Sunday Roast vs Sunday Sharing: What Dublin Steakhouses Actually Serve
Two different Sunday formats get lumped together under one name. Here is what each actually gets you, and who in Dublin serves which.
Written by Steakhouse Dublin
“Sunday roast” and “Sunday sharing” get used almost interchangeably in Dublin, but they are two different formats. A roast is plated and traditional: one protein carved and served onto your plate with sides. Sharing is a table format instead, a big cut set down in the middle for everyone to divide up themselves, closer to how a steakhouse would serve any other large cut.
We checked the Sunday menus of the 22 steakhouses we track, and the split is not close. Most run a traditional roast. Only one, FIRE, brands its Sunday menu purely as sharing, and two others, Hawksmoor and Oxhorn Grill, run both formats side by side.
What a Sunday Roast Actually Gets You
A Dublin steakhouse Sunday roast means roast beef or rib, Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, vegetables and gravy, plated per person, the same format you would get in any traditional Irish Sunday dinner. All three F.X. Buckley locations run an identical “Sunday Roast” at €29.50, as does Bull & Castle. Brookwood serves a traditional Irish roast beef with trimmings, Marco Pierre White Donnybrook does a 7-hour slow-cooked featherblade version for €28.50, and Cowboy Steakhouse runs the cheapest of the group, a “Sunday Prime Roast” at €19.95.
What “Sunday Sharing” Means Instead
FIRE Steakhouse & Bar is the one Dublin steakhouse that brands its Sunday menu purely as sharing. “Steak Sharing Sundays” is a 600g sirloin for two from €89, served from 1pm, and there is no individually plated roast option alongside it. The format is table service rather than a set plate: the cut lands in the middle, and the table carves and portions it themselves, the same way you would handle any large sharing steak on any other night of the week. It just happens to be the thing FIRE does on Sundays instead of a roast.
The Two Restaurants That Run Both
Two Dublin steakhouses do not make you choose. Hawksmoor runs a standard Sunday Roast alongside “Sunday Feasting,” a sharing option for an extra €7 per person. Oxhorn Grill splits its Sunday menu into a Roast section, Yorkshire pudding and all, priced €21 to €24, and a separate “Sharing Steak” section priced €102 to €113 for the table. Both formats, same restaurant, same day, your choice at the table.
A Real Verdict, Both Ways
Reviews of the traditional roast format are mixed depending on the kitchen. One visitor to F.X. Buckley Monkstown left this after a disappointing plate:
“We were looking forward a ‘best Sunday roast in Dublin’ as advertised. What a disappointment! … The roast beef was chewy, lacking in flavour and the mash potato was watery. There was one lonely looking roast potato! The gravy was thin and lacking in the flavour you would expect with a roast dinner.”— Paradise42651666774, Tripadvisor
Others walk away happier with the same format at a different branch. A visitor to F.X. Buckley on Pembroke Street wrote simply: “Delicious roast beef traditional Sunday Roast with giant Yorkshire pudding!” It is a reminder that “roast” and “sharing” describe the format, not the quality, and both still come down to how the kitchen executes it on the day.
For the full list of which Dublin steakhouses run a Sunday roast, sharing menu or both, see our Sunday Roast Dublin page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Sunday roast and Sunday sharing?
A roast is plated per person: meat, potatoes, vegetables and gravy served on an individual plate. Sharing means one large cut set down for the table to portion out themselves, the same way you would order any big sharing steak.
Which Dublin steakhouse does Sunday sharing?
FIRE Steakhouse & Bar is the one that brands its Sunday menu purely as sharing: “Steak Sharing Sundays,” a sirloin for two from €89.
Can I get both a roast and a sharing option at the same restaurant?
Yes, at two of them. Hawksmoor and Oxhorn Grill both run a traditional roast and a sharing option on the same Sunday menu, so you can choose at the table.
What does a Sunday roast cost at a Dublin steakhouse?
Typically €19.95 to €29.50 per person, depending on the restaurant.