Lucinda O'Sullivan's Ireland

Wednesday 01 May 2019

Has brunch had its day? Certainly a lot of restaurants are now switching back to the traditional Sunday lunch roast. Call it a sharing plate, and the millennials lap up what their grandmothers have been serving for generations. If your mouth is already watering, and you want to chow down the best roasts from coast to coast, then check out my 20 Best Sunday lunches in the capital and nationwide.

DUBLIN

F.X.BUCKLEY
You're always assured of the best meat from this legendary butchering family. Sip on a Bloody Mary at the clubby new cocktail bar in its Pembroke Street branch, while choosing a whopping great steak or a lunch special – which includes the Sunday roast rib of beef with Yorkshire pudding, and all the trimmings at €17.50.
fxbuckley.ie 

GUINEA PIG
French chef Jerome Fernande has put his own stamp on the Guinea Pig restaurant in Dalkey with a cool fresh brasserie feel and delicious French food to boot. Think cassolette de morue (cod casserole) followed by boeuf Bourguignon from his great value Sunday lunch menu. 2/3 courses €21.95/€25.95.
guineapigrestaurant.ie

LOCKS
There’s a slightly bohemian feel to Locks again. Perfect for elegantly languid lunches (12pm-4pm) while gazing at the swans drifting by on the Grand Canal. Connor O’Dowd and Paul MacNamara’s ‘new Irish’ fare, includes a Sunday special main for two to share. 2/3 courses €30/€35.
locksrestaurant.ie

MARCO PIERRE WHITE
With a lovely leafy courtyard for a pre or post prandial cocktail, the MPW Courtyard Bar & Grill in Donnybrook is plush with French tweaks. A full a la carte is available, plus great value Sunday lunch specials with mains (€14.95-€19.95) such as slow-cooked roast beef with Yorkshire pud, Savoy cabbage and fondant potato.
marcopierrewhite.ie

PEPLOE’S
Graham Dodrill is at the stove in Barry Canny’s discreet, classy Peploe’s, a bastion of good food. It has a new Sunday Roast menu (12pm-7.45pm) to make your mouth water. Go for fish, and give the Lambay Island crabmeat & radish salad a go, followed by pan-fried ray wing. Himself can have the roast boeuf. 2/3 courses €32.50/€38.50.
peploes.com

ROLY’S BISTRO
A Dublin institution, Roly’s in Ballsbridge has been serving up terrific Sunday lunches to the great and good since 1992 – and is a top spot for people watching. Extensive choices include roast rib of beef and their signature Kerry lamb pie, which has been on the menu since day one. 3-course lunch €28.50 + 10% Service Charge.
rolysbistro.ie

SEASONS RESTAURANT
Overlooking beautiful enclosed gardens at the plush 5-Star Intercontinental Hotel, Season Restaurant has a new Sunday lunch menu, by Chef Alberto Rossi, that's a steal. Start with grilled calamari and Italian-style stuffed sardines, and follow up with grilled black sole on the bone with prawn colcannon. 2/3 course lunch €35/€40.
intercontinentaldublin.ie

THE LEGAL EAGLE
Groaning with atmosphere and Rumpole of the Bailey types clutching their briefs, the big secret here is the Seriously Seventies Lunch on Sundays. Of course, you have to have the prawn cocktail with real Dublin Bay prawns – none of those other cheapo substitutes will do. Bread & butter pud too! 1/2/3 courses €25/€29/€35.
thelegaleagle.ie 

THE OLD SPOT
A hip and hot gastropub on Bath Ave with the delightful GM Denise McBrien in command on the floor. It's very handy for the Aviva, and great for late lunches too, as food is served on Sundays and bank holiday Mondays from from 1pm-8pm (lunch is from 12pm-3pm on weekdays). Watch the movers and shakers chow down on roast beef with duck fat roasties or beer-battered fish & chips. A la carte mains, €16.50-€31. 
theoldspot.ie

