Let’s be honest: the roast potatoes are the real reason any of us book Sunday lunch. Tom Kerridge’s The Chalk Freehouse clearly agrees. Every Sunday throughout November, the Chelsea pub is serving Bottomless Roast Potatoes – a £9 bowl of crisp, golden Maris Pipers with unlimited top-ups for as long as lunch lasts.
These aren’t any old roasties. They’re made using Kerridge’s tried-and-tested method: floury Maris Pipers are poached until tender, carefully air-dried, then roasted in hot oil until deeply golden and finished simply with flaky salt. The result is crisp on the outside, light and fluffy within, and made for passing around the table.
Proper pub, serious pedigree
Tucked just off the King’s Road in a beautifully restored Victorian building, The Chalk Freehouse is led by Head Chef Tom De Keyser. He spent more than a decade working alongside Kerridge and previously headed the kitchens at the two-Michelin-starred Hand & Flowers and the Michelin-starred Coach. That precision now goes into the familiar comforts of a British pub.
The Sunday roasts are 30-day dry-aged ribeye of beef, half Devonshire White chicken, or loin chop of Blythburgh pork, plus a meat-free ragu of seasonal vegetables with braised Portobello mushroom. Each comes with roast potatoes, crushed carrot and a stuffed Yorkshire pudding.
Make an afternoon of it. Start with The Hand & Flowers chicken and duck liver parfait, churned to order with poultry jelly, apricot chutney and toasted brioche. Or try the fillet of mackerel with Disco Scallop “Scampo” and red fish sauce, or olive oil-baked loin of wild cod with prawn filo and lobster and clotted cream sauce. Save room for The Chalk’s “Milk Bun & Butter” with cold vanilla custard, boozy fruits and praline, a chocolate tart with smoked sea salt, pistachio and crème fraîche, or vanilla roasted rice pudding with white chocolate and raspberry.
Roast potatoes are always the first thing to disappear at Sunday lunch. There is something very familiar about a bowl being passed around the table and everyone going back for just one more. Sunday lunch should feel generous, relaxed and a little nostalgic, so throughout November we are making sure nobody needs to keep an eye on the last roastie. We’ll keep them coming.
Tom De Keyser, Head Chef
Bring the dog
The Chalk Freehouse is proudly dog-friendly, which makes it the perfect finish to a crisp autumn walk through one of London’s parks.
The details
Bottomless Roast Potatoes are available every Sunday until 29 November 2026, at £9 per portion. Book at thechalkfreehouse.co.uk.
