The Devonshire, Soho

Skip The Nonsense

It was Easter weekend and I was about to have an eggsellent roast dinner at probably the most hyped pub since I’ve lived in London, The Devonshire in Soho.

Yep, we actually got a booking.

So I’ve been wanting to go ever since it opened, you know, curiosity and all. But unfortunately everyone else who writes about eating in pubs, or at least just makes 30 second videos with “BANGING FOOD” overlaid, went there in the first month it opened, and hence the hype machine is still rolling to this day, circa 18 months later.

The Devonshire has always been fully booked. Always. Even for a Monday afternoon at 3pm, let alone a Sunday roast.

I clocked that they released their tables every week at 10:30am on a Thursday.

By the way, before I forget, I just want to wish Happy Easter to all the MAGA in USA.

I’m sure those egg prices are coming down any day now…

Hype, hype, give me the funk

Anyway. Picture the scene. I’m in Budapest, it is the day after I had a shit load of drilling in my mouth, and also the day before I have a shitload of drilling in my mouth, and a bonus unexpected root canal.

My family decided to visit, so I’m in an indoor market on the one day it is actually sunny for the whole week I spent in Budapest, looking at the 118th different stall selling paprika, when my phone alarm goes off.

OMG it’s 10:30am (in the UK) and time to book The Devonshire.

I load the website, “Bookings will open on Thursday 27th March at 10.30am.”. Reload a minute later, “Bookings will open on Thursday 27th March at 10.30am.”. Reload a minute later, “Bookings will open on Thursday 27th March at 10.30am.”. Re-reload, when the crowd says roast…yeah maybe not.

Anyway 10:35am and bookings are open. I select 1:30pm for 4 people, put in all my details on Open Table, click submit. “Sorry, there are no available tables for this time”.

Urgh. Back to the table listing, and select 2:30pm for 4 people, put in all my details on Open Table, click submit. “Sorry, there are no available tables for this time”.

Urrrrggggh. Back to the table listing, and select 12:15pm for 4 people, put in all my details on Open Table, click submit.

Well, you know the result. I’m writing the review.

Hype, hype, we bring the noise

So The Devonshire has had a lot of hype. Some from the usual suspects, for example Giles Coren wrote “The food, the drink, the cooking — it’s just insane what Oisin Rogers and his team are doing here”.

Insane. Thankfully this was the pulled out quote so I didn’t have to read the rest of his garbage, though I get that is a bit rich coming from me, raconteur of 329 reviews of the same meal every week. Though I did used to be a Tory, like Giles, back when it was cool to support free trade because you actually believe in the benefits of free trade – as opposed to something you believe in because Donald Trump believes in the opposite.

How’s the egg situation in USA, by the way? Need us to send help yet?

Grace Dent called The Devonshire, the “epitome of comfort food”, Tim Hayward announced it as, “the biggest opening since the pandemic” and Jimi Famurewa said “Most of the dishes at The Devonshire… pack rigour, mischief and joyfulness into every bite”.

They’ve all been, they’ve all raved about it. Eating With Tod even went so far as to call it, “epic”, a word I’m sure is kept for those very special occasions and not every single thing he eats.

TikTok probably vibes about The Devonshire too, man, but I’m too middle-aged for that, plus fuck giving my data to Xi Jinping.

And then there are all the famous people who have popped in, Margot Robbie, Ed Sheeran, Bono and now, Lord Gravy. All this adds up to a lot of hype.

Lights out, beats in – let’s go

It’s taken me a while to visit here, not only because snagging a table does require a very specific Glastonbury-level of organisation, but also because of “the hype”.

I am more interested in pushing pubs and restaurants that most of you haven’t heard of, like The Railway in Teddington, which I expect absolutely zero of you have been to since I reviewed it, despite the fact it is the best roast dinner I’ve had in 2025. So far, anyway.

Though of course, maybe…just maybe the hype isn’t worth it, which does tempt me into a review.

Our lunch started with a bread roll – as soft, squishy and freshly-cooked as I dream those packs of 6 at Sainsbury’s are, but strangely are never as good as the artificial bread smells pumped out from their imaginary panaderia.

