Roast

Dining at Roast was a surprise birthday treat from my best friend. She asked me to meet her at London Bridge, with no idea where we were going. As I was led through Borough Market, I was very pleased to hear that we were dining at Roast as I have wanted to eat there for a while.

 

The meal started with a Vanilla Mojito cocktail: Dictador rum 12-years old, fresh mint leaves,  fresh lime juice, brown sugar, vanilla liqueur & soda water. Perfect for a warm summer's day as it was really refreshing.

 

Starter:

 

Fish cakes with a tartar sauce.

 

A creamy filling, with lots of fish, rather than being full of potato. The tartar sauce was delicious, nice and sharp, which worked well with the creamy fishcakes.

 

 

 

 

Main:

 

 Borough burger & chips

 

This photo does not do the burger justice. It was a really delicious burger, packed full of flavour- good quality meat, nice cheese, and an interesting mayo, which had pickles in it. We ordered some bacon too to complete the burger. The chips were crispy and plentiful. The first burger I got was too rare for me- I asked for medium to well done, and I feel it was rare to medium. The waiter took it away at once, apologised about 5 times; the matre d' came over and apologised again. They made me another one, which came out after about 20 minutes. I was happy to wait, although my friend had finished her meal by then. It wasn't a problem though, as it just meant we spent more time at the restaurant catching-up. I think it must be quite difficult cooking a burger exactly how a diner wants it. Second time round the burger was cooked to perfection, and I loved it, savouring every bite.

 

 

 Dessert:

Sticky Date Pudding with Toffee Sauce and Neal's Yard Crème Fraiche

The pudding was really rich and I think more of a winter pudding. However, I really enjoyed it  and that point certainly did not stop me from eating it- the richness of the toffee sauce and pudding worked really well with the crème fraiche, which had lemon zest running through it. Therefore, the marriage of sweet and sharp I felt worked magnificently.

 

Quality & Presentation of  the Food

The quality of the food is excellent. Fresh, flavoursome food, with really lovely sauces.  The portion sizes are very generous. My advice is not to eat the bread as you definitely want to leave space for dessert.

The presentation is good, not too fussy as it is not that sort of restaurant. The focus is on clean presentation and good flavours.

Service & Ambience

The service was excellent particularly during the burger issue.

The restaurant is a lot larger than I thought. We had a nice window seat, and could see St Pauls from our table which was lovely. Due to the large windows there is lots of light in the restaurant which added to the ambience of the restaurant.

Value for Money

It was £35 for 3 courses and a cocktail booked via Bookatable. I felt it was excellent value for money and I will definitely be returning. I would like to try a roast there, I'm sure it will be delicious.