Best in Sunderland? What we thought of Sunday dinner at Spent Grain

I’ve had a fair few bad Sunday lunches over the years, sad ones, bad ones and ones really not worth leaving the house for, so I don’t take my mam out for this most traditional of British dishes unless I’m confident it can cut the mustard.

Spent Grain has been reliably good since it opened in John Street and with it being the top-rated place in the city for a roast, if you go by Google reviews, I booked us in last week.

This end of town is quieter on a Sunday, but this popular spot had a good buzz – like many Sundays here, it was fully booked.

It’s got a modern aesthetic of muted greys, exposed brick walls, a canopy festooned with fairy lights and trailing foliage and a skylight over the open kitchen where you can watch the chefs at work.

Tables are well spaced out and, even though there was a large party in on our visit, you don’t feel like you’re sat on top of fellow diners.

Sunday lunch menu is two courses for £18 and three for £23, which is fairly priced considering the quality and the increase in produce and energy prices which are biting the hospitality industry hard.

On our visit, there was a choice of four starters: pan-fried garlic mushrooms, arancini; black pudding and tempura battered broccoli.

I went with the latter, three large clusters of broccoli, a humble veg given extra depth and bite with the crunch of a light tempura, all served with a satisfyingly sweet homemade honey and chilli jam. Excellent stuff.

There’s five choices of roast: slow cooked honey roasted gammon, 6-hour slow cooked beef brisket, crisp belly pork, thyme roasted chicken breast and vegetarian sausages – all served with seasonal vegetables, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and gravy.

If a roast dinner isn’t your jam, there’s also choices of burger, mac & cheese and a halloumi Buddha bowl.

I was momentarily swayed by the Buddha bowl then I remembered what day of the week it was and soon saw sense.

There was a bit of a gap between starters finishing and mains arriving, but they arrived in style with swirls of steam encircling a huge Yorky atop a bed of creamy mash and beef.

The proof of a good Sunday dinner really is in the pudding, and this Yorkshire was a real show stopper: a puffy cloud of batter with just the right balance of fluff and bite perfect for pooling the proper gravy – and you get plenty of the stuff if, like me, you like to practically drown your dinner in it.

The Yorkshire was almost overshone by the beef, however, a beautifully tender meat that fell into submission with the lightest of pokes.

A good choice of veg, too, which arrives as a rainbow of piping hot accompaniments: kale, broccoli, red cabbage, sweet potato, parsnip and swede.

I was stuffed, but mum was too tempted by the desserts to resist. I’d have gone with the Yorkshire pudding dessert, served with Madagascan vanilla ice cream and Biscoff sauce (Yorkshires here are certainly good enough to eat twice) – but still enjoyed nicking some of her velvety custard panna cotta with a zingy poached rhubarb and homely gingerbread.

Our bill for two courses each and two large glasses of wine was £49. Free Sunday street parking nearby is an added bonus to save some pounds.

Much like the food, service is reliably good with staff on first name terms with many of their customers – always a good sign if people are coming back for more.