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?

@BeHappy91818

Depends where you go.

If you go to a cheap place then it’s likely going to be crap.

Iv had some great roasts this winter but I haven’t paid less then £18 for one adult roast.

Our local is £18-£22, with kids on adult portions now and a few drinks I prefer my potatoes:)

YANBU.

@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.

Agreed.

I wouldn’t even say I’m a great cook, only decent but I can still do better than most places we have tried. It’s why we tend to stick to the same handful of restaurants that we’ve gone to for years. I’m often disappointed when trying new places.

It depends where you go.

Most chain pubs serve up rubbish roasts. But a lot of independents do real roasts that are delicious. My teenage DD waitresses in a local country pub and their roasts are spot on, including decent roast potatoes and yorkshires and really tasty gravy.

I go to a independent pub in Sheffield 7.50 for a roast, good quality plentiful and enjoyable. It gets good reviews and isn't part of a chain and the cook has stated only thing that isn't fresh is the peas, they are frozen.

YABU as mine was fabulous ❤️ first time I've not cooked for myself in decades. Beautiful meal. I'll share where if anyone remotely interested 🤣

We went for a nice one yesterday. Yes I could do it better myself but not without slaving away for ages.

@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.

Yes, I agree. After many years I've perfected my gravy, which is made with intense home-made stock and wine and herbs and all the delicious caramelised bits from the meat. And then I'm supposed to get enthusiastic about flabby roasties, overcooked beef and dry Yorkshires smothered in gravy-granule gravy...

Chain pubs cook ghastly roast dinners, usually the independent pubs have great Sunday roasts!

You don’t live in Norwich, do you?

Sorry @Spartak but that looks shit. What the fuck is that excuse for a yorkshire?

My son is a pub chef and his roasts are made fresh on the day. He makes an amazing roast. Just not often enough at home!

@again2020

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

The Earth and Stars in Brighton. They do veggie and vegan roasts, both of which are very tasty (and I say that as someone who really doesn't much care for vegetarian food generally).

Their meat roasts are good, too, and all locally sourced and organic.

@Thatswhyimacat

They're either absolute rubbish, or really really expensive and average to good. And they are ALWAYS too stingy with the gravy.

A village pub a few miles from where I live in Sussex does the most fantastic roasts. Perfectly cooked pork (with crackling), sirloin that melts in your mouth, the chicken is local, organic, free range and cornfed and tastes fantastic, and it comes with about 5 or 6 different veg, including fabulous roasties that are crispy outside and fluffy inside, and cauliflower cheese that they serve separately as they know that not everyone likes it. The gravy is proper, made with meat juices, and they bring an extra jug of it to the table for those who like a lot of gravy. And if you're there late-ish, they come round and offer seconds!

I've also had great roasts at a pub called the Gaggle of Geese in Buckland Newton, Dorset for any MNers down that way. Haven't been there since pre-Covid though.

My top roast of all time would be at Graze in Brighton heading towards Hove (I believe it has closed down now)

I went for one yesterday. A carvery. It's rated by lots of people. The vegetables were added to constantly but still cold! They must cook up loads and leave standing or something.

I always feel underwhelmed by roasts at a pub/restaurant

@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.

Nor me. We had a Sunday dinner in a Yorkshire pub last week and it was exactly as OP describes, the best part was the cauliflower cheese. My standards are high - crisp roasties with fluffy middles and huge, crisp Yorkshire puddings capable of containing gravy.

Having worked in catering for decades I would never go out for Mothers Day or Christmas Day. I can warm up my own roast at home. The meat is usually cooked the day before or overnight depending on equipment. The veg will be par cooked also.

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.

That is very true - some places are appalling, but others are wonderful; and a fair number in the middle are perfectly OK.

Another London Sunday lunch lover!

Agreed. Never had one that I was impressed with. Thin strips of meat. Watery gravy. Lukewarm. Over cooked carrots. Stodgy Yorkshire’s (or burnt). I have friends who make amazing roast dinners, so a restaurant version is always disappointing.

I agree. 9/10 it's frozen potatoes which are unacceptable in my opinion

A pub near me does a carvery and it's bloody fantastic when I fancy a roast on a Wednesday night.

It's the ambience you pay for, not the food.

My mum's roast dinner cannot be beaten, so I mostly don't even try going out for Sunday lunch anymore because they disappoint so frequently...but Hawksmoor is very good indeed.