Review: Poach yourself one of the jolliest roasts in the city

Yet in Brighton and Hove there seems to be particularly zealous dedication to the oven cooked lunch.

Many enjoy it from the comfort of their own home, where you can safely loosen your belt button without being asked to leave the premises.

But plenty like theirs in their second home, the public house, where four Guinesses over lunch will not be frowned upon.

It has become a like an arms war, rival pubs escalating with increasingly precarious heaps of veg, served in massive Yorkshire pudding bowls and steaming flagons of Bisto.

The Gourmand has spent many an hour trudging around Hanover, desperately seeking scraps from the carving board – even a slice of nut roast.

While standards in our independent pubs are far better than more trad pubco carveries, big portions, big numbers and competitive pricing do not equal better roasts.

How pink and juicy is that slice of topside going to be when it has been sitting around in a clammy kitchen all service? Is there enough crackling to go around, and more importantly is crispy? And is it really necessary to serve eight different types of vegetables clumsily mushed together on one plate?

Then there’s the gauntlet of coke-buzzing kids, big screen football and the overwhelming reek of overcooked cabbage.

For something a bit more refined and less chaotic there is always The Jolly Poacher.

On the site of the former Round Hill Tavern, a pub dating back to 1875, The Ditchling Road site has had an upmarket renovation as a gastro pub.

Sister pub of East Chiltington's The jolly Sportsman, it's a stark contrast to the bustling Open House and Signalman down the road, the walls Farrow & Ball shades of moles breath grey, a functioning vintage copper coffee machine on the bar.

Other pastel-shades of nostalgic Englishness are found in the cocktail menu with the cheeky flirtini, and there’s a well heeled crowd chewing the (beef) fat.

The menu makes for fairly vanilla reading, but then it's not wild experimentation we’re looking for in a roast.

With a two course deal on offer, we have a goose liver parfait - a nagging staple of mass-catered hotel banquets. It needs to be truly excellent to overcome the burden of its overexposure, and this one was a joy - smooth and devilishly rich, its pallid, greyish complexion belying a superb parfait.

Another starter of smoked salmon rillette was the looker of the pair, ribbons of deep pink pressed like wood grain and perfumed with oak.

The roast itself walked the line between generosity and elegance, a trio of contrasting kale, beetroot and carrot painting a vivid picture as their juices bled into the gravy. The rib of beef came thick cut, marbly and ruby red with a necessary pot of poky horseradish.

The potatoes were about as crunchy as they come, fiercely crisped in animal fat. The only mildly disappointing element was the slightly sunken Yorkshire pudding.

Delicious though the beef was, the vegetarian option was possibly even more bountiful with flavour. Pied du mouton, also known as a the hedgehog mushroom, was lathered in caramelised goat’s cheese and a sweet onion marmalade. A ‘shroomy reimagining of the classic goat’s cheese and onion tart, it had the warm familiarity of an old friend - yet the exotic allure of a newly-met stranger.

There wasn’t much call for a proper pudding, but a slender slice of bitter chocolate tart with tart crème fraîche was a welcome none-too-sweet finisher.

There’s nothing showy in the cookery at The Jolly Poacher. But there’s enormous heart and honesty, the classic dishes wonderfully scoffable.

While there’s a Sunday premium of £20 for two courses, the rest of the week is a very reasonable £16 for two courses.

And while the cocktails are on the dear side, some containing premium bubbles from Ridgeview, there is two for one offer from 4pm-7pm.

The Jolly Poacher may still have to thrash it out with a few other contenders for the title of Best Roast in the City - but it's certainly up there among the best.