Finding The Best Sunday Roast In London | Food Tours | Food Insider

home. Yes. Yes, I realized that. You got it. You got it. Just in time. Yeah, we'll probably just share it. I'll take the chicken. Thank you. Joe: Thank you very much. Harry: Thank you very much. Curse. Look at the size of these Yorkshires, man! He was telling you. It's like a bowl. Joe: That's really big, yeah. Harry: That's impressive. Joe: Okay, tell me about it. I have the beef. You have the chicken. This looks like the

roast

, right? Harry: Uh huh. I must say that meat looks beautiful. How pink is that? I mean, it's so pink it's red.

I think that's a problem that maybe a lot of home barbecues can have sometimes, is that you end up overcooking the meat. And my grandmother's beef, I love it in pieces, but she will char any meat I cook. But I love it! It is much juicier and tastier. Joe: Of course I do. But otherwise, in terms of trim, we obviously have these huge Yorkshires. Here are

roast

potatoes. I see carrots, parsnips and I think kale too. Let's dive right in. Oh. Oh. Hot. It is a very juicy piece of meat. It's fantastic. This, I love this.

Wow. I must say a stronger, more delicious and flavorful flavor than the last place we went to, which is a surprise. I think it's about 32 days old. Basically a full month of dry aging. Wow. Harry: That does a few things. You get this type of bacteria that breaks down the meat, making it more tender. Also, the bacteria create lactic acid, so you get almost that kind of intensely sour flavor. And potatoes here. This is a standard potato, whole, cut into quarters. That's roast, yes. Joe: Yes. Harry: I must say that this sauce is excellent too. Oh, wow.

Your potato skins here, man. Yeah? Joe: You know, America, we have our fries. We have a boatload of potatoes. We do well with potatoes, but you guys really focus on potatoes. He can be the star of the show if you treat him with the love and respect he deserves. I will say that often with a roast dinner, I'm almost more there for the potatoes and some of the other things than I am for the meat. Joe: Really? Harry: I know. Joe: Wow. Speaking of which, this chicken is really good. I think, especially when you get a piece of chicken like this, which is mostly breast, it can be pretty easy for it to overcook and dry out, but I'm going to give you some chicken too.

And just take a whole piece of meat. Harry: I'll take a piece of that. Joe: Wow. Yorkshire pudding. Harry: I haven't even gotten to that yet. Should I eat this with my hand or is everyone saying, "Look at the American"? Harry: You can do that. It's OK man. I may be a table man, a snob, but I will make you feel more at home. Joe: Yes, people let me know in the comments of many "Food Tour" videos about how I hold my fork. I'm not going to change, baby. Here we go. Check it out. But that meat is beautiful.

Really tasty. MMM. Joe: Wow. Harry: cute. Achieving that balance between tender and chewy is very difficult. Yes I agree. And with the redness, it's definitely not a tough piece of meat. The chicken, huh. If I'm going to make a barbecue. I get something bloody, something red. Thoughts on this Yorkshire? I love it. I think I like the last place better, but I'm really enjoying this fluffy puff pastry bread that you can use to soak up all the juices. Because it has a little flavor, but not too much. Know? I'm going to be a little critical here, Joe.

I think this is a bit outdated. I think to some extent it's quite representative of a pub roast experience because obviously not everything is cooked to order. A place like this is very busy, so they're probably producing things, judging by the kind of texture and flavor. A little dry. Not enough to make it worse. That simply means you need a little more of that sauce to dip it, give it moisture, and bring it back to life. However, by design, they say, enjoy the sauce. Like, get in there, right? I think everything on the plate works very well.

The sauce, the sauce, whatever. In fact, everything is very well saturated in it. Enhances the flavor of everything individually. It doesn't taste like sauce. It just brings out the flavor of the potatoes, the meat, the vegetables, everything. Yorkshire puddings. Oh, wow. This is fantastic. There is a lot of debate in the UK about what is and what is not traditional or good for roasting. I know you don't care much about

food

rules. Being such an idiot is a low-risk thing, right? Anyone who's fighting over... the same kind of thing about what can and can't go on a pizza, what can and can't be a barbecue.

