The best Sunday roasts in Liverpool

Editor’s note: Seel & Slater is an exciting new opening from the team behind Restaurant 8. NY exuberance and generosity meet Upper East Side class.

• Price: From £28
• Menu: Everything from pork tomahawk to a wagyu ribeye sharer with black truffle butter and bone marrow jus.
• Vibe: A swish take on Sunday roasts with the best sides in town. Confidential Guides loves the parmesan Yorkshire puddings and the ‘nduja pigs in blankets.

Editor’s note: Barnacle serves high-quality, seasonal food as you’d expect from the team behind The Art School. The staff are excellent and Sunday lunch here always feels like a treat.

• Price: From £27
• Menu: Cuts of meat vary according to availability but you’ll be fed well with two meat choices and a vegetarian option. Examples include rump of beef, pan-roasted chicken or grilled cauliflower.
• Vibe: By far the best place in town for anyone looking for a gluten-free Sunday roast.

Editor’s note: One of Liverpool’s most popular Sunday roasts, Frederiks is always a sell-out. Book ahead to make sure you get your fix of the legendary cauliflower cheese – the side we can’t say no to.

• Price: From £16.95
• Menu: As well as the usual options of beef and chicken, Fred’s also serves a sweet, smoky honey mustard gammon. Pizzette are also available if you’re not up to the whole Sunday food fest. Or if you are a small child.
• Vibe: Frederiks nails it with its relaxed atmosphere and the vegan Sunday roast is highly recommended. The best value of the bunch too.

Editor’s note: Belzan offers a neighbourhood bistro take on the classic Sunday lunch with ambitious cooking and high-quality meat. Pub grub this is not.

• Price: Two courses for £37
• Menu: Provenance is key here with the roasts having real flavour. Typical options include the signature roast corn-fed chicken or beef with horseradish creme sourced from Aurox, who supply meat from rare British breeds to some of the top restaurants in the country.
• Vibe: Don’t miss out on the home-made stuffing, it’s one of the best bits. Although the meat here is knockout, the vegetarian options are the best we’ve seen in Liverpool. Love the leek and mushroom gratin with romesco.

Editor’s note: As Buyers Club swaps its pizza and pasta offering for heartier fare on Sundays once the nights start drawing in, you can expect an Italian influence on this most British of traditions.

• Price: From £22
• Menu: Choose from sirloin of beef with celeriac puree, porchetta with gremolata or nut roast with the usual accompaniments. Great braised red cabbage.
• Vibe: Love the atmosphere here; it’s probably the best place to come for groups of mates enjoying a social Sunday. The porchetta is a strong recommend.

Editor’s note: The Sunday roasts at Hawksmoor have twice been voted the best in the UK and the Liverpool restaurant is no exception. It’s definitely posh and pricey but there’s an abundance and scale to Sundays at Hawksmoor that make the hit to your bank balance worth it.

• Price: From £29.50
• Menu: Dry-aged rump, dry-aged sirloin and the option to properly blow out with the sharers from the blackboard. Chateaubriand Sunday roast anyone? Winslade wellington is the only vegetarian option I’d willingly give up meat for.
• Vibe: Hawksmoor serves the best roast potatoes in Liverpool. Fact. That’s the power and the glory of beef dripping for you.

Editor’s note: The Sunday roast prix fixe option at The London Carriage Works is a good value weekend celebration if you want somewhere special to enjoy your Yorkshire puddings.

• Price: Two courses for £29
• Menu: The two or three course prix fixe menu changes regularly but roast beef is always available and it’s knockout. Other options include choices such as poached and roasted chicken breast or sweet potato and red onion pithivier.
• Vibe: The caramelised shallot is a nice touch but what really makes The London Carriage Works stand out is what you get for your money. It feels fancy – a good bet for treating parents or in-laws.

Editor’s note: Friendly and cosy, Ma Boyles is the closest to a traditional pub roast, full of generosity and flavour. This is a pub with history and character; that fits with lazy Sundays perfectly.

• Price: From £17
• Menu: Ma Boyles offers a wider range of meats than most Sunday menus. We love the crispy pork belly with rosemary but other choices include a herby roast chicken supreme, slow-cooked beef brisket, a vegan lentil roast and turkey for people who wish it could be Christmas every day.
• Vibe: If you’re looking for somewhere to ward off the autumn chills, Ma Boyles is the place. It’s not grand but sometimes you just want somewhere that gives you a glow inside. Our cosiest roast recommendation.

Editor’s note: Seaforth at The Municipal Hotel is Sunday lunch at its glitziest. Don’t worry, you still get a solid roast that hasn’t been faffed with. The ingredients are good and the food is still hearty.

• Price: Two courses for £33.95
• Menu: The roast Cumbrian sirloin of beef comes with a massive Yorkshire pudding. This is the only choice when it comes to a proper roast. You can order the corn-fed chicken but it doesn’t come with Yorkshire pudding or roasties which everyone knows are the best bits. There’s also a fish option if you like Sunday lunch without all that meat and gravy gubbins.
• Vibe: Glamour and majestic Yorkshire pud for a special occasion Sunday lunch. A celebration location.

Editor’s note: The Watering Can is the place to mix a walk in the park with a top Sunday lunch. It’s casual, relaxed and you can even bring your dog.

• Price: Two courses for £26
• Menu: The roast free-range chicken supreme with pork and caramelised leek stuffing is the Confidential Guides favourite – most importantly it comes with a Yorkshire pudding. The 28-day aged roast beef gets plenty of praise too. The starters are also very good with the cold smoked salmon with whipped goats cheese and the mini chicken tikka skewers both being a standout. The Watering Can also has gluten free Sunday Roast options.
• Vibe: Definitely the best location – work up an appetite with a walk in the park. Also, the best dog-friendly option, the best roast chicken and runner-up in the gluten free category.