The Water Poet

Pub lunch on a Sunday, the quest continues to find a decent roast in London. To be fair I've not tried that hard due to my, perhaps premature, conclusion that a really fine example in this city simply doesn't exist. I recall during my uni days having a great one somewhere in Southampton, but this being a little further than I'm currently willing to travel, Sunday lunch perfection continues to elude me.

A group of us sampled a selection of roasts at The Water Poet in Spitalfields last weekend, the beef, the pork and the lamb.


There was quite a long wait having arrived lateish for lunch, at around 2:30, though by the time we got to order (about an hour later) they'd not sold out of anything on the menu.

The high point of a roast dinner should not be the vegetables. The savoy cabbage and parsnips were great. The beef was cooked medium and was flavoursome but a bit too chewy. Roast potatoes were ok but they were stingy with the gravy. Service is very slow and a bit vacant. My yorkshire was more of a pancake than a pudding.

So, again I conclude that you can't beat a home cooked roast. Want bread sauce with your beef? Yorkshire pudding with your chicken? We do, so my friends and I have concluded we'll stick to Noy's kitchen on Sundays from now on. Should we visit again we'll probably stick to drinks and pool at The Water Poet, they've a nice covered outdoor area and multiple big screens for sports fans.

The Water Poet
9-11 Folgate St London
E1 6BX
5/10