The Best Sunday Roast in Central London: Seven W1 Tables

The best Sunday roast in central London is not a cooking question, it is a logistics one. Half a dozen W1 rooms do a roast worth the money, and every single one of them has a rule that decides whether you eat: one takes no bookings at all, one releases tables on a Thursday morning, and most stop serving the roast at four or five in the afternoon.

Ask around for the best Sunday roast central London can produce and the same half-dozen names come back every time. This is a W1-only version of that list, so Mayfair, Soho, Marylebone and Fitzrovia: addresses, the Sunday service times we could confirm, and the booking rule for each, because the rule is the part that goes wrong.

A plate of roast beef with a Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese, carrots and greens

Photo for context: a roast beef dinner, not taken at any restaurant on this list. Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, Trimingham, Norfolk by Kolforn (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

Soho

Blacklock Soho, 24 Great Windmill Street, W1D 7LG

The roast everybody has been told about. Blacklock runs chops and steaks from Monday to Saturday and switches to the roast menu on Sunday, and that is the point: the Sunday menu is not a sideline bolted onto the week, it is the only thing the kitchen is doing that day.

The rule: the roast menu is available on Sundays only. Book properly ahead for a lunchtime table, because the room turns but it does not turn fast enough for a walk-in at one o'clock.

The Devonshire, 17 Denman Street, W1D 7HW

The most talked-about pub in London for two years running, and the queue outside is real. Sunday lunch runs from 12pm to 4pm and is the only menu served at lunch that day, which is a good sign: the kitchen is not trying to do two things.

The rule: a la carte bookings open up to three weeks ahead, and new availability is released every Thursday at 10.30am. Set an alarm. The ground floor pub and the roof terrace are walk-in, so if you are willing to eat standing up and drink Guinness instead, you can still get in.

Mayfair

The Guinea Grill, 30 Bruton Place, W1J 6NL

Down a mews behind Berkeley Square, and the closest thing left to the Mayfair of the 1950s. The Guinea has been grilling dry-aged British beef since it opened its restaurant in 1952, and the Sunday version is the traditional one: a joint, gravy from the pan, Yorkshire pudding, roasted vegetables.

The rule: roasts are served from midday until 5pm. The pub is open 11am to 9pm on Sunday with food from 12pm to 7pm, so a late booking gets you dinner but not a roast.

The Audley, 41-43 Mount Street, W1K 2RX

A Victorian pub built in 1888 and restored at considerable expense, with the Mount St. Restaurant on the first floor above it. The ground floor pub serves a traditional roast on Sundays and is open 11am to 10.30pm with food from 12pm to 9pm, which is the longest Sunday roast window in Mayfair.

The rule: walk-ins only. The Audley takes no reservations, and it takes no cash either, so arrive with a card and arrive outside the middle of the day.

The Windmill, 6-8 Mill Street, W1S 2AZ

A Young's pub two minutes off Regent Street, better known for pies than for roasts: the pastry is homemade suet and the Guinness braised short rib pie has a British Pie Awards silver medal behind it. On Sunday the roast joins the pies, with crisp roast potatoes, a giant Yorkshire pudding and gravy.

The rule: Sunday hours are not published on the website, so ring before you walk over. It is also the one on this list where the right order might not be the roast at all.

The Barley Mow, 82 Duke Street, W1K 6JG

A Cubitt House pub on the quieter Duke Street side of Mayfair, with a first-floor restaurant that runs breakfast, lunch and supper and a Sunday roast alongside them. The house claim is one of the best breakfasts and Sunday roasts in Mayfair, which is their line rather than ours, but the room is comfortable and the Sunday window is generous.

The rule: open 11am to 10pm on Sunday with the kitchen running 12pm to 8pm, which is later than most. Useful when the plan has slipped.

Hawksmoor Air Street, W1J 0AD

The technical entry. Hawksmoor starts large joints over real charcoal and finishes them in the oven, which is a different proposition from a joint that has only ever seen an oven, and it is the reason this roast gets written about.

Prices are published, which on this list makes it unusual: £29.50 for dry aged rump, £35.00 for dry aged sirloin and £28.00 for the vegetarian Winslade Wellington. Each comes with beef dripping roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, roasted carrots, buttered greens, roasted garlic and a bone marrow and onion gravy. Stuffing is £8.00 on the side and cauliflower cheese £7.50.

