The 6 best Sunday roasts in Bristol
And the consumption of too many potatoes
This is not an article for fair-weather roasters. This writer’s magnum opus contains serious gravy assessments, potato reckonings, vegetable appraisals and cauliflower cheese computations. It is a conclusive guide to six of the best roasts in Bristol, in the hope that you may never suffer a soggy potato again. Sunday never looked so good.
Bristol has no shortage of Sunday roasts, which is largely a blessing. In the name of writing this guide, I embarked on a mission to visit some of the city’s most raved-about and popular roast spots. Eat the same meal enough times and patterns emerge (I would not do this again voluntarily). In no particular order…
The Bank Tavern, Central
Tucked away in central Bristol, The Bank Tavern is small, busy and much-loved, with a reputation that far outweighs its size. Providing you can get one of the world’s most elusive table bookings, a roast here will set you back £21.95 for a main, £28.95 for two courses or £31.95 for three.
The Great
The gravy at The Bank is a standout: a rich, deep, velvety blanket that delivers pure comfort, and the best on this list. The trimmings are just as strong; crispy parsnips, buttery, creamy leeks and a not-too-heavily-spiced(!) braised red cabbage, smooth cauliflower puree, an al-dente roast carrot. Veg isn’t an afterthought here. This was all before I started asking myself why I’d chosen to do this.
The pub itself is small, cosy and full of character. It has that casual, convivial feel that makes you want to stay for another drink after your three courses. A proper local boozer, especially impressive given its central location. Bonus points for bringing the condiments without asking. None of this “do you want any sauces?” routine – yes, would you like me to pay you? Put the horseradish down and back away.
The Good
The meat is well cooked and full of flavour, with the beef usually served rare and delightfully tender. If I’m being picky, I’d love slightly heftier slices rather than the more delicate, draped-over-the-plate approach – but that’s personal preference. The Bank also has one of the most varied roast line-ups in the city, usually offering beef, chicken, pork and a vegetarian option, which makes it an easy choice when you’re eating with a mixed group. Roast potatoes are crisp on the outside and fluffy in the middle, and there’s often an extra bowl left by the bar after service for snacking, which feels both generous and dangerous.
The Rest
Tables are released in January for the entire year and getting one feels unhinged. It requires a WhatsApp group, six unique IP addresses, multiple devices and everyone logged in and ready on New Year’s Day. It’s akin to Glastonbury ticket operation. A 12-month wait for a roast is pretty outrageous. That said… it is a very good roast.
Go here for….
A really strong all-rounder in a cosy, characterful pub in the heart of the city, offering some of the best value in this line-up. And the gravy.
The Bank Tavern, 8 John St, BS1 2HR
The Lock Up, Redfield
The second in the line up, and at this point, roasting morale was still high. Tucked into Redfield in East Bristol, The Lock Up has been feeding the neighbourhood since 2016, with a Sunday roast that goes a little further than most. Portions are generous and prices sit comfortably between £18 and £23.
The Great
The beef here is very, very tender; sirloin rather than the usual rump. It is cooked beautifully, full of flavour, and paired with an umami-leaning gravy that holds everything together. The slow-roasted lamb is also great, rich without being heavy, and well worth ordering if it’s on. For the indecisive (or ambitious), there’s even a three-meat option, which feels both excessive and correct.
The Good
This is a roast that leans into creativity. Black pudding fritter, red wine beef shin ragu (talk dirty to me), there are some thoughtful additions here that lift it beyond standard pub territory. The portions are huge, making it good value for the amount of food on the plate.
The Rest
The veg could do with a little more attention, coming slightly undercooked in places and light on flavour. The potatoes would also benefit from more crispness. That said, when the meat and gravy are doing this much work, it all still hangs together nicely.
Go here for…
A creative, generously portioned roast with good value and strong Bloody Marys (not nothing on a Sunday). Some decent representation for North Bristol, come hungry.
The Lock Up, 182 Church Rd, BS5 9HX
Pasture, Redcliffe
Pasture needs very little introduction at this point. With outposts in Bristol, Birmingham and Cardiff, it’s built a reputation around big beef, high energy and prices to match, with Sunday roasts starting at a steep £26 with the option to go much bigger via the house cuts, all served with most of the usual accompaniments.
