Tony Benjamin goes looking for the roast with the most, with help from Melissa Blease, Darryl Bullock, Henry Cave, Joe Spurgeon and Steve Wright.
 

The Grapes

Tucked by the Suspension Bridge on the very edge of Clifton village, The Grapes’ street art and ‘Day of the Dead’ décor make it seem a welcome oasis of bohemia, an impression confirmed by an immaculate doo-wop soundtrack and a bonafide rock ’n’ roll diva behind the bar. Sunday lunch is their pride and joy, so booking is pretty essential if you want the choice of pork and beef (both locally sourced) or a specially made veggie dish (polenta and gorgonzola pot, when Venue visited). Top tip is the house speciality – 24-hour roast pork, a dream of soft juiciness, mouth-meltingly moreish, and draped in fabulous gravy, while the side-portion of cauliflower cheese is vintage cheddar put to its best possible use. Factor in properly crisp, fennel-infused veg and crunchy-cased roasters topped with a mini yorkie and the obligatory pudding could seem a chore. Happily, chocolate and ginger torte was both inviting and light on the tongue, rounding things off smoothly to the sounds of rare groove soul. (Tony Benjamin

BEST BIT The crispest and juiciest crackling you could ask for.

WORST BIT More apple sauce, please!

IN A WORD Top-quality nosh in a place that really rocks.

PRICE £14 inc pud/£10 children

THE GRAPES 2 SION PL, CLIFTON, BRISTOL, BS8 4AX, TEL: 0117 914 9109, WEB: WWW.GRAPESBAR.CO.UK

Rose of Denmark

To a person, they – pensioners, babies, young parents, toddlers – are wreathed in smiles. All crayons and condiments, bathed in sunlight via the big windows, the RoD’s overflowing upstairs bar showcases a level of ostentatious happiness generally reserved for Olympic bid videos. Sickening. Or it would be if you weren’t having what they’re having: top-line roast, be it beef, lamb, pork or nut. Three cellar rooms are equally busy, but eventually we find space to enjoy a boldly modern/trad twinning: cream pureed parsnips and finely grated swede sit easily alongside roast pots, peas, carrots, red cabbage and pink-centred beef. Just put that line-up in your mind a sec: have you ever seen a roast more vividly colourful? Damn straight you haven’t. And that’s a whole lot of variety for that last, best mouthful, when all flavours congregate for one last hurrah in the gravy. Baked chocolate cheesecake? Mountainous, thick custard-clad apple crumble? Oh, we really shouldn’t. We really did. We regret nothing. (Henry Cave)

BEST BIT Miracle bit, more like: making parsnips tasty.

WORST BIT Roast pots can never be too crispy – another 10 mins, please.

IN A WORD Seconds?

PRICE £8.95 not inc pudding

ROSE OF DENMARK 6 DOWRY PL, HOTWELLS, BRISTOL, BS8 4QL, TEL: 0117 940 5866, WEB: WWW.THEROSEOFDENMARK.COM

The Pump House

When Venue and companions toddled across the wintry harbour to the welcoming Pump House, we plumped – in the true spirit of journalistic enquiry – for a different roast each. My 12-hour belly of woodland-reared pork was a thing of beauty: meltingly soft and tender, offset by a joy-inducing rosemary- and garlic-infused potato cake, gorgeous Bramley apple balls flavoured with star anise, cloves and cinnamon, and a syrup-smooth parsnip puree. Rach’s roast leg of Mendip lamb had creamy, unctuous dauphinoise potatoes and a zingy mint salsa verde for company; Big Brother’s rib of Hereford Limousin beef was a fat, rich, club-class cut of meat, joined on the plate by some ‘perfect’ roast potatoes, a golden brown, crisp-then-soft Yorkshire pud and some chunky horseradish. Each of the three roasts was a single, thick, juicy slab of meat, helping to lock in the flavours and moistures, and all three were clearly of first-rate provenance. And if you’re saddened by the sight of those forlorn little petri dishes of overcooked veg so often served with Sunday roasts, this is the place for you: we were treated to a groaning, technicolour platter of crisply cooked goodies, including curly kale, cabbage (red and green), carrots, sprouts, beetroots and some beautiful, buttery braised leeks. A roast to remember, in short…(Steve Wright)

BEST BIT Some truly inspired touches in each dish – Sunday roast meets haute cuisine.