The rule: roasts are guaranteed until 5pm. Air Street is the W1 branch; the group has seven others across London, so make sure you book the right one.

Two W1 favourites that will not give you a roast

Worth knowing before you walk across Soho on a Sunday. Quo Vadis at 26-29 Dean Street, W1D 3LL serves lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday only; the restaurant does not open on Sunday. Bocca di Lupo at 12 Archer Street, W1D 7BB is open on Sunday, 12pm to 3.30pm and 5pm to 9.30pm, but it serves its regular regional Italian menu and no roast, and the set lunch and pre-theatre menu runs Monday to Friday only.

How to actually get the table

  • Book for one o'clock, not three. Several W1 kitchens stop the roast at 4pm or 5pm, and the good cuts go before that.
  • Learn the release times. The Devonshire drops new availability on Thursdays at 10.30am. That single fact is worth more than any list.
  • Take the walk-in option seriously. The Audley never takes bookings, so arriving at noon or after half past eight is a plan rather than a gamble.
  • Two is much easier than six. A table for two turns over across a Sunday service; a table for six is a single seating.
  • Check whether the roast is the point. At The Windmill the pie may be the better order, and at Bocca di Lupo there is no roast to order at all.

For the rest of the week, our guides to the best restaurants in Mayfair, Soho and Fitzrovia cover the same ground without the Sunday constraint, and where to eat in W1 is the overview. If Sunday is the whole day out, our Soho itinerary builds around it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the best Sunday roast in central London?

Inside W1 the shortlist is small and consistent: Blacklock on Great Windmill Street for the sharing platter, The Devonshire on Denman Street for the room and the reputation, The Guinea Grill on Bruton Place for the old Mayfair version, and Hawksmoor Air Street if you want it cooked over charcoal. Which one is right depends far more on whether you can get a table than on the cooking.

Which W1 Sunday roasts take walk-ins only?

The Audley on Mount Street does not take reservations at all, and it does not take cash either. You turn up, and on a Sunday that means turning up early or late rather than at one o'clock. The pub and roof terrace at The Devonshire are also walk-in, although the dining room takes bookings.

How far ahead do I need to book a Sunday roast in W1?

For The Devonshire, plan around the release rather than the lead time: it takes a la carte bookings up to three weeks ahead and new availability goes live every Thursday at 10.30am. Blacklock Soho is the other one people fail to get at short notice, because the roast menu runs on Sundays only. Two to three weeks is a safe rule for the rest.

What does a Sunday roast cost in central London?

The one published price on this list is Hawksmoor's: £29.50 for dry aged rump, £35.00 for dry aged sirloin and £28.00 for the vegetarian Winslade Wellington, each served with beef dripping roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, roasted carrots, buttered greens, roasted garlic and a bone marrow and onion gravy. Stuffing is £8.00 extra and cauliflower cheese £7.50. The pubs on this list sit below that; the Mayfair dining rooms sit at or above it.

How late is the roast served on a Sunday?

Earlier than you think, and this is what ruins most plans. The Guinea Grill serves roasts from midday until 5pm. Hawksmoor guarantees its roast until 5pm. The Devonshire serves Sunday lunch from 12pm to 4pm and it is the only lunch menu it runs that day. Book for one o'clock, not for three.

Which good W1 restaurants are closed on Sunday?

Quo Vadis on Dean Street serves lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday only, so it is not a Sunday option however much you want it to be. Bocca di Lupo on Archer Street is open on Sunday, 12pm to 3.30pm and 5pm to 9.30pm, but it serves its regular Italian menu rather than a roast. Check before you walk.

Sources

  • Blacklock, for the Soho address and the Sundays-only roast menu
  • The Devonshire, for the Sunday lunch service times and the Thursday 10.30am booking release
  • The Guinea Grill, for the roast service times and Sunday opening hours
  • The Audley, for the walk-ins-only and no-cash policy and Sunday hours
  • Hawksmoor, for the Sunday roast prices, what is included and the 5pm guarantee
  • The Windmill and The Barley Mow, for addresses, hours and Sunday offering

More from W1 London: every Michelin-starred restaurant in W1 and the best afternoon tea in W1.

Checked on 12 September 2026. Prices, menus and service times change; confirm with the restaurant when you book.