Scotland and Northern Ireland

41 THE SCRAN AND SCALLY, EDINBURGH

WHEN chef Tom Kitchin gets involved with a pub you know it will be a cracker. And that’s exactly what the Scran And Scally is.

Salmon is home-cured, beers are resolutely local, the steak pie is awesome, and there’s always haggis, neeps and tatties. As for the Sunday lunch… expect roast Scottish beef (served blushing pink), lamb and pork, with all the trimmings. 1 Comely Bank Road, Stockbridge, Edinburgh EH4 1DT, 0131 332 6281, scranandscallie.com ££

42 BALLOO HOUSE, KILLINCHY

A PLACE with 400 years of history, this lovely pub, popular with local and tourists alike, gives you the choice between smart restaurant (with wellwrought, modern European food), and more laid-back pub where local seafood is popular, as are the dry-aged steaks. And Sunday lunch is a true feast, with leg of lamb, sirloin of Irish beef, or roast chicken breast, as well as risotto, fresh fish and some serious British puddings. 1 Comber Road, Killinchy, Newtownards, BT23 6PA, 028 9754 1210, ballooinns.com £

43 STRAVAIGIN, GLASGOW

STRAVAIGIN is the old Scottish word meaning ‘to wander’, and that’s exactly what the food on this menu allows your tastebuds to do.

Expect all manner of thrilling ingredients and influences from all over the globe, from sensuous sea urchins to foraged hedgerow herbs and even grey squirrel. Sunday brunch runs from 11am until 5pm and includes a full Scottish breakfast, slow-roasted venison shoulder, wok-seared West Coast squat lobsters, grilled mackerel and an Indonesian nasi goreng. 28 Gibson Street, Glasgow, G12 8NX, 0141 334 2665, stravaigin.co.uk/ restaurant ££

44 NOBLE, HOLYWOOD

AN EVER-rammed neighbourhood restaurant in the heart of Holywood, Co Down, the Sunday lunch menu is short but perfectly formed and features seasonal ingredients. Start with a light vegetable broth or crisp beef, then move on to roast sirloin of beef, fish of the day or roast suckling pig with Jerusalem artichoke and apple. 27a Church Road, Holywood, BT18 9BU, nobleholywood.com £

46 CHOP HOUSE, EDINBURGH

THIS small but much-loved group of restaurants is all about the meat. The steak is dry-aged in-house and cooked over glowing coals.

On Sundays all thoughts turn to roasts. The beef is slow-cooked, and served with a feast of Yorkshire pudding, bone-marrow gravy and buttered greens. Branches in Leith, Bruntsfield, and Market Street, chophousesteak.co.uk ££££

48 THE SORN INN, SORN

THE Sorn Inn is something of a stop-off for local hunters and fishermen, and while the restaurant wears its Michelin Bib Gourmand with pride (Shetland salmon with crab dumplings, black pudding beignets), it’s the pub that’s famed for its excellent steaks, as well as fish and chips, steak pie and sausage and mash. On Sunday, you’ll find

CHOICES RANGE FROM SEA URCHIN TO GREY SQUIRREL

roast Scottish sirloin, or local fish. 35 Main Street Sorn, East Ayrshire, KA5 6HU, 01290 551305, sorninn.com £

49 THE COCK AND BULL, BALMEDIE

ANOTHER of those pubs that manages to straddle the line between local inn and restaurant with impeccably sourced food. Pub classics include black pudding scotch eggs, ham, egg and chips, steak and burgers.

On Sundays you’ll find roast Perthshire chicken, and rump of Foveran beef, with all the sides. Ellon Rd Balmedie, AB23 8XY, 01358 743249, thecockandbull.co.uk ££

50 IL PIRATA, BELFAST

OK, so Il Pirata is an Italian restaurant, with food from a country not exactly known for Sunday roasts. Yet the sharing joints here have reached an almost cult-like status, with a revolving choice of braised beef brisket, whole roast chicken, leg of lamb or even a roast stuffed porchetta. 279-281 Upper Newtownards Road, Ballyhackamore, Belfast, 28 9067 3421, ilpiratabelfast.com £