Roast

went for my birthday in september after hearing raving reviews from my wife and others.

thoroughly disappointed.

To begin, we arrived at 7.30 on a Thursday and were told that the days special, suckling pork, which I was looking forward to was already finished along with two other mains. Starters were boring and uneventful: some buffalo mozzarella (in itself quite good quality) lacked any kind of dressing (i.e. a bit of good olive oil perhaps?) and looked a picture of biblical desolation amidst four quarters of unpeeled figs. The other starters were so uneventful I can't even remember them. No to the mains: one of us had roast pork. It was overcooked, dry, and the apple sauce seemed sourced from McDonald's apple pie; my filet was both overcooked on the outside and undercooked on the inside (I had asked for medium done) as well as being oversalted. At this point we needed to remind ourselves of the restaurant's name and the fact that they ‘specialise’ in meat. ahem.

Atmosphere was amazing if you're the kind of person who enjoys the company of testosterone-heavy bankers who roll over London Bridge in droves to this establishment to spend corporate cash. Extremely loud but devoid of any good atmosphere, which is in itself an achievement, surely.

The only redeeming feature was the service: attentive, but unintrusive and friendly.

Verdict: if you're at borough market during the day join the queue of tourists and office louts for the roast takeaways which are good value and frankly tastier than a sit down meal upstairs. If you want quality meat go to Hawksmoor et al.

Roast on a Monday lunch in January – not quite the same as dinner on a Sunday atmos wise, approx 30 or so dinners all herded up to the raised part of the room – we bagged a table by the far window with view over the railway line (not so good) and St Pauls(so good). By night you get the beauty of SP without Network Rail's finest so go when it is dark. 6 quid for a Tanquery and Tonic as a pre-prandial seemed par for the course given the view.

Foodwise things aren't what they were a couple of years ago – the set menu at £28 for 3 course was decent value though, starter of Whitebait had however been cooked in old oil and the batter was more orange then light golden and the fish had seen better days. Maincourse of chicken and chorizo redemmed although £4.50 for 6 roasties on the side was a kick in the king edwards. Desert of Apple Crumble and vanilla ice excelled. Booze by the carafe was a welcome change (thank you Arbutus) although £16 for a 500ml carafe of so so Fiano was a a little strong for an average wine and this was the second cheapest (Homer Simpson's favourite choice)

Overall still one for the tourist and the food quality has suffered in light of all the fresh ingredients underneath but still a decent place for a bite – just come in the dark.

I went along to Roast to look at the venue for a dinner for a restaurant / hotel group I belong to. It was a stunning sunny day in the market and the hustle and bustle made me much more glad I was eating at the peacefull yet vibrant Roast for lunch. While I sipped my ever so good soya latte waiting for my colleaugue to arrive I watched many shoppers buying up the local wares from the market and witnessed sunny shoppers eating amazing chorizo and rocket baps while wandering around the fascinating streets.

The staff at the restaurant are very attentive and were very good at ensuring I was fine and comfortable as I waited. My colleaugue finally arrived and we were shown to our table and greeted with a chilled glass of bubbly. This went down very well on this sunny day.

We didnt have starters but dived right into the main courses and so glad we did as the portions were pretty large. I had the pigs cheeks with a parsnip mash and we orderd some extra crispy roast potatoes and curly kale to go with the meal. My colleague had a starter made larger for his meal and they accomodated perefctly for this.

The pigs cheeks melted in my mouth and went exceptionally well with the mash. The roast potatoes were a little dissapointing and not as crispy on the outside and or as fluffy in the centre as I would have liked and not very hot but the kale was amazing and something I havnt had for a while now. Why we dont eat more of that vegetable I now wonder!

We had a lovely glass of wine with our meal and the service yet again was very good, I would say a little over attentive maybe. We rounded the meal off with a great espresso and paid the bill. I will be booking the venue for sure and in the meantime I am going back this week for a dinner for a friends birthday. Hoping it will be just as good!

I would recommend this restaurant if you love British fare and local sourcing.

