The Bull & Gate: My Favorite Place to have Sunday Roast in London

It’s been awhile since I’ve written about London, so I thought I’d give my favorite city in the world some love. And one can hardly write about London without mentioning one of its great weekend traditions – the Sunday roast. You can get a Sunday roast from pretty much any pub in London (and you can find a pub on pretty much any corner of the city), but finding an AMAZING Sunday roast is a bit more difficult. You definitely don’t want to be wasting calories on places that serve dry, over-cooked meat or rubbery Yorkshire puddings.

But first…what is a Sunday roast?

A Sunday roast is really just another term for Sunday lunch. It’s known to be the epitome of British cuisine and a huge part of the national identity (the history of the Sunday roast stems back to the late 14th century when the King’s Royal Guards a.k.a the Beefeaters starting eating roast beef every single Sunday). This tradition of eating roast beef spread through the country like wildfire, serving as the perfect excuse to spend a leisurely afternoon with family and friends eating a hearty and heart-warming meal.

A typical Sunday roast consists of the following: roast meat (typically beef, lamb, chicken; nowadays you can typically get a vegetarian squash version), Yorkshire puddings (which can only be described as a crispy on the outside, airy on the inside baked bread-y pudding), roast vegetables (think carrots, parsnips, broccoli, and potatoes), and some form of gravy and stuffing. It’s like having a full-on Thanksgiving supper….but every Sunday!

My favorite pub for Sunday roast…

I’ve tried several different spots across London for Sunday roast but I always find myself coming back to my favorite – my local pub in Kentish Town called The Bull & Gate. It’s a traditional Victorian-style pub but once served as a famous music venue back in the 1980s.

The Bull & Gate looks unassuming from the outside, but it’s apparently a major hot spot for celebrity-spotting (not the reason why I like the place, but it’s nice fun fact). One time while having Sunday roast, I was excited to discover with one of my close friends that Margot Robbie was sitting across from us, enjoying Sunday roast with a large group of her friends! I may or may not have sneakily snapped a blurry picture of her on my phone (sorry Margot for being creepy). And you might also recognize the place for being the filming location of one of Taylor Swift’s music videos (End Game ft. Ed Sheeran).

There are 3 different sections of the pub – the front section (more of a traditional standing-room pub), the back section (a gorgeously-decorated dining room with lots of tables and space), and the Boulogne Bar upstairs (a lounge area with a dedicated bar; the Boulogne Bar can also be reserved for groups/parties). Not only are the interiors absolutely beautiful (like seriously, I want my dining room to look like this), but the food is delicious too!

My favorite thing on the menu is the roast lamb, but I’ve had the roast beef as well. Both are delicious! And check out the size of those Yorkshire puddings! The place gets extremely busy on weekends, so it’s best to reserve well in advance. You can do so at their website here.