Shake Shack
For a taste of the USA, Shake Shack will be serving up a variety of seasonal items at Covent Garden and Westfield Stratford Shacks. Check out the Alpine Bacon Burger (£7.25) – a 100% Aberdeen Angus beef burger topped with melted Appenzeller cheese sauce and British free range Wiltshire cure smoked bacon or the Gingerbread Apple Caramel concrete (£5.50/£8) – vanilla frozen custard blended with Bread Ahead Ginger cake and almond cider caramel sauce. Also available in the Shacks is their custom blend Mulled Red Wine (£5.50) – winter ShackRed served warm and spiced for the season as well as Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate (£4.25) featuring a blend of bittersweet dark chocolates, caramel sauce, sea salt and fresh milk.
Avenue
This Christmas, modern American restaurant, Avenue, will be putting on a festive feast with a set menu for groups from new head chef James Hulme. Diners will be able to choose from four starters including and smoked salmon, Yukon gold potatoes, beetroot and rapeseed oil mayonnaise, four delicious mains including traditional roast bronze turkey with all the trimmings and a selection of four tempting desserts including a valhrona chocolate tart with clementine crème fraiche.
Dirty Bones
It’s time to give Christmas a snow globe shake up, Dirty Bones style. The Dirty Bones chefs will be cooking up festive specials such as the Mac Baubles (Dirty Bones Mac & Cheese Balls with a sweet chilli cranberry sauce), Winter Waffles (caramelised root vegetable waffles with rosemary fried chicken and maple syrup) and Mince Pie Mess (smashed mince pie with brandy butter gelato and coconut snow). A range of drinks packages have been designed to suit all occasions, including the return of the Dirty Santa Cocktail (Finlandia vodka, fresh ginger, blueberries, Velvet Falernum liqueur, cinnamon, apple, lime juice, vanilla, and cinnamon infused maple syrup).
Blanchette
Wonderful French food is in a class of its own, and where better to indulge for Christmas than Blanchette in Soho? At this beloved bistro, diners can enjoy cheese beignets, baked Saint-Marcelin, plum rum baba and creative small plates in a cosy ambience guaranteed to keep the cold out and the festive spirit in.
Le Pont de la Tour
With fabulous lighting, cosy banquettes and exceptional views of Tower Bridge, the newly refurbished Le Pont de la Tour is surely the most glamourous new location for your festive meal. The six course Christmas menu includes dishes such as Terrine of foie gras and fruit preserve, Smoked salmon and crab roll, Aquitaine caviar, avocado beignet and lemon oil and Norfolk turkey, Brussel tops with wild mushroom jalousie, pumpkin, braised leaves and chicory veloute.
Salt Yard Group
Celebrate Christmas the Spanish way with Salt Yard Group! Priced at £40 and £45, the festive menus at Dehesa, Opera Tavern, Ember Yard and Salt Yard include dishes such as Lamb Leg Cooked in Milk with Harissa Yoghurt and Fennel, Roast Creedy Carver Duck Breast with Glazed Salsify, Sprouting Broccoli & Smoked Almonds, Whole Roasted Sweet Potato with Maple Syrup, Rosemary and Cayenne and Porcini Arancini with Wilted Garlic, Spinach, Parsnip Purée & Pickled Walnuts.
LIMA Floral
Tired of Turkey already? Peruvian restaurant LIMA Floral in Covent Garden will be serving a three course Christmas lunch menu and five course Christmas dinner with fresh and unique dishes, including palm heart ceviche, Sword Fish escabeche and mushroom Huancaina, that are true to the restaurant’s Latin American roots. The menu is available now and is perfect for those looking for something a little more out of the ordinary this festive season.
German Gymnasium
Celebrate the festive season at German Gymnasium with Christmas menus and stunning interiors – all with a German twist. German Gymnasium is open throughout December, with special celebrations on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and over the New Year. Executive Chef, Bjoern Wassmuth’s December menus will include Roasted chestnut crème with truffle foam; Tafelspitz of slow cooked beef rump with Austrian hash, creamed spinach, chive sauce and grated horseradish and apple; and Hazelnut praline pot with soured cream and celeriac puree. Meanwhile in the Grand Café, a clock will chime at 4pm daily, signalling the beginning of the German tradition of Kaffee und Kuchen, with guests able to enjoy Apple strudel with vanilla sauce, Sachertorte with Chantilly cream, and to drink, Black Forest Coffee with Kirsch and whipped cream.
Flesh & Buns
Following its success last year, Flesh & Buns will be bringing ‘finger lickin’ holiday cheer back to London with the Japanese Fried Chicken (JFC) Feasting Basket. Until 23 December, diners at the Covent Garden restaurant will be able to tuck into a steamer basket of Buttermilk and shichimi fried half-chicken with BBQ mayonnaise, served with a salad and signature steamed buns, followed by a rich and chocolatey Yamazaki cake and all washed down with a Spiced rum and grenadine hard shake. Designed to share, the Japanese Fried Chicken Feasting Basket is priced at £37.00 for two.
Tokimeitē
Situated in the heart of Mayfair, the newly opened Japanese restaurant Tokimeitē is the perfect place for an unusual but very glamorous festive feast. Highlights from the menu include Wagyu Rei Shabu – thinly sliced Wagyu shabu shabu garnished with ponzu jelly and edible flowers; a table simmered Wagyu Sukiyaki served with onion and watercress in miso dashi with a side of creamy truffle sauce and a variety of sashimi sets and sushi rolls.
Arabica Bar & Kitchen
Celebrate Christmas at Arabica Bar & Kitchen with alternative festive flavours from the Levant. This year, Arabica have crafted six Christmas menus: guests will have the option to choose from three set meze menus suitable for groups of any size, or three seasonal feasting menus for parties of five guests or more, consisting of six meze to share, follow by a main course and a dessert. Examples include spiced venison boregi, woodland mushroom and truffle man’ousheh, and double cooked duck with cinnamon, honey, cardamom and mastica. Arabica also offer seasonal cocktails with Middle Eastern spices and liquors such as quince 75, bramble spritz and Levantine sour, and authentic delicacies such as sweet mincemeat baklawa can be enjoyed for dessert.
Tommi’s
This year, Icelandic Burger Joint Tommi’s is bringing the festive cheer with their limited edition venison burger. The venison patty is topped with creamy brie, rocket, pickled red cabbage, green pepper mayo and cranberry sauce. Like all of Tommi’s burgers, only carefully sourced British produce is used, with meat from HG Walters butcher in Baron’s Court, and bread from Millers bakery. Available now until the end of December, so come all ye faithful burger fans, and get one whilst you can! Priced at £9.90, for every venison burger bought £1.00 will be donated to Scope charity, supporting disabled people and their families.
Mango Tree
Thai institution Mango Tree Belgravia will be celebrating Christmas this year with a Thai inspired festive menu. Beginning with a sharing platter including grilled king scallop with Thai spicy garlic sauce, grilled lamb marinated in honey and crispy soft shell crab with salt and chill seasoning, the menu goes on to include main courses of beef massaman, baked seabass marinated in Thai herbs and smoked turkey breast in black bean sauce and culminates in a delicious mango cheesecake for a Thai alternative to Christmas pudding. The menu will be priced at £49.95 and is available for parties of four or more.
