12 months ago
Seasonal eats! Big groups, intimate dates & everything between, here are some of our favourite festive menus for you to enjoy this winter.
The Pig’s Head
Price: £57 for 3 courses (plus snacks) or £49 for 2 courses (plus snacks)
Great for: Family gatherings
The Christmas Feasting menu at Pig’s Head is about as ‘The Pig’s Head’ as you can get. It’s all designed for sharing, so you’ll get a sharing board starter (meaty or vegan) for mains and puddings you’ll choose 1-2 dishes for the whole table to enjoy together. There’ll be snacks waiting- pork scratchings and parsnip crisps- before you tuck into your meal. Ham, lamb, turkey, beef or a mushroom wellington will be the stars of the show, all of which are served with spiced caramel roasted potatoes, sprouts, red cabbage, glazed carrots and gravy… If you’ve still got room, finish off with a yule log or a fire roasted pear.
Bistro Union
Price: £50 for 3 courses (plus snacks)
Great for: Big groups
This one will be good for those who aren’t as into the sharing idea. The only thing you’ll have to split is a trio of snacks before your starter rocks up; celeriac and chestnut soup, burrata with squash, gin cured salmon or chicken liver parfait… It’s all the classics here. All dietary preferences are hit with each main option- there’s an artichoke risotto, a baked plaice, duck confit or venison haunch. And if you’ve been to Bistro Union you’ll know they are very good for puds. Warm chocolate pot, a cherry and almond tart or a cheese board. This one is only for groups of 10+, so gather a gang and get ready for a warming, classic meal.
Trinity Upstairs
Price: £70 for 3 courses (plus snacks and tea/coffee to finish)
Great for: Getting a little bit fancy
The iconic festive feasting goose menu is back at Trinity Upstairs and this one is good. It’s available for groups of 4 to 36, so you’ve got no excuse to not book this one at some point over Christmas. Though it is a little on the pricier side, this is worth it… Especially as their snacks are pigs in blankets. After that epic beginning you’ll be served sharing boards of starters which are ladened with gin cured salmon, pickles, bread, endive salad and burrata with a Christmas spiced squash. The kind of starter that will keep everyone happy. The headliner is, of course, the goose. A whole goose (or 1/2 if you’re in a group of 4) with goose fat potatoes, confit leg, stuffing, sprout tops, parsnips, cranberry sauce… It’s called the feasting menu for a reason. Find space for a mince pie or a bit of Christmas pud for afters and you’ll be very merry.
Trinity
Price: £160 for 5 courses
Good for: Getting properly fancy
Go ‘table side’ at Trinity where you’ll be properly spoilt. This is intimate, fine dining at its finest and really will make for a Christmas treat. The set menu starts with canapés and smoked salmon, chicken liver and foie gras parfait to start then venison en brioche for mains all followed up with a mince pie and a bit of cheese. Pricey, sure- but you get what you pay for and this is one that you’ll remember.
The Rose & Crown
Price: £50 for two people
Good for: Festive date night
This one is a great option if you want to make your date night a little bit seasonal. Hunker down in the beautiful Rose & Crown and tuck into their spit roast turkey for two. You’ll get all the trimmings- roast potatoes, red cabbage, sprout tops, stuffing and gravy and the best bit? You don’t have to wait until Sunday to get your mitts on this roast. It’s around every day on their dinner menu.
Willows
Price: Varies
Good for: Something a little different
Willows does things a bit differently, and that doesn’t change with their winter menu. As always, you’ll select plates to make up a bespoke meal and this seasonal menu is full of festive flavours in fresh ways- perfect when you still want a bit of Christmas but are feeling a bit ‘roasted out’. Beetroot with labneh and sour cherry molasses, roast potatoes with parsnip thyme cream, Jerusalem artichoke with miso butter and chestnut puree… The flavours of the holidays reinvented!
The Apollo Arms
Price: £60 for 3 courses, £50 for 2 courses
Good for: The indecisive
The Apollo Arms has a really good 3 courser here. Each course has three options to choose from and, if you want, you can keep it very classic: celeriac velouté, roast turkey with the trimmings and Christmas ice cream with warm madeleines. Or you can change it up with a starter of lasagne, a roasted hake and saffron bean stew for mains and a sticky toffee pudding to finish. Whichever route your tastebuds dictate, it’ll be delicious here.
The Windmill
Price: £40 for 3 courses
Good for: Comforting pub vibes
The Windmill just gets Christmas. Every year the decorations are on point, there’s always a bubbling pot of mulled wine on the go and there’s a roaring fire to cosy up to. Their Christmas feasting menu reflects all of that- it’s comforting, hearty food that you’re going to really want to eat this Christmas. Big soups, salads and smoked salmon for starters, the classic roasts and trimmings (plus a couple of extra bits like a beetroot tart and a venison, partridge and swede pie) for the mains and then all the stick-to-your-ribs puddings you could hope for. Christmas pudding, apple crumble, brownies or even a winter fruit Bakewell. Vibes and food on merry point here.
