Yeah I know, the cost of living crisis is pretty much over now Dishily Sensible Rishi is in charge of the country, but still I thought a post on affordable roast dinners in London might be of use. Affordable and good roast dinners, of course. “Affordable”, anyway.
I get that this might come across a bit Conservative MP trying to tell poorer people to stop drinking cans of Coca-Cola so that they can be able to afford an £18 roast dinner.
So before any of you go all Jack Monroe on me and demand how I dare suggest anything that costs more than 50p and isn’t cooked by sunlight alone, is affordable, I do appreciate that affordability is comparative to the individual.
These roast dinners are affordable in comparison to other roast dinners in London. And good.
I get that some people won’t be able to afford anything on here – I was unemployed and on benefits once. When I started this blog, in fact. Living on evening trips to find food on yellow stickers. Eating Morrison’s basic ketchup. Drinking vodka instead of beer.
I might be unemployed soon also, as I keep considering telling my employer to fuck off given that they want me to stack shelves for 7 days a year to prove that I am a good software engineer. Apparently it will bring me closer to the customer. THE CUSTOMER IS BEHIND A FUCKING SCREEN YOU FOOLS.
Plus that and my use of AI to help me do my job. Hmmm. Anyway. Behold the list of affordable roast dinners in London that at least one person (assuming anyone reads it) will complain is damn inconsiderate of me:
The Black Lion, Kilburn
Yep, getting an excellent and affordable roast dinner probably means travelling to those slightly scary bits of London, like Kilburn. And there were some interesting characters on that high street.
Not only is this roast dinner from The Black Lion certifiably affordable, with the cheapest meat roast at £14.00 (chicken or pork loin), but also it was the second best roast dinner of 2022.
Gloriously thick, meaty gravy which improved a very good roast. Roasties pretty crispy, veg good, and a gorgeous ceiling. Oh, and very affordable.
Price: £14.00 to £16.00.
Rating: 8.55.
Nearest tube station: Kilburn. Book here.
The Gladstone Arms, Borough
Next up is an Anglo-Indian roast dinner by The Gladstone Arms in Borough – which almost classes as central London, except it being south of the river.
Unfortunately the price has gone up £3.00 since I visited in early 2022 (damn remoaners talking the currency down), so at £16.90 it only just about squeezes onto the list.
But this is also superb (as are their pies during the week) – plump, juicy chicken, crispy roast potatoes, fluffy Yorkie and tons of flavour. Indian flavour. Can you handle Indian flavour on a roast dinner?
Price: £16.90 to £17.90.
Rating: 8.47.
Nearest tube station: Borough. Book here.
The Albany, Twickenham
Twickenham is well inside the M25 before you say anything, and only 25 minutes on the train from Waterloo. You can do it. Granted I’ve just added a train fare to the cost.
I cannot promise you that this roast dinner at The Albany is still affordable, as their website states “from £15.00” but it looks like the website hasn’t been updated since Brexit. I paid £16.50 in 2021, though that was for lamb, which tends to be pricier.
Really tender lamb, freshly cooked roasties and yorkie. And sensational gravy – very much the star of the show here.
Price: From £15.00, according to their not very updated website.
Rating: 8.38.
Nearest train station: Twickenham. Book here.
The Alma, Canonbury
Well we’ve established that £16.90 for a roast dinner is affordable, so The Alma in Canonbury has to go on the list, especially considering Canonbury is part of Islington.
Both chicken and pork loin roast dinners are currently priced at £16.90 – and they even give you an illegal 5 roast potatoes.
Also comes with red wine jus that is actually delicious.
Price: £16.90 to £17.90.
Rating: 8.30.
Nearest overground station: Canonbury. Book here.
The Star Of The East, Poplar
It’s the newest one to make it into the list – can you believe that in 2023 I found a good roast dinner for £17.50?
The pork shoulder was £18.00, chicken £17.50 and even the beef was under £20.00 – but do choose the chicken.
Price: £17.50 to £19.00.
Rating: 8.14
Nearest overground station: Canary Wharf, or Westferry on the DLR. Book here.
The Snooty Fox, Canonbury
Well, I had to scroll down a fair way to find another roast dinner that could just about pass as good and affordable – one place I checked had nearly doubled in price since I reviewed.
The Snooty Fox has charm and a really sweet landlady – their roast dinners are mostly good, but they don’t tend to get everything spot on.
Either pork belly or chicken can be yours for £17.00, which, alas, is now deemed as affordable. Hard-pressed pensioners that own much of the housing stock, campaign against new housing for you and voted for Brexit, got a 10% pay rise so I don’t know what you are moaning about. And the gravy is pretty sensational here.
Price: £17.00 to £19.00.
Rating: 7.87.
Nearest overground station: Canonbury. Book here.
