /
Image: THE LAUNDRY/HARRIET LANGFORD

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Smokehouse
Smokehouse

NORTH

The Bull & Last

Highgate

Joe Swiers and Ollie Pudney took over the Bull & Last in Highgate more than a decade ago but the building has been an inn for over three centuries – there’s even a book dedicated to it – so it’s no surprise its popular with loyal locals. There’s an extensive range of European wines to choose from, as well as beers from British breweries and low and no-alcohol options. Easily one of the best options on this list, Sunday roasts come with the option of beef sirloin, prime rib, corn-fed chicken, or aubergine parmigiana wellington, all served with carrots, parsnips, roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings. Add on extra sides like cauliflower cheese and kale with roasted garlic. 

168 Highgate Road, Highgate, NW5 1QS

Visit TheBullAndLast.co.uk

The Draper’s Arms

Islington

This is where some of London’s best chefs go for Sunday roasts with a nice glass of red. Headed up by Nick Gibson, the award-winning pub is housed in a powder-blue Georgian building, with a bright green bar that rotates different beers every month. There’s also an elegant dining room upstairs where diners can enjoy gastropub dishes made from seasonal ingredients, like pumpkin risotto with sage and hazelnuts; beef bourguignon pie; rabbit leg with carrots, turnips, and chervil; and pear frangipane served with crème fraiche.

44 Barnsbury Street, Islington, N1 1ER

Visit TheDrapersArms.com

The Cow

Westbourne Park

Westbourne Park locals head to The Cow for pints of Guinness and oysters. But it’s also one of the best spots in London for a generous roast. Originally opened by design icon Sir Terence Conran, the gastropub only uses the best seasonal produce on its regularly changing menu. There’s always something new to try on Sundays, with current options including roast pork with crackling, beef shin, and chicken with all the trimmings. Leave room for a slice of baked cheesecake. 

89 Westbourne Park Road, Westbourne Park, W2 5QH

Visit TheCowLondon.com

The Bull And Last
The Bull And Last

Smokehouse

Islington

Regular readers will know several members of the SL team love this pub. This Islington dining room still has its original wood panelling and a bar lined with dimpled glass tankards. Owned by the Noble Inns group (also behind The Pig & Butcher and The Princess of Shoreditch), it champions small, British suppliers and breweries – which explains why there are 20 London beers on tap. With a focus on wood-fired cooking and smoked meats, diners can choose from a selection of meats alongside roast potatoes, seasonal veg, gravy and Yorkshire puddings.

63-69 Canonbury Road, Islington, N1 2DG

Visit SmokehouseIslington.co.uk

Holly Bush

Hampstead

Just a few minutes from the top of Hampstead Heath, Holly Bush is surrounded by period properties and scenic walking routes. Set in a Grade II-listed building, there’s a warm glow around the bar, with passageways leading through to seating areas and a roaring fire during the winter. The pub has local beers and ales on tap, as well as an extensive collection of wine from its cellar. Start with oysters and sharing snacks before moving on to lamb shoulder, pork loin, cornfed chicken or mushroom and butternut squash wellington with roasties, cauliflower cheese and Yorkshires. The pub also serves an excellent sticky toffee pudding with ice-cream.

22 Holly Mount, Hampstead, NW3 6SG

Visit HollyBushHampstead.co.uk

The Holly Bush
The Holly Bush
Marksman
Marksman

EAST

Marksman

Bethnal Green

This traditional East End pub serves local beers, ales, lagers and ciders alongside a selection of fine wines and spirits, but is perhaps more well-known these days for its dining room – Marksman was the first pub in London to be awarded the Michelin Pub of the Year back in 2016. On Sundays, diners can choose from Hereford Rump with Yorkshire Puddings and Horseradish Cream, chicken pie, whole roast chicken (for two), or roast tomato tart with potatoes and seasonal greens. Puddings include brown butter honey tart, and almond set cream with preserved cherries.

254 Hackney Road, Shoreditch, E2 7SJ

Visit MarksmanPublicHouse.com

Well & Bucket

Shoreditch

Another great East End boozer, Well & Bucket on Brick Lane has drawn a loyal following thanks to its selection of craft beers and premium spirits. The staff are friendly and happy to make your favourite cocktail behind the bar – whether that’s a spicy margarita or something a little different. Grab a table outside (during the warmer months) or in the main dining room to tuck into Sunday roasts, complete with roast potatoes, maple swede, cavolo nero, carrots, braised red cabbage, Yorkshire puddings and lashings of gravy. 

