Roast Dinners in London

Sunday Funday and it was time for a roast dinner at The Raglan in Walthamstow. And to make it even more of a celebration of life, we’ve also betrayed Brexit!

All of your favourite people are upset.

And there was me thinking that the deal we signed would only reverse a small percentage of the damage done by Brexit.

Yet it seems that surrendering to increased trade, improved GDP and more tax receipts to spend on things like the NHS is causing enough upset to be worth it.

Ahhhh.

It’s good to be talking about Brexit again, isn’t it?

Threadbare Promises, Raglan Realities

For the bank holiday special, we’d booked The Raglan in Walthamstow, previously called the Lord Raglan.

I’d heard that they did good food, but it looked a bit, well, like a Brexit pub.

The Raglan has been taken over by the same people that run Shankeys, which is an Irish Indian (yep, never heard of this combo before either) restaurant in Walthamstow that still has a perfect 5 rating on Google Maps, and whose food looks absolutely banging.

And on the outside, they have delightfully betrayed Brexit too.

Whoa, it looks all upmarket now, with those dark green paint shades. Alas their beer choice is only up one notch from what was likely before, Neck Oil, etc – one imagines the previous incarnation would have had all the classics, like Carling and Carlsberg.

I’m told it was an interesting pub before – when one of my accomplices visited, she saw some people trying to set fire to the tail of a dog. It definitely isn’t like that any more.

We Came for Sovereignty, Left in Rags

And I thought George Galloway had blocked me?

Yeah I had to go on X to find sufficient betrayal drivel, and it was every bit as grim as I remembered, even more so now George Galloway has unblocked me. Or maybe that was a new feature?

Within one scroll of my feed, I’d already been encouraged to look again at the plane going into one of the Twin Towers, and Laurance Fox was trying to goad some more riots.

The menu at The Raglan was far more interesting.

On the menu was topside of beef at £25.00, for those that complain about topside being the cut (hello, me) there was sirloin steak at £34.00.

Chicken leg with pigs in blankets at £24.00, leg of lamb at £26.00 or a spinach, courgette and butterbean wellington at £18.00.

Or you could have a kid’s roast at half the price, and that actually applied to adults too – much to the relief of a couple of accomplices, as we were sat in the conservatory (ish) bit at the back and it was a tad roasting when the sun shone.

I was really torn between sirloin steak and leg of lamb, and ended up ordering lamb mostly because I’ve had some semi-disappointing steaks recently. Maybe I don’t even like steak any more?

Cut from the Cloth of Delusion

Our roasts took around half a Brexit queue at passport control to arrive, say 30-40 minutes.

I know what you are thinking, and a moustachioed young chap from east London came around with a teapot of extra gravy on top of this.

Now that’s how to impress Lord Gravy.

So there were two whole carrots, neither tasted of anything other than carrot itself, but they were nicely roasted and quite soft.

The spring greens were a bit so-so, charred on the outside but a bit tough for my preferences.

That was it for vegetables. I eschewed ordering cauliflower cheese as it is always a disappointment – someone else on the table had ordered some, and OMG it was a sticky, glorious cheese-fest. So do order the cauliflower cheese if (when) you go to The Raglan.

Sovereignty Sewn On The Cheap

When you go to The Raglan? Aha…when you go, at least if you are in east London.

Just look at those sexy, crispy golden beauties.

OMG before I go any further, I nearly forgot about Johnson.

Gosh how terrible, following rules so we can trade more and grow the economy.

These were probably the best roast potatoes since Blacklock, though I feel like I’ve written this quite recently and have already forgotten which pub/restaurant I wrote this about.

Just so close to perfection, dreamily soft on the inside, freshly cooked and crispy on all of the outsides. Absolutely top marks. Oh…and 5 of them.

The Yorkshire pudding does look a bit burnt, and it was on the top – though again, it was freshly cooked and really fluffy on the inside. A few less minutes in the oven and it would have been perfect.

Positive but mixed feelings on the lamb. It was a bit chewy in places, perhaps the fat needed a bit more rendering, and the butter knives just weren’t sufficient – cutting it was more effort than getting Jeremy Farage to tell you how he’s going to pay for the free broadband or whichever populist giveaway he’s trying to sell you now. Yet the lamb was stunningly flavoursome.

Also I disregard forced compliments, but actually I was glad all over to be forced this compliment (“your blog really makes you think about roasts…a lot”). OK, I meant forced condiments. Anyway the salsa verde had a minty tang that really brought together the lamb and the gravy, I was really rather endeared, even if the lamb had some shortcomings.

I was gifted some of the fat from the sirloin, and gosh it was stunning. My eventual score would probably be a good half a point higher had I ordered the sirloin, it looked and I’m told it was gorgeous.

Finally, the gravy was really very flavoursome. Thinner than I’d prefer, but stuffed full of herbs, pepper and I assume meat stock, etc – and of course more was delivered via teapot. It was seemingly infinite gravy.

The Raglan

Another very good roast dinner in east London? What is happening here?

Everyone around the table was happy with their roasts, and similarly complimentary. Apparently the topside of beef was a bit stringy, but otherwise I heard no complaints.

Scores around the table were an 8.50 from the veggie accomplice, another 8.50 from the topside top lady, an 8.80 from my regular accomplice who had the sirloin, and then another 8.80 though I’m not sure who that was from, likewise a 9.00.

Even I was very happy, though shock horror I’m giving a slightly lower score than everyone else – the lamb was a bit chewy in places, the knife wasn’t suitable and the spring greens were a bit meh.

However, the roasties were close to perfection, the lamb really flavoursome, the gravy excellent, the yorkie fluffy inside (though burnt to top). You can see where this roast can be improved, but it is pretty excellent.

My score is a fairly whopping 8.40 out of 10. East Londoners you really need to make a visit. And I shall be booking into their sister restaurant, Shankeys.

Next Sunday I’m inadvertently booked at a Young’s pub, so I’m probably back to the normality of roast potatoes cooked the week before…but I’m told they have ace meats so we’ll see.

And, my friends, never forget who is the main instigator of us getting poorer (and him getting richer).