‘Tis the season for feasting
We love a good Christmas sarnie but this is the time of year where anything goes, and not just between two slices of bread. Every Christmas, London restaurants and foodies go all out to make the best festive specials they can, so we’ve rounded our faves of the season so far.
Poppies’ Christmas Pudding
Every year Poppies takes a Christmas classic, covers it in batter and deep fries it, and this year the Soho chippie is doing it to Christmas pudding. This pudding is rich and moist in the middle, covered in a crispy coating and served with a scoop of vanilla gelato.
Available at Poppies Soho from 16th – 29th December 2024
Blacklock’s Festive Burger
Blacklock may have made its name with chops but it does a mean burger too, like this festive special. It’s got two pork patties (made with meat from Philip Warren), Tunworth cheese, glazed streaky bacon, winter slaw and spiced apple & cranberry chutney stuffed between the bun.
Available at all Blacklock locations now
Leydi’s Mince Pie Börek
Leydi is marking its first Christmas with a festive set menu and a dessert special that’s a true fusion of Turkey and Britain – the mince pie börek. The pastry is filled with spiced fruits and pistachio and served with tahini and medjool date ice cream.
Available at Leydi now
MEATliquor’s Santa’s Little Gobbler
MEATliquor’s XXXmas menu is back and it’s packed with indulgent treats including pigs in blankets with mustard BBQ sauce, hot Winter Cosmos and the famous Santa’s Little Gobbler burger – fried turkey, red-eye mayo, sprout slaw and cranberry hot sauce.
Available at all MEATliquor locations now
Roe’s Stuffing Flatbread
There’s not many things that can’t be improved by the addition of stuffing, which is why the Roe team is putting it on one of their signature flatbreads. As well as the pork & onion stuffing, cranberry, chestnut and sage topped bread, you can also get in the festive spirit with some Devils on Horseback (aka prune, bacon and almond) skewers.
Available at Roe now
Xi Home Dumplings Bay’s Christmas Buns
Xi Home Dumplings Bay is doing not one but four festive buns for Christmas this year, which can be eaten in the restaurant or taken away in a gift box. There’s a Christmas present filled with red bean paste, a reindeer custard bun, a winter mitten with a black sesame filling, and a Christmas tree filled with matcha.
Available at Xi Home Dumplings Bay from 10th December 2024 – 6th January 2025
Daddy Bao’s Apple Sidra Glazed Ham Hock Bao
Christmas ham is getting a Taiwanese twist at Tooting’s Daddy Bao, where apple sidra glazed ham hock is being stuffed into a pillowy bao bun along with pickled red cabbage and crispy leeks. You can get it as part of the restaurant’s festive feast menu, which also includes three birds dumplings and miso roast parsnips with hot honey and whipped tofu.
Available at Daddy Bao now
Flat Earth Pizza’s Six Cheese & Fig Pizza
Flat Earth Pizza is taking your festive cheeseboard and sticking it on a heritage grain pizza base for its Christmas special this year. The Six Cheese & Fig pizza features a mix of six British cheeses – La Latteria mozzarella, Devonshire red, Somerset cheddar, smoked scamorza, orange zested ricotta and grated Spenwood (with the option to add London burrata to make it even cheesier) – along with fig jam, pickled grapes and a pickled fig.
Available at Flat Earth Pizza until 22nd December 2024
Nessa’s Sage Stuffing Brioche
Tom Cenci is doing a festive twist on Nessa’s signature black pudding brioche dish by adding sage stuffing to the centre of the brioche toast and serving it with a homemade cranberry sauce.
Available at Nessa now
Dishoom’s Festive Naan Roll
Dishoom is Christmas-ifying its signature bacon naan roll again this year so you can kick your winter mornings off in style. As well as streaky bacon, the festive naan is stuffed with creamy brie and a tangy cranberry-chilli chutney.
Available at all Dishoom locations now
De Nadas’ Brusselnada
Sprout fans, rejoice because the Brusselnada is back at De Nadas this winter. The hand-shaped empanada is filled with a Brussels sprout and goat’s cheese mix, and you can follow up your savoury treat with a sweet one as De Nadas is also doing a Mince Pie Nada that’s also 100% vegan.
Available at De Nadas from 1st – 31st December
Honest Burger’s Camembert Burger
It’s just not Christmas without a serious amount of cheese and that’s exactly what you get with this festive spesh from Honest Burgers. A beef patty or piece of fried chicken is topped with deep fried camembert, bacon, cranberry sauce and rocket – and vegans don’t have to miss out as you can get one made with Beyond Meat and Shamembert.
