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.

Hawksmoor (Air Street)

You cannot beat a good roast dinner, and in my opinion a Hawksmoor roast is the best roast dinner I have had. The meat at Hawksmoor is delicious, and so are the accompaniments.

Main:

Traditionally, large joints of meat were roasted on a spit over an open fire.  To achieve a similar flavour Hawksmoor starts their meat on real charcoal and finishes them in the oven. Served with duck fat roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, carrots, greens and lashings of bone marrow & onion gravy.

The beef was cooked well- you can either have it pink or well-done. I have had it both ways and I think I prefer it pink rather than well-done, as the meat was a little dry. The meat(below)  was succulent, and potatoes are crispy on the outside and beautifully soft in the middle. The Yorkshire pudding is huge! All the vegetables were delicious, and I liked the roasted garlic and onion, which brought great flavours to the roast. We ordered a side-order of creamed spinach, which was really yummy.

Dessert:

(Sticky Toffee Sundae and we also ordered some salted caramel rolos)


After the lengthy description of the main, you may think how could we have room for dessert...well there is always room for dessert!

This is the best dessert I have had for quite some time. I would put it on a par with the infamous Theo Randall chocolate cake. It was made up of pieces of sticky toffee pudding, toffee sauce, clotted cream, vanilla ice-cream, caramelised nuts and dates. Absolutely delicious! The toffee sauce, and sticky toffee pudding was very rich but the ice-cream cut through it well- the proportions were perfect too. The nuts added a good texture.

The salted caramel rolos are out of this world- AMAZING!!! I wish you could pop in and a buy some to take home. They are dark chocolate, filled with a soft caramel filling, not runny or chewy like a normal rolo. You have to order these no matter how full you are- you certainly won't be sharing your last rolo once you have tried these!

Quality & Presentation of  the Food

The quality of the food is excellent. A succulent joint of beef with wonderful accompaniments. Usually the meat is the highlight in a roast, but with this roast it is hard to say as everything is cooked to perfection. The portion sizes are very generous; you will certainly not leave hungry.

The presentation is good for a roast. You do not want a roast to be presented in a fussy manner- the taste of the food is all that counts.

Service & Ambience

The service was brilliant. Our waiter was really attentive, we certainly felt well-looked after. We asked lots of questions and he was happy to help. We ordered lots of courses and different drinks, and they were all right and given to the right person- this is what you expect from waiting staff, but it's rare that you receive it.

I prefer the ambience of the Air Street restaurant to the one in Covent Garden. There is more space, and of course it is brighter as it is not under ground. We had a really nice booth, tucked away at the back of the restaurant, which we really liked.

Value for Money

For 2 courses and a glass of prosecco the bill came to £45.  I felt that the meal was worth every penny and I will definitely be back there for another Sunday roast. I cannot recommend this restaurant more. I would like to go and try a brunch there too...