The Great
I liked this more than I expected to. We arrived late, around 5pm, and bagged the only table they had left. The place was packed, and by then the reasonably sized house cuts for two on the blackboard (chateaubriand, tomahawk and porterhouse) had sold out. We went for the dry-aged rump of beef at £26 instead, and it turned out to be excellent – cooked beautifully, full of flavour.
The cabbage cooked on the coals (£6.95) is essential. Smoky, savoury and deeply satisfying, it easily competes with the meat for attention.
The Good
Seasonal greens brought some welcome balance, cutting through the richness of the beef. The cauliflower cheese (£6.95) leans indulgent. Service is also a strong point, staying sharp throughout despite a busy room.
The Rest
There was no carrot, which felt like a strange omission. The gravy lacked depth, which was surprising for a steakhouse with such obvious access to good beef and the means to make a serious stock. Potatoes weren’t quite there either — not straight to roast potato jail, but hovering nearby.
Atmosphere will be the deciding factor for a lot of people. Pasture is slick, loud and high-energy, which doesn’t quite line up with what I personally want from a Sunday roast. It’s a gaudier departure from the typical Sunday roast setting — more night-out than slow lunch.
Go here for…
Prime cuts of beef cooked rare and properly tender, in a busy dining room. Perhaps best treated as a celebratory roast (there may be a slight haemorrhage of cash if you lean into sides and extras), good if you’re in the mood for something louder and more indulgent.
Pasture, 2 Portwall Ln, BS1 6NB
The Kensington Arms, Redland
The fourth location in the lineup and my fifth roast in five weeks. By this point, I was deeply over it. The Kensington Arms, affectionately known by locals as The Kenny, is owned by Josh Eggleton, so expectations were high. Sunday roasts here are offered as a set menu, priced at £32 for two courses or £38 for three. The roast options cover beef, pork and vegetarian and come with Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, a full spread of vegetables, celeriac-thyme purée and broccoli and leek cheese. Children’s portions available for a tenner — I’m looking at you, Mounjaro users.
The Great
The potatoes here set a very high bar. Golden, crunchy little nuggets that you keep picking at long after you’ve told yourself you’re full. The gravy is thick and meaty, clinging to everything instead of pooling at the bottom of the plate. These are arguably the most important elements of a roast for me — get these right and I’m on side. The room is warm and relaxed, the atmosphere is easy, and there’s a strong selection of beers behind the bar for further lubrication.
The Good
The veg does its job well. The leek and broccoli cheese is rich and comforting, and the greens are wilted with just a hint of garlic. The spiced red cabbage on the plate adds a bit of contrast without pulling focus. Portion sizes are well judged too. You can clear the plate and still function afterwards, which is fortunate, because the sticky ale pudding with butterscotch sauce here is non-negotiable — we ordered a second almost as soon as the first spoon hit the bowl.
The Rest
There were a couple of things that held it back from fully dialling in. We went for the dry-aged Angus rump cap, the fat needed further rendering and more seasoning would have helped to lift it. The carrot could also do with a bit more attention, though at this stage I’d lost patience with anything half-hearted.
That said, this is a very nice pub to spend a Sunday in. It’s an easy place to settle into, which goes a long way even when the roast itself is playing it slightly safe.
Go here for..
The roast potatoes (possibly the best I’ve had in a pub), starters that are more creative than you’d expect from a roast set menu — the half quail with squash puree and brandy sauce would be a great shout — and cosy neighbourhood vibes. Leave room for pudding.
The Kensington Arms, 35-37 Stanley Rd, BS6 6NP
Truffled of Totterdown
Truffled of Totterdown has built a serious following, having been voted Bristol’s best roast by the Bristol Sunday Roast Club (if you’ve made it this far, consider joining). This one had the misfortune of being last. Sundays run as a £35 three-course set menu with no choices on paper, though Tim is more than happy to cater for allergies or vegetarians. The roast itself changes week to week — beef, pork belly (a personal favourite), lamb and more. It’s quirky in the best way, and feels less like a restaurant and more like being invited into someone’s home.
The Great
The meat here is consistently great. On the most recent visit, it was lamb — meltingly tender, pulled apart easily and served in generous portions with a mint-heavy salsa verde that cut through the richness. Previously, it was pork belly, which still haunts me — maybe the best pork belly I’ve ever had. Greens are cooked in an anchovy beurre noisette that’s savoury and moreish, and we must shoutout the roasties. Crisped with semolina and perfectly fluffy inside, they’re hard to beat and among the best in the city.