It's like you're just repeating what your parents told you. Has no sense! Eat it. If it tastes good, eat it. To see how closely you stick to your principles, let me explain a few. OK Go. Harry: Do you want one of these with ketchup? I don't think I need it, but I wouldn't mind if you had it. Alright. How about mashed potatoes instead of roast? I think it would be a shame because they make great potatoes here. Well, and finally, pickled onions, which apparently some people like to accompany roasting. Here's why I think it's okay. You guys love pickling everything here.

You eat pickled onions as a snack, right? You're a big pickle country, so I wouldn't do it, but I'm not surprised. I really thought I was going to catch you with that because I know your opinion on pickles, but oh well. Joe: No, I like pickled onions. I don't like pickled gherkins. Harry: Okay, interesting. I feel like that would have ruined it due to the overwhelming acidity of the vinegar and also the overall flavor of the onions would really clash with everything else in the dish, so I wouldn't recommend it. Harry: That makes sense. I mean, speaking of unconventional roasts, the place we're going next does pretty much that.

So do you want to go and check it out? Joe: Let's do it. Harry: This is Blacklock. I'll be honest. Coming into this, I may be a little biased, Joe. Joe: Oh, why is that? Harry: Because we did a video about barbecues in London several years ago and at the time this was my favorite. Let me ask you, what is it about this place last time that you think secured victory? Harry: So, they do what I would say is a pretty non-traditional roast. It's interesting how they cook things here. So, everything is cooked over a charcoal fire with English oak.

Joe: Oh yeah, buddy! Harry: So you're getting a real grilling and charring effect on a lot of this meat. Oh, wow. That sounds really good. That really interests me. Ah, fantastic. Harry: Obviously the average home roast won't have that, but it really adds a delicious, rich, smoky flavor to the meat. Joe: Oh, okay. That sounds good. What about some of the sides? Do you think the potato or the pudding is different here? Harry: We'll have to wait and see. They make roast potatoes with duck fat. I can't tell if that's excitement or fear. Oh, it's excitement.

Oh, that sounds great. Harry: There are a few reasons why people cook certain things like roast potatoes in animal fat. Generally, compared to things like butter or olive oil, it will have a much higher smoke point, meaning it can reach a much higher temperature before starting to burn. So, it really allows you to get a delicious, crispy exterior on those roast potatoes if you do it right. I'm starting to get scared. Remember, McDonald's fries were originally beef fat and beef tallow. Beef fat. And they were delicious. Yes, beef fat for fries or potatoes. Yes baby. So, they could be like McDonald's Original Roast Potato Fries.

I'm sure that's the exact phrase Blacklock is looking for. So I'm still having a great time. I'm just dragging a little bit. We have been to a few. I get a little tired. I think what would really be a good pick-me-up is a little alcohol. Sure. We have some options here. They make good cocktails. I noticed the revelations section, which looks like it might be what we need. Again. Again, guys. You say, "Hey everyone, the country has a hangover!" That's a selling point. This literally says, "If you had a great Saturday, this will fix you." Then I could go have a martini for breakfast.

Sounds good? Yes, that sounds great. Cool. Alright. So maybe a couple of those. Also, when it comes to meat options here, you can choose between beef, lamb or pork, or they are famous for their all-in, which is a combination of all of them. They are designed to be shared between at least two people. Luckily there are two of us so we can share it, but that way you get the beef, lamb and pork along with the sides. I feel like we have to try all the meats. Harry: Yeah, I think we do too. Let's go to Arby's at this place.

My God, lady, what are you doing? Harry: Thank you. Oh my god, it's okay. So the Yorkshire pudding is in the back. Harry: So it's all kind of buried there. Yes, we have cornucopia-sized puddings. Harry: Okay, Joe. We have a mountain of roasted meats in front of us. Should we, ah, Joe: My lord. Try to serve in some way? I think buried under here, each of us has a huge Yorkshire pudding along with a bunch of other things. Yes, I think there are two, but they are like load-bearing puddings. They are like flying buttresses that keep this Gothic church of flesh standing.

