For our money, this – against stiff competition – is the best Sunday lunch in the British capital.
It’s now almost 20 years since then French President Jacques Chirac described English food as “the second-worst in Europe”. How times have changed since then: London is now one of the culinary capitals of the world, and were Chirac to visit a cosy establishment tucked away between the glitzy retail thorough fare of Bond Street and Grosvenor Square, he would be forced to eat his words: although it’s unlikely he’d have room for them.
The Barley Mow was acquired by Cubitt House – a company which has alchemised London pubs including the Alfred Tennyson in Knightsbridge and the Princess Royal in Notting Hill into seriously chic and upmarket hostelries – in 2022. Typically of the Cubitt House family, on the ground floor it’s one of those places that feels like a clean, modern take on an old-school traditional London pub: think paraquet floors, etched-glass windows, leather stools and a varnished wooden marble-topped, bar lined with gleaming pumps and backgrounded by a dizzying array of enticing wines and spirits.
Venture up a creaking spiral staircase, though, and you’ll find yourself in a cosy members-club style restaurant setting, replete with velvet seating, vintage lamps, well-appointed, quirky artworks and striking art deco style chandeliers.
Scotch eggs, pie and mash, oysters and Dover sole with Champagne sauce are among the favourites here: but our visit taking place early afternoon on a Sunday, there’s only one option: Oysters Bloody Marys (they’re exceptional here: unashamedly spicy, and moreish in both texture and flavour), followed by Sunday roast – mustard cured sirloin, Yorkshire pudding, pulled beef and horseradish in my partner’s case, slow roasted lamb shoulder with mint sauce in mine.
It’s impossible to overstate just how delectable what comes out from the kitchen turns out to be: almost supernaturally tender in both cases (with a slow-cooked crumbliness in the case of the lamb); impossibly rich and aromatic; potatoes and vegetables done to fluffy and just-crunchy-enough (respectively) perfection; and everything in joyous abundance.
The chef’s adroitness is evident with every mouthful: as is the quality of what he has to work with. Meats come from trusted suppliers in the Cotswolds, whilst sustainably farmed seafood (there’s a fish roast, the contents of which depend on the latest catches to reach Brixham Market on the Devon coast) whilst whole fruit and veg is sourced, via New Covent Garden Market, from the finest UK and European farms and growers.
To describe why Sunday roast here is a ritual rather than simply a meal out, over to Ben Tish, Cubitt House chef director (and, with Georgie & Sam Pearman, cofounder), who uses expertise gleaned at Norma and The Game Bird at The Stafford London to devise menus across the group’s establishments.
“We take Sundays seriously,” he says. “Everything from creating the relaxed, comforting vibe we all love – music, papers, bloody marys, roaring fires – to the main event. We try to make our roasts as good as the very best made at home, and that includes a convivial, family style service. A table can share a dish or beautifully roasted meats from our trusted suppliers in the Cotswolds, seasonal vegetables, crunchy roasted potatoes and crisp- fluffy Yorkshires. Real gravy is served in a vintage silver sauce boat, with plenty to go around. We have comforting family style puddings served for the table to share such as a crumble, steamed lemon sponge or a tart tatin.” Indeed, if you still harbour any scepticism to traditional English food, a visit here will cure it.
