Seven tasty alternative roast dinners we love in Manchester – including Jamaican and Vietnamese

British people can be very passionate about their roast dinners. The Sunday meal of meat and all the trimmings is a staple in most households and restaurant menus.

While many would think it sacrilegious to mess with this winning formula, there are some eateries in Manchester that have dared to do just that. If you’re feeling adventurous, here are some of the best Manchester spots that serve Sunday roasts with a twist.

Perdu Perdu

Perdu Perdu is a Peruvian-inspired restaurant located on Princess Street in the city centre. Their Sunday menu includes a roast dinner with a South American twist. It features roast potatoes, yorkies, honey-glazed carrots, parsnips, broccoli and your choice of one of two meats – the Churrasco Picanha, which is a 36-hour marinated rump cut or Pollo Tigre de Lêche, which is chicken in Tiger Milk. For the uninitiated, Tiger Milk is a marinade used to cure fish and usually includes lime and other spices.

Perdu Perdu’s roast is available from 12pm-late on Sundays only. The Churrasco Picanha roast costs £20, and the Pollo Tigre de Lêche is £18 for half a chicken and £32 for a whole chicken. Their alternative roast options do not end there. Perdu Perdu also gives away free doggy roasts for your four-legged friends.

Zouk

Zouk have perfected the art of the Indian roast dinner with their Sunday menu full of different roast dinner options. All are served with their special spicy gravy, as well as seasonal veg, roast potatoes and a Yorkshire pudding. Meat-wise, you can choose between the whole poussin, a mini lamb roast or roast topside of beef, all at £19.95.

Alternatively, you can opt for the whole roast Raan chicken (£25.50), which serves one or two people, or sharing platter roasts that can feed two (£50) or four people (£100). If you really want to push the boat out, they offer a Sajji roast leg of lamb for £80. This serves four to six people and must be ordered at least two hours in advance.

They also offer a vegetable tikka option for vegetarians at £12.95 and children’s portions for £9.95. You can add extra sides to your meal, including mash, cauliflower cheese or chilli and garlic tenderstem broccoli.

Baity

The Palestinian roast dinner at Baity in Didsbury has been impressing diners since it was introduced to the menu last December. Their roasts come with sumac broccoli, honey-roasted parsnips and carrots, and homemade Yorkshire puddings and there are two meat options – low-roasted Jericho lamb for £19.50, which is marinated in pomegranate, garlic, onion and  lemon, or the Zatar miramiya roast chicken for £18. The juices from the lamb form the basis of the gravy.

If you’re planning a big party and think that this sounds like the meal for you, you can get a whole Jericho roasted lamb shoulder, which serves 6+, for £110, or a whole lamb for £359. For both these options, the kitchen requires at least 48 hours notice. Roasts are only available on Sundays, when they are the only menu option available.

Nam

Vietnamese restaurant Nam have created their own version of the humble Sunday roast that includes sticky rice or roast potatoes, goi salad, shimeji mushrooms, spiced sweet potato mash, asian greens, NAM Pho gravy and a savoury Vietnamese doughnut. They have three different protein options including five-spice and soy-braised tofu for £14.50, roast chicken with Nam signature house rub and crispy skin char sui pork belly, both for £17.50.

Roast dinners are only available on Sundays, when the restaurant runs a reduced menu.

Pull Up

Pull Up describe their Sunday offerings as their “Anglo-Caribbean take on a roast.” Of course, the star of this dish is the lemon and thyme roast jerk chicken, which comes with carrots, mac ‘n’ cheese, and even more Caribbean staples like plantain, rice ‘n’ peas and spicy gravy. This will cost you £16, or £22 if you’d prefer to swap the jerk chicken for three lamb chops.

If your diet is strictly Ital, you can opt for the Rasta Roast for £15.50 which includes roast pumpkin with a pepper, spring onions and olive mix, as well as roast carrot, sweet potato wedges, fried plantain, rice ’n’ peas, and “wholesome” veg gravy. They say that “part-time rastas” can also add feta. Mac ‘n’ cheese can also be added for £2.

Kong’s

Kong’s Chicken Shop have been running take outs and pop-ups for the last two years at venues such as Hatch and Northern Monk. This week, they announced that they are opening their first permanent location in the Northern Quarter. One thing we hope will be on the menu is their fried chicken roast dinner, which comes with a giant Yorkshire pudding, sweet potato mash, chicken gravy and crispy chicken skin crackling.

You can currently find Kong’s Diner at Dogbowl, where they’re serving chicken sandwiches and other diner classics.

Pie and Ale

This one is the closest you’re going to get to a traditional Sunday roast, as it combines classic roast elements with another classic British dish – the pie. Available only on Sundays at the Northern Quarter’s Pie and Ale, the Sunday Roast Pie has a puff pastry pie case served with mash, maple roasted veg, tenderstem broccoli, stuffing, creamed leeks, Yorkshire pudding and gravy, with the meat changing every week. For the vegans, they also have a nut roast option that includes cashew, beetroot and courgette.

You have to be quick though, these pies are first-come-first-serve. They cost £12.95.