WORST BIT Nothing, really: you might baulk at the prices, but at this quality you are getting bang for your buck.

IN A WORD Sensory yet satisfying.

PRICE £14.50-£15.50 a throw

THE PUMP HOUSE MERCHANTS RD, HOTWELLS, BRISTOL, BS8 4PZ, TEL: 0117 927 2229, WEB: WWW.THE-PUMPHOUSE.COM
 

The Nineteenth House

The chef at this super-smart, amiable city centre hostelry – recently refurbished to exacting standards – clearly knows how a proper Sunday roast should look, smell and taste. From three choices of flesh on offer, the meat-eating side of the Venue table for two eschewed chicken and beef in favour of lamb and was richly rewarded by a huge, moist pile of the stuff lightly bathed in velvety gravy and teamed with excellent roasties, a massive, feathery pillow of Yorkshire pudding and a generously filled bowl of freshly steamed mixed veg. Vegetarians, however, are a tad overlooked: there was only one meat-free choice available on the a la carte menu, and if my no-flesh guest didn’t like goats’ cheese or flaky pastry, he’d have had to make do with salad. Fortunately, though, cheesy tart might as well be his middle name and his lunch choice proved to be a faultless incarnation of the edible genre, resulting in a highly recommended Sunday feast for all. (Melissa Blease)

BEST BIT The huge pile of perfectly cooked lamb.

WORST BIT Limited vegetarian options.

IN A WORD Sunday satisfaction guaranteed.

PRICE £10 for carnivorous option

THE NINETEENTH HOUSE 19 ST JAMES’ PARADE, BATH, BA1 1UL, TEL: 01225 447728, WEB: WWW.THENINETEENTHHOUSE.COM 

The Spotted Cow

It’s a tricky challenge straddling that pub-bar-bistro divide, but The Spotted Cow of Bedminster achieves it with nonchalant ease, packing it at weekends with a youthfully low-slung, lager-sipping it-crowd, keeping it ticking over during the week with the odd idiosyncratic crowd-puller (DJ Swiss Tony’s Big Quiz & Rock ’n’ Roll Bingo is something every Bristolian should try once) and the money shot: hands down, the best sleepy Sunday refuelling session on North Street. The food’s simple enough: four choices for the meat-heads (Wye Valley roast leg of lamb; Hereford sirloin of beef; organic chicken breast; free-range pork loin) as well as a fish (pan-fried sea bass) and a veggie (leek, stilton and almond pithivier) option. All come with the same, slightly unimaginative sides (mini roasties, carrots, pitifully soft parsnips and green sprouting) but the rich, fortified gravies, jus, stuffing and sauces – as well as the quality of chefs Ian and Uriah’s meat-sourcing – lift the dishes above the also-rans. The chicken in particular comes on with a buttery wink, a melt-in-the-mouth gruyere coo and a sumptuous, velveteen madeira and thyme gravy that just begs you to order that extra Yorkshire pud (50p if you’re asking) for post-prandial dipping. (Joe Spurgeon)

BEST BIT Septuagenarian, Martin Scorsese-alike DJ Tony Clark dropping chic jazz classics behind the bar with a cheerful pout and a casual shoulder shuffle.

WORST BIT The waiting list – standing room only from 1.30pm, the disappointed left to prowl the tables wide of eye and empty of belly.

IN A WORD Hip, easy, relatively few frills and on the money every time.

PRICE Between £8.95 and £10.95

THE SPOTTED COW 139 NORTH ST, BEDMINSTER, BRISTOL, BS3 2EZ, TEL: 0117 963 4433, WEB: WWW.THESPOTTEDCOWBRISTOL.COM

The Clifton Sausage

The rustic furniture, stone walls and warm colours of the Clifton Sausage are more redolent of a country inn than a bustling restaurant which sells in excess of 100,000 sausages a year. Sunday lunch offers four mains: on the day we called in, beef, pork, sea bream or baked Portobello mushroom and potato gratin for the vegetarian, alongside the regular bangers and mash. Ignoring the temptations of the veggie starter – twice-baked Wyfe of Bath cheese soufflé – I opted for the smoked haddock fishcake to begin while the better half had a selection of salami and chorizo – both served with a small side salad and tangy dressing. The rather stunning roast sirloin of beef came with an enormous homemade Yorkshire pud, roasties, winter veg and the best red cabbage I’ve ever eaten, whilst the husb noshed on their signature sossies (which come with a choice of either mash or champ) and a plate piled high with parsnip crisps. With both meals washed down with an excellent Australian cabernet-shiraz blend, it made for a really relaxing Sunday afternoon. (Darryl Bullock)

BEST BIT The staff: welcoming and attentive without being obtrusive.

