Soho on a Sunday: where to lunch and where to wander
Sunday in Soho runs slower and the market is shut, but the roasts are serious and the square is free. Book ahead.
By Only Soho Editorial
Soho on a Sunday is a different animal: shutters down on the market, a lazier pace, and the best tables taken by people who booked days ago. Plan it like a long lunch with a walk either side.
Start in Soho Square
Soho Square Garden is free and open from early morning until dusk. The London Gardens Trust gives 8am, though one listing suggests Sundays start nearer 9am, so treat it as roughly eight or nine. It has four lawned areas, mature trees and paved paths, and the mock-Tudor garden building dates from 1925, built to disguise an electricity substation. The square was laid out in 1680 and 1681 and first called King Square, after Charles II. Nearest tube is Tottenham Court Road. Take a bench, take a coffee, go before the lunch crowds. Dogs are not allowed, according to the Trust, though its page is old, so check the gate.
Do not plan on Berwick Street Market
Berwick Street Market trades Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm, according to Time Out and This Is Soho. On a Sunday the stalls are not there. Save it for a weekday, and for Sunday keep to lunch.
Where to book for a roast
temper Soho, 25 Broadwick Street. A basement with visible fire pits, serving Sunday roast from noon to six, at the Soho site only. The restaurant says Sundays sell out by Friday, so book early. It cooks 28-day dry-aged beef over fire and serves giant Yorkshires, beef-fat potatoes and a 16-hour gravy. Prices differ between sources, with the restaurant saying from £29.90, so check before you go. Order the Three Beast Feast: aged roast beef, roast pork and smoked lamb shoulder, designed for two according to The Handbook. Go for a late lunch, nearer three.
Blacklock Soho, The Basement, 24 Great Windmill Street. Open all day on Sunday from a quarter to twelve, with last seating at eight. Whole joints are roasted over open coals and the gravy is unlimited. Hot Dinners says the Sunday lunch has won an OFM Award for best Sunday roast. Tables go quickly and the restaurant recommends booking, though it will try to fit in walk-ins. Ideal Magazine says roasts can be booked up months ahead. Order the All In sharing roast. Vegetarians are pointed to the barbecued cauliflower chop roast.
A slow route to Chinatown
Leave the square with no hurry and drift south and west through the streets towards Gerrard Street. Pick your lunch first, because the roasts above need a booking and the walk is easier with a table waiting. Nothing on the route is timed here: it is a stroll, so look at a map, set your own pace and allow time to stop.
Chinatown is where Sunday gets easy. London Chinatown Restaurant, 27 Gerrard Street, is listed as open on Sunday from noon to half eleven at night. It has served Cantonese food and dim sum for over 35 years, and the building was a 19th-century French hotel: “Hotel de Boulogne” is spelled out in mosaic on the stairs. Order from the dim sum list: char siu buns, cheung fun, dumplings, and an egg custard tart to finish. Hours are as listed by Chinatown's directory, so a quick call is wise.
How to play the day
- Morning: Soho Square, early.
- Lunch: roast at temper or Blacklock, booked.
- Afternoon: wander to Gerrard Street.
- Late: dim sum, with plenty of Sunday evening hours listed.
Booking details for the roasts are on temper's Sunday roast page and Blacklock's Soho page. Check Sunday transport before you set off.
