The Best Sunday Roast in Leeds
Nov 02, 2023
Sunday is the day of rest, so join us as we search for the best Sunday roast in Leeds, so you don't have to spend all day in the kitchen cooking!
Below are our top six recommendations for a good roastie in Leeds:
Before we get started...
Have you ever considered a food tour around Leeds?
If you enjoy our recommendations, we have guided and self-guided food tours around Leeds City Centre, ideal for those of you who enjoy eating out at places recommended by us!
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Shears Yard
If you're wanting to impress, Shears Yard is the perfect spot to take someone to for a Sunday lunch. Down on Wharf Street, this cosy restaurant with dim lighting is the perfect way to finish off a chilled weekend. Great music, lovely atmosphere and attentive staff, Shears Yard is known for its tasting menus (which we love!) and its a 'trendy' spot that anyone would feel comfortable visiting. Overnight roasted pork, roast sirloin of beef and truffle potato, blue cheese gratin are your roast dinner offerings, alongside a couple of other 'non-traditional' main options. We highly recommend the bread and butter to start, an odd suggestion, but one you wont regret, they typically alternate flavours of butter and we so happened to land on the time they were serving their marmite butter. Having never tried marmite, we were sceptical, however there wasn't a strong sense of overpowering flavours just creamy, salty topping to some very well baked bread.
Whitelocks
Established in 1715, its fair to say that Whitelocks is one of the oldest pubs in Leeds. A popular spot on our very own Leeds Food Tours, Whitelocks boasts stunning decor with a mesmerising copper bar. Start your Sunday off the right way with a Sunday special, Whitelocks’ Bloody Mary, if that doesn’t tickle your taste buds, opt for one of their real ales, craft beers of speciality ciders to compliment your roast dinner. The perfect traditional setting for a roast, Whitelocks offers three meats, Yafforth Hill Farm roast topside of beef, roasted loin of pork and Bridge Grange Farm roasted leg of lamb. They also serve a roasted nut and herb loaf, suitable for vegetarians. Both the North Yorkshire bred lamb and beef are served pink, with a rather large Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables and lashings of gravy. It’s the perfect Sunday combination. If roast dinners aren’t your thing, or you are vegan, there is an additional three mains on their Sunday menu, we urge you to not skip pudding, why not try a slice of Yorkshire Parkin, toffee sauce and Northern Bloc ice cream- mmm, sensational! If you’re looking for a cosy, chilled pub (in the city) vibe for your next roast dinner outing, definitely take a trip to Whitelocks.
Ox Club
Fight the Sunday blues with Mimosa’s, smoked Bloody Mary’s and roast dinners at Ox Club, which is nestled inside the infamous Headrow House. Between 12-5pm every Sunday, treat you and your loved ones to a roast to remember, in a sophisticated yet welcoming atmosphere. Ox Club pride themselves on their live fire cooking, giving the roast rump cap and black pudding and onion porchetta a burst of flavour to compliment the trimmings on your roast dinner. Their speciality gravies, depending on meat choice, such as bone marrow and shallot gravy for the beef, and smoked trotter and fennel gravy for the porchetta are a match made in heaven and combine all of the flavours beautifully on your plate. Have you ever heard of pomme anna? It’s a French dish compromising of layered potatoes cooked in melted butter, at Ox Club, pomme anna will be replacing your roasties, and well, who knows, it may be replacing your roasties on your next home cooked Sunday roast after you have tried this dazzling combo!
Stuzzi
Stuzzi in Leeds offers the ultimate Sunday roast experience. The staff's expertise in wine selection is a standout feature, providing personalised recommendations and pairings. The cocktails are equally as impressive, with the Negroni, crafted using Stuzzi's own gin! The exceptional service at Stuzzi and its picturesque setting, paired with a roast dinner is a treat for all involved. The star of the show is easily the gravy, Stuzzi's red wine and Osso Bucco (veal shank) gravy is a masterpiece. Silky and bursting with flavour, it enhances the entire meal without overpowering it. For the main course they offer North Yorkshire beef sirloin, cooked pink, Roman style roasted porchetta, and celeriac, all served with Yorkshire pudding, honey and thyme roast carrots and parsnips, buttered seasonal greens and those oh so delicious golden roast potatoes. The roast beef is accompanied by a crispy beef and horseradish tortellini, adding that Italian twist to the British classic. Elevate your roast dinner further by adding on sides, truffle taleggio cauliflower, charred hispi cabbage with anchovy, caper, lemon and chilli, or cotechino which is a traditional Italian pork sausage, wrapped in pancetta. You can also add on a salad, which may sound odd to many, but growing up with Italian grandparents (Georgia), there has been many-a-time where I have enjoyed a Sunday roast with all the trimmings AND a side salad- is it an Italian thing? Who knows! Stuzzi redefines the Sunday roast with its impeccable food and expert service, making it an undisputed gem in the Leeds dining scene.
The Brunswick
Since 2015, the ever-so-popular Brunswick has been capturing the hearts of the people of Leeds, for its great selection of booze, burgers, guest kitchens and of course, their roast dinners! Although their website states they serve roasts 12-5pm, they’re that good (and popular) that they sell out most weeks way before 5pm, so we definitely recommend getting a reservation in ahead of time to ensure you get to try one for yourself! Let’s skip the meats for a second and focus on their incredible side dishes; PIGS IN BLANKETS (they should be included on every roast dinner, no matter time of the year...opinions?), truffle mash, baked cheesy leeks and vegetable stuffing which is gluten free and suitable for vegans! The topside of beef, porchetta, chicken supreme, or vegetarian option which is a lemon and thyme “chicken” seitan, are served with a Yorkshire pud, roast potatoes, maple syrup glazed carrots, tenderstem broccoli in salsa verde (mixing cuisines there), plentiful amounts of gravy and a mini bloody Mary, what a mouthful- but a tasty one at that! With a cosy atmosphere, top tier friendly service, great food and enough of a walk from town to walk it all off, it’s the perfect spot to round off a weekend with friends, family or your furry friends.
Jah Jyot at Northern Monk Refectory
Jah Jyot are back in town and this time they've got themselves a residency at Northern Monk Refectory. Jah Jyot, run by Ranie, is a multi-award winning vendor offering authentic street food from the Punjab region of northern India. Here you'll be able to try a fantastic twist on the classic roast with an Indian Style roast dinner inside the old bare-bricked Marshall Mills building, which is now home to Northern Monk, Leeds based independent brewery.
Featuring on their Indian inspired roast dinner is their 18-hour slow cooked Nihari spiced lamb shank (which you must pre-order), spiced aloo, anise cabbage and amchoor infused root veggies and...a naan bread Yorkshire pudding! Other mains include tandoori roast chicken, aloo gobi pie, mamaraja beef and ale pie.
We hope you found this blog post about the best roast dinners in Leeds useful, it was definitely a fun one to...investigate...AKA sample all of the fabulous roast dinners around our lovely city of Leeds!
If you'd like more of our recommendations, we have guided and self-guided food tours around Leeds, where we will take you to six stops, with food included at each. It's such a great day out, regardless of which tour you choose, if you'd like to learn more, click here for more information.