This is huge. Oh yeah. Just order it yourself and then I'll be stuck. Ooh, you dropped your potato. I'm sorry. I have it. The break is yours... oh wait, do I have a potato here? Harry: I think there might be a potato in the Yorkie too. The Yorkie. Harry: These Yorkies are such an eyesore. Look at the size of them. Yes, look at this. It's like a cup! They should have served my drink in this. Harry: Yorkshire Martini. There you go. Joe: I'm going to the grave. Do it, man. This will send us to the grave.

Joe: There you go. First the sauce and then the grave. Three meats on a plate. How do you feel about that? I feel very good about that. I don't know how my stomach feels about it. Harry: Some creaks too. Yes, I have some. Harry: Take a little more. UH Huh. Joe: Hmm. Therefore, chicharrones are a standard grilled accompaniment or complement. If you are going to eat roast pork, I am very interested in chicharrones. So since there is pork in this dish, we also have pork rinds. Oh my God. Fantastic lamb. But, I mean, we're doing the meat, so.

Harry: I mean, everything influences. One thing I like here is that they will just refill your sauce endlessly. If you run out of sauce, tell them. They will fix you. Joe: Like in the United States. We get free soda refills, you get free salsa refills. There should be a fountain of sauce. You just walk around with your little boat and fill it up. Oh. It's our first taste of lamb today. I love lamb. The lamb is very good. I love lamb. I'm going to try the meat. Again, that is our main basis of comparison. It is a thick piece of beef.

Do you like that or would you prefer a thinner piece? Joe: For this I want it thicker. Harry: Yes? Joe: Oh yeah. The color it has is so beautiful. Again, dry aged for, how long? almost two months? Joe: All the meats in this are great. They are all great. Hmm. I try not to eat so fast because I have to chew this meat. I'm trying to get into this huge Yorkshire. This might be the highest Yorkshire we've had today. Joe: I would usually avoid three different meats on the plate because I feel like they would be fighting for meat supremacy.

But all three are perfect. Yes, the meat, wow. I'm also very impressed with the pork. I think, particularly with pork in the UK, it will often be overcooked, quite gray and dry in the middle. It's not what you want. While this has been cooked to perfection. Joe: It's a greasy piece of meat. Thank you. Harry: Then you can conserve that moisture. Also, if you pay as much attention to the origin as Blacklock does, they have a farm in Cornwall where they get all their meat from, and they have specific flocks where they get all their meat from.

They have so much control over quality that when you have that quality control, you can also afford to cook it a little rawer than you're used to, but it's completely safe and tastes so much better. Any critical notes for Blacklock? Joe: The potatoes were not my favorite of the day. Harry: Sure. Joe: They did a good job. I think because you overdid it by adding a little bit of animal fat in there, I thought I was going to lose my mind on the potatoes. They are pretty good. hold on. I also need to give it a second chance.

Joe: The skin is not as tasty as I expected. Considering everything else on the plate, you know? They are still standing strong. I agree. I think maybe that disappointed him a little bit. I'll tell you what, this might be my favorite Yorkshire we've had today. Joe: Really? Harry: Yes. I think texture-wise this is exactly what I want from a Yorkshire pudding. Because it's crunchy on the outside, but that's not the only texture it has on the inside. Particularly once you get to the bottom, on the inside, it's still pretty smooth. I've chewed on it a little.

Yeah. Harry: I love that texture, man. It is simply the perfect container for sauce and meat. Suddenly I hit a wall of meat and potatoes. Harry: It happens. It happens to the

best

of us. Joe: Another question. Can you only get this meatSundays? On any other day of the week, are the dry-aged things locked away? Harry: So apart from a few specific places, most places in London and I think the whole of the UK will only do a Sunday roast. We'll film this on a Sunday. These are all Sunday menus, specific Sunday menus. This really isn't something you can just go to a random place and order on a day other than Sunday.

Alright. I think I have one more roast in me. OK. Me too. Come on. Joe: Let's go. Yes all ok. This place looks very nice. We're in a very posh neighborhood, as you said on the way here. So now we are in west London, where the posh people are from. Joe: Oh, that's cool. It is a nice place. We are on King's Road. I brought you here basically because, A, it's a slightly different vibe than the ones we've had before. There is a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere here, more like a cafe than a restaurant. But that being said, they make spectacular barbecue.

