All aboard the gravy train

It's the time of year for roaring fires and carving up the juicy spoils. As the cold snap hits and winter takes hold that most comforting of meals, the Sunday roast, starts appearing on menus.

Middle Park Hotel
102 Canterbury Road, Middle Park, 9690 1958

Chefs Paul Wilson and Stephen Burke focus on paddock to plate, with English-inspired weekend roasts served all day in the bar. You can chug one of the 45 beers on tap while tucking into hearty thyme and sage-rubbed slow-roasted Blackmores bolar blade (a beef cut with a marble scoring of nine), roasted spuds, spinach and Yorkshire puds, with a side of red wine sauce.

Saturday and Sunday, bar, noon-close, $20 a head; dining room, noon-3pm, 6-10pm, $40 a head ($55 including dessert).

Builders Arms Hotel
211 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, 9417 7700

Andrew McConnell and Josh Murphy tweak the classic counter meal with their daily rotisserie offerings, served in the bar and bistro. Sunday is spit-jack chicken; seasoned, spatchcocked, skewered and cooked over mallee root on the outdoor rotisserie. It's served with whole leaves of sorrel, bread sauce and a wedge of lemon, but extra sides such as roast potatoes with confit garlic are available from the a la carte menu.

Sundays, noon-late, $32 a head; bookings available for lunch and dinner.

The Grosvenor
10 Brighton Road, St Kilda East, 9531 1542

Embracing the cooler weather, the Grosvenor will be serving a three-course roast lunch with all the traditional accompaniments on the first Sunday of each winter month. The meal includes a bowl of soup, the roasted main (slow-roasted pork loin on July 7, balsamic vinegar and oregano-rubbed lamb saddle on August 4) with seasonal vegetables, and a rich dessert, such as quince and almond crumble with creme anglaise, to finish.

First Sunday of the month throughout winter, noon-10pm, $49 adults, $24 children three-12 years; bookings essential.

Wayside Inn
446 City Road, South Melbourne, 9682 9119

Of a daily changing rotisserie selection Sunday's roast beef is one of the most popular. Served in both the bar and dining area, the dry-aged sirloin comes with seasonal garnishes, such as celeriac puree, locally foraged mushrooms, and brussels sprouts with bacon. The hand-cut chips might not be traditional, but are perfect for soaking up the red wine sauce.

Sundays, noon-3pm, $38 a head.

Gorski and Jones
304 Smith Street, Collingwood, 9417 7779

Gorski and Jones looks to Italy for its Sunday wood roasts using a traditional wood fire roasting rub of garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt, olive oil, and lemon. Pork belly, lamb, goat or chicken, might come with wilted greens, roasted carrots and parsnips, and garlic rosemary potatoes. If you can't wait until Sunday, there's wood-roasted suckling pig for $35 a head on Tuesday evenings.

Sundays, noon-3pm, 6-10.30pm, $25-$30 a head.

Arintji
Corner Flinders and Swanston streets, Federation Square, city, 9663 9900

Fed Square stalwart Arintji slow-roasts a garlic and thyme-rubbed rack of pork, serving it with honey butter-glazed baby vegetables, potatoes that have been roasted in duck fat, calvados jus with baby pears poached in apple cider and vanilla, and pork scratchings; slow-cooked in duck fat and then fried to achieve the ultimate crunch, these will be the first things to disappear from your plate.

Sundays, noon-3pm, $28 a head.

Sapore
3-5 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda, 9534 9666

Sundays in June and July, Sapore's Simon Moss creates Italian-inspired roast lunches highlighting Victorian produce with matched regional wines. Roasted, rolled Greenvale Farm rare-breed pork belly with focaccia and sage stuffing is served with Yarra Valley heritage vegetables, and spiced apple sauce.

Sundays, noon-3pm, $34 a head (wine extra).

Epocha
49 Rathdowne Street, Carlton, 9036 4949

This progressive, family-style spread is a nod to nostalgia. Olives, pates and spiced chickpeas might be followed by a fish or cheese course, before the arrival of the main event. Slow-roasted rosemary-rubbed kid comes with sage-and-onion stuffing, braised leg sauce, roasted potatoes, green beans with toasted almonds, and a leaf salad with maple dressing. If space permits, there's chocolate gateau to finish.

Sundays, noon-4pm, $45 a head.

The Local Taphouse
184 Carlisle Street, St Kilda East, 9537 2633

Let this European-inspired neighbourhood tavern ''host'' a roast on your behalf for between eight and 70 guests. Choose your protein (leg of saltbush Dorper lamb or whole roasted snapper perhaps), choose your potato (mashed, scalloped or roasted), add three sides (cauliflower cheese, glazed carrots, minted peas) and it will be brought out to you on big platters for sharing.

Daily, lunch and dinner, $35-$50 a head (add $10 to include dessert); bookings essential.

Little Hunter
195 Little Collins Street, city, 9654 0090

Chef Gavin Baker chooses the traditional English roast for Little Hunter's offering, naturally heavy on the meat. Big portion sizes, of the sort you would get at your local British pub, are made up of a choice of three or four meats, with roast chicken and roast beef staples. Trimmings include roast potatoes and beef fat, roast pumpkin, parsnips, onions, brussels sprouts with bacon, Yorkshire puddings and hot English mustard. Roasted apples are offered with the pork.

Sundays, noon-4pm, $40 a head.

Want more?

The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is holding its annual Roast Collection throughout June, with more than 100 events to choose from. Highlights include:

Mr Wolf
9-15 Inkerman Street, St Kilda, 9534 0255

With a rotating selection of porchetta, pork belly, suckling pig and duck, your Sunday lunch at Mr Wolf will be anything but dull. Start with seasonal antipasti and pizza, and finish with the dessert of the day to fully appreciate chef Karen Martini's talents.

Sundays, noon-4pm, roast only $29, two courses $38, and three courses $48.

Royal Saxon rare-breed roasts
545 Church Street, Richmond, 9429 5277

Chef Glenn Laurie transforms the humble roast with two distinct dishes over two separate nights; June 17 is the slow-roasted Shropshire lamb shoulder, June 24 the large black suckling pig.

Mondays, June 17 and 24, 6.30-10pm, $75 a head; bookings essential.

San Telmo 7 days 7 animals
14 Meyers Place, city, 9650 5525

Cooked over a 2.5-metre charcoal parrilla, San Telmo celebrates local producers serving a different animal each day of the week with Friday's Alpaca a drawcard.

Saturday, June 1-Sunday, June 30, 6-10pm, from $32.

Fog's winter roast duck
142 Greville Street, Prahran, 9521 3155

From the Victorian Wimmera region, Fog serves a whole roasted duck with a maple and juniper glaze, yams with burnt raisin butter, and sauteed silverbeet.

Fridays and Saturdays in June, 6-10.30pm, $65 full duck, $36 for half duck.

Olive Jones of Macedon winter roasted mushrooms
40 Victoria Street, Macedon, 5426 3700

Combining mushrooms from the farm at Diggers Rest with wild mushrooms from the pine forests of Macedon, Mark Renaud creates vegetarian dishes robust with forest flavours.

Saturday, June 1-Sunday, June 30, 6-11pm, from $20 a head, including a matched Victorian wine.

Peppermint Ridge Farm Native Creative Slow Lunch
540 Tynong North Road, Tynong North, 5942 8580

A serve of slow-cooked pork baked with native anise myrtle and mountain pepper comes with a glass of local wine and self-guided tour of the bush food garden.

Sunday, June 9 and 23, noon-4pm, $65 a head.

Recipes pictured: Jill Dupleix's great roast chicken and shoulder of pork with fennel and apples.