King Street Tavern in Southsea named as having best vegetarian roast dinner in the UK

The King Street Tavern has been picked as the Best Vegetarian Roast winner in Knorr Professional’s 2022-23 Great British Roast Competition.

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The competition organisers say the contest seeks to recognise the very best roast dinners served across the UK and to honour the professional chefs who work hard to create them.

Finalists were scored based on quality, service, cleanliness, value for money, presentation as well as taste.

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First established in 1859 as The Diamond, the King Street Tavern prides itself on being a traditional town pub, offering food, drinks and customer service. The current owners’ tenure began in 2016, and after completing a refurbishment, began serving an eclectic menu, including authentic smoked and wood-fired dishes, complemented with craft and traditional drinks.

The winning dinner was the pub’s Mediterranean roast vegetable tart, served with roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese, Yorkshire pudding and a vegetarian roast gravy.

Owner Paul Mulholland said: ‘We are all stunned and over the moon. This form of recognition for creative ingredients is quite simply brilliant, and something to shout about.

‘Our vegetarian roast is adapted from our standard roast, and we let the ingredients sing for themselves. It’s a very “homely” roast, and this is what our customers love.'

Among those in the judging panel was Alex Hall, executive chef for Knorr Professional and Unilever Food Solutions. Alex said: ‘This year the competition saw an exceptionally high standard of entries from establishments all across the UK. Winning the title of Britain’s Best Vegetarian Roast is an incredible achievement and a testament to the work that the team at King Street Tavern have clearly put in to serving an outstanding vegetarian roast dinner.’

As well as the title of Britain’s Best Vegetarian Roast 2022-23,the King Street Tavern will receive a prize package including a £3,000 voucher to spend on equipment for their pub and kitchen.

In 2021 the pub was named a Good Food Award winner for the third time, giving it an official ‘Gold Seal’.