The Good
The supporting cast is strong. Carrots come cooked with nigella and orange, just tender. The gravy leans unapologetically boozy (I’m fairly sure Tim mentioned three different tipples) and it brings a lot of depth without tipping into heaviness. Bramley apple, celeriac and squash purée sit underneath everything, tying the plate together and adding a gentle sweetness that works particularly well with the meat. It all feels very considered, but never fussy.
The Rest
The red cabbage doesn’t really add a great deal and feels a bit surplus. The bigger issue is scale: three courses is a lot and they’re generous across the board. A two-course option would make a lot of sense here. It can all feel a bit chaotic at times, but that’s part of the charm. This isn’t a polished, perfectly paced restaurant experience — it’s louder and looser which suits me just fine.
Go here for…
Tim. The chef is very much part of the experience — a proper character, Bristol’s pirate chef, swearing liberally and presenting the food himself with real humour and generosity. It sets the tone for the whole meal.
This is also the most intentional roast in the line-up. The meat and accompaniments are all excellent, with small twists, clear thought and a lot of care running through every element. Nothing feels accidental. You’re elbow to elbow with strangers and the room buzzes, feeling closer to a dinner party than a restaurant.
It’s also BYOB, which still feels like a small miracle in 2026 and adds to the sense that this roast is designed for enjoyment rather than margins.
Truffled of Totterdown, 152 Wells Rd, BS4 2AG
Chris and Jo’s Kitchen, St Michael’s Hill - guest entry from Harry Hughes
Couple Chris Newall and Jo French, who run Chris and Jo’s Kitchen on St Michael’s Hill, they are proof you can run a successful restaurant and still maintain a sane relationship — in fact they’ve just celebrated nine years in business. Roasts hover around the £20 mark, and in the unlikely event you can make room, starters (ranging from £7.95 to £12.95) and desserts (all £6.75) are available too.
The Great
I’m fortunate to have been for Sunday lunch here multiple times, and still struggle to decide what to order. The pork belly with crunchy crackling (£19.95) has an umami sucker punch that clings to your tastebuds sending you into a happy, piggy comatose state, while the roast Hereford beef (£20.95) is so perfectly rare and wonderfully tender you can bin off the knife and cut it with a fork. Thankfully, the roast trimmings match the quality of the meats. Perfectly crisp, fluffy potatoes sit underneath a pillowy Yorkshire pudding dome. Also braised cabbage, roasted carrots, and fried kale don’t go amiss on a busy plate and deserve a spotlight.
The Good
You’ll never get roast fatigue from eating too much of the same thing: Chris likes to layer fun little additions throughout the plate like an excellent, flavourful ox cheek croquette with your roast beef, which would happily sit on a counter in any great tapas bar in España.
The amount of gravy on your plate can always be a bit contentious between people but I like how the roasts are sold with an “appropriate” amount of gravy, which equates to not having a swimming pool of the stuff drowning the plate.
The Rest
They don’t have an online booking — calling Jo on the landline for a natter is the only way to guarantee a spot. I personally don’t mind this, but I know picking up the phone and calling a stranger might spell hell for the socially anxious and Gen Z-ers.
Go here for…
Take a friend who’s never been to Bristol before — this place is a great introduction. The quirks, its friendliness and its superb Sunday roast would charm any out-of-towner.
Chris and Jo’s Kitchen, 122 St Michael's Hill, BS2 8BU
Disagree with this list if you like. Everyone brings their own loyalties and biases to a Sunday roast, often formed years ago and defended far too passionately (I’m looking at you, Bristol Sunday Roast Club). Mine are fairly uncomplicated; they mostly revolve around potatoes — of which for the first time in my life, I think I can say I’ve had far too many.
All words and photos by S. L. Kinde unless otherwise attributed
The Bristol Sauce is an AI free publication — all our work is written and edited by humans.
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That's a great pic. Think you're being too kind to truffled. I'm getting old.. the benefit of which is my own roast game is high, so I'm hard to please nowadays. If I want a roast out, I'd hire upstairs at the bank if I have 10 friends left
Excellent article. Chris and Jos is the number one choice for me , constantly delivering for years. The rice pudding with clotted cream ice cream with prunes lurking beneath is a must as well.
You have talked up the Kenny pudding as well though , sounds fab !!