Borough Market could be regarded as one of those dressed up areas of London’s street trading, far removed from more dullsville, mediocre East End market trade, with knock-down priced goods and bargain purchases. On first appearance this may not be immediately noticeable, but wander the stalls and soak in the atmosphere and you will find an opulent emporium of goods that are testament to a multitude of cultures. I took my Pa out for his birthday and had decided on Roast a few weeks earlier. This was my third visit; the previous two both being relishable affairs, so it was with some enthusiasm that I entered the lift and was elevated to the restaurant.

The room design is impressive, remarkable for a space which once probably acted as upstairs storage for fruit and veg and folded stalls; over-ripe and dripping pulp into their wooden crates and causing quite a pong one would imagine. Now, from one side of the room, you can see below to the country cheese and organic veg stalls, assemblies of Turkish delights and fresh soup pots, grasses, grains and caryopsis all lined up in higgledy-piggledy formations under the arches. From the dining rooms other side there are train arches with South Eastern trains zipping along, an image you’ve come to expect from the area’s logistics to London Bridge. The design, to continue, is successful in bringing light into the tall room and high-reaching windows presents various activity and events from the bustling hullabaloo below.

The menu is surprisingly brisk, which is reassuring as it shows faith and ability in the dishes available. And there are some punchy British choices, for instance the chicken livers on toast with smoked streaky bacon (£8.50) were divine, the liver and sauce melting into the toast like a sapid sponge, and my ox tongue with Butcher’s sauce and mashed potatoes (£16.50) was a success, soft to cut and robust in flavour. The Butcher’s sauce neatly accompanying the tongue. There’s also a lunch offering for three-courses for £20 that I’ve tasted before and includes the likes of scallops and pork belly, well worth taking advantage of.

We visited on a Wednesday evening and the Daily Special was roast rib of Welsh Black beef with Yorkshire pudding, horseradish and Colman’s English mustard (£28.00). Pa picked the special along with two side dishes to complete his roast dinner: buttered asparagus and Jersey royals (£6.00) and young spinach leaves with pine nuts, lemon and olive oil (£5.00). The beef was hefty, covering half the plate. Fatty deposits were stringy though and remained piled on the plate at the end to an unsatisfying result. And come on, who pays £39 for a roast dinner? Me, that’s who. Mug.

My side of grilled field mushrooms with garlic butter (£4.50) was disappointing with the three large mushrooms sodden with too much acerbic butter. It was surely enough to melt the eyeballs of any vampire, let alone keep it away. And the breath, I must have been giving of emissions like a sweaty Yoga teachers thong. Luckily I could mask this with regular gulps of plonk from a rich and serious wine list. We had a pleasant little find in the shape of an English Pinot Noir from Chapel Down in Tenterden, Kent, which is down the road from where I come from. Big up Kent! Let’s here it for a cheeky little English wine. Its colour is similar to a rose – much lighter complexion than most reds – holding smells of strawberries and summer fruits. There’s an offensive markup price however at £31 a bottle. The following weekend on the Chapel Down website, I ordered a case of six for £70 (including delivery costs).

Filled to the brim from meaty richness, dessert seemed unlikely, an impossible tackle from a stomach lining poisoned by my greed and stretched to its very limits. I had had my fill and lubed my lining with a silky plonk, yet continued my gormandizing with a tasty toffee apple sundae (£6.50) accompanied by a glass of Glenfiddich Caoran (12 year old) whisky (£12.00). Jesus on a bendy bus it had some punch! I was back in the game. Pa’s Montgomery’s Cheddar platter (£8.50) – his absolute favourite cheese, by James Montgomery & Steve Bridges at Manor Farm, and assumingly sourced from the marvelous Neal’s Yard across the road – came with a glass of Malbec 2007, Ruca Malen (£8.50) and with a single birthday candle burning away, something which pleased the old man greatly. And so we capped off a hoggish and voracious evening, finally sticking the bill straight onto my credit card. Ouch!

