Highgate gastrobpub in North Hill is serving up Sunday roasts, bread, and luxury ready meals via their online shop during lockdown

Ham & High: While it is closed during lockdown The Bull in Highgate is doing Sunday roasts which you can click and collect from the pubWhile it is closed during lockdown The Bull in Highgate is doing Sunday roasts which you can click and collect from the pub (Image: Archant)

One of the joys - and bores - of lockdown has been the cooking and planning of meals.

With little else to do, it can be the highlight of the day - or it can feel like a never-ending treadmill of uninspired chopping, serving and washing up.

Like most everyone else, our Sundays now consist of a bracing muddy autumn walk followed by a roast.

But this week we treated ourself to a day off the cooking rota with a take-out from The Bull. With its front and rear gardens and in-house brewery, the Highgate gastropub had pivoted its business during the pandemic and was doing a roaring trade, right up until the second lockdown.

Ham & High: While it is closed during lockdown The Bull in Highgate is doing Sunday roasts which you can click and collect from the pubWhile it is closed during lockdown The Bull in Highgate is doing Sunday roasts which you can click and collect from the pub (Image: Archant)

Now brother and sister Sam and Rob Laub are keeping the lights on by offering Sunday lunches, bread, charcuterie, and shepherd’s pies (£35) for click and collect.

The roasts are something special - a desert island dream of a hearty plate of food on a blustery day. A succulent free range chicken (£40) came with all the trimmings from Yorkshire puddings to roast spuds, broccoli, roast cabbage and cauliflower cheese to a rich stuffing which used the bird’s innards to pack in flavour.

Foil-wrapped, we popped it back in the oven while we heated the silky smooth gravy.

It’s supposed to feed two, but with an extra portion of veg it went round our hungry family.

A glorious sticky toffee pudding (£7) rounded things off. If a bird is not your bag, there’s a roast beef for one (£24) or a butternut Wellington for veggies (£30)

You might want to throw in tipples from The Bull’s in house Gorgeous Brewery.

Guzzla lager, or Geekhunter Extra Pale Ale (£5.25).

Order by 2pm Friday then simply sit back and enjoy a lazy Sunday and warming roast while supporting your favourite local until lockdown ends.

www.thebullhighgate.co.uk/shop