The best month for roast dinners is October, so it was time to head to someone that I had fairly high hopes for – Roe, in Canary Wharf.
Of course, me being me, I decided that temporarily not having a top row of teeth wasn’t inhibiting enough, and that I also required a 10 pint hangover.
Because that makes eating, and tasting much easier. Let alone then trying to write a blog.

Gosh why are humans so stupid.
That said, I’m probably about to regret my vote for Labour come the evil, scary budget the day before Halloween (why do politicians insist on writing headlines like “budget nightmare before Halloween”?) – the same one where Kier Starmer seems to have as much difficulty in defining a working person as he does defining a woman.
I kinda make tools though…albeit with JavaScript. That counts, right? I am working person. Maybe not on day two of this hangover, alas…apologies boss if you are reading.
Roe My God Why Did I Drink So Much
I appreciate that it’s Halloween weekend and tradition normally was to go somewhere scary, but alas one of my trusted advisors was celebrating her birthday and for some reason didn’t want to go for a roast dinner in a Greene King just so I could continue a theme. Next year, perhaps.
So instead here’s something to really scare you:
Embed from Getty ImagesGood luck affording those £30.00 roast dinners after the budget.
Anyone miss Jeremy Hunt yet?

I do wish more people would randomly put “gravy” when answering these things. I do.
Roeing Back The Times To Dreams Of Competent Government
Roe is the sister restaurant to Fallow, which is was a much-hyped restaurant though I scored their roast dinner an 8.01, and perhaps over-rated it a tad.
Roe is situated in Canary Wharf, at the bottom of one of those blocks of flats that none of us will ever be able to afford to visit, let alone rent or buy – especially after the super scary budget of doom this week.
Normally I get to describe pubs/restaurants as having exposed brickwork, teal paint, yadda yadda bore – but Roe has this:

Make of that what you will – but I won’t be replicating it when I paint my flat next year.
Service was on point from the off – surprisingly our first round was on the house too, I’m not sure if that is because my accomplices live nearby or were semi-regular at Roe – the state of my hangover meant much of Monday passed me by, let alone Sunday.
Beer choice was expectedly dull – Atlantic pale or a pilsner – wine choice was far more interesting, but I made my excuses and went to the un-signposted toilets when the sommelier came over, so I didn’t have to make conversation…or worse…think. It was nice wine, but lost on me, I’m afraid.
Front Roe Seats
You also have a front row seat in Roe, to watch the kitchen action – the chefs were working in front of you, and hence the restaurant also smelled rather good. Because of the smoky food, not because of their deoderant.

I wasn’t about to pain myself with the vegetarian again – yet beef rump was never going to work with the current teeth situation. I asked for some clarification on the cut of meat for the lamb and pork, the former being leg of lamb, the latter porchetta – I chose the porchetta and dreamed it would be soft enough to eat.
All were priced at £28.00, though there was a venison shank for two at £48.00 – not entirely sure if that is £48.00 each or between the two, though I’d suspect it would be the more expensive. Blame Rachel Reeves. She does look a tad sinister in an over-promoted school headmistress kinda way, doesn’t she?
Embed from Getty ImagesI would definitely be in detention. Again.
Annoyingly, and not only given my extreme hangover, they decided to do this:




Urgh…making me work on a Sunday, as if navigating the underground network on a Sunday service isn’t work enough. Yet, there’s hope here, right?
Roe…st Potatoes
Of course, it means that I then did this:

Sigh…you may judge me. Shall we start with the carrot? For my current predicament, it was a bit too al dente, but your tastes may vary – it was fresh also.
Ahhh mash, glorious mash, my current favourite food. This week I had swede mash which was really rather good, quite creamy with flecks of something – perhaps spring onion, inside.
The kale was very, erm, kaley. With an inability to chew right now, it wasn’t much use to me.
However the kale on the cauliflower cheese was much easier, as it were crisped.
Said cauliflower cheese was excellent – we paid £8.00 each for a dish which would just about serve two people. The cauliflower was soft but kept its nerve, it was as cheesy as you’d hoped, fairly luxuriously creamy – with chives, the crisped kale and something similar to parmesan, maybe parmesan, on top. It was superb.
Roe, Roe, Roe Your Jus Boat

And we had crispy roast potatoes!
Life is looking up, except for the fact that crispy ain’t good until I have stage two of Jurgen Klopp teeth finished. Though even one of my accomplices suggested perhaps they were too crispy. Anyway, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, some flecks of herbs – I’ve possibly had better this year but I’m struggling to think where.
Mixed reports on the Yorkshire pudding around the table, but mine was too crispy and a bit burnt. Nothing too bad, but I couldn’t finish it, no matter how much jus I soaked it with. It just wasn’t at all cuddly.
Embed from Getty ImagesI was dreaming of a soft, juicy porchetta – and Roe My God – it hit the spot. It was sooooo soft and juicy, delectably so, and the fatty parts were just a bit of added heaven, all mixed with a very herby feel – as that is what makes it porchetta. I might have wished that the crackling was crispy, but not until next year. You might wish that though. And it did feel a tad on the small side…but I think that’s me being greedy.
If you are a fan of sticky, rich jus, then you’ll likely be enamoured with the jus at Roe. Jus preponderance has thankfully ebbed in recent years, back in favour of gravy, even if often it is watery gravy. So this was a bit of a challenge for me – and for my tastes it did overpower the rest of the roast – sometimes it complimented, but other times it clashed. This is a horses for courses thing, and you’ll likely know where you sit.
Roe. You Can Go.
OMG ladies, gentlemen and alternative genders that trigger Elon Musk, I can finally recommend a roast dinner. Yep, for the first time since the end of April, a whole 6 months ago, I am about to score in the 8’s.
Those around the table were in even higher praise than me. Those eating the beef were really happy – it was apparently melt in your mouth, not that it melted in my mouth when I tried it and nor could I chew it for obvious expensive dental torture reasons.

They both scored theirs an 8.40 and an 8.50 respectively.
The lamb roaster wasn’t so enamoured with her meat, yet scored the roast an 8.70. Pretty mega.
As I said, I’m finally making it into the 8’s. The cauliflower cheese, though we paid extra, was exceptional, the roasties were proper crispy, the porchetta was delectable – insanely so. Hell there was even a cute Spanish waitress.
Yet I didn’t enjoy the jus, and the yorkie was towards the inedible side of things. So my score is an 8.13 out of 10 – the 5th best roast dinner of 2024 so far. It could well go on your to-do list. It’s now on my non-Sunday list.
Ahhhh finally a mostly excellent roast dinner. Back in the game, wiggling my hips in a slightly sexual nature. Can next week’s roast beat it? Unlikely, but it isn’t without hope – from looks they at least have a good gravy game.
Good luck, working people.
Embed from Getty ImagesSummary:
Roe, Canary Wharf
Station: Canary Wharf
Tube Lines: DLR, Elizabath, Jubilee
Fare Zone: Zone 2
Price: £28.00
Rating: 8.13
Loved & Loathed
Loved: The cauliflower cheese was exquisite (though not part of the roast), roasties were proper crispy, porchetta was delectable. And service was excellent.
Loathed: Well, I wasn't keen on the jus (you might be), and the yorkie was towards inedible.