I have visted Roast on severaly occassion, when it first opened, for of course Sunday Lunch, well thats why its call Roast right?! Then for quick lunches, drinks and dinner
There is a lift up to the restaurant, from brough market into the restaurant only then to be greeted but 3 receptionists

The setting is one of kind, over brough market, with glass from floor to ceiling and a dome shaped glass roof, its really light and airy, also it has a great a bar area with a piano who play jazz

So now I have built up the setting I was really diapointed to say that the food is average, and £30 per head is quiet a bit with no veg, that I fnd very cheeky, its great for a meeting place but I would rush to order

yes there are still restaurants in london serving steak and chips for £30 where the chips are half cooked from frozen and i nearly lost my teeth chewing through the meat. somebody is cutting some corners to increase margins here…
what is worse is when i pointed thisout as to just how awful the food is by email i got an immediate acknowledgement with a promise of follow up then nothing – i guess that is tacit acceptance that you can fool most of the people most of the time but you cant fool all of them all of the time…
if you want to see best of british done properly get back in a cab over the river for the short ride to mark hix in cowcross st smithfield…

Roast. Roast and more Roast. They've sure got the name right. If there was one word I would use to describe the type of cuisine on offer it would be ‘Roast’. It was a friend's birthday last night and for a (yet another) special treat, we went to the restaurant above Borough Market in London Bridge, famous for its (you guessed it) roast meats and rich accompaniments. This is not one to visit if you are trying to eat healthily or on a budget. It's indulgence in all sorts of ways.

The restaurant is beautiful; it was stylishly lit and with a stunning semi-circular window (the retained portico of an old flower market); there was an open kitchen where you could see the kitchen staff plating up salads and sauces (my friend did ask if one of them was the headchef to which we all replied, no dear, he/she will be doing much more important things in the back); a vault for expensive wine and a swish shiny bar cutting off the casual area with a live piano from the bistro style restaurant.

The meat was delicious, especially the steak, which unsurprisingly enough was the most expensive thing on the menu. It was cooked medium and presented stylishly on a wooden board with a novelty miniature pan of peppercorn sauce. I didn't order it so cannot give a full account. All I was allowed was a tiny slither. Look at the photo to the left though and you can make up your own mind. It looked pretty damn good to me. Instead I ordered the Beef Wellington and it was great, but didn't leave me speechless. The meat was pink and soft and the sauce was rich and winey, but the pastry wasn't crispy enough and the mushroom pate was a little overpowering. It was also meant to come with braised red cabbage which was another reason why I ordered it, but the restaurant had run out, very unimpressive considering the £28 price tag. I was offered root mash as an alternative which I accepted a bit grumpily only to find that the sidedish was left off our order when the rest of the food was bought out. The other side dishes were pleasing, especially the sprouts with bacon and stuffing, a true taste of Christmas. The wine was delicious, but it was £17 and all we got was a 500ml carafe. I would happily have paid that for a full bottle, but two-thirds? A bit much.

The waitress was friendly and did some good selling. She uptalked all of the specials and tried her very hardest to get us to buy doubles of everything. On both cases she didn't persuade us, at £9 per G&T, one was more than enough. Overall the service was a little slow. Our table was constantly being buzzed around by waiters, waitresses and bar men but for all the show of being busy, not a lot of waitering happened. For this sort of money I expected a quicker and more responsive service. Though they recovered some points when we told them it was one of our parties birthdays and a plate of ice cream with a candle, a homemade brandy snap and ‘happy birthday Kate’ written in chocolate sauce turned up.

Now to the entertainment. In the bar area was a singer with accompanying pianist. She played some great, cheesey tunes (a lot of Aleisha Keys, Mariah Carey) and had a fantastic voice but she was a little overwhelming. Everyone had a little giggle when she started the first chorus of Empire State of Mind and at ‘New York’ (not Newport..), a third of the restaurant (mostly those under 30) started to sing along. But the over-loud volume did get in the way of us having a deep and meaningful over dinner.

Overall, I had an ace experience and I went home very full and fairly satisfied. My final issue with Roast is that whilst stuffing myself with great produce I easily forgot where I was. I was sitting and eating above one of the most iconic food markets in the country. Why wasn't I being reminded of it? It wasn't mentioned in any of the menus, there were no pictures on the wall, it was a real undersell of the resources right on their doorstep. If it was my restaurant, I would have been buying the beef from the beef stall in the market, the wine from the wine stall in the market, the..you, get the picture. Maybe they did? They just didn't bother to let the patrons know.

