Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa la la la la la la la! 'Tis the season to be jolly, Fa la la la la la la la! Don we now our gay apparel, Fa la la la la la la la! And tuck into a spicy malagueta chicken for under a tenner, Fa la la la la la la la!
Whether you've had your fill of Christmas shopping, forgotten to book your Christmas do, or simply had enough of all that bleedin' washing up, below we've got a festive dining deal for you...
(Offers available throughout December - click the venue for more details or to book.)
SAM’S CHOP HOUSE It's been celebrating Christmas since 1872 so there’s little better place to tuck into a proper roast dinner than Sam’s Chop House. Three course options also include the Abroath Smokie pot and braised beef in ale and there’s 10% off pre-ordered wines for party organisers. From £20 (open Christmas day)
BIERKELLER From a £7 hot dog fest to an £18 hog roast and a £12 canape platter, Bierkeller is catering for all budgets with a stonking selection of packages. Christmas markets fortunately aren’t the only things those merry-making Germans invented, as Bierkeller demonstrates with free-flowing steins, sauerkraut, pretzels - and some oompah thrown in for good measure. From £7
ALLOTMENT With its cabin-like bar and enthusiastic fairy light usage, you can’t fault allotment for atmosphere. It’s like the Christmas market indoors (but without the crowds and singing moose). The menu is typically cosy - think smoked haddock kedgeree arancini, cream of chestnut soup and spiced fruit and sherry trifle. Want to take out? They also do a Christmas hamper, at £32.50 for two. From £17.50
Allotment: call it a Christmas cabinMR THOMAS’S CHOP HOUSE Sam’s Victorian sibling is also putting on a good spread, at the same price. Anticipate nostalgic classics like cheese and ale fondue, Dukesmoor ribeye steak and plum pudding to finish. You’ll even get some British historical titbits on your menu. Apparently Henry VIII was the first English monarch to have turkey for Christmas, almost 500 years ago. Perhaps where his love of beheading came from... From £20 (open Christmas day)
HARVEY NICHOLS Available from Friday 18 November, enjoy three courses for £30 per person from 12 midday – 5pm, or three courses and a Christmas cocktail for £30 per person from 5pm – 10pm, with delights such as port-fed stilton with a spicy sprout dressing, followed by a classic turkey roast, Christmas pudding and mulled wine nightcap. Plus, live music from their resident soul band throughout the evening to kick start your celebrations. From £30
ODD BAR If pick ‘n’ mix rather than a sit-down meal is more your style, Odd buffets might do the trick. Noel nibbles include mini turkey burgers with smoked bacon, stuffing and cranberry chutney, crispy goats’ cheese and wild mushroom rice balls, mini mince pies and clotted cream. Big group? They can accommodate up to 120 people - and you’ll even have your own bar. Now they’re talking. From £7
GRAFENE Keen to make an impression in their first year, Grafene have whipped up not one but two festive dining deals. If your homemade dinner always ends up being a bit of turkey (sorry), their £65 Christmas Day menu - featuring the likes of pressed game terrine, salt-baked parsley root and milk chocolate brulee; plus canapés and surprise dishes - may be your saving grace. Alternatively, plump for their ‘Taste of Christmas’, which offers costs £34.50 for two courses and £39.50 for three. From 34.50 (open Christmas day)
Grafene: find a taste of Christmas and bartenders made of smudged oil paintsTHE BLUE PIG Masala parsnip soup, potted cider braised pulled pork, maple-glazed roast carrots and parsnips, herb crispy roast potatoes, thyme and smoked garlic roast Lancashire turkey...The Blue Pig’s Menu is anything but a boar. You can go for two courses but, with puds like rum cheesecake with homemade cranberry shortbread, it’s advisable to go for three. From £19.95
DIMITRI’S Never mind a big fat Greek wedding, it’s a big fat Greek Christmas at Dimitri’s. Festive lunch includes a shared meze platter - pitta bread, salads and various dips - and main course options like beef stifado; chicken, apricot and chickpea tagine; and Greek pasta with feta mixed salad. Alternatively, go for the meze menu for a medley of nibbles to share. From £15.50