WILDE
One of Dublin's most elegant settings, Wilde at the 5-Star Westbury Hotel, off Grafton Street, has a superb a la carte menu of seafood and grills; grains & vegetables; plus weekend specials (12.30pm–5pm) including roast rib of beef (€29). Great cocktails in their Sidecar bar. 
doylecollection.com

COUNTRYWIDE

BRABAZON
The gorgeous Tankardstown, outside Slane, Co. Meath, always reminds me of a French chateau, and, at its Brabazon restaurant, they have an excellent Sunday lunch menu, with 2/3 courses €25/€30. Try the confit pork belly with boulangere spuds.
tankardstown.ie

JULES RESTAURANT
Just across the road from the amazing Trim Castle, a shooting location for Braveheart, is Jules Restaurant at the Trim Castle Hotel, which has a great value set menu (1pm-4pm), including pan-fried Irish lamb cutlets with garlic crumb and colcannon. 2/3 courses €20/€30.
trimcastlehotel.com

MACNEAN HOUSE
Neven Maguire’s fabulous MacNean House in Blacklion, Co. Cavan, has just had the most sublime makeover, so snag a table for his brilliant Sunday lunch as quickly as you can. There’s roast beef of course, but think also of guinea fowl or maybe monkfish with pearl barley risotto. Sunday lunch €48.
nevinmaguire.com

MCLAUGHLIN’S RESTAURANT
Roast beef carved at your table is one of the great treats of Sunday lunch, and, at McLaughlin’s restaurant in the fab Castletroy Park Hotel in Limerick, a perfectly roasted striploin comes with Yorkshire pud, herb mash and a red wine jus. 2/3 courses €25/€28.
castletroypark.ie

MIKEY RYAN’S
John Magnier’s cool revamped old pub in Cashel, Co. Tipperary, where Chef Darren Quinlan, the new head chef, has been making his mark, also has a terrific terrace where you can bring your pooch. Sunday lunch choices include beef & Guinness tart; arancini; roast sirloin and roast lamb with all the trimmings. Try the pistachio layered cake. 2/3 courses €24/€29.50.
mikeyryans.ie

PERROTT’S GARDEN BISTRO
Sunday lunch is served in a lovely conservatory atmosphere at Perrott's, part of Cork's 5-Star Hayfield Manor. Try green asparagus, endive and sauce gribiche to start, followed by roast Midleton leg of lamb with apricot stuffing. 4 courses €46.
hayfieldmanor.ie

THE BELL TOWER
Overlooking the formal gardens at the splendiferous Castlemartyr Resort in east Cork, The Bell Tower never fails to impress. Kick off with Ballycotton smoked salmon or ham hock and foie gras terrine, follow up with roast sirloin and wild mushroom pithivier. 3 course lunch + coffee and petit fours, €37.50.
castlemartyrresort.ie

THE FOYLE HOTEL
Donegal chef Brian McDermott has done a lot to raise the profile of good food in his home county. At his new hotel in Moville, food is a source of pride, and his superb Sunday lunch reflects this. If it's available, don’t miss the pan-fried whole sole, curried cockles, capers, cucumber, lemon-brown butter. 3 courses €25.
foylehotel.ie

THE HOUND
On the magnificent Mount Juliet Estate in Thomastown, The Hound is the more casual dining option – a foil to the Michelin-starred Lady Helen. The Sunday lunch a la carte menu includes a whole roast chicken at €16.95, and roast rib of beef at €18.50.
mountjuliet.ie 

THE MAIGUE
The Maigue restaurant at the Murphy family’s Dunraven hotel in Adare, Co. Limerick, sets the bar when it comes to good service, and it's where the world-renowned chef, Michel Roux Senior OBE, chose to dine recently, describing the hotel as "faultless". Carving roast rib of beef every night from the trolley, as well as ham for breakfast, its Sunday roasts are knockout. 3 courses €32 + 12.5% service charge.
dunravenhotel.com 

First Published In The Sunday Independent