Available at all Honest Burgers locations until 6th January 2025
Tonkotsu’s Christmas Tantanmen
Tonkotsu is doing a real winter warmer this festive season with its fiery tantanmen special. The base is made from sesame, tobanjan bean paste, soy sauce and sugar, mixed with lardo-enriched pork broth to form the soup. Then the ramen is finished with homemade thin-cut noodles; pork mince cooked with Szechuan pepper, tobanjan paste and Tonkotsu’s Eat the Bits Chilli Oil; mizuna; bok choy; itokiri togarashi; sesame seeds; and half a soy-marinated Clarence Court egg.
Available at all Tonkotsu locations now
Pizzeria Mozza’s Brussels Sprout Pizza
If there’s one thing that’ll turn you from a sprout hater to a sprout lover, it’s this festive pizza from Pizzeria Mozza. Thinly sliced, charred sprouts are joined by guanciale, red onion, chilli flakes, pecorino and parmesan on a thin and crispy base.
Available at Pizzeria Mozza now
The Mayfair Chippy’s Festive Fritters
The Mayfair Chippy, which now boasts a restaurant in Knightsbridge as well as Mayfair, is celebrating the festive sea-son with some festive specials, including these sage & onion stuffing and pigs in blankets fritters with cranberry and bacon jam.
Available at both The Mayfair Chippy locations now
Gelupo’s Toasted Brioche con Gelato
Gelupo has turned into a cosy ski lodge for winter and that means lots of seasonal treats on the menu. As well as vin brule, boozy hot chocolates and limoncello toddies, you can get any of the gelateria’s flavours, like halva stracciatella, panforte, and caramel & gingerbread, pressed inside a soft Sicilian brioche and toasted for the ultimate ice cream sandwich.
Available at Gelupo until 5th January 2025
BAO’s Mince Pie Bao
BAO is doing two seasonal specials this winter, so you can start with a glazed duck and watercress mayo bao and then finish with the deep-fried bao with mince pie filling and served with custard – one that’s sure to convert any mince pie haters.
Available at all BAO locations from 26th November – 31st December 2024
Marugame Udon’s Brussel Sprout Tempura
Marugame Udon has brought back its Brussel sprout tempura back and you can get your hands on it for free – all you have to do is write the Marugame Udon team a Christmas card and they’ll give you the battered veggies in return.
Available at all Marugame Udon locations until 24th December 2024
Capilungo’s Pesce di Pasta di Mandorla
Get a taste of southern Italy this Christmas with the Pesce di Pasta di Mandorla from Covent Garden spot Capilungo. The dessert, a traditional Apulian almond cake shaped like a fish, is made from almond paste and sponge, and filled with a pear jam.
Available at Capilungo now
Shake Shack’s Chocolate Yule Log Shake
As well as bringing back its White Truffle Burger and Parmesan Fries for the festive season, Shake Shack is also serving up a spesh holiday shake, made with chocolate frozen custard blended with chocolate cake and topped with whipped cream, chocolate cake, and Christmas sprinkles.
Available all Shake Shack locations until 6th January 2025
Pophams x The King’s Ginger’s Mince Pies
Pophams and The King’s Ginger, the sweet liqueur first made by Berry Bros. & Rudd for King Edward VII in 1903, are back with their collab mince pies for another festive season. The flaky pastries, laminated with 18 layers of Normandy butter, are filled with a spiced dried fruit, candied peel, apple and citrus mix that’s been steeped in The King’s Ginger along with The King’s Ginger-infused Cornish clotted cream. A must for all mince pie lovers.
Available at all Pophams locations now
Michel Roux x Dishpatch’s Beef Wellington
Dishpatch has teamed up with Michel Roux for a festive offering that doesn’t have a turkey in sight. He’s created a luxurious beef wellington wrapped in mushroom duxelles, cabbage and all-butter pastry, with a red wine jus for serving. You can buy the wellington on its own to serve with your own sides, or you can buy Michel’s full meat kit, which also features a champagne & saffron soup starter and sides of celeriac & potato dauphinoise and carrots and chestnuts glazed in confit garlic brown butter.
Available on Waitrose now
Pipers Farm’s Apricot & Hazelnut Turkey
This free-range rolled turkey breast and leg from Pipers Farm is here to make festive hosting a dream. The meat is already stuffed with apricot and hazelnut stuffing, so you just need to cook it for an hour and then slice to serve, avoiding any messy carving. There’s also native breed pigs in blankets and turkey stock for gravy in the box too.
Available from Pipers Farm now
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