Eight Sunday Roasts to Warm Your Belly in Melbourne's Inner South This Winter
Cure your wintry end-of-weekend blues with a plate piled with gravy-soaked veggies, roast meat and a Yorkshire pud (or two).
Eight Sunday Roasts to Warm Your Belly in Melbourne's Inner South This Winter
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Cure your wintry end-of-weekend blues with a plate piled with gravy-soaked veggies, roast meat and a Yorkshire pud (or two).
Here in Melbourne, there are loads of ways to cosy up on a frosty winter weekend, but bunkering down with a classic Sunday roast at your favourite local pub has to be one of our favourites. Juicy meat (or perhaps a plant-based alternative), crispy roasted veg, lashings of gravy, a couple of pints — those winter blues don't stand a chance when faced with that enviable situation.
Now that Melbourne's chilliest season is settling in, we've teamed up with the City of Port Phillip to scout out the area's best Sunday roasts. From slow-cooked lamb shoulders to beef and Yorkshire pud, these beauts will prove the highlight of your weekend — and with zero kitchen time on your part. Book a table now to try one of the following roasts with the most.
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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 for both lunch and dinner, the menu changes up each Sunday — expect combinations like stuffed roast pork belly with pumpkin and cavolo nero, and roasted free-range chicken with caramelised baby onions and tarragon jus. It comes in at $25 a pop, and you can even add that week’s dessert match for an extra $5.
Image: The Local Taphouse
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When it comes to classic pub feeds, this long-running neighbourhood favourite knows what’s what. And on Saturdays and Sundays, that means a generous helping of roasted meat paired with seasonal veggies and a Yorkshire pudding. The Palace Hotel’s roast offering changes up weekly, though no matter what meat’s on the roster, you can be certain of two things. One: there’ll be plenty of gravy. And, two: it’ll cost you just $28. To match your feed, you’ll find footy on the big screens, a diverse bunch of beers on tap and probably a few friendly hounds awaiting pats out in the beer garden.
Image: The Palace Hotel
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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 weekday roast to rival the best of the oldies. If you’re craving a classic Sunday roast midweek then The Prince Public Bar’s kitchen is answering the fiercest of comfort food cravings with a roast starring premium cuts and all the trimmings plus a glass of wine or beer. The headlining protein rotates each week, while sides include the likes of Yorkshire pudding, roasted veg, crispy spuds and gravy.
Image: Prince Public Bar
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When that weekend comfort food craving hits, you’ll find yourself in very good hands at this much-loved South Melbourne pub. The Montague will warm your cockles — and save you from dreaded dishes duty — with its Sunday roast which changes up weekly yet always clocks in at at $28. You might be in for some tender roast pork with crackling and apple sauce, or perhaps a slow-roasted lamb shoulder on minted pea puree finished with a pot of lamb jus. This one’s well worth making a regular pit stop.
Image: The Montague
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The Village Belle is winning over locals with a whole swag of great weekly specials, though come Sunday lunch, it’s all about that traditional Mum-style roast. It’ll set you back a mere $29, for the likes of Flinders Island salt grass lamb, or roasted Hazeldenes free-range chicken, with an assortment of matched sides crafted on produce sourced from the St Kilda Community Garden. It’s all best enjoyed against the cosy backdrop of the old-meets-new public bar, where there’s footy on the big screens and live tunes to round out the weekend.
Image: Village Belle
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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 are 14 taps on rotation.
On the food menu, you’ll find the lesser-known Irish lunch staple the chicken fillet roll alongside a braised beef and Guinness pie and a McDonnell’s chicken curry (McDonnell’s is the preferred curry powder in the land of saints and scholars). The local favourite is arguably the Sunday roast lunch. Every Sunday from 11am there’s a choice of two roast lunch options with all the trimmings — we’re talking mash, beef fat roast potato, roast veggies, Yorkshire pudding and gravy. No better way to end a weekend.
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Roaring fire? Check. An expansive drinks list? Check. A proper hearty roast with a touch of modern flair, served all weekend long? Check. Yep, Albert Park’s contemporary gastropub The Bleakhouse is a surefire crowd-pleaser. Pull up a seat in one of the cosy booths and enjoy a $30 rotating ‘Proper Roast’ lunch (or dinner, if it hasn’t sold out) with all the trimmings, all weekend long. It could be pork belly with buttery mash and spiced quince, slow-cooked lamb leg sided with a Spanish tomato stew, or even duck a l’orange with caramelised onions and heirloom carrots. Plus, each week staff offer a recommended vino match from one of Australia’s top wine regions to enjoy by the glass or bottle.
Image: The Bleakhouse
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Prince Alfred Hotel is committed to doing simple things really well by mastering the fundamentals of what makes a good pub experience. It promises a wide wine list with vinos that are interesting but not intimidating, crisp cold beer and food that looks as good as it tastes. Like any good neighbourhood gastropub, they have a schedule of events to suit everyone. Sunday is roast lunch day from 12–9pm (or until sold out). For $27 you’ll get a beautifully cooked roast (the type of cut rotates weekly) served with seasonal sides and house-made gravy. Not to be outdone, there’s also live acoustic music every Sunday from 3.30–6.30pm, line up a roast dinner and you’ve got an ideal Sunday arvo in Port Melbourne.
For more inspiration on how to spend a wintry day in Melbourne’s inner south, head to the City of Port Phillip website.
Top image: Eugene Hyland, The Fifth Province