We recently visted Roast for Sunday lunch. Service was poor. Having ordered wine that was finished before the starters, we ordered a further bottle. Despite a long wait between courses, the additional bottle of wine had not arrived by the time we we were half-way through the main course. On being told about this our wiatress grimaced as if we had just told her that pig could fly. When it finally arrived (at the end of the main course) we were told that they had had to go to the cellar to get a bottle. Whee else? Although the food maybe from “the finest seasonal produce”, the results we experienced were bland. At £30 a head for lunch, perhaps we shouldn't have expected anything more (although better value isn't difficult to find in London on a Sunday). However, I can't speak for the entire cellar, but our choice of wine was overpriced – difficult for a £30 bottle. If you are going to Roast, go for the views and atmoshere (and even the jazz), but expect long delays and poor attitudes from the staff.

I love Roast. I've been 3 times now, twice for lunch and once for dinner, and the food never fails to please. If you are coming make sure to bring your appetite as the portions are huge and everything tastes great, though as the name suggests its suits the more carnivorous dinner with veggies somewhat hard done by. One minor gripe is that most dishes don't come with any vegetables etc so you'll need to get into side orders at additional cost, and its not the cheapest place anyway – expect to spend about £60-£70 a head depending on what you are drinking and how much. The clients are a real mix, turn up in your best suit or your jeans and you'll be treated equally well by the excellent staff. The room is great, really light and airy and you'll find yourself playing spot the celebrity through the series of pictures on the walls. Enjoy a stroll round Borough Market and down to the River pre or post lunch to aid the appetite or the digsetion and you'll have a thorougly excellent time.

I visited Roast with a guest for a late lunch. The food was good but a lunch from Roast set us back £170 (admitedly with a £40 bottle of wine), even so three courses for £170 is quite a mouthful.

The food was ok, and the service is another story. We were around the only table left in the restaurant and yet Roast staff left us with our main course empty plates for around 20 minutes before they were removed. We had to summon a miserable looking waitress whose eyes shot to the top of her head as if saying why me, why should I clean the table, we complained, unfortunately the restaurant manager was unhelpful when we questioned his staff's manner, by this point the miserable waitress had uttered her disgust to other members of staff, in our eye-line. I wrote to the service team who fobbed me off with some lame cliches without telling me how they were going to deal with the situation – appalling service from start to finish.

My advice remove the 17.5% service charge from the bill…

On a light and warm summer's evening, this is a superb location for an early dinner booking. The ambiance of the restaurant is superb and sitting near the large windows overlooking the activities outside is great for people watching.

2 of my friends had the £26 dinner menu, which offered extremely good value for money. In particular the comments and clear enjoyment of the belly of pork, complete with crackling, was great to hear. I also gather the crumble and custard was exteremly good. I opted for the a la carte menu and went for the roast chicken. The portion was enormous and when enjoyed with some of the excellent roast potato it was superb. The accompanying bacon and bread sauce enhanced the dish really well. The general comments from my firends, who were dining there for the first time, was that the portions of all the dishes was very generous and certainly met in full the large appetites they had brought with them. The wine list is very good and offers both affordable and high end prices. It was good to see some English wines included.

It is not always clear when making a booking here that there is a 2 hour table turn but we found that did not cause us any difficulty. Some of guests were delayed a little in their arrival at the restaurant but the staff ensured, through good service, that the meal was served comfortably within the timeframe. It did not feel rushes at all.

Since eating there a few friends have advised me that the breakfast at roast is also excellent so that will be added to the diary before too long.

One of my favourites South of the River. I also feel spoilt for choice when I come to Roast. It works well for all occasions – business breakfasts and lunches – family dinner – special meals a deux. The wine list is outstanding – diverse in terms of region and unique in its offering of English fare. The decor of course is unique – not just in terms of the setting in Borough Market but due to the architecure internally/ the roof/ the art work and ceiling height. Nice bar area which is suitably hidden by the bar from the restaurant area but from where you can look into the market and have a sip of something whilst waiting for your dining companions. Great value for what is always a great experience

First time visit to roast for lunch on Saturday for all 4 of us.
Excellent table in the bar overlooking the market, good responsive service and an interesting looking menu.
For me my lunch of the slow roasted pork belly was exceptional, the flavours were sublime and the pork cooked to perfection – cooked moist meat surrounded by crispy crackling – best pork I ever had.

We have been to roast 3-4 times in the last 2+ years, most recently for a Saturday cooked breakfast. Each time, for broadly similar reasons, we vow not to return !

