Sunday Roast in London: Our Visit to The Black Lion in Kilburn

Let’s begin with my photograph. The plate has the kind of wonderfully generous proportions you hope for when someone says “proper Sunday roast”. There are golden roast potatoes, vegetables, gravy and, sitting proudly above everything else, an enormous Yorkshire pudding. And next to it, a glass of white wine. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

The picture is my own, taken during our visit to The Black Lion. I can show you exactly what was on the table, rather than borrowing a marketing photograph from a venue’s website.

I won’t pretend to remember or identify a specific roast meat from the photograph alone, and menu details can change. If the choice of beef, chicken or a vegetarian option matters to you, look at the current Sunday menu before ordering.

If you’re visiting from abroad, it’s worth understanding what you’re booking. A traditional British Sunday roast is a substantial meal commonly built around roasted meat, roast potatoes, vegetables, gravy and Yorkshire pudding. Pubs often serve it as a set Sunday menu rather than as an item available every evening of the week.

The best part, for me, is that it encourages you to treat lunch as an event in its own right. Have a drink. Take your time. Enjoy the atmosphere. Don’t organise a museum entrance for twenty minutes after you sit down.

It also makes a useful contrast to the other London experiences I love: afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason feels like a special occasion, while a pub roast is more relaxed and hearty. One isn’t inherently better than the other. They’re simply different versions of a day out in London.

The Black Lion is a period pub and dining room on Kilburn High Road. Its own website describes a Grade II-listed interior and a long history as a North West London pub. That setting is part of its appeal. It isn’t a generic restaurant in a shopping centre or a place designed solely to move tourists through a reservation slot. It’s somewhere you can enjoy a traditional pub lunch in a characterful setting.

I am not going to invent details about the service, music, exact table we sat at or how busy it was during our particular visit. What I can say is that we really went, that my Sunday roast photograph was taken there, and that the pub’s period interiors are one of its distinguishing features. If you are planning a romantic or relaxed weekend, I think that is a more useful recommendation than an unsupported five-star rating.

The pub publishes a dedicated Sunday menu, which at the time of checking (8 November 2026) listed choices including sirloin of beef, Welsh lamb shoulder, pork loin with crackling, half roast chicken with rosemary and garlic, a nut roast with vegan gravy, and a mushroom, spinach and goat’s cheese Wellington.

The menu lists the traditional sides, including roast potatoes, vegetables, gravy and Yorkshire pudding, with the standard roasts. The nut roast is specifically described without Yorkshire pudding, so do not assume every menu option comes with identical sides.

There are also additional sides and desserts. If you have particular dietary requirements, ask the pub directly about ingredients and cross-contact; a vegetarian dish does not automatically mean dairy-free, and individual recipes can change. I wouldn’t hard-code today’s prices into an evergreen travel story. Check the live menu for the cost of the roast you actually want, and remember to allow for drinks and any service charge.

The Black Lion is at 274 Kilburn High Road, London NW6 2BY. Kilburn is in North West London. This is important because it is not in Covent Garden, Soho or the main cluster of Westminster landmarks. That isn’t a disadvantage if you want a more neighbourhood-focused outing. It simply means allowing enough time to travel there, particularly if your day begins at a central London hotel.

The pub’s own website says it is close to Brondesbury Overground and Kilburn Underground stations. Transport connections can change, so I would check Transport for London before setting off, particularly on a Sunday when engineering works are possible.

For a relaxed itinerary, I would make the Sunday lunch the anchor of that part of the day. I wouldn’t put it between two precisely timed West End bookings as though it were just a five-minute stop.

I would book if the Sunday roast is important to your trip. This is a popular sort of meal to plan around, and it is a shame to travel across London for one particular pub only to find that it is fully booked or that your preferred dish is unavailable.

The pub offers table-booking information via its official website. Check the current opening hours, Sunday food-service window and availability rather than relying on a time printed in an older travel guide.

My usual approach with London is simple: book the one thing you would be genuinely disappointed to miss. Leave everything else slightly more flexible. If Sunday roast is that thing, make the reservation.

For the kind of city break Bas and I enjoy, a traditional pub lunch is absolutely the sort of experience I would build into an afternoon. Would I tell everyone staying in London for just six hours to cross the city for it? No. If you have only a very short stop, a good restaurant close to your other plans may be the more sensible choice.

But if you’re spending three or four days in London, or you’re staying in North West London, Kilburn is a perfectly reasonable area to consider. What I liked about including a Sunday roast in the itinerary was that it felt like a meal with its own purpose. Not something grabbed on the way to the next attraction, but a proper pause in the day. And sometimes that is what makes a trip memorable.

I wouldn’t promise a specific service duration at any restaurant. For planning purposes, however, I’d leave a generous lunch window and additional travel time. If you are travelling from central London, allow time to get to Kilburn, settle in and enjoy the meal without watching the clock. Avoid booking another fixed-time attraction immediately afterwards.

A Sunday roast can be quite substantial. You may not be especially interested in a huge evening dinner afterwards, which is another perfectly good reason to plan the meal as the main food event of the day.

It depends on what you’re hoping for. Choose afternoon tea if you want a more formal special occasion, beautiful cakes and the experience of a famous London institution. Our visit to Fortnum & Mason’s Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon fits that mood beautifully. Choose a Sunday roast if you want a traditional British pub meal, savoury food and a more informal afternoon.

I’d happily make room for both on a longer trip, but I wouldn’t squeeze them into the same lunch slot. One proper experience enjoyed slowly is much better than two rushed ones.

Sunday service: Look at the current menu and food hours. The pub has published a Sunday menu from noon to 8 pm, but this can change.

Booking: Reserve directly if you have a preferred time.

Food preferences: Confirm any dietary needs with the venue rather than inferring them from dish names.

Getting there: Check the route on Transport for London, especially if Sunday engineering works are scheduled.

Budget: Look at the live menu. Drinks, sides and any service charge affect the final bill.

Location: Remember you’re travelling to Kilburn, not a restaurant in the West End.