The Cat & Mutton, Hackney
You can tell that I’m scraping the barrel when I start listing places in east London.
However, The Cat And Mutton provided a very credible roast dinner – more so than my photography back in 2017.
But most importantly, you can get a pork roast dinner for just £16.50. Next year I’m writing a post on roast dinners below £25, aren’t I?
The gravy here was excellent, the roast potatoes and yorkie were up there too. This was over 5 years ago, so fuck knows what it is like now, but £16.50 yo.
Price: £16.50 to £20.00.
Rating: 7.68.
Nearest overground station: London Fields. Book here.
The Conquering Hero, Upper Norwood
Just because you haven’t heard of it, doesn’t mean that it isn’t in London.
A pub that is quite possibly named after me, The Conquering Hero is a bit of an old-school pub, with a pet pig – yes, a rather fat pig.
Roasts can be yours for just £13.95, plus a train ticket to Norbury, wherever the hell that was. Oh and there’s a 20 minute walk from the nearest train station because south London.
Generally the roast was pretty good, the meat was probably the highlight. Do be warned that the toilet roll holder has gravel on, to stop you doing lines of cocaine in the toilet. Take a key, if you need a post-roast pick-me-up. Or even better, a Ketflix & Pills shovel.
Price: £13.95 to £14.95.
Rating: 7.67.
Nearest train station: Norbury or Upper Norwood. Book…erm…not sure. This is their Instagram page.
Oak And Pastor, Archway
Another place that cannot afford the £10 a month or whatever it is to host a website nowadays, so I cannot promise you that the Oak And Pastor is still affordable.
However, I visited in May 2022, and paid £16.00 – prices cannot have gone up that much in 9 months, can they? Insert eye-rolling emoji.
Let’s pretend it is still £16.00 anyway, it was a decent roast with gorgeous buttery cabbage and at least 30p Lee’s worth of pepper power. Decent location too.
Price: £16.00. Maybe.
Rating: 7.63.
Nearest tube station: Archway. Not sure how you book, maybe on Instagrim?
The Three Crowns, Shoreditch
Surely not an affordable roast dinner in Shoreditch?
Yep, The Three Crowns are still offering a chicken roast dinner for £16.00 – with proper gravy. I had the lamb when I visited which was top notch.
Roast potatoes let it down, but London.
Price: £16.00 to £18.00.
Rating: 7.58.
Nearest tube station: Old Street. Book here.
Ye Olde Rose And Crown Theatre Pub, Walthamstow
One of the only times that I’ve paid less than £10 for a roast dinner in London – though this was in 2017 so don’t get too excited.
We are getting to the overcooked meat and cannot be arsed to cook roast potatoes properly section, but the Ye Olde Rose And Crown Theatre Pub’s gravy was divine and the creamed leeks excellent too.
Decor is (was?) very tired in there, and their website doesn’t have a price on their roasts so I’m just assuming that they are still affordable.
Price: Well…it was £9.95 in 2017. So I’d guess around £15.00. Maybe call them?
Rating: 7.48.
Nearest tube station: Walthamstow Central. Book here.
The Royal Oak, Harlesden
Getting ever more tenuous to achieve the “good” qualifier for this list, and I did see The Royal Oak’s biggest fan on Twitter complaining recently so go tentative here.
However, pork belly for £15.00 definitely hits the affordable side of things, plus the chicken was plump when I visited, and they served top notch cauliflower cheese.
Price: £15.00 to £17.00.
Rating: 7.35.
Nearest tube station: Willesden Junction. Book here.
Other Credible Mentions
Given that it is still the best roast dinner in London that I’ve had, albeit the last two times I visited didn’t quite match the dreamy perfection of losing my virginity…Blacklock virginity, you could suggest that £19.00 for Blacklock’s pork roast dinner is still very good value.
You could, if you really wanted to, get a midweek carvery at Toby Carvery for £8.99. They did do an excellent Yorkshire pudding when I visited…if I wasn’t exactly overexcited otherwise.
Likewise, The Hemingway near Victoria Park, has been recommended and are priced at £14.50.
And finally, The Rose & Crown in Enfield (is that London?) was recommended to me with a chicken roast dinner at £16.00.
If I’ve missed your favourite “affordable” roast dinner in London, please do add to the comments below.
Summary:
Affordable Roast Dinners In London 2023
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The Albany – not even the best affordable roast in Twickenham, and the pub itself is a hell hole.
The Sussex Arms over the other side of town has one of the best roasts ever, award winning and all under £17.00.
The Oyster Catcher in Greenwich does an amazing roast which includes a half Cotswolds white chicken for £16. The always excellent The Yellow House in Surrey Quays does a two course Sunday lunch for £19.50, so the main course should come in below your ceiling price.