Eliza Frost visits the SE1 spot to try their new Sunday menu – complete with a side of Korean fried chicken
Sometimes it’s nice to be a tourist in your own city, exploring neighbouring neighbourhoods that you haven’t been to, despite only being a 20-minute bus ride away.
One Sunday recently, I had what I would title ‘A Perfect Sunday’. As blossom was starting to cherry on the trees, the sky was blue, but the weather was crisp, and I pretended like it was the first time I’d visited London.
What started in West Dulwich, looking at vintage and antique pieces at a Midcentury Modern show hosted in Dulwich College, with a stop for coffee in Brixton, ended on Bermondsey Street for a roast dinner.
I was invited to SE1’s The Last Talisman to taste their new Sunday menu and share a bottle of wine over sides of cauliflower cheese, and let me tell you, it was one of the best roasts I’ve had in south London.
Roast dinners are held in high esteem in my eyes, and there are different types that satisfy at different times.
The one your Nan cooks feels like a sense of home, the one you rustle up mid-week from items in the fridge freezer that warms from the inside, and then there’s the out-of-this-world ones, the ones you’ll recommend when someone asks, “Where’s good for a Sunday roast?”
The Last Talisman’s roast falls into this last category.
I ordered the crispy pork belly roast (£18.95), which was served with roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables, savoy cabbage, a Yorkshire pudding and house gravy.
Worth noting for those who like a saucy dinner like me, the team were more than happy to provide extra gravy, which came in a jug on the side. The Holy Grail when it comes to the perfect roast is the right amount of gravy.
Other roast options available on the menu were beef sirloin, half a roast chicken and a roast veggie wellington.
Sides are what push a good roast dinner to a great one, and this one already had quite a few of my favourites as standard. But we added a side of cauliflower cheese (£4.95) to elevate an already highly-rated plate, and – hear me out – a small plate of Korean fried chicken, with gochujang ketchup, spring onion, pickled red chillies (£6.95).
Now I didn’t go dipping this into the gravy, I know where the line is, but I couldn’t see my favourite dish on a menu and not order it.
If you’re someone who always hopes for more roasties, as well as more gravy, then The Last Talisman’s deal of bottomless sides for £5.95 per person will likely be music to your ears, too. Korean fried chicken not included unfortunately, but you can get more cauliflower cheese, more seasonal veg, roasties and Yorkshires, plus a kale salad and tenderstem broccoli. That’s a lot of sides for your buck.
As I mopped up the last of my gravy with a forkful of Yorkshire, I had the same contentment as if I was sitting at my Nan’s dining room table.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t squeeze in a dessert on this day – even though I thought sweet treats were a separate stomach? – but the homemade sticky toffee would’ve been first on my list.
So, next time you hear yourself asking, “Where’s good for a Sunday roast in south London?”, you now know it’s Bermondsey’s The Last Talisman.
171-173 Bermondsey Street, SE1 3UW
