We’ve felt like we’ve been in great need of some alternative foodie excitement since we no longer have the brilliant pop-up that was The Phantom Pig, and so it was with great anticipation that we got wind (and then patiently waited) for the first ever Ealing Sunday roast pop-up, the brainchild of one Keiran George Lee.
Kerian comes from a local foodie family and knows the Ealing restaurant and pub scene well, his family being the former owners of The Red Lion (now part of Santa Maria), and Keiran himself going on to manage and run The 6 Bells in Brentford. However, since he and his wife heard the pitter patter of tiny feet, they’ve aimed for a slightly calmer pace of life but Keiran has wanted to continue his passion for food in a way that allowed him to experiment more, and so the Sunday Roast at W7 Emporium was born.
Sunday roasts are typically something we don’t go out for in Ealing, we’ve had some trouble really finding one that we’ve been truly impressed enough with. We’ve certainly done our research and have at least half-a-dozen blog posts half-heartedly written but we have a belief in writing fair reviews for any of the chefs in Ealing, and we understand that sometimes the humble Sunday roast is not a meal which perhaps inspires the same passion and freedom as other dishes they may create, and so we’ve reserved judgment and held our tongue on this front. Needless to say, this is a meal where we are harsh critics (because we all know our mums made the best roasts, right?!) which meant Keiran most certainly had a tough crowd to please when it came to the EatInEaling gang.
We decided to make it a social event ourselves and teamed up with TheEalingMummy and her lovely family for Sunday lunch, and swap foodie notes on the whole event.
Now the venue, W7 Emporium is Hanwell’s best-kept secret. A doorway tucked away to the side of a pub, not flashy but rather understated, yet you walk into warmth, friendliness, an onsite florist and some of the sweetest owners and staff of any establishment in West London. We only discovered W7 a couple of years ago, and we haven’t been able to stay away. The atmosphere, the team, and the food always make it the perfect place for a quiet brunch, or a full-blown party and event! It was the perfect setting for the Sunday Roast pop-up and as we walked in the door at 12pm that Sunday, oh wow. The smells were gorgeous and so good we could almost taste the food in the air. We were one of the first to arrive for the first meal service of the day and so had time to get settled, annoy the chef as he worked in the kitchen and generally just get wrapped up in the smells of the wonderful things cooking and bubbling away.
Our partners in foodie crime for the afternoon, The Ealing Mummy and her family, arrived shortly after and we pretty quickly gave all our orders (before we started eating the table with obvious excitement). We aimed to try everything on the menu and so between us ordered the roast chicken, the roast beef and the roast pork. There was also a nut roast option as well as the lamb on the menu, so you very much had all the Sunday roast options any of your party might desire.
Understandably, for a first pop-up and being the first ones in and to order the service was a bit up in the air but you could excuse that entirely as the place was packed to the rafters with only the normal W7 staff on hand to serve tables. They were utterly maxed out for the entire time we were there but the smiles and good humour didn’t slip once and they are to be commended for that as we’ve seen far less busy restaurants cope badly in stressful situations, but not these guys and gals.
The food arrived. And we felt like we’d arrived as well. In Sunday roast heaven that is. The beef was beautiful and rare, soft and tender. The pork was cooked to perfection and with what was quite possibly the largest hunk of crackling sat atop it. It was so big we actually had a moment of doubt about whether our arteries could stand up to it! The chicken was succulent and full of flavour, and all the dishes came with generous portions of green seasonal veg, honey and thyme mixed root vegetables, PROPER roast potatoes that can only have been cooked in goose fat, they were so crispy on the outside and perfectly fluffy inside, huge homemade Yorkshire puddings, homemade stuffing, and each meat had its own mix of gravy to boot. Quite frankly, we’ve just made ourselves hungry typing that up, it was, SO. GOOD. Oh, and the cauliflower cheese…. *We need a moment, just give us a moment to gather our thoughts after mentioning the cauliflower cheese*
We chomped our way through the heaving portions at a leisurely pace and watched as W7 became busier and noisier, with exactly the sort of atmosphere you could wish for on a Sunday afternoon in a cozy corner of West London. Keiran’s talent for cooking up a truly magnificent Sunday roast needs to be tasted to be believed. No “from the freezer” or “out of a packet” things in sight. It was exactly as we all try to make at home, with care and consideration going into every element. With every plate that left the small kitchen, you could see Keiran’s pride in his work within every single one.
So. It’s safe to say we’ve found our Roast-ess with the mostess and you’ll be pleased to hear there’s a chance for you to experience this foodie slice of Sunday heaven in the months ahead. Keiran is taking up residence at W7 Emporium for regular pop-ups for the foreseeable future, with the next being Mothers Day (31st March) where you will also get a 20% discount on a beautiful bunch of flowers for the mums in your life (remember we mentioned the attached florist?! #HANDY!) but be quick as on last checking they were already over half booked.
Oh. And reader. We ate the crackling.
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