Everyone has their own take on the best spot for a classic Sunday roast but I think I’ve found the perfect spot
Aside from my mother’s roast chicken and stuffing there’s one place I will always head to should I need a Sunday dinner fix and it’s tucked behind a retail park with a massive B&Q in a bustling Welsh town where the food scene has come on leaps and bounds in recent years.
The Bunch of Grapes in Pontypridd has placed in the The Good Food Guide as well as swiping titles of National Pub of the Year and AA Pub of the Year for Wales, is on a funny little street, Ynysangharad Road, which takes you towards Pontypridd’s famous and lovely park at one end while at the other you’re into steep hill territory as you head towards Ponty Common.
Affectionately called ‘The Bunch’ by locals and regulars, this is a pub with a cosy bar stocked to the rafters with own-brewed ales and beers, a big fireplace on one side of the building and a fresh open restaurant area on the other.
The menu is full of exceptional pub food on a regular basis and they often do themed menus like their recent fried chicken specials. Having dined there many times there’s barely a bad pick and if the tandoori lamb or kimchi fritters are there don’t leave them behind.
But you’re here for the Sunday lunch. I’m having the beef – non-negotiable – and you can choose it two ways with either a 12-hour braised brisket or a roasted rump. I tend to opt for the rump because they cook it perfectly pink in a way I wouldn’t be able to at home.
Served as two slices, it’s soft against a knife with that ideal level of chew. The brisket falls apart and comes with a Welsh stout jus (thinner gravy I suppose you could describe it as) and I reckon next time I’ll go I’ll pick that one.
Other meats on offer include roast leg of lamb and chicken supreme (done on the bone) and you can also get fish and chips or a nut roast. Their menu is seasonal and changes regularly.
The quality of the food is second to none. The beef’s flavour oozes quality on top of its fresh, healthy beefy deliciousness. The accompanying vegetables – charred broccoli, braised carrots, and roast potatoes – may seem modest when your plate is popped down on the table but, let me assure you, come the end you’ll be more than full to the brim and ready for a Sunday afternoon snooze.
They too are flavourful due to their freshness and the standard side of leek gratin offers a rich, cheesy swirl that is all sorts of right when mixed in with the gravy (even though mixing cheese and gravy is instinctively a culinary crime to me). Pop some swede mash in the centre and it takes you right back to proper childhood Sundays.
Sunday lunch at The Bunch is slightly on the fancier end of the roast scale – but only due to high-quality components and presentation. It’s the number one recommendation I make to those going out for that special weekend dinner.
The balance, timing, and coordination it takes to achieve a successful, delicious, and perennially hot Sunday roast is no mean feat. It takes talent, practice, and a hell of a lot of patience and I take my hat off to anyone who cooks them en masse. It’s also why I go out to eat them.
Sunday lunch at the Bunch of Grapes is priced at two courses for £25 or £30 for three and you can find them at Ynysangharad Road, Pontypridd, CF37 4DA.
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