143 Bethnal Green Road, Shoreditch, E2 7DG

Visit WellAndBucket.com

Forest Tavern

Forest Gate

After a refresh earlier this year, Forest Tavern recently reopened its doors with a new look. The gastropub is run by friendly locals who welcome guests with ales and great cocktails. Sunday afternoons are buzzy, when chefs serve Sunday roasts including roast beef sirloin, half a roast chicken, pork loin or veggie wellingtons with roast potatoes, seasonal veg, a giant Yorkshire pudding and overflowing boats of proper gravy. It also serves mini roasts for kids, as well as crowd-pleasing puddings like apple and plum crumble and sticky toffee pudding with custard or ice-cream.

173 Forest Lane, Forest Gate, E7 9BB

Visit ForestTavern.co.uk

The Laundry
The Laundry, Harriet Langford

SOUTH

The Laundry

Brixton

The Laundry on Brixton’s Coldharbour Lane is technically a bistro, but we couldn’t compile a list of the best roasts in the capital without including it. Owner Mel and her team create a warm and friendly atmosphere, particularly on Sundays when diners can sit on the covered terrace or in the main dining room. Start your meal with its signature cucumber margarita and order sharing plates to start (like winter salad and pumpkin and oregano bruschetta) before moving onto roast pork belly, Hereford sirloin, crispy spatchcock chicken or leek and mushroom wellington, all served with roast potatoes, squash, and unlimited peas and gravy – just ask the team to top you up. Finish with espresso martinis and a sticky toffee pudding or blackberry and stem ginger pudding.

374 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, SW9 8PL

Visit TheLaundryBrixton.com

Camberwell Arms

Camberwell

This cool south London gastropub is a local hotspot, but many around the capital are prepared to travel across town for one of its epic sharing-style Sunday roasts and a hangover-busting cocktail. With a string of awards under its belt, the pub has a cosy and welcoming atmosphere – for diners and dogs alike. Sunday lunch includes grilled lamb, spit-roast chicken, rack of lamb with mint sauce, or aged rump beef with creamed cavolo nero, roast potatoes and seasonal veg. Add on a house negroni or glass of burgundy. 

65 Camberwell Church Street, Camberwell, SE5 8TR

Visit TheCamberwellArms.co.uk

The Anchor & Hope

Waterloo

This is the sister pub to the Canton Arms, where several of London’s top chefs trained before getting a Michelin star. A proper boozer with a chalkboard menu, this gastropub serves comfort food like hot smoked eel with celeriac and mustard; chopped veal shin with crushed Cornish new potatoes and spring onions; sheep’s ricotta and broad beans on toast with chilli and mint; and cherry and almond tart with Jersey cream. An impressive wine list complements its selection of local ales. It’s also the perfect spot for a long Sunday lunch – we recommend the seven-hour lamb shoulder served with tomatoes, fennel seeds and gratin dauphinois, to be shared between three.

36 The Cut, Waterloo, SE1 8LP

Visit AnchorAndHopePub.co.uk

The Laundry
The Laundry, Harriet Langford
The Princess Royal
The Princess Royal

WEST

The Princess Royal

Notting Hill

Cubitt House – the group behind The Grazing Goat in Marylebone and The Builders Arms in Chelsea – opened a site in Notting Hill last year. The Princess Royal comprises a spacious restaurant and horseshoe bar, two private dining rooms and four individually designed bedrooms. Georgie Pearman is behind the interior design which pays homage to the pub's Victorian heritage, and many of the original features have been kept intact, including the Victorian doors and stained-glass panels in the main restaurant. Downstairs, Sunday roasts include roast chicken or angus beef rump with beef fat roast potatoes, seasonal veg, Yorkshire puddings and gravy.

47 Hereford Road, Notting Hill, W2 5AH

Visit CubittHouse.co.uk

The Fox & Pheasant

Chelsea

A ‘little country pub’ tucked away in a small corner of Chelsea, the Fox & Pheasant was originally the Bedford Arms in 1846. After a huge restoration a few years ago, it’s now a snug pub with three fireplaces and plenty of armchairs for Sunday lounging. Tasty bar snacks include truffle, mushroom and brie toasties and buttermilk-fried rabbit with mustard mayo, while Sunday are all about weekly changing roasts – think beef sirloin, roast pork belly with apple sauce, and cauliflower cheese steak with all the trimmings. A darts board and unlimited biscuits for dogs complete the country feel.

