Solo Dining in London

Bustling restaurant filled with friends and families celebrating life and Birthdays

A Sunday Roast or Roast Dinner is a traditional British meal consisting of a roast meat, roast potatoes, gravy with various vegetables trimmings. Traditionally eaten on Sundays for lunch but it can also be eaten on other days of the week. As a British Born Chinese, I rarely ate Roast Dinners growing up as my parents opted for Chinese food. Now, I consider it as a luxury and can never resist ordering Roast Dinners when I see it on menus.

Last Sunday, after an intense exercise session at Barry’s Bootcamp, I stumbled upon Roast on my walk home. Roast, opened in Borough Market in 2005, and is cantered around modern British dishes using locally sourced ingredients.

It was 2:30pm and I was hungry from burning off a lot of calories, so I needed to eat to boost my energy levels. As I walked out of the lifts to Roast restaurant, I could see a small queue of people at reception. The receptionists were frantically taking coats and checking table bookings on the system. I could hear the bustling restaurant in the background, the chattering of guests and clinking of glasses.

I didn’t have a booking but was offered a table with a 1 hour turnaround time. As I entered the beautiful dining room, I paused to marvel at the architect – the high ceiling with a chandelier hanging in the centre of the room, and the large windows with views of St Pauls Cathedral. The dining room was very crowded, with several large tables of 6 or more guests who were celebrating a special occasion.

I decided to try two of the signature dishes: the Scotch Egg with Celeriac and Swede Remoulade, and the Saddleback Pork Belly.

The Scotch egg was cooked to perfection with a gooey runny yolk in the centre and a crispy outer shell. I could easily have eaten a lot more!

The Pork Belly was served with crispy crackling, Roast Potatoes, Pigs in Blankets, a giant Yorkshire Pudding, Gravy, and Apple Sauce. On the middle of the plate was a gigantic carrot which distorted the balance of the plate and was somewhat off putting. The Pork Belly was perfectly seasoned and melted in the mouth. The Roast Potatoes were fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside – exactly how a roast potato should be cooked!

I was disappointed that the glass of Luigi Bosca Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina which I ordered was only brought out after I was half-way through eating the Pork Belly. Nonetheless, it was a well-balanced, fruity wine which paired perfectly with the meat.

As I was offered the dessert menu, I decided to order a scoop of salted caramel ice cream. I did burn a lot of calories at Barry’s Bootcamp, so why not? Given I had already been sat at the table for over 45mins, I was expecting the dessert to arrive promptly, and it was just a scoop of ice cream after all. I sat and patiently waited for 15 minutes before the ice cream arrived. It was a delicious scoop of ice cream with a nice wafer biscuit, but I’m not sure it was worth the wait.

Sitting alone in the middle of the busy restaurant was slightly daunting, and if I had the choice, I would have asked for a table at the side of the dining room or chosen to visit at a less busy time. Nice food but service needs some attention.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Average Spend: £50 – £75

Address: The Floral Hall, Borough Market, Stoney St, London SE1 1TL

Opening Times:

Sat: 8:30am – 10pm

Sun: 11:45am – 6:30pm

Mon: 11:45am – 10pm

Tues to Fri: 7:30am – 10pm