The 23 Best Sunday Roasts in Melbourne
Warm up on a weekend with juicy roast meats and plenty of gravy at these cosy and inviting pubs and neighbourhood restaurants.
The 23 Best Sunday Roasts in Melbourne
Warm up on a weekend with juicy roast meats and plenty of gravy at these cosy and inviting pubs and neighbourhood restaurants.
When it comes to chill-busting winter comfort food, a classic Sunday roast has got to be up there with the best: succulent meat, crispy potatoes, seasonal veg and lashings of rich gravy to pull it all together. And unless you have a particular knack for making a perfect Yorkshire pudding, we can bet that this is one meal almost guaranteed to be more delicious and much more efficiently made at your local pub than attempted at home.
This winter, many of Melbourne's old-timey pubs, newcomer restaurants and old-favourite hangouts are turning up the heat with some hefty roasts. With many spots also boasting cosy fireplaces and snug spots to hide out from the cold, you'll be taken care of no matter how low the temperate drops. Here are some of the best roasts in Melbourne to add to your rotation.
Recommended reads:
The Best Pubs in Melbourne
The Best Steak in Melbourne
Melbourne's Best Pubs and Bars with Fireplaces
The Best Restaurants in Melbourne
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Brunswick’s Hotel Railway remains one of the North’s most tried-and-tested popular pubs. Attracting hordes of loyal regulars for after-work drinks or weekend catch-ups over the footy, the 140-year-old pub is a favourite for good reason. Hotel Railway is rooted in Brunswick’s diverse history and serves as an important community hub.
The classic pub welcomes sports lovers, families, and even pups, known and loved for its unpretentious, welcoming atmosphere and a stellar Sunday roast. The hearty roast is centred around your choice of protein, including beef, rotisserie chicken, and vegan options, and comes with the usual trimmings, including a crisp Yorkshire pud, roast veggies, thick gravy and famous roast potatoes.
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Located at the top end of Melbourne’s CBD, the Imperial Hotel offers some of the best city views from its recently refurbished lofty rooftop. It has been around for a while and has become a staple sports bar and pub for city workers and visitors alike. The pub has also recently revealed a revitalised rooftop, as part of a wider set of improvements across the venue.
A refreshed food offering focuses on pub classics, with the rooftop menu featuring share plates and snacks designed for leisurely drinking and socialising. And on Sunday, The Imperial serves up a proper roast, for $38 to get you out of your winter slump.
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Acclaimed restaurateur Hannah Green’s Daphne brings a welcoming, communal vibe to Brunswick East. To make everyone feel welcome, expect early-bird sittings, happy meals for the little ones, and weekly events where snacks and drinks flow until the early hours. And now, the team have added a weekly rotating roast to keep your bellies full and hearts warm this winter.
Daphne’s Sunday Service will feature a rotating roster of slow-cooked meats, served alongside $12 pints of Guinness. In July, get your hands on wood-fired Loddon Valley lamb leg, marinated in miso and herbs, served with celeriac puree, seasonal brassicas, rosemary potatoes, and flavourful jus. The Guinness Hour runs from 1 to 3pm, encouraging you to linger a little longer over your lunch catch-up or while you watch the game.
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A mighty revamp several years back added two levels, introduced an innovative art program, and restored this always-bustling pub’s live stages, continuing its life as Australia’s longest-running music venue. The ground floor is home to The Espy Kitchen, a dynamic, 450-seater space dedicated to casual eats and drinks. Its centrepiece is a massive, contemporary, industrial open kitchen.
Every Sunday, The Espy upholds the beloved tradition of the classic roast, serving up succulent meats alongside smashed peas, roast potatoes, a beef-fat Yorkshire pud, bone marrow and peppercorn sauce. Before succumbing to the food-coma, explore the many spaces of the venue and grab a couple drinks, which will help you forget Monday morning is almost here.
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The Sunday session of choice for many a food-loving northsider, Neighbourhood Wine’s long-running weekend roast menu promises to impress. It’ll set you back an easy $65 for three generous courses — plus a cheeky serving of naturally leavened house sourdough — with the lineup changing regularly.
You could be in for a fall-apart lamb shoulder with green beans, potatoes and preserved lemon, or perhaps some roast beef with mustard jus and Yorkshire pudding. Add-ons are also available. As a bonus, the wine bar’s cosy, timber-filled spaces make for an idyllic winter lunch setting and its wine curation features plenty of warming reds — it is easily one of the best Sunday roasts in Melbourne.
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Kensington’s beloved Doutta Galla Hotel has recently reopened, following an extended closure for major renovations. The Doot first opened its doors back in 1889, just down the road from Flemington Racecourse, and has remained a vital community spot for the Inner North — for families, footy fans, and racegoers alike — for over a century.