We shop at Borough Market most weekends, and Roast does have THE location, with great views over the market from its window tables. To be honest, this is effectively the only reason for eating here.

As others have commented, front of house and service is far from welcoming and friendly. More like, everything is a bit too much trouble.

Roast has self PR’d itself a reputation for using high quality British ingredients. Unfortunately, this is not of great value to the customer when the end product is delivered very slowly, luke warm, and in a not very friendly or charming manner. Our experiences have found the food to be quite good, but certainly not of the standard we had expected.

On our most recent visit, we nearly walked out before we had even ordered, due to their lack of interest in serving us. It then took 30mins+ for them to deliver nearly cold coffee and luke warm fried breakfasts – quite a skill. At least the Maitre’d had the good courtesy to deduct the coffee from the bill when we complained. The £15 pp fried breakfast and the coffee were both OK / average, but no more.

Probably worth going once for the location and view, and expect OK food and poor service. Effectively, it’s a tourist destination with many one-time visitors, with all the characteristics you’d associate with that.

I went for dinner at Roast between Christmas and New Year, which I find is always a funny time of the year to eat out in London as there is normally in an interesting crowd of people dining out and places usually lack atmosphere. Roast was no different. Despite having been to Borough Market a number of times, this was my first trip to Roast. From being greeted at the reception, the four of us knew this might be an interesting dinner. I mean does it really need three people to take the name of the reservation, take our coats and then take us to our table…it just makes the whole first impressions seem sloppy.

Service was slow, despite the fact the restaurant was half empty. We skipped starters as nothing really sounded that appetising. Around 10 minutes after ordering our mains arrived. Dont get me wrong, I am fan of good quick service in restaurants, but with the dishes we had ordered it was clear these had been pre- prepared and left on the side to get cold.

The roast pheasant had clearly had this treatment – luke warm and dry. Two of us ordered a classic dish of Smoked Haddock on a bed of spinach with a poached egg on top. To be fair, this was not bad. The fish flaked apart nicely and the sauce didnt overpower the flavours. However, the poached egg needed to be runnier. I have still not found anywhere who does this dish better than Le Caprice.

I was quite disappointed with Roast and I hope the food and service was a one off, maybe due to the time of year and part time staff? I am happy to give the benefit of the doubt but for an average main to be priced at £17, the quality of both food and service has to be better.

I might try breakfast next time…

I went to Roast for breakfast and have heard that it may be better at other times of day. However, a watery poached egg is unforgiveable in a place that charges this much. If it had been served with a smile, I might have forgiven it a little more readily. The rest of the food was fine, but unexceptional and the coffee was OK. The location is, however, fantastic, so perhaps they assume that will distract people from the mediocrity of the restaurant.

Excellent breakfasts and seasonal British produce. However, it is expensive on all fronts and service can be less than welcoming. Otherwise a good find amongst the many in Borough Market.

I went to roast expecting good quality meat and produce from Borough Market below and I wasn't disappointed. It's set at the back of the market in a hidden location, accessible by lift or stairs. We were seated next to the kitchen which was noisy with the natural sounds of cooking and, whilst probably not to everyone's satistfaction, I really like being up close and peronsal to my food! The black pudding was perfectly done with apple sauce, and I managed to convert a friend who never thought she'd eat it. Chargrilled lamb cutlets were on the money, as was my chicken main. I can't remember dessert as the cocktails were rather good and nothing but good memories of the place…

A fine gourmet feast … and an excellent chance to sit above the melee of Borough Market.

I've had quite a few pleasant meals at Roast – breakfast being an occasional treat for me if in the area but like most of the reviewers here I think Roast comes into its own on a lazy Sunday. As Steve W says the menu is quite limited but at the end of the day it offers exactly what you would expect it to do. Service is capable and the atmosphere always seems to be relaxed. Great for a bite before hitting the markets.

Visited here for Sunday lunch & was not disappointed. Great food & a fantastic buzz about the place. Live jazz band playing & a few people actually dancing. Very relaxing friendly setting..perfect Sunday afternoon fodder!

Roast is a very pleasant venue however the menu is limited so you would not go back more than a couple of times. Also on a sunny day the restaurant becomes a greenhouse.