There’s something simply magical about getting a group of family and friends together for an indulgent Sunday Roast, courtesy of Mum and Dad’s exceptional cooking or your mate Dave’s not so exceptional attempt. It’s a time to relax, unwind and enjoy the company of your closest, complete with an abundance of edibles to devour. In most instances, you’re not really expected to come dressed up and can probably even come ’round in your pyjamas if you wanted to. Just make sure you’re coming over with a beer (or a few).
Seeing as we’ve only recently moved over to London, we unfortunately don’t often have the luxury of traditional Sunday Roasts any more. Being miles away from Australia with majority of our closest located overseas, it’s definitely something we miss about being home.
However, let’s not forget we have moved to the home of the Sunday Roast. Great Britain. We even recall reading somewhere online that a UK poll had ranked ‘Sunday Roasts’ as the number one thing people love most about living in the UK. And so, although our families aren’t here to cook up a storm, what’s to stop us from enjoying a traditional British Sunday Roast while living in its founding province?
That’s where Ben’s Canteen steps in. Last week, we were invited to partake in what felt like the olympic marathon of the food world: a gigantic traditional Sunday Roast. Having visited the restaurant numerous times since we’ve moved here, the space has started to feel quite homely, so it was a very fitting spot to indulge in our first British roast.
Many aspects to Ben’s Canteen call home to us. The space itself offers a relaxed ‘Australian brunch’ kind of vibe, with our fave feature being Milo tins disguised as cutlery holders complementing the tables. Over to the menu, you’ll find an Aussie iced coffee sprinkled with Milo up for grabs. We loved everything about this homely touch, yet we were both craving a touch of hard liquor and ended up ordering spicy Bloody Maries instead.
Mel matches her outfit with her Bloody Mary.
The roast was hearty, filling and totally satisfying – everything you’d expect and more of a good Sunday Roast. We opted for the All In: Mixed Roast of Beef, Lamb and Pork which was designed for two, but felt like it could feed a family of four. The meat was tender and flavoursome, but the real winner here was that incredibly rich gravy which we found ourselves putting on absolutely everything. The roast also came with a plate of condiments (yesss!) including mint sauce, cranberry and stuffing, of course!
Our favourite side was the rich Canadian Maple and Mustard Pigs in Blankets, which were basically pork sausages wrapped in bacon and drowned in a sea of sweet maple syrup. 100% bad for you yet so damn tasty, we found these little bites to be seriously more-ish. We also had a side of Cauliflower Cheese topped with Flaked Almonds and Parmesan. I mean, if you’re going to eat cauliflower at a roast, why would you eat it without a creamy, gooey layer of melt-in-your-mouth cheese?
It was a struggle to finish it all.
We had such a great time and could have easily stayed there the whole day, polishing off our seemingly infinite plate. Next time we decide to dabble in Ben’s delicious roast, we’re definitely going to invite a group of friends to share the experience with.
