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22nd March 2024
10:40am GMT
Sure, they're not the best-looking dish going, but they're one of the tastiest by far.
It's been well documented that in the past couple of years, Dubliners have grown disillusioned with the runny yolk and heavy hollandaise fixtures of Sunday Brunch. A concept borrowed from American culture and tried on for size to make us feel cosmopolitan, it was fun while it lasted and does still have its merits in certain instances but we were always going to return to the bosom of the floury spuds and juicy joints that raised us. That's right folks, the Sunday Roast is back in vogue (did it ever really go out, says you?), and in this list we're detailing some of the best spots to enjoy one in Dublin, whether it's a classic carvery or a boujie gastropub offering you've a hankering for.
Napkins at the ready:
15. The Halfway House
Location: The Navan Road
There are many who have rounded off a visit to the Phoenix Park with a trip to The Halfway House. This traditional pub is renowned the city over for having one of the finest carveries in the county, with tender jelly-like beef topped with some of the most fantastic gravy you are likely to get. This is a feed that'll leave you rolling out of the place, happy and content after enjoying a quintessential Dublin Sunday.
Location: Deansgrange
The leafy environs of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown wouldn't be the first place that you'd think of for a filthy carvery, but The Grange has the awards to back it. This local is liberal on the gravy and generous with the rest of the plate - with a steady supply of buttery cabbage on hand to soothe hungover souls. They've got half portions for your granny and the small appetite girlies, and if you end up staying on after carvery hours you might even catch a spot of live music. They serve their carvery between 12.00 and 15.30 Monday to Saturday, and 12.00 and 17.00 on Sundays.
Location: Lower Abbey Street
As locations go, Wynn's is hard to beat, a hop skip and a jump from the Abbey Street Luas stop it's no surprise that this spot is a go-to for visitors to the big smoke. This old-style hotel serves up a solid carvery lunch which is excellent value, especially for such a central part of town. Wynn's Hotel serves a carvery lunch in Dublin Monday to Saturday from 12pm to 4pm.
Location: Haddington Road
Set in the heart of Dublin's unofficial CBD, The 51 is frequently heaving with suits come lunchtime. As a result, they've a highly efficient system of carving and scooping set up, with some truly varied meat options and potentially some of the crispiest roasties in attendance. Finishing the plate will undoubtedly set you into a food coma- but who cares if it's during work hours? It's what Marx would want.
Location: Drumcondra
If you're in the Dublin 9 area, get yourself a good roast dinner this Easter from Fagan's. This traditional local is revered for its friendly service and excellent carvery, excelling particularly in the potato department with classic ice-cream scooped mash, golden roasties and even the occasional delicately sliced gratin placed atop a meaty pot pie if that's your bag. The accompanying meat is always tender and succulent, and it's easy to see why this is a go-to spot for many on Sunday afternoons.
Location: Pearse Street
This cornerstone Victorian pub is over 100 years old and known for its impressive flower baskets, lively trad sessions and homemade flourish when it comes to their roast dinner. Expect cloud-like Yorkshire puds, cheesy cauliflower and roast root vegetables, expertly tied together with a well-rounded red wine gravy. Heavenly.
Location: Bath Avenue
Known primarily for its close proximity to the Aviva and teeming buzz on match day, The Old Spot also serves up a stellar Sunday roast with melt-in-your-mouth meat, sweet walnut and apricot stuffing and mountainous yorkies. And, handily enough if there's someone in your party not in the mood for a roast (not sure what'd possess them, but anyway), there's a classic pub grub offering simultaneously on the go on Sundays with fish and chips, beef burger, the works. It's more of a gastropub offering, not your traditional bain marie, fogged up sneeze guard pub carvery, and it's delicious.
Location: Tallaght
Arcadia is one of those spots with a deep understanding of what's important to its customers. In this instance, what's important is classic carvery with all the trimmings, fruity cocktails served out of glass handbags and ice cream sundaes topped with every sweet treat in reach. Obviously.
A scroll through Arcadia's Instagram will show you there's a lot going on at this Tallaght spot, from drag brunches to deconstructed chicken fillet rolls, but they've still found time to perfect their Sunday roast with a popular vegan option on the go too so no man gets left behind.
Location: Ranelagh
This trendy neighbourhood spot in leafy Ranelagh is a modern tapas restaurant that doubles as a prime Sunday roast location, where succulent chicken is served up triumphantly alongside deliciously crisp roasties and gently charred veg. It's worth noting that this isn't your classic pub carvery, the kind you can rock up to hungover clutching onto a pint of blackcurrant for dear life, so booking ahead is advised. Head on over to their Instagram for more info.
Location: Rathfarnham
The wide and varied Sunday Roast offering at Eden House Gastro Pub is known and loved throughout Dublin 14, and it's one of those carveries that doesn't stop at your traditional joint of beef - there's also vegetarian pastas, burritos, loaded beef nachos and to my personal delight, a hot joint sandwich drizzled with gravy on the go. Eden House's carvery is served seven days a week from 12pm, with seasonal veggies and all the classic trimmings.
Location: Blanchardstown
The Bell is your classic local pub with cover bands on a Saturday and carvery on a Sunday, usually with the same audience in for both. You won't find too many food shots on the Bell's Instagram page, and these are usually the kind of spots that have the best carveries, in my experience - there's no time to be faffing with social media when you have a vat of champ mash to prepare for the morning, after all. Roast dinner is served seven days a week at this family-owned, family-run Blanchardstown village spot.
Location: Loughlinstown
Eleven are devoted to the art of the Sunday roast, with a choice of the very best beef striploin, corn-fed chicken, free range pork rack and steaks, served up as the good lord intended with duck fat roasties, buttery veg and all the trimmings. They've also got some unique side offerings if you're feeling adventurous - baked potato mash or tenderstem broccoli with walnut dressing, anyone?
Location: Chancery Place, Inn's Quay
The newly revamped Legal Eagle is the first and last word when it comes to comfort food in the middle of town, from their hearty daily hot pots to their impressive Sunday Roast. The Eagle's new interior lends itself well to a roast - it’s a cosy, welcoming spot where you could definitely spend an afternoon reading the papers, chatting shite and drinking pints. Expect perfectly pink Black Angus, extra gravy on request and pillowy Yorkshires to ease your Sunday hangover.
Location: College Green
The mystique of Hawksmoor has long been documented since the international steak restaurant arrived on the scene earlier this year. Known now not just for their weighty chateaubriands and porterhouses, Hawksmoor is also gaining a reputation around town for its sizeable Sunday Roast.
With slow-roasted rump, an oozing head of whole-roasted garlic and roasties that achieve mash-like texture on the inside while still managing to be crispy on the outside, this roast comes in at a reasonable €23 and you're well looked after by Hawksmoor's knowledgable staff who add to the old-school, classic steakhouse experience.
Location: Crow Street
Unofficially considered to be one of the best Sunday Roasts in Dublin, FXBs as they are known do indeed deliver. Instead of some thinly cut slices of beef, the meat you get here is more akin to a fillet steak cooked either medium or well, beautifully seasoned, moist and tender this truly was a quality bit of meat. The roasties are as good as you’d get at home of a Sunday, and the accompanying little gravy boat and separate pot of horse-radish sauce are the glue that holds your roast together. Masterful stuff.
Did we miss out your favourite spot for a Sunday roast? Let us know!
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