Sunday Roast in Stirling: Where to Go and What to Expect

What a Stirling Sunday roast looks like

The template is the standard British one: a roasted meat, buttery mash, crisp roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables, a Yorkshire pudding and gravy. The Highland Gate leans into this with a Sunday roast offer and a broad menu around it, while the Tullie Inn goes further with unlimited Yorkshire puddings, roasties and gravy on every roast.

Vegetarians are not an afterthought at either end of the shortlist. The Tullie Inn lists a vegetarian roast alongside beef, turkey and pork, plus a cauliflower tart among its sharing feast options, and the Highland Gate advertises vegetarian choices within its wider menu. If somebody in your group wants the roast without the meat, say so when you book rather than at the table.

The Highland Gate, Drip Road

The Highland Gate is a Marston's pub on Drip Road in Stirling, pitched as a family-friendly spot with a varied restaurant menu, a beer garden with views, a car park, a fireplace and electric car charging. It runs a Sunday roast offer and serves food seven days a week, and the pub publishes both its opening times and its food service times on its own site, so you can check how late a roast is realistically available.

For anyone planning a Sunday lunch with children or a dog, this is the practical pick. Dogs are welcome in the bar and beer garden rather than the whole building, and there is a children's menu for fussier eaters. The trade-off is that it reads as a pub doing lots of things well rather than a specialist roast house, so set expectations accordingly.

The beer garden is the reason to choose it on a bright day, and the car park and charging point make it easy if you are driving out from the city. On a wet Sunday the fireplace and indoor dining room do the same job. If you want a pint with the roast, the pub is a better fit than a restaurant, and if you like the sound of the building itself, the oldest pub in Stirling makes a natural second stop.

Tullie Inn at Balloch: the destination option

The Tullie Inn comes up because Scottish roast searches overlap, but be clear about the geography: it is on Balloch Road in Alexandria, Balloch, East Dunbartonshire, not in Stirling. That is a proper drive rather than a local lunch, so it makes sense as a day out paired with Loch Lomond rather than a last-minute booking.

What it does well is the plate. Every roast comes with buttery mash, seasonal vegetables, roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings, with the puddings, roasties and gravy all unlimited. The Sunday Sharing Feast is the headline for groups: choose sirloin of beef, pork loin, turkey or a cauliflower tart, or all four, served with pork, orange and fig stuffing, crackling, braised red cabbage and cauliflower cheese.

Children's roasts come in smaller portions with meat and vegetarian options, and desserts run to crumbles and cheesecakes. Extras such as cauliflower cheese and a giant Pig in blanket can be added, and the venue's own page confirms its Balloch Road address and phone number so you can check any details you need before travelling.

Choosing by occasion

For a big family group, the Tullie Inn sharing feast is designed to be ordered as a centrepiece rather than four separate plates, which suits a table that wants a bit of everything. For a smaller local lunch, the Highland Gate is the lower-effort choice: book, drive, park and eat.

If the plan is a walk with the dog, the Highland Gate's bar and beer garden policy fits, and its outdoor space makes a reasonable stop afterwards. If someone in the party does not want meat, both venues list a vegetarian option, but the Tullie Inn's dedicated vegetarian roast and cauliflower tart make it the more flexible destination for mixed tables.

Booking, timing and kitchen hours

Sunday lunch is the sitting that fills first, so book rather than gamble, especially for tables of six or more. The Highland Gate publishes opening times and food service times daily, which is the quickest way to see how late food runs, but the site does not state a separate roast cut-off, so ring and ask if you want a late-afternoon roast rather than a midday one.

If you are travelling to Balloch, book ahead and confirm that the Sunday menu is the one running on your date, and check the booking and any menu details on the venue's own page before you set off.

What to ask before you book

Ask three things: whether the roast is still available at your chosen time, whether the kitchen can do a children's portion, and whether a vegetarian roast is on that day. Portion size is worth a question too if you are ordering the sharing feast, since it is built for a table rather than one person.

Neither pub's published pages give a roast price, so check the current menu or ask when you call rather than budgeting from an old figure. Sunday menus often differ from the weekday offer, and the Highland Gate runs time-limited promotions, so confirm what applies on your date. Two checks are usually enough: one call for the table, one look at the menu on the day.

Beyond the roast: feeding the whole table

Not everyone wants a roast, and both venues cover that. The Tullie Inn's Sunday menu includes hand-battered fish and chips, burgers and sharers alongside the roasts, while the Highland Gate runs pub classics, homemade kebabs and lunch dishes. That makes either a safe booking when one person at the table would rather have a pub classic than a Yorkshire pudding, and you can weigh up more options in this guide to pub food around Stirling.

For the named pubs and food stops with a guide of their own, see Stirling pubs and food landmarks. Stirling's brewing side is covered in Breweries in Stirling and Around It, which is handy if you want a pint that is not the usual national lager before or after the meal.

Which roast should you book?

Book the Highland Gate if you want a local, family-friendly Sunday lunch with parking, a beer garden and a dog-friendly bar, and ring first if you are eating late. Book the Tullie Inn if the roast itself is the day out and a sharing feast with unlimited trimmings justifies the drive to Balloch.

Either way, confirm the roast is on, the time you want is free, and what the current menu costs before you commit. That is the whole of the decision.