Sundays Roast

Out in the sticks. Or to be more precise Inn at the Sticks for one of the best Sunday roasts to be found in the UK.

There is a choice of roast chicken breast wrapped in Carmarthen ham, slow cooked shoulder of Welsh lamb or roast strip loin of Eynon’s beef and Yorkshire pudding,

All served with roast potatoes, Grandma’s stuffing, cauliflower cheese, seasonal vegetables and homemade gravy.

A short walk from the castle, it is situated in the centre of the village of Llansteffan on the Carmarthenshire coast.

Guests can also stay over with three of their rooms being dog friendly.

Well worth making a weekend of it.

It has taken me a while to find. But sometimes one wants to save the best to last.

When it comes to roasts, the Chefs at the Riviera Restaurant in Selsey,  lay on a feast of tender, hand-carved meats with all the trimmings; cauliflower cheese, golden roasties and plenty of freshly prepared veg, all crowned with proper gravy. They serve five types of meat; honey roast gammon, succulent roast beef, soft turkey, juicy pork and tender Welsh lamb all cut and served from the carvery bar.

One is not spoilt for choice when looking for a traditional Sunday roast in and around Chichester. And although one carvey is much the same as another, its the Yorkshire pudding that turns an average Sunday lunch into something special. When the Chef gets it just right, light and crisp, brim full of real gravy.

I have yet to find a better carvery in Chichester Harbour.

It was the sign and mention of ‘Sussex Food’ that first caught my eye. That and the impossibly narrow and steep road down to the Royal Oak at Hooksway.

 

It’s different.

 

Not that there is anything particularly different about the menu. Standard contemporary pub food. Pedestrian rather than exotic. Nothing, bar their syrup sponge, really stands out.

But that is what makes it different.

 

Weathered wooden tables in the garden, a perfect setting for an old fashioned Sunday lunch.

 

Followed by that syrup sponge which for some obscure reason I go back for time and again. Memories I suppose.

The Sunday Roast is taken very seriously at the Independent. Which is why it is one of their busiest days.

There is a choice of different roasts served with potatoes and seasonal vegetables, all drenched in a deep rich gravy.

But it is always the Yorkshire pudding which is the decider. Crisp on the top, slightly soft and stodgy towards the middle. Perfect.

Closely followed by the potatoes. Neglect the spuds and you ruin the roast.

But not here.

The pub is run hands on by the owners who bought what was previously The Walmer Castle. They are fiercely independent of any brewery or pub chain and it showsin everything they do.

Perfect roast pork, crackling and apple sauce

At The Gravy Boat which is situated opposite the harbour in Littlehampton.

Offering a choice of meats with all the trimmings. We chose a cold windy day to wander along the harbour wall and it was an easy decision to settle in for what was an excellent meal.

Crispy succulent roast potatoes and an appetising array of vegatables soon assured that our plates were full to over flowing.

Get the Yorkshire pudding right and you have the difference between a Sunday lunch and a Sunday roast.

 

Which is what you can expect at Hof’s in Henley. Serving over fifty different wines by both the glass or bottle, brakspear cask ales as well as a full range of draught products, a good selection of bottled beers and expertly-served cocktails, this restaurant, cum pub, cum wine bar specialises in a Sunday lunch that is different.

 

A selection of seasonal roasted and steamed vegetables, roast potatoes and their homemade Yorkshire puddings served with a flavoursome gravy and a choice between Jacobs Ladder beef rib or slowly braised crispy pork knuckle.

 

Memorably different.

Close to Brighton, not far from Henfield and Hurstpierpoint.

The Glass House restaurant at Wickwoods in Albourne is a stunning venue set in a landscaped gardens with beautiful views of the countryside offering the very best Yorkshire puddings and a Sunday roast which is hard to beat.

Whilst not a carvery one of the best Sunday roasts in a quaint village on the South Coast can be found at the Coal Exchange in Emsworth.

There is nothing particularly special about it other than it is wholesome pub food

And the pudding to follow.

A generous plate of home cooked apple crumble with lashings of cream and a fire in winter.