It's another place with a big emphasis on sustainability and quality, and there are also some other really fun parts of the menu we should try. One of these starters, have you seen the Marmite éclair, for example? I have not done it. Pot. I love Marmite. I'm intrigued to see how they put it in an éclair, but I feel like I have to order them all. Do you think it's completely covered in Marmite? I guess we'll have to wait and see how it turns out. Yes, we will have to wait, right? I think what you're going to do...

I'll try it, but I don't think I can do it. Alright. You have to leave some space because we still have a roast left to eat. I will say, do you get a lot of questions about whether we actually filmed them in one day or not? No. Most people ask me… what are they asking? If we eat it all. Sure. Just to clarify, yes. We don't normally look this flushed and sweaty after eating just one roast. Or at least, I don't think I will. Yes. Ugh. Well, I'm still raving about how delicious it is. It's supposed to be one of the

best

in the city.

The place is really nice. I love the vibe. Harry: I know we've had a lot of roast today, but I think we should probably have beef, obviously, for comparison, and also pork, because the pork here must be really good. Server: Here we have roasted pork shoulder. I'll take the pork. Thank you. Server: So, roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables, sautéed cabbage, and gravy made from beef scrapings. Enjoy. Joe: Fantastic looking Yorkshire pudding. That Yorkshire is crazy! Look at its size! I'm looking at this. The meat looks perfect on my part. Then I have the pork. I'm curious about these potatoes.

I'm very excited about this crunch. That's a perfect pork crackling. Oh, I don't think there was any creaking. Harry: I don't know if you have any, but I can pass you some of mine. Yes Yes Yes. Give me a crunch. Harry: It's got a little bit of sauce. Oh yeah. Dude. Look at the crunchy info on that. With the little, the glistening fat underneath and the crunch. Joe: Maybe crackling would be better. That could have won the award for best chicharrón of the day. That is without a doubt the best chicharrón we have ever tried.

Joe: Yeah. OKAY. But we're not just here for the pork rinds. This is a thicker sauce. I was talking about the American sauce we are used to. This looks really good. Harry: Yeah, it's slimy. I have to comment on this Yorkshire. That's crazy. You can see that they started cooking it in the muffin tin that we would normally use for Yorkshires, but then it gets to a certain level, it loses its guidelines and it just explodes. Looks like you enjoyed your first bite, Joe. Talk to us. They have flavored this meat perfectly. It probably has the best beef flavor we've had today.

Plus, it melts in my mouth. And I'm looking at this Yorkshire. Oh my God. Dude. Harry: This pig is incredibly cute. It's like I was talking before that I think in the UK we have a habit of overcooking pork but this just melts in your mouth. Joe: Yeah, nothing overcooked about this. I can barely take a bite because it just falls off the fork. So sweet. Hmm. OK. Would you mind carving me a little piece of your meat, please? I think that's our baseline for comparison, so I have to move on. I'll give you more than a cut, man.

A whole piece. Harry: Here's the carved meat. Joe: I'm going to try some of these potatoes now. Harry: Who's divided? Joe: Potatoes, again, very crispy on the outside, but barely spongy to cut. This sauce is amazing too. Wow, man, this is really fantastic. I don't know. Harry: I understand what you mean about meat. It's almost like a grilled steak flavor, right? Oh, the potatoes. Yes, well seasoned. Maybe not as crispy on the outside as I like in my dream roast. Joe: Let me try this roast. Slightly chewier texture on the outside. Joe: I have to say, man, this is really good.

It's really nice. Take a piece of pork. Small meat exchange. Joe: Oh, meat swap. Don't say that. I have to try this Yorkie. I don't know how I'm going to get into this. It's huge. Maybe I have to do it, take a note out of your book and just tear it up. Tear and dip. The texture it has excites me, I have to say. Joe: Oh wow. I'm going to try some without sauce. Just up. Yorkie straight. Yeah, you weren't kidding. He is a very tender pig. That's some serious Yorkshire. Joe: Dude, this pork isn't as tender as the confit pork we started the day with, but it's pretty close.

