Looking for places to eat a more trad Christmas dinner in London? We've covered that too.
Many of London's menus get a festive makeover this time of year: from sandwiches stuffed with a whole turkey dinner to mince pie doughnuts, here's a handful of places serving Christmassy twists on their regular offerings.
Christmas doughnuts at Crosstown (various locations)
Ginger, blackberry & pear (finished with a candied ginger crumble); and gianduja chocolate & hazelnut (dusted with edible gold) are among the yuletide offerings at Crosstown, the doughnut purveyors who can be found in a number of London locations. For extravagant gifts/parties, there are various delivery options, including three- or five-tier (!) Christmas doughnut trees.
Available throughout the Christmas season.
Festive doughnuts at Donutelier, Covent Garden
In other doughnut news, boutique bakery Donutelier has a sleighful of sweet, creamy treats in the form of Santa Berry Kiss, Red Nose Pistachio, Frosty Mont Blanc and Snowy Croissant. These four festive (and highly Instagrammable) offerings can be picked up from the Covent Garden store — making dainty little gifts for people you're meeting up with over the season. Or just scoff one there and then and have done with it.
Until 2 January 2024.
The Black Pig's Holiday Sandwich, Borough Market
Sleigh bells ring, children sing... and The Black Pig’s festive sandwich has returned. 'The Sleigher' — a hefty ciabatta and pork sandwich with a side pot of roast chicken gravy — is topped with confit leek mayo, cranberry sauce, red cabbage, smoked turkey, plus pecan, sage and onion crumble. It'll probably tide you over till Christmas Day itself.
Available 20 November-late December.
A Taiwanese twist on Christmas cuisine at Mr Bao (Peckham) and Daddy Bao (Tooting)
The trad English Christmas feast gets a Taiwanese twist at sister restaurants Mr Bao (Peckham) and Daddy Bao (Tooting); set menu specials at the latter include kimchi roast potatoes with whipped tofu; turkey kyiv bao; and chocolate & hazelnut cake. The smaller selection at Mr Bao (which you can pick and choose from) features prawn cocktail bao and clementine pavlova.
Available 21 November-end of December.
Festive Brunch at The Table, Southwark and Battersea
Can't wait till lunchtime to get your festive foodie fix? Both branches of all-day restaurant The Table are serving up a daily brunch menu featuring fried buttermilk turkey breast pancakes with maple cured bacon, cranberry sauce, roast turkey gravy and maple syrup; scrambled eggs with pigs in blankets and a roast turkey, and a chestnut and sage burger. £25 gets you a starter, main and mimosa.
27 November-Christmas.
Sticks'n'Sushi’s Festive Holiday Menu (various locations)
Not one but three festive menus are launched in all branches of Sticks'n'Sushi; with twists here including miso fried sprouts and Chicks'n'Blankets (that is, chicken meatballs & bacon with miso herb butter). The bar's also shaking up gingerbread sours.
Available 27 November-Christmas Eve.
Christmas Menu At Crust Bros (various locations)
Pizza and Christmas is not a combination you often hear, but Crust Bros are ushering in the holiday spirit with a limited edition Christmas menu — loosely inspired at least. That includes a 'Double Carbs at Xmas' pizza, (a colourful ode to the roast potato with purple potato creme), and the 'Hot Cheeseboard' pizza, which apparently takes its cue from a Christmas cheeseboard. Liquid refreshment comes in the form of chocolate negronis and spiced Aperol spritzes.
Available 28 November-8 January.
Melrose and Morgan's mince pie doughnut, Hampstead and Primrose Hill
Melrose and Morgan — the posh bakery with a brace of branches in north London — is stuffing its doughnuts with mince pie filling across December, creating a holiday hybrid crammed with cinnamon, spice and all things generally Christmassy.
Available throughout December.
Christmassy menus at Market Halls Victoria
Food hall Market Halls Victoria is decked out with blankets, fleeces and the like as part of its winter terrace, and as well as serving up seasonal drinks (such as a mulled wine spritz and chocolate orange martini espresso), the various food outlets here are getting into the spirit too. That means things like Eggslut's cranberry turkey sausage special; Hotbox's St Louis pork ribs served with apple and walnut coleslaw; and DF Tacos' beef brisket number slow cooked with winter spices.
Available throughout December
Tur-duck-en Burger at Blues Kitchen (Brixton, Camden and Shoreditch)
Granted, the Tur-duck-en Burger does NOT have the most appealing name — but hardcore Christmas carnivores will want to sink their teeth into Blues Kitchen's festive bite, not least because it's made from a duck leg cooked with various festive spices then encased in chicken and turkey mince, before being wrapped in chicken skin and fried. Even then, they haven't finished with the thing, adding brie, cranberry sauce and — in case you were worried they were stinting on the meat — bacon. Someone pass us the Rennies...
Available 1-31 December 2023
