Last Updated on October 17, 2024
Possibly the best Sunday Roast South of the River…and Beyond
Our series of features, looking for the best Sunday roast in London, has led us from Hampton Court to Soho and from Mayfair to East London. Brixton was not a part of town where I’d anticipated having one of the best Sunday lunches to date, despite being (almost) on my doorstep. Neither a classic pub nor a posh hotel, I was intrigued to learn more about The Laundry – and so glad that I was nudged into going.
Located right by Brixton Village, the Laundry is a large space with a welcoming heated outdoor terrace and private dining areas downstairs in the basement. On the ground floor, there’s a bar area and table seating. It’s all very dog friendly and the Sunday vibe makes it the kind of place where if you happened to be local you’d turn up at least once a month for lunch with friends. But read on to find out why we think it’s a destination restaurant too!
If you are lucky, as we were, you might get to meet Mel, a lively Kiwi who is Chef Restauranteur at The Laundry. With a background as a trained chef, she spent several years working at what was one of my favourite London restaurants, The Providores, as bar manager. Following that she founded The New Zealand Cellar which has evolved into what is now Specialist Cellars.
That said, the Laundry has a relatively concise wine list, along with a few beers and ciders and some truly fabulous ‘easy’ cocktails (think spritzes, classics with a twist and a decent non-alcoholic selection). We both started with an Autumn Gin Fizz – with Aperol, rosemary gin and pink grapefruit while we browsed the menu.
To drink with the meal, we tried both the Pietro Beconcini Antiche Vie Chianti and the Valpolicella Allegrini from Veneto 2022 and my companion picked the Valpolicella. I’m always happy when a restaurant is keen to let you sample wines you don’t know – and to make their own recommendation (we picked our server’s suggestion of the Valpolicella). The fruity and well-balanced red was perfect with the roast main courses and our spritzes worked well with the starters.
On Sunday there are four starters on offer and we shared two of them. A retro prawn and crayfish cocktail with Marie Rose sauce and fresh coriander was served on a plump and light crispy finger of toasted brioche. Nicely balanced, the sweetness of the brioche offset the piquant Marie Rose sauce and added textural contrast to the dish.
A showstopping crab and papaya salad with Nam Jim dressing was precisely the kind of dish I’d have expected to find on the menu at Providores. In fact, Executive Chef Sami Harvey doesn’t come from the Peter Gordon stable (though she has worked through some equally fabulous kitchens, including the Castle Hotel in Taunton and the Divertimenti cookery school), but the Antipodean influence is evident. We loved this dish and I fully intend to try making my own version. A generous helping of sweet crabmeat laced the crisp shards of the papaya and the sweet sour Nam Jim dressing added just the right depth of flavour.
Of course, the main event at any Sunday lunch is the roast. The Laundry keeps things simple with two meat-based roasts and one vegan. As confirmed carnivores, the vegan option wasn’t going to make muster for either of us, but we did spot one rather splendid-looking roast squash and sage tart arriving at the next-door table and I honestly don’t think it would have been a disappointment under normal circumstances.
Luckily for me, my companion was craving the rolled roast pork belly with apple sauce, Yorkshire pudding and crackling. That left me with 28-day aged Hereford sirloin with creamed horseradish and Yorkshire pudding. All the roasts come with roast squash (a good portion served skin-on) roast potatoes, glazed carrots, minted peas and gravy. And, both gravy and roast veg are ‘bottomless’, though you might not need seconds. The plates that appeared were piled high with deliciousness and, with a ‘healthy kale’ (sauteed with lemon and chilli) on the side, I couldn’t have eaten another mouthful. We did get extra gravy, but what is Sunday for if it’s not about lashings to pour over your meat and veg.
My beef was spoon-tender and perfectly pink. Thick slices of well-aged, full-flavoured meat topping the veg and beautifully complemented by the creamy horseradish made for one of the best roasts I’ve eaten this year. And, once I let my companion taste the horseradish it seemed to migrate west to her roast potatoes. It really should be served with everything!
The pork looked excellent too. My friend vouched for the tender, perfectly cooked sweet meat and the crisp crackling.
A sign of a really excellent roast is that you want to get all your friends along to try too – and both of us ended up discussing who else OUGHT to know about the Laundry. When you end up talking in a hushed breath about the delicious kale, you just know you are somewhere special.
On to desserts, we somehow found space for a lemon verbena posset with a sable biscuit, which was light and perfectly set and for a rather more decadent black forest tiramisu with maraschino cherries which was well balanced with just the right amount of cherries to cut through the rich creamy mixture. Excellent coffee rounded the meal off perfectly.
A roast here will set you back about £30 but it’s one of the few places that I’d rank alongside Blacklock for capturing the essence of a perfect Sunday Lunch. And, that is something more than just food. A Sunday Roast needs to be served in a convivial atmosphere. There’s no place for stuffiness or formality – you should be able to meet up with your friends and relax. It goes without saying that the food should be excellent and generous – and you should feel happy to drift off home in a satiated state, realising you don’t need to eat again till Monday lunchtime. The Laundry ticks all the boxes and I’m now thinking up excuses to go back.
The Laundry at Walton Lodge
374 Coldharbour Lane
Brixton, London SW9 8PL