1 Billing Road, Chelsea, SW10 9UJ

Visit TheFoxAndPheasant.com

The Princess Royal
The Princess Royal

The Harwood Arms

Fulham

As London’s only Michelin-starred pub, the Harwood Arms is an institution. Chef Jake Leach heads up the kitchen, which focuses on the best of British produce; the gastro menu changes regularly with the seasons, but right now you can expect plenty of game and foraged food. The Sunday menu is the star of the show, with slow-cooked deer shoulder, beef sirloin, pork or cod served with Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, baked carrots, cauliflower cheese and greens. Three courses are a very reasonable £65, so save room for lemon thyme panna cotta or burnt cream with shortbread and honey for dessert.

Walham Grove, Fulham, SW6 1QP

Visit HarwoodArms.com

The Cadogan Arms,

Chelsea

We’re big fans of The Cadogan Arms, which reopened two years ago after an extensive renovation. Inside, there’s a spacious mahogany bar in front of stained-glass panels that house a vast selection of spirits, cask beers and European wines, as well as plenty of plush seating – whether you want to eat in the main dining hall or sit on leather stools at the bar. Diners can enjoy elevated pub classics, as well as roast chicken, lamb or veggie pies on Sundays, served with roasties, glazed veg and red cabbage. The pub also runs regular events and quizzes, and there’s a separate room downstairs for live sports.

298 King's Road, Chelsea, SW3 5UG

Visit TheCadoganArms.London

The Parakeet

Kentish Town

You might have spotted The Parakeet on social media thanks to its slick interiors and impressive reviews. The pub, headed up by Ben Allen and Ed Jennings (both ex-Brat), recently launched a Sunday roast menu – all cooked over the kitchen’s custom flame grill. Diners can choose from legs of lamb, roast chicken (cooked over hay for extra smokiness), salt-aged topside beef and celeriac wellington, each served with roast potatoes with herbs and garlic, seasonal greens and root veg, Yorkshire puddings and carrot and swede purée. Add on a bottle of red and finish the meal with sticky toffee pudding or a cheeseboard. 

256 Kentish Town Road, Kentish Town, NW5 2EN

Visit TheParakeetPub.com

The Cadogan Arms
The Cadogan Arms, @cadoganarmspublichouse
The Royal Oak
The Royal Oak

CENTRAL

The Royal Oak

Marylebone

The man behind sky-high hotspot Duck & Waffle launched his own high-end pub a few years ago. Tucked away on a quiet street in Marylebone, The Royal Oak serves a great Sunday roast. Diners can choose from roast pork belly with crispy crackling, homemade Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, creamed celeriac, carrots, cavalo nero and apple sauce; and a sharing whole roast chicken, served with stuffing, bread sauce and all the trimmings. The menu also features Dan’s decadent cauliflower cheese along with dishes from the already popular à la carte menu.

74-76 York Street, Marylebone, W1H 1QN

Visit TheRoyalOak.co.uk

The George

Fitzrovia

After a five-year closure, the George in Fitzrovia re-opened last year following a takeover by publican Dominic Jacobs and restaurant group JKS (the team behind Bao, Gymkhana and Lyle’s). The extensive renovation pays homage to its history (think dark wood panels and a mirrored bar) while it serves inventive cocktails and modern interpretations of classic pub grub. Earlier this year, it opened a new restaurant by James Knappett (of Michelin-starred Kitchen Table) upstairs, alongside a dedicated English sparkling wine bar and private room for 20. Sunday roasts include roast beef, chicken or lamb with butter glazed veg, roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings.

55 Great Portland Street, Fitzrovia, W1W 7LQ

Visit TheGeorge.London

Bébé Bob

Soho

From the team behind French-inspired phenomenon Bob Bob Ricard – which celebrated its 15th birthday last year – Bébé Bob is a fun spin-off across the road from the Soho original. On a corner of Golden Square, Bébé Bob offers two varieties of rotisserie chicken, with well-priced fine wines (including white and red burgundy) and champagne. Perfectly cooked chicken is served whole at the table and is accompanied by glossy sauce and a selection of sides, like roast potatoes, fries, truffled cauliflower cheese, and sautéed kale. We recommend a slice of its excellent tarte tartin for dessert, serviced with a scoop of boozy ice-cream. A seriously cool spot for an elevated roast, expect lavish interiors that rivals the blue, red and gold opulence of the original spot.

Visit BebeBob.com

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