To say that pub roast dinners are crap?

[ThreeRingCircus]

I know I'm being a bit unreasonable as you can't make roast potatoes etc to order so they're always going to have to be reheated at a pub..... probably the same with Yorkshire puddings but we went out for a roast for Mother's Day yesterday and although it was delightful in that I didn't have to cook the food really was disappointing.

Roast potatoes that aren't crispy on the outside, yorkshire puddings that are too soft, weird thin watery gravy and never enough of it. I don't think I've ever had a really decent roast at a pub even when it's a good pub and it's cost a fair bit of money.

I genuinely think I could have saved the £60 pub bill yesterday and bought a load of Aunt Bessie's stuff for a tenner and done it at home for zero hassle and it would have been a lot nicer.

Are there magical pubs out there that do amazing roasts or do I just need to accept that if I want a decent one I have to cook it myself?

I've tried many times to eat the Carvery, but it's tasteless. I honestly can't distinguish between a potato, carrot, pea, sprout, cauliflower ... People think it's all freshly cooked too. All I can imagine is that they eat live on micro meals.

YABU, although I do think they've got better in recent years if you go to a nice pub. But it's hard to keep roast potatoes warm. Veg are often dull and gravy Bisto. So I tend not to order one. I prefer my own homemade one. Definitely the curse of learning to cook! Like some other posters I prefer to order something I wouldn't do at home if it's available.

I’m with you OP. I’ve never ever had a decent roast in a pub. I honestly just don’t even try anymore. A good home cooked roast is just so much better!

YANBU. I always prefer my roasts! The veg are usually fine (apart from the roasties) but the meat can be hit and miss too, unless it's chicken.

I had no idea there was so much snobbery around pub roasts and carveries.
Presumably they differ from pub to pub, with some better quality than others, like all things.

They are for me as I'm a vegetarian and a good veggie roast is hard to come by. Our local pub does a 'vegetarian roast' which is dry veg (as the gravy is meat juices) plus no stuffing (also meat) . I find it difficult to get excited about it. I'm told the meat is amazing though!

If anyone has suggestions for a good veggie roast out I'd love to know

I've been to a few so called great ones and have always been disappointed.

I had no idea there was so much snobbery around pub roasts and carveries.

I'm no snob - I'll happily chow down on a greasy fry-up or transport cafe meal. I just like them to use actual (non-processed) food for basic ingredients - same as if you paid somebody to put up a fence for you, you would be mightily dischuffed if you discovered they'd made it out of cardboard and protested that 'well, it comes from trees, just like wood does'.

Well they're still nicer than the ones I cook

@Damnloginpopup

That's the problem with being a good cook. I only feel impressed eating stuff I can't do properly at home - Chinese meals being the best example.

I've never had a good roast potato when out.

Agree with this. OH and I are pretty good at roasts, so always find them crap. Not so great at Chinese food, so that is worth going to a restaurant for.

I have been to lots of pubs for a roast and I actually rate the Toby carvery ones better. I guess it's because most people turn up for the same meal and no other random meals on the menu.

YANBU but I think all roast dinners are crap. We have moved on since the time of meat and potatoes. Throw away your ration books, buy some pesto!

YANBU. I absolutely love cooking a roast dinner and I think I’m pretty good at it and it’s at its best straight out of the oven, this just cannot be replicated when cooked en masse to be served over a period of a few hours.

I’ve had a few decent ones in small independent pubs but you can still tell most of it has been precooked and reheated, it’s just not the same.

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

I had no idea there was so much snobbery around pub roasts and carveries.

I'm no snob - I'll happily chow down on a greasy fry-up or transport cafe meal. I just like them to use actual (non-processed) food for basic ingredients - same as if you paid somebody to put up a fence for you, you would be mightily dischuffed if you discovered they'd made it out of cardboard and protested that 'well, it comes from trees, just like wood does'.

But in some places they do use non processed food, you can't lump every single pub together and say they all serve up processed crap because that's not the case.

I think it totally depends on the pub.

There's one round here that you can only get a table on a Sunday for a roast if you book in advance. So they know what time people are coming and how many. Everything is cooked from scratch and it's amazing.

There's also a really decent carvery that is always busy so they can cook decent stuff as they know they'll be busy.

There's an excellent carvery pub near to me. It makes me happy every time.

YANBU. I've never had an outstanding pub roast - or even a really good one - and although I'm by no means a 'carvery expert', I've never had a decent one (admittedly, I can only recall ever having two or three carvery-type meals in my whole life, though).

YABU. Shout out to the Red Lion in Chelwood Gate whose Sunday roasts are legendary.

YANBU. I am always disappointed. Yesterday I made roast pork, roast potatoes, yorkshire puddings, cheesy leeks, vichy carrots for 7 people and spent about 30 quid and it was amazing. If we had gone out it would have been 150 easy.

Definitely not being unreasonable - there are a few places that do a really great roast - I would highly recommend Hawksmoor (though I wouldn't class that has a pub), The Flask and The Stag (both in NW3) buttttt avoid anywhere on days like Mother's Day.

I used to work in a chain pub and people raved about the roasts (which were actually shite but never mind...) but the standard dropped considerably on Mother's Day / Easter Sunday etc.

I agree with you. I don't go out on "Event days" as I find the food is never as good as on normal days, too many guests and too much going on.

I like good pub food and often do order something I can cook easily as well, I just being served and relax when going out. But a roast I never found good and opinions about what a good roast is seems to be so subjective of the person having it.

I don't believe amazing ones actually exist in pubs. But they're good enough to satisfy a craving when I can't be bothered to cook it myself.

I think I need to avoid roast dinners when out as it's clear they're unpredictable. I just really fancied one and didn't want to do the cooking for once! DH had steak and ale pie and that looked way better (although also came with a teeny weeny serving of brown water that I believe was meant to be gravy.)

@Damnloginpopup

That's the problem with being a good cook. I only feel impressed eating stuff I can't do properly at home - Chinese meals being the best example.

I've never had a good roast potato when out.

I'm the same. I only order stuff I wouldn't have at home, like a big burger and chips or a pizza which is always better in a restaurant.

Things like bolognese, puttanesca I do well enough in my house.

There are some amazingly good quality pub roasts about (I especially love the trend for enormous Yorkshire puds!) but I still always find them disappointing.

There’s never the right ratio of ingredients for my taste. Not enough potatoes/veg/stuffing, huge amounts of meat (except if it’s Christmas, then you get one or at most two pigs in blankets, which is a travesty).

I prefer my own roast dinners. However, for no effort or faff, pub roasts are a good occasional option.

My old local (The Plough & Harrow, Warfield) did the best roasts. They did them delivered in lock down and they were honestly better than I could knock out at home and I count myself a good cook.

They sold out of slots every weekend they were that good.