Where to Get Your Sunday Roast in Beijing
Readers, if you saw my latest article then you will already be familiar with how I truly miss British pubs from back home and their beer gardens.
Well, something else I used to sorely miss was a Sunday Roast. However, in recent years my prayers for a good Sunday roast in the capital have been answered, and now there are a number of places offering up this classic meal on a weekly basis.
Arrow Factory
It’s been quite a few years now since Arrow Factory started doing their Sunday Roast every week, and this was the first roast dinner I had the joy of encountering in Beijing. Seriously, words cannot express how happy I was to find out not only about its existence but that it included the jewel in the crown of all roast dinners: Yorkshire pudding!
Aside from Yorkshire pudding (which I could eat a whole plate of on its own) the Arrow Factory roast consists of Australian roast beef with potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, horseradish, and gravy. Note to any American readers this is not the biscuits and gravy kind of gravy.
The roast costs RMB 128 per person, and you can add any beer, house wine or Prosecco for RMB 30. You can also add any dessert for RMB 30. Bottles of wine or 2L jugs of beer are 20 percent off. The roast is available every Sunday from 1-2pm and you need to book in advance by the Saturday evening before at the latest.
Paddy O’Sheas
It should come as no surprise that as a traditional Irish bar, Paddy O’Sheas also offer up a Sunday Roast.
Depending on the week, the roast includes either beef, lamb or turkey accompanied by vegetables, mashed potatoes and of course Yorkshire pudding (hell yes!) and gravy. One drink is also included. Using my many years of experience as a native Brit I can confirm that this is the real deal and as good as any Sunday roast you’ll get back home, especially for their gravy and Yorkshire puddings alone.
The roast costs RMB 140 and is available the second to last Sunday of the month from 2pm, it is also coupled with live traditional Irish music from 3pm. However, subject to the availability of musicians, the Sunday roast event can be postponed to a different Sunday so it’s best to follow the Paddy’s official WeChat account (paddyosheasbeijing) to keep up to date.
Mosto
Nali Patio resident Mosto have two different roasts on offer as part of their Weekend Brunch Menu. They’re both a little less traditional than Arrow Factory or Paddy’s, but still top quality and absolutely delicious. The first option is their roasted chicken (for two) which consists of a half a rub roasted chicken, roasted sweet potato, asparagus and chimchurri sauce all for RMB 248.
The other option is their Sunday roast (for two) - rub roasted chicken, grilled tenderloin steak, pork sausage, roasted apples and potatoes, house sauces and salad for RMB 288. As this is part of their brunch menu you can also add two hour free flow for RMB 188, which includes the following drinks: Bloody Mary, Mimosa, Bellini, Screw Driver, Aperol Spritz, Michelada, house wine, sparkling, and soft drinks. Mosto’s roast is available every Saturday and Sunday from 11am-3pm.
Peach by Hulu
Although it doesn’t come with all the fixings like Yorkshire pudding and gravy, Peach by Hulu’s roast chicken offerings are certainly up there for one of the best value. There are two roast options: an Eat In Roast Chicken and an Eat Out Chicken To Go Package. The Eat in Peach Roast Chicken includes half a marinated and dry-aged chicken, fried potatoes, fried sweet potatoes and spicy sauces for RMB 98.
Alternatively, you can order their Peach Chicken To Go Package which consists of a whole roast chicken, one soup (choose between Mushroom, Pumpkin or Carrot And Ginger), two sides (choose from mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, tomato eggplant ragout, roasted sweet potatoes, curry cauliflower or garlic broccoli) a seasonal salad and two Peach ice teas for the low low cost of RMB 198. I’ve ordered the Chicken To Go Package before and boy is it a lot of food and definitely worth it. I was still eating it for days afterwards!
Both Peach’s roast chickens are available to order any day of the week, the Eat In option requires 20 minutes cooking time and the To Go Chicken requires one hour for preparation and can be ordered though Peach’s WeChat Mini Program.
JiangMaiTang
Finally on our list of Beijing’s Sunday Roasts we have another roast that is only available for delivery from French cafe and patisserie JiangMaiTang. Here you can order either a Whole French-style Roast Chicken (serves four to six people) for RMB 228, or Half a French-style Roast Chicken (serves two to three people) for RMB 128. Side dishes of potatoes, zuchini and carrot can be added for RMB 50 for the Whole Roast Chicken and RMB 30 for the Half Roast Chicken.
JiangMaiTang’s Sunday Roast needs to be ordered two days in advance. All you have to do is scan the QR code in the poster below, add their WeChat, then place your order.
READ: Beijing's Best (Sort of) Beer Gardens
Images: Courteousy of the venues, Dianping, Unsplash Lisa Baker