Nine years later and the Blacklock Soho Sunday roast still delivers

Blacklock Soho and I go back almost a decade. The last time I descended those stairs was nine years ago, with my sisters and one very new fiancé in tow. Now, almost ten years and a marriage later, we’re back for the Blacklock Soho Sunday roast.

Some things change. Some don’t.

Getting a reservation at Blacklock Soho still needs planning. We book in January for an early March table. This isn’t a place you casually stroll into for roast and hope for the best.

Which makes the slightly clunky start all the more noticeable.

Quick info on Blacklock Soho Sunday Roast

• Restaurant: Blacklock
• Location: Soho
• Known for: the Blacklock Soho ‘All In’ Sunday roast
• Price: around £50 pp for the ‘All In’ roast, a drink each and a couple of desserts
• Best part: very tender, flavourful roast beef and lamb
• Skip: cauliflower cheese
• Tip: book well in advance, get the 2pm slot so you’re not rushed out

Read the full Blacklock Soho review below to find out more about the Sunday roast.

The slightly awkward start

We arrive ten minutes early for our reservation, and climb down the stairs to the cellar where Blacklock Soho is located. We’re told that the last party at our table are still hanging out, and are asked to wait upstairs, outside, as there’s nowhere to stand inside. Fair enough, we’re early.

What’s less clear is whether someone is coming to collect us or whether we should return downstairs ourselves at the right time. There’s a slightly anxious shuffle, and a small moment of uncertainty that could be smoothed with clearer communication.

Five minutes after our reservation time we head back down, only to be told our table has paid but not yet left. So we wait again. This time at the bottom of the stairs, alongside a small queue forming behind us.

It’s not disastrous, but it doesn’t scream hospitality either.

Thankfully, once seated, that memory fades quickly.

The Blacklock Soho ‘All In’ Sunday Roast

If you’re reading Blacklock Soho reviews for advice, let me save you time. Order the Blacklock Soho ‘All In’.

The ‘All In’ just means that you get a combo of the 54 day aged beef rump, 28 day aged lamb leg and 21 day aged pork loin on a single sharing platter. Luckily, Blacklock are pretty flexible so we order ours without the pork, subbing in the 35 day dry aged beef sirloin instead (for an extra cost).

It’s definitely a bit of a showstopper.

Everything is piled high on one glorious platter, with meat on top, yorkshire puddings beneath and potatoes, carrots and cabbage layered underneath that. It’s theatrical in the best way.

The meat is the headline

Let’s start where the Blacklock Soho Sunday roast shines brightest.

The lamb is the most tender meat of the lot. It’s incredibly soft, yielding, and deeply flavourful from the aging, without being funky. It barely resists the knife.

Next we try the beef rump. I’m expecting it to be tough, after the experience of the roast at The Hound in Chiswick.

Read more
Sunday Roast at The Hound, Chiswick

But it’s not. At Blacklock Soho, the beef rump is cut thinly and isn’t tough at all. It’s pink, juicy, with that slightly nutty depth that long aging gives beef.

The sirloin special holds its own too, arriving thickly sliced, and each bite layered with savoury richness. And again, this is delicious meat that also doesn’t have the slightly off-putting funkiness that I’ve had at other roasts in London. That’s a win in my book.

This is what keeps people coming back to the Blacklock Soho Sunday roast.

Potatoes, yorkshires and gravy galore

The roast potatoes are shaped into neat, almost conical forms. They’re crisp on the outside and fluffy inside. They’re not revolutionary, but they are solid. And they’re also very good for dredging through gravy.

And speaking of gravy… staff roam the room with jugs, topping up any gravy boat that dares run low. How fabulous is that?! There is no scarcity mindset here – and it means I can drown my plate in as much gravy as I want. That makes me very happy indeed.

The Yorkshire pudding is excellent, being puffy but not over charred. It’s got crisp edges but mostly it’s yielding, which is how it should be. And it’s at it’s best when soaked in gravy.

The carrots and cabbage carry a subtle smokiness, almost as if they’ve kissed charcoal. It gives them depth and prevents the veg from fading into background filler.

Are the potatoes and carrots the best in London? No. For that, I still send you to the roast at The Devonshire. But Blacklock Soho holds its own.

Read more
A Stunning Sunday Roast at The Devonshire, Soho

The cauliflower cheese misstep

We add the cauliflower cheese, described as a four cheese situation. In reality, it’s disappointing.

The cauliflower leans waterlogged and soggy, and the sauce lacks punch. If you hadn’t told me it contained four cheeses, I would never have guessed.

It’s the one clear weak link in the Blacklock Soho menu for Sunday Roast. I wouldn’t order it again.

Dessert and the ‘Say When’ gimmick

For dessert, we order the white chocolate cheesecake.

It’s labelled ‘Say When,’ and the implication is that they’ll keep spooning the dessert into your bowl until you tell them to stop.

Actually, it’s not just an implication – I’ve seen this claimed on loads of videos on social media, and it’s in the name for goodness sake. You’ve seen it too – the waiter comes round with a big dish of the cheesecake and keeps scooping it into your bowl until you ‘say when.’

Gentle reader, I hate to break it to you, but that’s not what happens.

In practice, although you’re given a generous bowlful, it’s really only one scoop from the main serving plate into your bowl, and there’s no hint at ‘saying when’. The whole thing is a gimmick that looks great on social media videos but that isn’t what happens in practice, from our experience.

And look, I don’t mind that there’s a definitive amount of dessert that you get given, but don’t lie about a ‘say when’ policy.

Still, the dessert itself is lovely. It’s got thick cream with white chocolate shards and a buttery biscuit base. It leans more cream pudding than firm set cheesecake, and I don’t mind that at all.

We also try the bread and butter pudding – it’s cooked with brandy, so worth knowing. I don’t try it as I don’t take alcohol, but I’m told it doesn’t taste aggressively alcoholic. The consensus is that the cheesecake is better.

Atmosphere at Blacklock Soho

The Soho branch sits in a moody basement, down a flight of stairs.

It’s cosy, a little frayed, but warm. Industrial beams double as chalkboards, and the seating is comfortable.

It manages to feel both special and relaxed, and suits and trainers coexist happily.

Final thoughts on Blacklock Soho Sunday Roast

Nine years later, Blacklock Soho still knows how to do a Sunday roast.

Yes, the start was slightly clunky. Yes, the cauliflower cheese was forgettable. But once the ‘All In’ platter lands, none of that really matters.

The meat is excellent, the gravy is endless, and the Yorkshire puddings are just right. And at roughly £50 each with drinks and dessert in central London, it’s good value in today’s restaurant climate.

One final tip. Avoid the earliest sittings if you can, because the restaurant will be turning tables for the next wave. We booked 2:15pm, and once seated, we felt no rush to leave at all. By the time we finished, half the tables were empty and we lingered comfortably.

Nine years apart and still a lovely afternoon.

Blacklock Soho may not be perfect, but for a solid, satisfying Sunday roast, it remains one of the safest bets in the city.

20 Must Eats in London

Blacklock Soho review
Address – 24 Great Windmill St, London W1D 7LG
Nearest Tube – Piccadilly Circus