What do you eat in the run up to Christmas? Forget the supermarket sarnies and endless mince pies, you can do so much better. From deep-fried sprouts to flaming stollen, here are some of the best things to eat in London over the festive season.
Step aside Pret, this is the Christmas treat we wait all year for. Between the buns there’s two patties – one turkey, one pork – topped with crispy bacon, sprout tops, spiced cranberry ketchup and a slice of Ogleshield cheese. There’s turkey gravy to dip the whole thing into, so roll up your sleeves and get stuck in. It’s available at Hawksmoor Spitalfields Bar for £13.50, or £16.50 with triple-cooked chips.
Each month, Jason Atherton’s Hai Cenato teams up with a guest chef to create their pizza of the month. This December, diners can enjoy Tom Aikens “Fully-loaded Turkey Pizza”, topped with turkey, sage stuffing, spiced cranberry sauce, bread sauce, chipolatas and smoked bacon. £1 from each pizza goes to Hospitality Action.
Who doesn’t love a flaming pud? This month, German Gymnasium in King’s Cross is serving a twist on a German festive favourite – stollen flambé with marinated cranberries, apple compote, lemon gel, and sea buckthorn ice-cream. If you fancy an after dinner drink, head outside to their World of Tales winter terrace for cocktails inspired by the stories of the Brothers Grimm.
Following the success of last year’s battered sprouts, Sutton & Sons have gone one better this year with deep-fried Christmas pudding. Served with a generous dollop of brandy cream, it’s the perfect way to kick-start the festive feasting. You can try it for yourself at their fish & chip shops in Stoke Newington, Islington and Hackney until the end of the month.
Lazybones in Farringdon is going all out for the festive season with an epic Crimbo-ger and ‘Holy Nachos’ topped with melted Camembert and tomato-cranberry salsa. If you’ve got more of a sweet tooth, you’re going to love their Mince Pie Sundae – vanilla ice-cream piled high with chocolate, hazelnut and mincemeat brownies and lashings of hot chocolate sauce. Pair it with their Chocolate Orange Christmas cocktail for the ultimate festive sugar rush.
If you can order it without giggling, you’ll be rewarded with a delicious turkey sausage topped with Paxo stuffing, crispy Brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce, parsnip crumbs and turkey gravy. With a glass of Champagne and a side of tater tots, it’s the ideal way to refuel after a long day of Christmas shopping.
If you can’t face another Christmas sandwich, get down to Bala Baya for a Christmas pitta – shredded turkey tossed with potato, taleggio, and roast black truffle, mustard and sumac mixed pickles. A festive flavour bomb!
The team at Tom’s Kitchen Canary Wharf have created this stunning Ultimate Snowball dessert – a snowball cocktail panna cotta with soft marshmallow enclosed in a white chocolate shell and dusted with coconut. It’s almost too pretty to eat. Almost.
In a nod to the Japanese tradition of eating KFC at Christmas, Flesh & Buns have put their Japanese fried chicken feast back on the menu. Who needs turkey when you could be tucking into steamed buns stuffed with buttermilk and shichimi fried chicken? It’s priced at £37 for two to share, and that includes a whisky, banana and shiso leaf ice-cream shake and a chocolate and Nikka whisky cake for dessert.
There’s plenty more to try, from goose vindaloo at Kricket to Paul‘s mince pie croissants. What’s on your festive eating agenda?
