Hawksmoor review: a Sunday roast that's very hard to beat
Pimp your lunch with 'Sunday feasting' and a stuffing that's genuinely the stuff of dreams

Since it first opened in 2006 I've had many great meals at Hawksmoor. I've also had a couple of not-so-good ones too – hey, sometimes you just get a piece of ribeye that's mostly fat and gristle – but, in those instances, resolution has been swift and satisfactory. For the most part though, it is hugely dependable. I have very fond memories of the breakfast it used to do at the Bank, good memories of some very fine bits of steak at several of its venues and hazy memories of nights spent on Shaky Pete's Ginger Brew. Ahem.
Certain things have always stood out, however. The friendliness and efficiency and knowledge of the staff. The quality of the drinks programme. The impressive conversion of old buildings into smart, stylish restaurant spaces. The excellent sides – I'd like to shake the hand of whoever decided to mix Tunworth cheese with mash potato. And the Sunday lunch was always a safe choice: good value, generous, tasty. Admittedly it's also one of those classic value lunches that start as a £20 or so bargain and end up costing about four times that because, well, if we're saving that much money on the meal, we might as well have that bottle of wine, right? And a cocktail. Oh, and that pudding. And maybe a couple of the Rolo-tributes… Restaurant maths. The reason for overdrafts.
Hawksmoor's Sunday roast is excellent value at £27 a head
The food
The bargainous nature of the Hawksmoor Sunday roast has changed a little of late. The basic one – dry-aged beef rump, beef-dripping roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, roasted carrots, buttered greens, roasted garlic, bone marrow gravy – is still a fine plate of food and excellent value at £27 a head.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Now, however, Hawksmoor has added the chance to pimp your lunch and opt for "Sunday feasting". This, basically, means you can swap the roast rump for any of the sharing cuts on the blackboard at whatever price shown, and add the spuds, puds, carrots etc, for £7 a head. And in either instance, you can pimp those sides with extra options, at £5.50 each, of cauliflower cheese, celeriac mash and sausage gravy and Hawksmoor stuffing. "Other Sunday roasts come with a delicious stuffing," they reason. "Why not roast reef?"
On this evidence they have a point. The resulting mix of bone marrow, onions, sausage and fresh herbs turns out to be something that has, frankly, been missing from Sunday lunches forever and that you'll be fighting over with a fork. The other two extras are great of course but Hawksmoor stuffing is genuinely the stuff of dreams. Well, my dreams, anyway…
The verdict
There are better Sunday lunches out there. There are cheaper Sunday lunches out there. But as a nigh perfectly judged, please-everyone, great value option – available across the UK, as well – this remains very hard to beat. Well, if you have more willpower than I which, frankly, probably isn't difficult.
Neil Davey was a guest of Hawksmoor Air Street in London. Hawksmoor has various locations across the UK, Ireland and the US; thehawksmoor.com
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Sign up for The Week’s Food & Drink newsletter for recipes, reviews and recommendations.
-
Schools: The return of a dreaded fitness test
Feature Donald Trump is bringing the Presidential Fitness Test back to classrooms nationwide
-
An insatiable hunger for protein
Feature Americans can't get enough of the macronutrient. But how much do we really need?
-
Health: Will medical science survive RFK Jr.?
Feature Robert F. Kennedy Jr. scrapped $500 million in mRNA vaccine research contracts
-
The 5 best singers turned actors of all time
the week recommends It's not often that someone is born with both of these rare skill sets
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
Critics' choice: Outstanding new Japanese restaurants
Feature An all-women sushi team, a 15-seat listening bar, and more
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Critics' choice: Delights from the African diaspora
Feature Mahari in Chicago, Kabawa in New York City and Elmina in Washington, D.C.
-
Friendship: 'bromance' comedy starring Paul Rudd and Tim Robinson
The Week Recommends 'Lampooning and embracing' middle-aged male loneliness, this film is 'enjoyable and funny'
-
The 2025 James Beard Award winners
Feature Featuring a casually elegant restaurant, recipes nearly lost to war, and more
-
18 slang words and phrases we can thank (or blame) Gen Z for
In Depth Younger Americans have put their stamp on our language with these neologisms