During its time, it has held various names, including the Flemington Inn and the Geebung Polo Club, but at its heart, and for locals, it has always been known as The Doot. Now, The Doot reopens under the stewardship of the Kickon Group and a team of dedicated investors. Run by Craig Shearer and newly appointed Pub Partner Ben Lougoon, the Kickon Group operate lively venues such as The Terminus Hotel, The Continental and Pincho Disco. The group of passionate investors includes former AFL players Luke Hodge and Andrew Walker, and Vikings actor Travis Fimmel.
Craig Shearer, CEO of Kickon Group, says, “The Doutta Galla has always been about more than beer and food. It’s about connection, celebration, and the energy of the community. This relaunch isn’t just about reopening a pub, it’s about bringing a Melbourne icon back to life.” The various levels of the pub have undergone a significant facelift as part of the renovation. On the ground level, a bar is located alongside a restaurant serving classic pub fare with a focus on steak. The upper levels have been transformed from hotel rooms to a series of event spaces.
Whether you pop in for happy hour, settle in for $20 parma day on Wednesdays, get a group together for trivia, stop by to watch the game or catch some live music, you’re in for an easy-going, good time at The Doot. Same goes for the Sunday roast. Available from 11.30am until sold out, the weekly-rotating roast, served with all the trimmings, is an easy way to fill your belly for $32.
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You’d be an absolute git to miss out on The Northern Git’s Sunday roast special that’s known for being one of Thornbury’s best. The regularly rotating meat choices are well-loved here, but The Git is best known for its massive Yorkshire puddings.
Yorkies aren’t easy to get right, but the chefs have mastered the art here — serving the roast meat within the puddings themselves. The plate is then packed with a huge assortment of veg, plus a big glass of gravy that you pour onto the roast yourself. If you’re on the hunt for Melbourne’s best Sunday roast, you’d better add The Git to your hit list.
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This landmark corner pub is serving up a more modern riff on the vintage front bars of yesteryear. But it’s also slinging a mighty good Sunday roast to rival the best of the oldies.
Its version stars a mixed selection of premium cuts (yes, the plate has more than one meat on it), Yorkshire puddings, roast vegetables, salad, apple sauce and a wicked horseradish yoghurt. Or if you’re more of a roast purist, you can go for a single meat selection too.
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Like many a Fitzroy pub, the Marquis of Lorne has been through a few refurbs over the years, finally settling in its current form spread across three levels. On the ground floor, you’ll find your classic public bar with a TV in the corner and all your usual suspects on draught. Head up the stairs to then find the more refined dining room. And then you’ve got the sun-drenched rooftop bar right up the top.
But it’s in the main dining room where you’ll find the Melbourne pub’s Sunday roast specials. They change most weeks, but you might find roast lamb cutlets with a vegetable cassoulet, roast duck breast with lashings of gravy or roast porchetta with honey carrots and mustard sauce. Whatever the crew has dreamt up for the Sunday roast special is going to be a sure-fire winner.
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Brighton’s Half Moon pub — run by the same group that owns Lucky Coq, Portsea Hotel and The Albert Park Hotel — is huge. Behind the building’s original historic façade lies six separate drinking and dining spaces, split across two levels. Food-wise, expect a menu of glammed-up pub classics in the main dining room.
And come Sundays, from 12pm until sold out, the chefs are serving up rotating roasts straight from the rotisserie. These are served family-style, helping it feel like you’re eating at home with some of your favourite people. It generally rotates through the classic roasts — sirloin, porchetta or lamb. And for just $34, its a real steal.
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Historic Carlton pub The Lincoln might be well known for its progressive booze offering and its produce-driven gastropub fare — but it’s certainly loved for its time-honoured Sunday roast situation. The kitchen rotates between free-range pork, and grass-fed beef and lamb.
And if you fancy teaming that feed up with an interesting wine or top Aussie craft beer, consider yourself totally spoilt for choice. Enjoy this feed either in the main dining room, at the front bar or out on the street-side tables.
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Melbourne’s viking-inspired eatery Mjolner is plating up its own riff on the winter roast, with a rotating selection of fire-licked roasts. And they aren’t only available on Sundays. Every night it’s open, Mjolner serves up some of the best roasts in Melbourne
From the carvery, find the likes of rotisserie chicken with thyme jus, crispy pork loin with cauliflower puree, and there is even a fish and vegetarian option. Either simply order these with some sides, or splurge on one of the set menus that’ll come with a whole host of extra eats — from $100 to $155.
