It’s well and truly roast season. When it’s woolly outside the comfort of a hearty slow-cooked roast lamb or chicken alongside golden crunchy potatoes (gravy optional but recommended) quells just about everything. We went on the hunt for the best roasts in Melbourne, locking down the favoured spots across the city that are prime for the winter staple.
Here's where to find the best roasts in Melbourne for 2023:
The Builders Arms
FITZROY
The Gertrude Street favourite, The Builders Arms is throwing down a roast to remember and putting up a heck of a fight for the best roast in Melbourne. The Sunday winter session is a rotating special that sees a different cut each month along with rotating wines to complement. You can expect a Ravens Creek pork chop paired with pommes purées, Remi’s Patch carrots and mustard sauce or rotisserie beef rump accompanied by sugar loaf cabbage, carrots and madiera sauce, what better way to warm the soul.
The Orrong Hotel
ARMADALE
One of Melbourne's oldest pubs dating back to 1875, The Orrong Hotel has seen a bit of a glow-up of late; with more modern accompaniments like craft beers on tap, but the timeless roast has remained a permanent fixture. Every Sunday you'll find a rotating roast special, from a staple pork leg to a slow-cooked leg of lamb paired with classics, mash, charred broccolini, roast onions and gravy.
Neighbourhood Wine
FITZROY NORTH
Neighbourhood Wine and its intimate dining space just off Nicholson Street is an absolute haven for some of the best roast in Melbourne. Every Sunday from lunch time until 4 pm or until sold out, it hosts a three-course roast set menu featuring small plates of polenta with cime di rapa and chilli oil as well as prosciutto with pickled romanesco, followed by porterhouse with cauliflower gratin, potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, horseradish cream along with other pairings and even a zeppole for a sweet finish.
Marquis Of Lorne
FITZROY
The Marquis's quintessential Melbourne charm has earned them the favourability of punters from all over the city as the best roast in Melbourne. Pulling up a chair in the dimly lit dining room with the fireplace roaring and ordering the roast is one of the simplest pleasures of winter. The Sunday special, which features a changing roast dish each week such as braised lamb with olive sauce, battered potatoes and witlof salad is always a knockout.
The Wolf Windsor
WINDSOR
A favourite among the region and one of the go-to destinations for some of the best roast in Melbourne, The Wolf Windsor is serving up a roast every Sunday for $25. Each week the team reveal the Sunday roast rotation which can be anything from a banging porchetta with all the trimmings to a hearty beef brisket.
Mount Erica Hotel
PRAHRAN
A southside favourite, the Mount Erica Hotel throws a roast like few others. Happening all day on Sundays, the Mount Erica team dish up a rotating selection of staple roast dishes alongside every side you could lust after. Pair it with a couple of pints from their very well-stocked bar and you're on your way to closing out the weekend with a bang.
The Lincoln
CARLTON
The warm allure of The Lincoln in Carlton is hard to pass up at the best of times, so when they're throwing down their Sunday roast, it's not one to miss. One of the hottest commodities in town, Lincoln's roast sells out quickly, each week features a rotation between free-range pork, grass-fed beef and lamb; it typically comes brimming under a hotbed of gravy, Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes.
Estelle
NORTHCOTE
Scott Pickett, spearhead of Estelle is cooking up a hearty roast inspired by his grandma’s simple, falling off-the-bone roast lamb and potatoes. For $50 per person, the three-course menu that rotates meats including chicken, pork, lamb and beef every Sunday comes with your choice of beer, wine or non-alcoholic beverage, making for one hell of a Sunday roast in Melbourne.
Cricketers Arms Hotel
RICHMOND
An east-side favourite, The Cricketers Arms Hotel, located footsteps away from the MCG is one of the best Sunday roasts Melbourne has to offer for a pre-game feast. Forget slaving away at the oven for hours and head in for lunch or dinner on Sundays to have a classic roast pork belly on a bed of silky gravy with potatoes and some veggies for $30.
Northern Git
THORNBURY
Northern Git’s sessions are definitely a top candidate for the best roast in Melbourne with a Yorkshire-born chef serving up a typical home-style British meal every Sunday. You can expect classic cuts of meat that change weekly accompanied by Yorkshire puddings and sides including, cauliflower gratin, roast spuds, brussels sprouts and a hefty gravy.
Epocha
CARLTON
Epocha, Carlton’s European-inspired restaurant is serving up a mean Sunday roast consisting of a three-course set menu for $65 from 12 pm to 3 pm. The generous menu features a selection of entrees, followed by Epocha’s family-style roast of the day paired with some classic sides and trimmings as well as a dessert to conclude the Sunday roast sesh.
The Great Northern Hotel
CARLTON NORTH
The Great Northern Hotel is serving up simple yet hearty roasts from 12 pm every Sunday for $30. With the roasts changing weekly, you may be in for a surprise, however, you can expect to see classics such as a beef rump with garlic potatoes, green beans and peppercorn gravy or crispy pork belly with broccolini and gravy.
Victoria By Farmer’s Daughters
CBD
Victoria by Farmer’s Daughters knows how to prepare a comforting Sunday Roast that tastes like a warm hug with its different cuts that rotate weekly from lamb shoulder to beef brisket. Offering only the best seasonal produce, the $85 per person share-style menu is available all day every Sunday from April to October. With its unique spin on the traditional roast such as smoked lamb shoulder with oregano gravy, duck fat roasted potatoes and roasted carrots with parsley salsa verde, Victoria by Farmer’s Daughters is an easy inclusion on the best roast in Melbourne list.
The Exchange Hotel
PORT MELBOURNE
Offering quality roasts every Sunday for $27, it is a no-brainer that The Exchange Hotel is a strong contender for some of the best roast in Melbourne with its protein that changes weekly and its classic condiments such as gravy, carrots, beans and Yorkshire pudding as well as its vibrant mint jelly that may evoke childhood memories.
Get a glimpse into Melbourne's best pubs over here.
Image credit: The Orrong Hotel (supplied)