ROAST – The Sunday roast menu has arrived.
According to Wikipedia, the Sunday roast is a traditional British main meal, typically served on Sunday (hence the name), consisting of roasted meat, roast potato, and accompaniments such as Yorkshire pudding, stuffing, vegetables, and gravy. Now that sounds quite a simple concept you would think, but we’ve struggled to find many restaurants in the capital offering a really good Roast Sunday dinner.
A few weeks ago we received an email from The Printing Press on George Street with the subject heading ROAST. It turns out that they are confident that they can provide the best Sunday roast in Edinburgh and have launched their new £19.95 for two courses Sunday lunch menu. We could almost smell the steaming roast beef juices and couldn’t wait to go along to find out if it was Edinburgh’s best Sunday lunch. We last visited the Printing Press for dinner just after they launched in Autumn of 2015 and loved the elegant surroundings and the excellent quality of food they served. You can read about our visit here.
Each week they have a choice of two roasts including Scottish beef and an alternative meat option such as lamb or pork. They also have a vegetarian option available just in case Sunday Roast isn’t for everyone in your party though it does seem a bit inconsiderate inviting your vegetarian friend to a Sunday Roast in the first place. Last Sunday they were offering pork as the second meat option and roasted pumpkin quinoa salad, pomegranate seeds and feta cheese as the vegetarian main.
So how was our Sunday Roast?
I opted for the roast Wellington Farm pork loin which came already plated up with all of the usual trimmings and some apple sauce on the side. The pork was succulent and tasty though looked more like a couple of pork loin steaks rather than carved from an actual roast. The roast potatoes were fluffy inside had a nice crunch as did the tasty bit of crackling. My favourite bit of Sunday roast is the Yorkshire pudding and this one was melt in the mouth light and crispy. Vegetables are served bright and fresh tasting with a bit of bite – just the way I like them.
Donnie had two thickly carved slices of roast Tweed Valley sirloin which was served with the same trimmings but came with a jug of hot gravy as well. The tender beef was served medium rare and was lovely and juicy, tasting delicious. I had slight roast envy as he poured more of the rich gravy over his Yorkshire pud. You can understand why they pre-plate Sunday Roast but I missed the actual ceremony of the carving of the roast and then building a delicious plate of meat and trimmings at the table.
Room for pudding?
A decent sized ashet of crumble to share between two is included in the £19.95 price and comes with a steaming jug of runny school dinner custard that hit the spot. The chunky shortbread crumble is seasonal and on our visit it was rhubarb – a satisfying way to end a very relaxing Sunday lunch.
The emphasis at the Printing Press is on quality and while you don’t get an unlimited supply of food, what you do get is very good and you certainly won’t leave hungry or feeling too much out of pocket. But going back to our original question – is it the best Sunday Roast in Edinburgh? While it was very good and certainly ranks up there with the best of them we felt a few tweaks were required to hit that number one slot and make it a really special indulgent Sunday lunch experience.
The roast is served every Sunday from noon until six pm. Children under 4 eat for free, children between 4 and 12 are priced at £9.95 and aged 12 and above £19.95. They often also have live music on Sunday afternoons so go along, feast and relax with all the family.
Commenting on the new menu Mike Lewis, general manager said
How to book a table for Sunday Roast at The Printing Press
21-25 George Street
Edinburgh
EH2 2PB