Properly salty butter too – and amazingly, actually enough butter for all of us.

Beer choice was pretty ordinary – it is a pub in central London, after all, and yes I confirm that I still don’t like Guinness. Those that try Guinness maybe once every two years instead of my once every twenty years, confirm it is surprisingly good. Horses, courses and all that.

Skank to the rhythm, lose control

Realising my celebrity, we also had the honour of being seated next to the butcher.

Oh, not that one.

A spot for drooling over the beef being cut.

And dreaming of the extremely grim “why haven’t you said thank you” reaper’s next visit being to Vladimir Putin.

So options on the menu were roast rib of beef at £29.50, or maybe just a selection of starters. If you want a choice of meats, or heck even a choice of meals then The Devonshire ain’t for you.

I chose the beef rib. We all chose the beef rib.

No chill, just thrill, ride the vibe

Around 15 minutes passed before our steak arrived, followed shortly after by the rest of the meal

So, starting with the carrots which were roasted and caramelised par excellence – the honey vibe coming through with the opposite subtlety of a TikTok review of The Devonshire, the carrots notably soft.

Then we had creamed leeks, the leeks themselves spot on in terms of texture, topped with a thick and luxurious cream, and a scattering of pepper.

The standard three roast potatoes, though all sizeable. Not quite perfect though – almost too crispy on the outside and a touch of cooked-earlier about them too. But they were still enjoyable, they seemed to have been cooked in beef dripping (possibly my imagination) so tasted quite supreme – and most roast potatoes in London are far worse, as regular readers will attest. Good…but not hype levels.

Also the Yorkshire pudding was good, though again not DJ Hype give me the funk levels of spectacular. Quite tearable in texture, but also soft and quite fluffy inside.

Groove so sick, it’s contagious

There will definitely be people reading that will question the pinkness of the beef – which is fine. But the waitress did advise that it was medium-rare, and the option to have it cooked for longer was offered.

Pink is perfect for me – the beef was so tender, the knife cut through so easily that it was a real joy. Though I would have liked the fat to have been rendered a little more, for my personal preferences. Then again, everyone else at the table just left the fat. Strange folk…says the guy with a roast dinner blog.

Finally (yeah fuck the peas) was the gravy. And it was also at high levels of excellence. One of the tastiest gravies I’ve had for a while, a rich but not too-rich gravy, possibly some red wine in there, almost definitely some meat stock or similar in there – and proper levels of consistency.

It felt like the kind of place where I should have more than one course, despite for some dumbass reason having a whacking big steak and chips the night before. Yeah, sometimes my meal planning could have greater levels of wisdom.

Chocolate mousse was glorious, every bit a dreamy as eating one outside a restaurant in Paris in the spring sunshine. And those alcohol-fuelled cherries? INSANE.

The Devonshire

So the obvious question is, which gulag is this photographer going to?

Embed from Getty Images

Oh, and is The Devonshire worth the hype, in the context of a roast dinner?

Well, more or less, yes.

The gravy was rich yet gorgeous, the vegetables were top-notch, and the beef rib excellent (yes you can have it well done if you really want it done like that). Roasties and the yorkie not quite top notch, but not kilometres away.

There isn’t really anything to complain about. I loved the bread and butter, service was really good – maybe you can argue for more than one choice on a menu, but also I sometimes struggle with too much choice, and why not let a pub/restaurant just be really excellent at a small amount of options. That isn’t a question, it is the way it should be.

Scores around the table were an 8.30, an 8.60 and a 9.02 – and my score is an 8.64 out of 10. The best roast dinner of 2025 so far, the 10th best in London that is still available, out of 329 reviewed. Damn if only those roast potatoes were a tiny bit fresher and a tiny bit less crunchy – we might have been talking 9’s.

No roast dinner next week as I’m in Bosnia (yeah I’m running out of European countries to visit) and the week after is out of my control. Hell, it’s not even somewhere on my to-do list.

10:30am on a Thursday, remember.