We hadn't been out for a roast in so long! It's not that the summer puts us off. Because truth be told, I can eat roast chicken and veg all year round! I LOVE a good roast. We just hadn't really been out on a Sunday in London. To be fair, I'd actually been away a lot. But this roast at The Royal Oak in Marylebone, reminded just how good it can be to venture out for on a Sunday afternoon. Because this one was amazing.
The Royal Oak in Marylebone is a little hidden, off the beaten track. It's on a side street just off the main road from Baker Street down to Marylebone. It looks cute and welcoming from the outside with a handful of tables on the street for those seeking the sun. The inside has those contemporary pub vibes. It's bright and spacious with wooden chairs and floor, dark blues and creams, with prints in frames on wall, plants as well as the chalkboard specials board. It's pretty minimalist, yet you could tell it would be cosy in the winter too. It was super relaxed and the service followed suit - friendly and efficient, not rushed.
The Sunday menu, like the a la carte menu, is a concise selection of modern British cuisine.
The menu for Sunday features a handful of bar snacks, several starters, four roast options, a fish dish, and some sides if you fancy adding a little extra too. It all sounded absolutely delicious.
The Shorthorn beef tartare with marmite, grape mustard and toast set the bar high. It was absolutely fantastic, tender and full of flavour. The marmite and mustard shone through, and the yolk was fab atop. The sourdough toast alongside was super buttery, and set us up nicely for our feast.
The Chicken liver mousse with apricot chutney and brioche was another incredible starter. The chicken liver mousse itself was ridiculously creamy and moreish. The apricot chutney was sweet and so soft alongside, which made it a beautiful accompaniment. The brioche was fantastic paired with both.
To accompany our starters, and for the mains, we fancied a sweeter white wine.
The team recommended a Sauvignon Blanc which was mid-priced on the menu. It was a fruity white with a touch of dryness, slightly sweet. It was a superb vino and a delightful accompaniment to our starters, mains and desserts. Yes, even the red meat, which we know is against the norm.
Both meat-eaters (as I'm sure you could tell by the starters), we had to try the meaty roast options.
The Cote de boeuf, braised brisket, bone marrow, as sharing roast, did tempt us. However, I couldn't resist giving the chicken a go - it can be so hit and miss on roasts, but if it's good, it's definitely the sign of a good roast place - and we tried the lamb too.
Both came with some incredible roast potatoes, green beans, spring greens, roasted shallot and plenty of gravy, as well as a HUGE Yorkshire. Yorkshires are actually really growing on me, and these were awesome! It was a fab spread to accompany the meat.
The meat itself was... extremely tender and tasty! The cornish red chicken roast came with breast meat (mainly off the bone) and brown meat which was absolutely delicious. The tarragon pesto was strong but a little with the roast was beautiful! The lamb with black olive and mint sauce was seriously delectable too! Both the chicken and the lamb options really impressed!
We were so full as I'm sure you can imagine from the size of those dishes, but we spotted the Sticky Toffee Pudding on the menu and could not leave without trying it - It's our biggest weakness. So sharing it was.
The Sticky Toffee Pudding was SOOOO good. It was a soft sponge with a few crunchy pecans and a runny sticky toffee sauce. It was sweet but not too sickly making it a fantastic sticky toffee pud! The vanilla ice cream atop was fab too. It was really creamy and tasty. You HAVE to save space for this!
We had such a fab Sunday afternoon roast at The Royal Oak in Marylebone. It was so relaxed, with a chilled but buzzy atmosphere and friendly service. One of the best Sunday roasts I've had for sure!
Summary - Sunday roast @ The Royal Oak:
- Price: Starters are priced at £8/£9, mains between £16 and £30 (the chicken was £22) and desserts are £7. Perhaps a little more on the pricey end for a roast, but we would definitely go again for a special treat.
- Food: Everything we tried was incredible. The roast chicken seriously impressed (it's often so dry), as did the beef tartare.
- Drinks: We had a beautiful Sauvignon Blanc to accompany our meals. There's plenty of other drinks to choose from too being a pub.
- Atmosphere: Relaxed, cute gastro pub vibes
- Wait: It seemed pretty quiet when we visited, but definitely book ahead for a Sunday if you can
Have you been for a roast recently? Do they seem to slip your mind through the summer?
Chloe xx
*I was invited along to review The Royal Oak. All views my own.
