The Ship is a rather popular Young’s pub situated right by the river in Wandsworth. As my parents were down in London for the day, I thought it might be nice to pop along for a Sunday roast – and I wasn’t wrong thank God!
It’s not in the most obvious of locations and it’s certainly not the sort of place you’d stumble across. However we arrived to find a heaving pub, with a really lively and buzzy atmosphere. They don’t take reservations for Sunday lunch after 1pm but after a short wait in the bar area, we were seated by the open plan kitchen.
Whilst we perused the menu, some light and spongy bread sprinkled with sesame seeds was served alongside some salty butter – all of which was lovely.
We decided to skip starters and jump straight to mains. We all opted for a roast; sirloin of beef (£16), loin of pork (£14.50) and roast chicken (£14.50). All were served with a giant Yorkshire pudding and masses of veg – it was easily the biggest Sunday roast I’ve ever shoved in my mouth. It was all delicious though and perfectly cooked – nothing felt like it was a cheap filler. The beef was served pink and was in no way tough or chewy. My chicken was moist which was helped by a big dollop of bread sauce in the middle and the pork was equally as juicy with a lovely bit of crackling on the side. Plenty of gravy too with extra jugs gladly provided.
For dessert the four of us shared the vanilla creme brûlée with shortbread biscuits, the white chocolate parfait and the sticky toffee pudding (all £6.25). The brûlée got a big thumbs up from my sweet toothed Mother, and although the sticky toffee pudding looked like it could have done with more sauce, there was actually plenty. They’d run out of the accompanying salted caramel ice cream though, which was rather devastating! The white choc parfait was a bit of an odd one as it didn’t quite work alongside the jugful of rhubarb syrup and the brandy snap; it was a weird blend of textures.
As far as Sunday roasts go I think you’d be hard pushed to find a more filling and satisfying one in London (Smokehouse in Islington is bloody good too FYI). The service throughout our lunch was really friendly and enthusiastic too which ensured we had a brilliant time. If you haven’t eaten at the Ship yet, then I think that time has come.
8/10