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Long considered one of Melbourne’s best steak destinations, The Station Hotel sure knows how to make a great piece of meat shine. Hit this gorgeous heritage pub in Footscray any day and enjoy one of its many different steak options on offer, split into grass-fed, grain-fed and dry-aged options.
But even though its steaks are marvellous, the chefs also know how to plate up a mean Sunday roast. It’s all done pretty traditionally here, with your choice of roast lamb or beef, each served with a bunch of roast vegetables, heaps of gravy, crispy potatoes and a mean Yorkshire pudding.
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This Gertrude Street pub has existed in many a form over the years. But its 2018 renovation saw it become a quintessential locals’ pub with enough style to impress your mum. When it comes to both food and design, the whole pub has a contemporary British feel about it. Grab a seat in the sleek bistro-slash-dining hall, and settle in for a leisurely lunch or lively dinner.
The team serves up a monthly-rotating Sunday rôtisserie, and regardless of what’s on the menu, with McConnell at the helm, you know you’re in for a treat. In June, it’s porchetta with mashed potatoes, charred cavelo nero and jus. We can’t wait to see what July will bring.
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If you prefer your Sunday roast paired with a top-notch beer or two, consider The Local Taphouse your destination of choice. The long-standing craft beer bar might be best known for its impressive tap rotation, but its kitchen is also serving up a mean roast feast each weekend.
Available from midday, the menu changes up each Sunday — expect combinations like slow-roasted beef brisket with green beans, mashed potatoes, beef gravy and Yorkshire pudding, and beef petit tender with zucchini and roast potatoes. For just $27, it’s one of the best deals going around town too.
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This 150-year-old Art Deco gem in Armadale is the kind of pub you keep returning to once you discover it. The interior itself is stunning, with a curved wooden bar, polished floorboards, ornate ceilings and tiled features throughout — you can tell no expense was spared on the restoration.
And come Sundays, each and every one of these rooms is packed out with Sunday roast stans who come for its $30 deal. Unless the footy is on, then you’ll have a few there just to watch the game. The Sunday roast could include its pork belly with extra crunchy crackling, roast lamb shoulder with celeriac puree or its huge roast beef brisket with a stack of gravy. Every night of the week, The Orrong Hotel crew also serves up some of the best steak in Melbourne — if that’s your preference.
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Known for its farm-to-table food ethos and with a stack of permanent outposts across Sydney, Brisbane, Byron Bay and the Snowy Mountains, Three Blue Ducks also delivers its sustainably-focused offering to Australia’s first surf park in Tullamarine. It’s a bit of a random spot to plop down a brilliant restaurant, but if you’re up for driving there, you’ll be in store for a damn good Sunday roast.
Here, you’ll savour slow-roasted meats served with crispy potatoes and a proper Yorkshire pudding. You’ve been warned that the surf-board may not keep you afloat once you’ve done a couple of these Yorkies.
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After a bit of a spruce-up, the much-loved Rochey is back in action, with a revamped food offering to match. The Fitzroy pub’s starting lineup is a wintery, roast-focused set menu that’s primed for cosy sessions by one of its three roaring fires — with a $16 negroni in hand
You can tuck into one big plate for an easy $25, with slow-cooked meats, potatoes and Yorkshire pudding. And if you happen to miss Sunday, don’t fret, check out The Rochey’s Comedy and Curry Nights on Mondays to make your week a little less serious.
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Come down and have a taste of the Emerald Isle at The Fifth Province Irish Pub, a gastropub in the heart of St Kilda. Step inside and you’d think you’ve stepped into a pub along Shop Street in Galway or O’Connell Street in Dublin. There are framed old-school Guinness posters on the walls touting the old tagline “My Goodness, My Guinness”, plus a carefully crafted wine list, a specialised Irish cocktail menu and an array of local craft beers on tap.
There’s a stack of food on the cards here, but the local favourite is arguably the Sunday roast lunch. Every Sunday from noon until sold out, try your luck at getting your hands on the roast beef plate, complete with roast potato, mashed potato, roast veggies, Yorkshire pudding, and gravy, or grab the weekly-rotating special. It’s a great way to end the weekend.
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At Abbotsford’s cosy old-school pub, the Sunday roast is a much-loved tradition. The weekly changing dish of roasted goodness is priced at an easy $28.
The main roast usually involves a hearty serve of roast pork, beef or lamb, teamed with all the classic trimmings — winter veggies and loads of thick gravy, guaranteed. Grab yourself one of these Melbourne Sunday roasts, a pint of craft beer and a spot in front of the footy, and your weekend is looking pretty enviable.
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Images: Supplied.
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