WORST BIT Maybe a splash more gravy?

IN A WORD Pretty damn faultless.

PRICE £15.50 for two courses/£17.50 for three

THE CLIFTON SAUSAGE 7-9 PORTLAND ST, CLIFTON, BRISTOL, BS8 4JA TEL: 0117 973 1192, WEB: WWW.CLIFTONSAUSAGE.CO.UK

Robin Hood’s Retreat

Tender medium-rare sirloin beef curls over amber-crusted potatoes set in a swirl of roast onion and garlic puree, the whole topped with a froth of horseradish mousse and set against a crisp, mustard-infused Yorkshire. Softly roasted guinea fowl complements a rich black pudding puree and toffee toasted carrots. This is not just a Sunday roast, this is the RHR Sunday roast, whereby the family staple gets a state-of-the-art posh nosh makeover and becomes something rather heavenly. Happily, however, this doesn’t mean titchy portions so Venue and friend were able to cunningly exploit the two-course option by sharing a starter (chicken liver parfait with onion marmalade) and a pudding (latte mousse with walnut biscuit and espresso tapioca). The parfait was exactly that – intensely flavoured, smooth and clean on the tongue – while the pudding was fabulous. If school dinners put you right off tapioca, then what the Retreat’s Tim does with it will have you scraping the bowl. (Tony Benjamin)

BEST BIT Espresso tapioca.

WORST BIT Could have done with a little jug of extra gravy.

IN A WORD A Rolls Royce experience among roasts.

PRICE Two courses £16.95/three courses £19.95

ROBIN HOOD’S RETREAT 197 GLOUCESTER RD, BISHOPSTON, BRISTOL, BS7 8BG, TEL: 0117 924 8639, WEB: WWW.ROBINHOODSRETREAT.CO.UK

THE GRAVY TRAIN

Tempted? Here’s a few more of our favourite places for that guaranteed full-on Sunday experience, but remember – if you want the best it’s always best to book!

Garricks Head St John’s Pl, Bath, BA1 1ET, tel: 01225 318368 • Serving from 12noon-4pm, the roast dinners go for £10.95, with veggie specials fresh every week.

Chequers Rivers St, Bath, BA1 2QA, tel: 01225 360017 • Serving 12noon-4pm, the roast ranges from £14.95 (beef) to £9.95 (veg).

Marlborough Tavern Marlborough Buildings, Bath, BA1 2LY, tel: 01225 423731 • Two sittings at 12.30 & 2.30pm, with meat roasts priced at £12.50 and veg options including blue brie tart (£11.50) or veg curry (£10.95).

Catherine Wheel High St, Marshfield, SN14 8LR, tel: 01225 892220 • Get out of town and enjoy classic roasts from 12noon-3pm, paying £9.50 for meat dinners or veg options like chickpea casserole or nut roast.

The Cork Westgate Buildings, Bath, BA1 1EB, tel: 01225 333582. 

Prince of Wales Gloucester Rd, Bristol, BS7 8AA, tel: 0117 924 5552 • Lunches run from 12noon-4pm and cost £8.50 for the meat roasts, with £7.95 getting you a courgette and cashew nut veggie roast option.

And an interesting alternative for the tradition-averse… Lockside Brunel Lock Rd, Bristol, BS1 6XS, tel: 0117 925 5800 • The luscious watery location and wide-ranging menu make Lockside a popular Sunday destination even though they don’t do The Big Roast. Pick from the many fish, meat or veggie dishes and watch the boats glide by.

TO READ THIS FEATURE IN FULL SEE THIS WEEK'S VENUE MAGAZINE (OUT WED 19 JAN)
 

Copyright Tony Benjamin, Melissa Blease, Darryl Bullock, Henry Cave, Joe Spurgeon, Steve Wright 2011

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