Header photo credit: Ksenia Yakovleva on Unsplash
From takeaway turkey to extravagant dine-in feasts, we’ve rounded up some of the top suggestions for Christmas eating around town. We recommend booking tout de suite!
181 at Fortnum & Mason
Fortnum & Mason’s elegant 181 restaurant is offering a Christmas tasting menu showcasing all the best of Britain’s festive eats. The multi-course menu includes a welcome drink, amuse-bouches of savoury profiteroles filled with chicken liver parfait and whipped goat cheese, a choice of starter and two mains, a pre-dessert course of champagne-soaked mixed berries with mascarpone sorbet, dessert (we recommend Fortnum’s famed King George Christmas pudding with brandy cream) and tea or coffee or a digestif – a feast to make dearly departed Queen Elizabeth proud…
Where: Shop 022, 1/F, K11 ATELIER, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, TST
When: 24 and 25 December (lunch from 11am–1:30pm; dinner from 6:30–10pm)
How much: HK$1,588/person
To order: phone 3916 8181 or book online
Aria
Chef Angelo Vecchio is sharing some of his favourite Christmas dishes from the southern coast of Italy on Aria’s five-course Natale dinner tasting menu. It reads like a an Italian dream: tuna belly with capers and lemon, lobster bisque, goose-liver tortellini with truffle and capon consommé, Mediterrean-style red snapper and warm panettone with chestnut ice cream for dessert. Another reason to book Aria this Christmas – these breathtaking views!
Where: 24/F, California Tower, 30–32 D’Aguilar Street, LKF, Central
When: 24–25 December 2022 (6–11pm)
How much: HK$1,188/person (15% discount upon booking and paid deposit by 15 December)
For reservations: book online (HK$200 deposit/diner required upon booking)
BIFTECK
At French-Japanese restaurant BIFTECK, Chef Ken Kwok has crafted a sumptuous Christmas feast that he’s dubbed Bonne Fête à BIFTECK. The seven-course dinner tasting menu showcases both delicacies from the sea, including charcoal-grilled abalone barley risotto with black truffle and Japanese hairtail tempura, as well as the eatery’s magnificent signature Wagyu beef cuts, this time in a showdown between snow-aged Japanese A5 Wagyu tri-tip and USDA Wagyu short rib.
Where: 23/F, QRE Plaza, 202 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai
When: 24–26, 31 December 2022 and 1 January 2023 (2 sittings – 6–8pm and 8:30–10:30pm)
How much: HK$1,280/person
For reservations: phone 2246 8805 or book online
Chilli Fagara
Looking to add some spice to your traditional festive feasting? Check out Chilli Fagara’s Sichuan roasted Qing Yuan chicken – a local organic chicken marinated in Chilli Fagara’s addictive Sichuan spices and then stuffed with herbs. For an added holiday touch, the herbs are torched right before serving. The fiery bird is served with glistening chicken-skin fried rice and a simple green salad to counteract all that richness.
Where: 7 Old Bailey Street, SoHo, Central
When: until 31 December 2022 (lunch from 11:30am–3pm; dinner from 5–10:30pm)
How much: HK$688
For reservations: phone 2796 6866/2796 6766 or book online (24-hour pre-order required)
FEAST
FEAST offers traditional Western-style Christmas catering sets with roast stuffed turkey that are lovely, but we’re more excited by the Southeast Asian-inspired catering sets, with a choice of turkey, prime rib or roast suckling pig as the centrepiece of the meal. In these East-meets-West sets, your meat of choice comes with sides such as chicken and pork satay, BBQ chicken wings, deep-fried prawn puffs, Japanese chicken cartilage dumplings, beef lasagne and supreme soy sauce fried noodles – truly a moreish mishmash!
When: until 1 January 2023
How much: Western catering sets with turkey – HK$2,580 to serve 6–8 or HK$3,380 to serve 10–12; Southeast Asian catering sets – HK$3,980 to serve 8–10 or HK$5,380 to serve 15–20. Note that there’s a 15% discount on orders placed by 7 December and 10% off on orders placed between 8–28 December.
To order: order online
Feather & Bone
Feather & Bone has seven Christmas roast bundles available for at-home entertaining. Each includes a pre-cooked premium roasted joint of meat and comes with comforting sides, a festive dessert and a bottle of mulled wine – our choice for the main goes to this gorgeous beef Wellington. Another takeaway/delivery option is the build-your-own ready-to-roast set, where customers choose their preferred joint of meat, plus sausages and bacon, sides and sauces, cheese platter, dessert and wine, spirits and beer.
If you want your Christms dining to be totally fuss free, you can dine in at FAB and indulge in their three-course Christmas sharing menus, with vegetarian options available. The menus end with a bang with a selection of artisan cheeses and Christmas pudding gilded with eggnog custard – please, sir, can we have some more?
