Where to Get a Cheap Sunday Roast in London (Under £20)
Where to Get a Cheap Sunday Roast in London (Under £20)
The Sunday roast is sacred — but London prices can make it a £30+ affair. Here’s where to get a cheap Sunday roast in London without sacrificing the Yorkshire puddings, proper gravy and roasties that actually crunch.
What “cheap” means for a London roast
- Budget: under £15 — exists, but hunt carefully
- Good value: £15–£20 — the sweet spot
- Average London: £20–£28 — standard pub price in zones 1–2
- Premium: £28–£40 — the gastropub big guns
Where to look
Wetherspoons (£10–£13)
The undisputed price champion: a full roast with all the trimmings for around £11–£13. Is it the best roast in London? No. Is it astonishing value? Absolutely. The Wetherspoons Sunday roast includes a drink in some deals — check the app.
Toby Carvery (£9–£14)
All-you-can-eat roast with the famous carvery deck — pile it high. Not a gourmet experience, but unbeatable for feeding a family cheaply. Kids eat free deals run regularly.
Local pubs in zones 3–6 (£14–£19)
The real answer: get out of central London. Pubs in Walthamstow, Tooting, Peckham, Kilburn, Forest Gate and similar neighbourhoods do excellent roasts at £14–£19 — often better than £28 central versions. The formula: find a proper local with a good reputation, not a chain.
BYOB and independent spots
Some independents do roast deals with bring-your-own-bottle — the food’s £16 and the wine costs supermarket prices. Search “BYOB Sunday roast” + your area.
Supermarket dine-in deals
M&S, Waitrose and Tesco run roast dinner deals (£12–£20 for two with sides and dessert) — cook at home, restaurant-adjacent effort. Not “eating out”, but the cheapest proper roast going.
What makes a good roast (the checklist)
- Roast potatoes: crisp outside, fluffy inside — non-negotiable
- Yorkshire pudding: risen and crisp (see how to make perfect Yorkshires)
- Gravy: made from meat juices, not granules — you can taste the difference
- Meat: properly rested, pink-ish beef or moist chicken — dry meat ruins everything
- Veg: seasonal, not boiled-to-death
- Cauliflower cheese as an option — the mark of a pub that cares
Tips for roast hunting
- Book ahead — good value roasts sell out; walk-ins at 2pm on Sunday face disappointment
- Check portion photos on Google reviews, not the pub’s website
- Ask about the gravy — seriously; it’s the difference between good and great
- Go before 1pm or after 3pm to avoid the peak crush
- Dog-friendly pubs often do the best roasts (they’re proper locals) — and you can bring the dog
DIY: the cheapest roast of all
A home roast for four costs £12–£18 total (£3–£4.50 per person): chicken (£6–£8), potatoes, veg, Yorkshires from scratch (pennies). See our guides to roasting times per kilo, crispy roast potatoes and perfect Yorkshire puddings. An hour and a half of effort, restaurant-quality result.
The bottom line
Zones 3–6 local pubs (£14–£19) are the sweet spot for a proper cheap Sunday roast in London — better and cheaper than central. Wetherspoons and Toby Carvery win on pure price. And the ultimate value remains the home roast: £4 a head, exactly how you like it, with leftovers for Monday’s sandwich. For general eating-out costs, see average London eating-out prices.
Cooking the perfect roast at home (the £4/head method)
The ultimate cheap roast is the home roast — £12–£18 total for four (£3–£4.50/head), and better than most pubs if you follow the method. The chicken: 20 min per 500g + 20 min at 200°C, rested 20–30 minutes — non-negotiable. The potatoes: parboiled, roughed up, hot goose fat, 220°C — the best thing on the plate. The Yorkshires: rested batter, smoking fat, don’t open the door.
The gravy (where home roasts win or lose): roast the giblets + onion + carrot under the chicken, deglaze the roasting tin with red wine, add stock, reduce, thicken lightly. 20 minutes, infinitely better than granules. Timing plan (chicken in at 12:00, eating at 14:00): 12:00 chicken in; 12:30 potatoes parboil; 12:45 potatoes into hot fat; 13:15 Yorkshires in (chicken out to rest); 13:30 veg on; 13:40 gravy; 14:00 serve. Write the timeline down — Sunday roast chaos is a planning failure, not a cooking failure.
Sunday roast FAQs
What time should I book for Sunday lunch? 12:30–1pm for the full experience (roasts fresh, atmosphere building) or 3–4pm for a quieter meal (sometimes cheaper — ask about late-lunch deals). Avoid 2pm — peak chaos, tired staff, picked-over roasts. Book 1–2 weeks ahead for popular pubs; good roasts sell out.
What’s included in a “proper” roast? Non-negotiable: meat, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, seasonal veg, proper gravy (from meat juices, not granules). Expected: stuffing (with chicken/turkey), pigs in blankets (Christmas-adjacent), bread sauce (with chicken), horseradish (with beef), apple sauce (with pork), mint sauce (with lamb). Bonus points: cauliflower cheese, red cabbage, parsnips. Red flags: instant mash, frozen Yorkshires (you can tell — they’re uniform), gravy from a jug marked “gravy”.
Are Wetherspoons roasts actually good? Honestly: decent, not great. The meat is fine, the potatoes are acceptable, the Yorkshires are clearly frozen, the gravy is clearly not from scratch. But at £11–£13 with a drink, the value is undeniable — it’s 60% of a pub roast experience at 40% of the price. For feeding a family cheaply: unbeatable. For a special Sunday: go to a proper pub.
Can I get a vegetarian/vegan roast? Increasingly yes — most decent pubs now offer a nut roast or veggie wellington (£12–£18), and the trimmings (roasties cooked in vegetable oil — ask, they’re often in goose fat) are the main event anyway. Call ahead — veggie roasts often need pre-ordering (pubs cook to demand). The cauliflower cheese is frequently the best thing on a veggie roast — order extra.
Why is Yorkshire pudding served with everything now? Tradition creep — Yorkshire pudding was historically a starter (filled with gravy, to fill you up before the expensive meat) or served with beef only. Its spread to chicken, lamb and pork is modern pub economics (cheap, filling, popular). Purists insist on beef-only; pragmatists note that a giant Yorkshire with any roast is delicious. Both are right. Order the large one.