ROSSO Free booze and menus aplenty to choose - Rosso know the way to our heart (and gut.) Book your Christmas meal for Monday to Thursday with a party of twelve or more and each guest will receive a complimentary 200ml bottle of Bottega. Menus span lunch to Sundays and Christmas Day; expect an Italian slant on traditional favourites, with dishes like tacchino arrosto (that’s turkey ballotine to you) and panettone pudding. From £25 (open Christmas day)
Rosso is giving out free bubblesALBERT SQUARE CHOP HOUSE Not to be outdone, the final in the Chop House trio is offering the likes of seated scallops with oxtail stew, stovie and upside-down Bramley Apple sponge. Again, 10% off wine for the booker applies - one advantage to being the party arranger at least - and there’s a discount for off-peak dining (selected Mondays and Tuesdays). From £20 (open Christmas day)
SALVI’S Alongside their (understandably) popular pizza slice and peroni deal - available weekdays, after 5pm, at the John Dalton Street Rosticceria - Salvi’s now have a Christmas offering that’s equally appealing: sourced, as with everything else, directly from Italian artisans. Four courses include an antipasti selection for the table, followed by the likes of porcini mushroom risotto and venison and juniper stew. £34.95
SAKANA For something a bit lighter than the usual dinner and trimmings, Japanese is a good alternative. Menus at this Pan Asian purveyor are more along the lines of duck red curry, sake seabass and Thai prawn crackers (lunch) and ribeye blackbean with broccoli, scallop and pork belly with apple and steamed Chilean seabass with miso (dinner). From £25
Sakana: because nothing says Christmas like Asian fusionYANG SING For those bored of roast and stuffing, you can’t get much more novel than pan-fried ostrich and jellyfish platter. Yang Sing makes no pretence of moulding to British tradition, which is why you’ll find various menus - divided into Chinese dynasties - spanning dim sum to dumplings; and no turkey in sight. From £35
TEPPANYAKI It may be in Chinatown but a glance at the menu here gives the game away: sushi, miso soup, yuzu mocha ice cream... yes, this is very definitely Japanese. You’ll also find dishes chicken teriyaki, vegetable gyoza and beef sashimi; with two and three course lunch and dinner options. Book in a Christmas party of ten or more and the organiser’s meal will be on the house. From £18.95
PER TUTTI Per Tutti excels at hearty warming fare in winter so we’ve no doubt their Christmas menu will be a treat. Diners can opt for two or three courses, with off-peak dining (Sunday to Wednesday) garnering a £5 discount. Dishes include parsnip and apple soup with warm foccacia; turkey breast with fondant potato, roast root vegetables, creamed spouts and bacon, chestnut stuffing and chipolata; plus warm ginger sponge with cranberry and orange compote. From £15
Oh you Per TuttiDON GIOVANNI Like a dash of romance and a spot of je ne sais quoi with your festive feasting? Then you can’t beat a menu featuring dishes by charismatic Frenchman Jean-Christophe Novelli in what was voted ‘most romantic restaurant 2016’ in the Italian Food Awards. Three-course options include homemade meatballs, lamb shanks braised in Borolo wine liquorice and slow-roasted peaches infused with honey and cinnamon. You can also dine on Christmas Day at £54.50, with 50% off for children under twelve. Keep an eye on their advent calendar too, it’s set to be a cracker. £32.95 (open Christmas day)
CABANA Where better to celebrate party season than one of Manchester’s favourite Brazilian boltholes? There are four menus to choose from, featuring staples like crispy lula squid and spicy malagueta chicken alongside seasonal slants like pulled turkey croquetas and bacon and caramel snowdrop doughnuts with white chocolate ice cream. Oh my. If that wasn’t incentive enough, there are discounts for party organisers and drinks available too. From £9.95
REFUGE Available for parties of six or over, Refuge’s four-course Christmas Feasting menu is a sight to behold. A warm spiced cider gets everyone in the spirit before ‘beginnings’ like chorizo poker and fire-roasted padrón peppers with Maldon salt. Onto the ‘big hit’, with choices like suckling pig and winter game pie with celeriac, followed a chocolate fondue with too many ingredients to list here and coffee with a Lancashire cheese Eccles cake. Christmas Day dining is also available, at £85. From £35
Gloucester Old Spot Belly Pork in RefugeBUSABA Informal and sociable is the theme at Busaba, where food is served to the middle of the table for tucking in and sharing at will. An assortment of small plates and mains include glazed jasmine beef rib, chicken butternut squash stirfry and (entirely innocent) magical mushrooms. The most wonderful Thai of the year indeed. From £19.90