All other pork we have eaten has been cut and prepared similarly to the same texture as the beef we have eaten everywhere. With this pork and the pork from the first one, how they make it so that it melts in your mouth, I have no idea. Yeah, I think with pig's head, it's almost like cheating because of the fat content in it. Yes, it's cheating. But this is lean pork, but it still has that buttery soft texture. Alright. Server: Here we have mushroom marmite éclairs, confit egg and pickles. Joe, these are the famous Marmite and mushroom éclairs.

They look very cute. He seems very unthreatening. I'm so full. I'm so full. Harry: Me too. But this is fantastic. What's going on here? So, we have some candied egg. It is not our first confit of the day. Go for it. I'm going to do everything. Joe: A new experience. It certainly is Marmite-y. I didn't know it was going to be cold in the middle. But éclair. Oh wow. I don't know if I've ever put something like that in my mouth before. OK. Overall, I liked it. It was simply unknown. Yes. In fact, I'm probably leaning the same way.

I love mushrooms, I love Marmite, but I think there was a lot of texture going on there, which maybe isn't to my taste. But flavor-wise, pretty good. I can't eat another bite. I'm dead. I'm just going to... good night. Harry: Joe's gone. Good night man. I think it might be time to do a little recap of our day and then pick our favorite. It will be very difficult. OK. So I think, from my perspective, it's helpful for me to break down roasting into individual components and maybe say, well, these guys did it better, and these guys did it better, and then take that into account.

The final decision. So I think if we look at the meats, I think it's actually probably somewhere between Old Queens Head and here for me in terms of the quality of the meat, that dry-aged flavor, the tenderness. This, the meat along with this sauce that they have here, just, the flavor is just amazing. Roasted potatoes. For me, Fallow is clear. I think they are like a league of their own. The fact that they have them being produced all day long, so you know you're going to get them fresh. They will still be crispy. They are not chewy or hard at all on the outside.

Still fluffy inside. They are winning. He's definitely set a standard. Very good restaurant, too. I know it was a little bit higher priced, but I think for what we got there, it was definitely worth what they were charging. In fact, I think the best Yorkshire of the day might have been Rabbit. Joe: Absolutely. Are you kidding me? These Yorkshires are amazing. I heard the boy call to the kitchen: "Bring the two most handsome ones." Absolutely delivered. These look fantastic. And they tasted very good. They did it. And then also other things on the plate, obviously like the sauce, I think they're pretty similar across the board, to be honest.

There was pretty good sauce everywhere. The vegetables varied in quality. I think also one thing that really stood out was the parsnips at Fallow. I think one thing I really love about roasts is that the unexpected elements of the dish can really stand out. But just the caramelization that they got, that natural sweetness seemed incredible to me. I think otherwise, generally speaking, the greens, carrots, and parsnips were the same, but that really set them apart for me. Well, I've been thinking about it a lot. And by a lot I mean the last 45 seconds. And I have to say I'm just thinking about it in general.

And I will say that I think Rabbit was my favorite. Harry: Really? Joe: Yeah. This is fantastic. The only note I would have would be about the potatoes. Other than that, both meats were amazing, the Yorkshire pudding is amazing and the gravy they have here is fantastically seasoned. So this is my favorite. I'm a little surprised. Joe: Why? I don't know. He wasn't my favorite. It was very good. Joe: Okay, okay. Harry: Not my favorite. Which was your favorite? Harry: I don't think there's much between any of the four we tried today. For me, it really came down to a close choice between two.

My favorite was Fallow. Joe: Wow. OK. Harry: It was a bit more expensive, although honestly, if you look at the price of maybe the rabbit roast or the Blacklock roast, we weren't really paying that much more. And I think it really stood out the care and attention to detail that Fallow was putting into his

food

. Every single component, the level was just super high. But I also want to congratulate The Old Queens Head because I think, in terms of pub roasting, they're doing a great job. And that was almost half the price of some of the ones we've had today, and I don't think it felt like it was half the price in terms of quality.

OK. Would you recommend an American try a Sunday roast while he's in town? Yes, definitely. He would let them know, like you were really exhausted. Don't eat four in one day. Yes. Oh.