Some of Manchester’s most talented chefs are sharpening their knives especially for Christmas Day, serving up course after course of delectable festive grub. Feel like kicking back and having someone do the hard work for you this year? Read on for our picks of the best places to enjoy a Christmas Day dinner right here in Manchester, whether it’s a traditional Christmas dinner offering or a divine meal enough to give the roast turkey and all the trimmings a pass this year.
1. 20 Stories
Making the big day extra special this year, 20 Stories will be open from 12pm-3.45pm, serving a delectable five-course menu of Christmas Day classics. Think beef carpaccio to start, then roast turkey breast served with pork & chestnut stuffing, honey carrots, pigs in blankets, truffled pomme purée and port & cranberry jus, finished off with a delicious Christmas pudding served with redcurrants and a brandy sauce, followed by a spiced chocolate fondant tart. Plus, you can listen to the sounds of live music and raise a glass to a day well spent.
📍20 Stories, NO. 1, 1 Hardman Square, M3 3EB.
🍽️ Book here.
2. The Lowry
Continuing to bring luxury vibes to Manchester even on Christmas Day, The Lowry Hotel’s River Restaurant is serving an absolute feast this Christmas Day, helping to take the pressure off and allow guests to truly celebrate. Enjoy turkey ballotine with all the best trimmings, alongside a selection of alternative main courses like duck breast with pumpkin mousselline, sous vide halibut or celeriac and potato gratin, festive puddings (think Christmas pud with brandy sauce, orange, cranberry and brandy butter) to finish.
📍The Lowry Hotel, 50 Dearmans Pl, Salford, M3 5LH.
🍽️ Book here.
3. King Street Townhouse
Alongside their festive screenings this season, King Street Townhouse in Manchester is bringing some Christmas magic in the form of a delicious Christmas Day dinner. Choose from the likes of celeriac velouté, ham hock, duck liver and guinea fowl terrine or cured salmon to start, followed by either roast Cheshire turkey, roast sirloin of aged beef, mushroom & potato pithivier or roast halibut. Finish with a festive trio of desserts, Christmas pudding or an epic cheese board.
📍King Street Townhouse, 10 Booth St, M2 4AW.
🍽️ Book here.
4. 8 Manchester
Who says you have to have Christmas dinner on Christmas Day? How about a Chinese instead? The lovely Chinese restaurant situated next to Whitefield Metrolink station, 8 Manchester, is open on December 25 and will be offering an affordable Christmas Day banquet at £65 per person, served between 12.30pm and 5pm. The banquet features turkey and sweetcorn soup, a mixed platter with crispy seaweed, salt & pepper chicken wings, sui mai, BBQ ribs and vegetable spring rolls. You can then choose from the likes of fillet steak in black pepper sauce, sweet and sour king prawns or chicken in satay sauce, to name a few, as your main course.
📍8 Manchester, 260 Bury New Rd, Whitefield, M45 8AB.
🍽️ Book here.
5. The Eagle & Child
Venture north of the city to the quaint market town of Ramsbottom for some festive fayre this year. Priced at £135 per person, the Christmas Day dinner menu at the pub, restaurant and hotel The Eagle & Child is both extensive and delicious, which will have you wanting to curl up by the fire content by the feast. Mains include seared loin of venison, traditional turkey with a fig & chestnut sausage roll, nut roast or whole roast John Dory. With canapés and Champagne on arrival, followed by three courses of pure festive indulgence, then coffee and mince pies to finish, this Christmas Day menu from The Eagle & Child is definitely a reason to escape the city.
📍The Eagle & Child, 3 Whalley Rd, Ramsbottom, Bury, BL0 0DL.
🍽️ Book here.
6. Zouk Tea Bar & Grill
Fancy spicing up Christmas Day dinner? Zouk are relieving the stress of Christmas Day cooking and cleaning with their Christmas Day Banquet, cooking up a banquet with a spiced twist, loaded with a variety of starter platters and main courses. Christmas Day diners can enjoy a glass of bubbles then choose from a selection of Zouk’s classic curries, or a more traditional roast chicken or lamb dinner with all the trimmings for their main course. If you’ve any room to spare, there’s a Snowberry Pavlova to complete your feast. For £79.95, the Christmas Day Banquet will be available for lunch and dinner on December 25th, with the restaurant open all day.
📍Zouk Tea Bar & Grill, 5 The Quadrangle, Chester St, M1 5QS.
🍽️ Book here.
7. Peter Street Kitchen
Peter Street Kitchen is serving not three but five courses for their Christmas Day Luncheon. Guests can pick between Champagne cured Scottish salmon, smoked duck breast and stracciatella with salt baked heritage beetroot for starters, followed by a palate cleanser consisting of a Moët Brut jelly with blood orange sorbet. Main courses include oven baked cod, corn-fed chicken breast, aged beef Wellington, and Portobello mushroom en croute all served with orange and Manuka honey-glazed heritage carrots, cauliflower cheese with Gruyère and Parmesan crust, garlic and herb roast potatoes. Desserts range from Madagascar vanilla yule log to yuzu mousse with cranberry jelly, with salted caramel chocolates and pâte de fruit selection as the petit fours.
📍Peter Street Kitchen, Free Trade Hall, Peter St, M2 5GP.
🍽️ Book here.
8. San Carlo
It might not be your classic turkey Christmas dinner, but who would object to a delicious bowl of pasta on Christmas Day? San Carlo in Manchester will be hosting a festive lunch on Christmas Day for £94.50 per person, complete with indulgent Italian dishes like beef carpaccio and Tuscan pâté to start, followed by the likes of truffle ravioli, salmon and prawns with Prosecco sauce and veal escalope in a creamy mushroom sauce. Finish with a slice of Sicilian pistachio cake, Chianti-poached pears with hazelnut ice cream, meringue cake with strawberries or panettone bread and butter pudding with limoncello and homemade vanilla ice cream.
📍San Carlo, 40-42 King Street West, Manchester, M3 2WY.
🍽️ Book here.
Why not work up a hunger with a festive Candlelight Christmas concert in Manchester? With plenty of dates available to choose from, this experience enhances the magic of Christmas.
