The boss of Bishop’s fine dining restaurant in Norwich has bowed to customer demand and is opening on a Sunday for the first time.

Eastern Daily Press: Bishop's restaurant is starting to do Sunday lunches. Pic: Bishop'sBishop's restaurant is starting to do Sunday lunches. Pic: Bishop's (Image: Archant)

Alessandro Tranquillo, who owns the restaurant in St Andrew’s Hill, said he had been asked so many times to offer a roast lunch that he has given in - and will start the new menu from Sunday, September 6.

He said: “We’re just going to make the best version of what our customers have been trying to source in the first place – it’s the ultimate weekend treat.”

Coupled with a wine list curated by Mr Tranquillo, he said there was a strong hint of Italian flavours to the English classic dish.

Chef John James said: “You can change a roast through the seasons, which is what we’ll be doing at Bishop’s. Putting an effort into it is key. Customers have been in the kitchen long enough over lockdown, so the idea is to get out of that kitchen and into a safe restaurant, back eating our great British roast dinner.

Eastern Daily Press: Restaurant owner Alessandro Tranquillo, second from left, and his team at Bishop's restaurant who are giving in to popular demand and starting to open on Sundays for roast dinners. Pic: Shane FinnRestaurant owner Alessandro Tranquillo, second from left, and his team at Bishop's restaurant who are giving in to popular demand and starting to open on Sundays for roast dinners. Pic: Shane Finn (Image: SHANE FINN)

“We’ve got lots of tricks up our sleeve, like starting to prepare our fabulous gravy on Tuesday, so a three or four-day process.

“We can really ramp up our roast, with preparations starting, at some point, during the whole week leading up to Sunday. And with our pork, as soon as Saturday service ends, we make a start.

“The crackling goes through two or three processes with the skin before it even gets roasted to produce the finest pork crackling. I’m not going to give away our Bishop’s’ secrets, but by Sunday it’s a sexy bit of meat.”

Head chef Anthony Dixon’s favourite choice of meat is sirloin beef. “The clientele of Bishop’s expect first-class cuisine so our intention is to satisfy at an affordable price. So we know beef can sometimes be a roulette when dining out and you think ‘do I trust here? Is it going to be really overcooked?’ It won’t be at Bishop’s, we cook it at a low degree for 12 hours, so it will be bang-on pink.”

The set price for Sunday Great British roast will be two courses for £23 or three courses for £28.