Few British dishes are as iconic as the Sunday roast — traditionally beef, lamb, pork or poultry served with roast potatoes, root vegetables and gravy made from the meat’s juices.

Opinions vary on the dish’s origins, but many believe it was created to feed Protestant families who had fasted in the runup to Sunday morning church services. Some Christian denominations, such as Catholicism, forbade red meat on Fridays and occasionally Saturdays, which turned the Sunday roast into a hearty lunch that marked the end of the meat fast. Today, roasts are also served for dinner.

For Tokyo’s British residents, that taste of home is hard to come by. While roast meat as a main course can be found in many restaurants here, the charm of the British roast comes from the trimmings, such as the classic Yorkshire pudding. Some eateries in Tokyo have tried to capture that appeal on the plate, often without much success. For example, British-style pub chain Hub once offered a version with only a handful of potato wedges on the side — no sauce included.