DUKES 92 Dukes have a royal banquet of Christmas comestibles, from group sharing boards - with elements like potted duck, Black Bomber cheddar and beetroot-cured salmon - to one, two or three course options. With a fusion of cuisines, the set menu spans spring rolls to braised oriental belly pork and roast Norfolk turkey. Ooh, and not forgetting chocolate volcano. From £10
TARIFF AND DALE It’s a cool Yule at T&D, where Portobello Road gin-soaked salmon gravlax jostles alongside crispy pork belly with chorizo cassoulet and mince pie and honeycomb sundae. It’s the same two or three-course menu for lunch and dinner so you’re guaranteed such delights whichever you choose. After something lighter? You also have the option of five canapés per head, at £2.50 each. From £18
Sausage rolls are a speciality at Tariff & DaleINDIAN TIFFIN ROOM As well as the famous lunch thalis - platters including delights such as chilli paneer, chicken tikka, pulao rice and puri - for £13 (vegetarian £12), Indian Tiffin Room are also offering a four-course dinner menu for a very reasonable £20 this Christmas. Featuring favourites like crunchy lentil fritters, lamb dalcha and carrot halwa, it’s best teamed with a chai amaretto for festivities with a truly Indian flavour. £20
DIVE NQ Fitting parties up to 650, and with a 5am license, Dive doesn’t do things by halves. That also applies to the Christmas menus, which span festive bites (five for £10) to two-course lunch and dinner and thanksgiving platters. That’s before we even get to the party packages and tipples. From £10
GUSTO If you do something with gusto, you do it with verve. Needless to say, then, Gusto’s Christmas menu gives oomph to simple pleasures like slow-cooked beef daube and apple and blackberry crumble. And the cocktails - with names like Cauld Wine and Gingerbread Fizz - are too tempting for their own good. From £19.95
Gusto: slick and refinedZOUK Spicing up proceedings, Zouk are bringing some subcontinental heat to wintry December with their Yuletide banquets; also available on Christmas Day for just £30. Expect plenty of snap, crackle and poppadoms; with dishes like Goan fish curry and saffron chicken. Looking for lunch? Christmas tiffins costs £10.95 and include two curries, a starter, rice and freshly-baked naan. From £20 (open Christmas day)
MR COOPER’S HOUSE AND GARDEN For celebrating Christmas in a Manchester institution, The Midland is hard to beat. Named for Thomas Cooper -a coach-maker in the 1800s, whose garden on the site was famous for its fresh berries - Mr Cooper’s now blends heritage with the best of British cuisine. The festive menu is available for lunch, pre-theatre and evening dining, with dishes such as ham hock with dukkah crumb and exotic fruit ragout with bourbon vanilla-scented almond milk. From £22.50
JAMES MARTIN With all the trimmings but no unnecessary fuss, James Martin’s Christmas menu perfectly reflects the ‘modern British cuisine’ that typifies his 235 restaurant. Starters include roast parsnip soup, spiced hazelnut granola and pear; followed by mains like free range turkey with game and chestnut stuffing and chocolate and fig Christmas pudding. From £30
Oh JamesNO. WATSON STREET While Epernay leads up to Christmas with 12% off a selected drink over twelve days from 12-23 December, downstairs No. 1 Watson Street have also rustled up a December treat with their No. 1 Xmas menu. Starters range from parsnip and cannellini bean soup to duck liver parfait while mains comprise surf, turf and veg alike. Round off with pudding, crumble or black forest trifle. From £25
EAST Z EAST This should be called ‘East z Feast’. Start off with poppadoms and dips (what else?) before taking your pick of starters like delicately-spiced lamb chops or fresh courgettes and aubergine, battered and served with chargrilled paneer and a spicy sauce. Mains boast tikka makhani and milli julee sabzi, amongst other perennial favourites, and the price also includes Christmas pud with custard and a drink. £24.95 (open Christmas day)
PHO Pho Ho Ho. Dine with the Vietnamese street food spot any time this month and you’ll receive a January sale voucher to redeem in the New Year (free main, free beer, free pho to go or free dessert). Alongside a Christmas menu, Pho still have their reasonable weekday lunch deal - two courses for £9.95 on weekdays 12-5pm - running throughout December. From £9.95
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