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Fed up with turkey and all the trimmings? Christmas is very much upon us but if youre in London and looking for something a little bit different to the usual festive fayre, then read on for 10 of the best Christmas menus in the capital.
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Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, Mayfair
As one of the UK’s four 3-Michelin star restaurants, Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester needs little introduction. Celebrate Christmas in exquisite surroundings and a vibrant ambiance with bespoke menus and wine pairings designed by Executive Chef Jocelyn Herland and Head Sommelier Christopher Bothwell.
The restaurant’s Christmas Eve dinner menu (150, plus 80 with wine pairings) caught our eye, a 6-course extravaganza starting with cauliflower velout, delicate royale and black truffle, followed by a fish course of simmered halibut, butternut squash and toasted hazelnuts. The Anjou pigeo la broche with braised lettuce and salmis sauce is followed by Colston Bassett stilton and finally bche de nol notre faon (‘Yule log our way’).
The New Angel, Notting Hill
The New Angel is the latest opening from Michelin-starred chef John Burton Race. Together with his kitchen team, Head Chef Stephen Humphries has designed an elegant 7-course sample menu for 85 per person to create a very special dining experience for Christmas this year. Immerse yourself in the glory of the season with dishes on the menu such as chilled Cornish lobster, served with a delicate potato and winter truffle salad, and roast squab pigeon with wild mushrooms, golden raisins and Monbazillac jus.
Alternatively, choose from two three-course menus (30 or 55). Follow your starter with roasted teal, rich and delicate sauce Armagnac and earthy winter fruits, and finish with a gorgeous caramel and chocolate cream with hazelnut and truffle. It just wouldn’t be Christmas without chocolate!
L’Autre Pied, Marylebone
Having previously won the Taste of London best dish, L’Autre Pied is known for beautiful food in a contemporary yet relaxed environment. If your festive indulgences continue until well into the New Year, then spare a thought for Michelin chef Andy McFadden’s New Year’s Eve menu.
Served from 6pm, this 6 course menu starts with a complimentary glass of fizz served with canaps, before moving through the formalities of amuse bouche and on to dishes such as ceviche of hand-dived scallops with pickled cucumber, black quinoa, crme fraiche and dill and sika deer cooked in cocoa and juniper with beetroot, black pudding and peanut crumble. It is priced at 99 per person, with an optional wine flight at 58.50.
The Cinnamon Club, Westminster
Add a sprinkle of spice to your Christmas Day this year at Executive Chef Vivek Singh’s award-winning modern Indian restaurant, The Cinnamon Club, and enjoy an inspired Indian feast with all the trimmings. Set against the book-lined shelves of the historic Westminster Library, The Cinnamon Club is going all-out with a four-course, spice-infused lunch menu (85 per person) with dishes such as Keralan-style lobster soup flamed with brandy and South Indian-style stir-fry of goose breast with red onion, curry leaf and layered paratha.
Wahaca, various locations
Wahaca was born in 2007, inspired by Thomasina Miers’ travels in Mexico, running bars there and exploring the cuisine. She – a winner of BBC2′s MasterChef in 2005 – and co-founder Mark Selby later set about recreating Mexico’s vibrant flavours and social dining culture at home in the UK, and now have places at Canary Wharf, Covent Garden, Islington, Soho and more.
Wahaca serves dishes that are conducive to sharing and have a MEXmas menu which includes dishes such as the Huitlacoche tortilla pie, made from the first European Huitlacoche crop, and a duck confit enchilada and sprout mole (roasted Brussel sprouts with toasted almonds, in rich mole sauce and topped with crumbled feta). 20 pence from each dish goes to Ednica, a UNESCO-backed charity helping to educate street kids in Mexico City.
L’Atelier de Jol Robuchon, Covent Garden
Located in the heart of London’s West End, a stone’s throw away from Covent Garden, the three floors at L’Atelier de Jol Robuchon offer the perfect setting for a really special Christmas and New Year. Here Executive Head Chef Xavier Boyer has created two truly memorable dinner menus to celebrate Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.
There is an intricate and sophisticated 7-course Christmas menu using traditionally festive ingredients in a courageous way. Enjoy delicacies like Le Caviar de Sologne Imperial with Sologne Imperial caviar on a symphony of salmon tartar; Le Turbot, poached turbot with Champagne sauce and Le White, a dessert showcasing a stunning white chocolate sphere with poached pear, chestnut and black truffle mousse. The specially curated menu will be available for dinner on both Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.
Club Gascon, Smithfield
Low-key, sophisticated and consistently rated as one of London’s best restaurants, Club Gascon is offering a tasting menu, Le March du Noel, throughout December. At this intimate and chic venue with marble walls, wooden floors, large framed mirrors and olive-green banquettes, Chef Pascal Aussignac is offering some mouth-watering courses using only the best ingredients.
A highlight of the menu includes oceanic tulip, braised morels and clams (Pascal is well known for cooking with tulip flowers). Six courses costs 80 (120 with wine pairings) or you can enjoy just 3 courses for 48 (70 with wine pairings).
Galvin at Windows,Mayfair
Make it a Christmas party to remember with lunch or dinner at the Michelin-starred Galvin at Windows. Not only will you be able to enjoy a 360-degree view, but the haute French cuisine restaurant is offering a festive party menu.
Head Chef Joo Won is serving up a 3-course menu for 75 with starters including a choice of marinated Loch Fyne salmon, Dorset crab, orange, beetroot and horseradish cream, mushroom velout, poached hen egg and truffle cream or ballotine of pork, confit duck leg, aioli and pickles. Our pick of the mains would be the slow cooked ox cheeks, snail persillade, parsley root, pomme pure and shaved truffle (6 supplement). After a dessert of pear tarte tatin and tonka bean ice cream or Pia Colada panna cotta, spiced mango compote and rum granite, head to the bar for a post dinner cocktail. What could be a better way to celebrate the festive season?
House of Ho, Soho
Bobby Chinn opened his first London restaurant – The House of Ho – in Soho earlier this year. The House of Hos modern Vietnamese menus echo Bobbys 18 years living and working in both Hanoi and Saigon.
House of Ho will be running several festive menus through until mid-January. Groups sized 6 100 can book a banquet style sharing menu starting from 36 for the Mistle Ho menu, and 45 for the Chinn-gle Bells menu. Dishes include pho cuon rice noodle rolls with grass-fed Angus fillet; crispy Vietnamese 7 spice marinated squid and apple-smoked pork belly.
SUSHISAMBA, Bishopsgate
Located on the top three floors of Heron Tower, SUSHISAMBA blends Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisine.
Celebrate Christmas in this unique environment with a special selection of festive dishes in addition to the signature menu, throughout December. Highlights include lobster taquitos, honey orange glazed picanha and Robata suckling pig anticuchos. And dont miss the aptly-named Santa rolls (butterfish, tempura avocado, tempura flake, kanpyo, red currant fruit, tofu powder, aji Amarillo and sweet soy sauce).
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