Where: click here for locations around town
When: 1–31 December 2022
How much: from HK$2,488 for Christmas roast bundles to serve 4–6; HK$598/person for dine-in; from +HK$298/person for free-flow packages
To order: order online (order by 3pm 20 December)
FUMI
A4 Miyazaki beef and Hokkaido snow crab legs are the headliners of FUMI’s Christmas all-you-can-eat brunch and dinner menus. The festive menus include an unlimited selection of appetisers, cold dishes, sashimi, sushi rolls, deep-fried and grilled items, hot dishes, one main course and a sharing dessert platter. If you book in by the 15th of December, each diner will be given a Christmas pressie of a small pot of A4 Miyazaki beef sukiyaki on the house.
Where: 6/F, California Tower, 30–32 D’Aguilar Street, LKF, Central
When: 24–25 December 2022 (brunch from 12–3pm; dinner from 6:30–9:30pm)
How much: brunch – HK$650/adult and HK$328/child; dinner – HK$850/adult and HK$425/child; +HK$98/person for non-alcoholic free-flow; +HK$228/person for brunch free-flow with sake, Prosecco and beer; +HK$438/person for dinner free-flow to include Taittinger Brut Reserve champagne (15% discount upon booking and paid deposit by 15 December)
For reservations: book brunch online; book dinner online (HK$200 deposit/diner required upon booking)
Heimat
Chef Peter Find is celebrating his first Christmas at Heimat, introducing fine-dining German festive menus for lunch and dinner on the 24th and 25th. Homemade mulled wine accompanies dishes such as chestnut soup with black truffle and traditional oven-roasted goose with potato dumplings, apple and red cabbage, with plenty of luxury thrown in by way of lobster and caviar. The menus are rounded out with a special dessert called Weihnachtsmarkt, inspired by the best of Germany’s iconic Christmas markets.
Where: 8/F, LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Central
When: 24–25 December (lunch from 12–3pm; dinner from 6–11pm)
How much: HK$880/person for 4-course lunch menu; HK$1,680/person for 6-course dinner menu
For reservations: phone 2881 1022, WhatsApp 5279 8108 or book online
Hotel ICON
On Christmas Day, Hotel ICON is putting on lavish free-flow bunch and dinner buffets at its Silverbox Ballroom. For one day only, here’s your chance to dig into unlimited seafood on ice, holiday-exclusive dishes such as roast turkey, honey-glazed ham, abalone and chicken soup with cordyceps flower, slow-cooked Moroccan lamb leg and sous-vide salmon with pickled veg and festive sweets like Christmas pudding with vanilla custard, chocolate yule log, panettone and stollen. The dinner buffet ups the ante to include all-you-can-eat lobster, roast suckling pig, baked seafood in salt, salmon Wellington, steamed grouper and grilled prawns with durian cheese sauce. All this plus free-flow sparkling and house wine, draught beer, juices and soft drinks are part of this decadent deal.
Where: 1/F, Hotel ICON, 17 Science Museum Road, TST East
When: 25 December 2022 (brunch from 11:45am–2:30pm; dinner from 6:30–9:30pm)
How much: brunch – HK$888/adult and HK$628/child; dinner – HK$1,098/adult and HK$738/child
For reservations: phone 3400 1388 or email book.restaurant@hotel-icon.com
Island Shangri-La
There are plenty of recommended dining options at Island Shangri-La this season, but we want to do a special shout-out to the Immersive Snowy Experience in Swiss Chalets installation at Lobby Lounge. The festive lunch, dinner and afternoon tea menus here are enjoyed in individual Swiss-style chalets, where you’ll indulge in traditional Swiss favourites such as cheese or chocolate fondue and raclette, alongside hot chocolate, mulled wine and roasted chestnuts. We’ve got the tingles just thinking about it!
Where: 6/F, Island Shangri-La, Pacific Place, Supreme Court Road, Admiralty
When: until 20 January 2023 (lunch from 12–2pm; afternoon tea from 3–6pm on weekdays and 2–6pm on weekends and public holidays; dinner from 6–9pm)
How much: HK$750/person for lunch; HK$952/2 for afternoon tea; HK$1,288/person for dinner (4-person minimum)
For reservations: book online
The Kowloon Hotel
Nothing says Christmas in the 852 like all-you-can-eat seafood, so we’re sure the A Tour to Nordic – Christmas seafood dinner buffet at The Kowloon Hotel’s The Window Café will be booked up before Santa can say “ho, ho, ho” (notably, the big man himself will stop by the buffet on the day). Smørrebrød – traditional open-faced Nordic sandwiches – with Christmas-themed fillings begin the Nordic journey, then it’s on to the extensive seafood-on-ice display, which is definitely the star of this show. The fabulous under-the-sea selection includes Canadian snow crab legs, Chilean blue mussels, New Zealand mussels and seasonal oysters. Hot dishes include lobster and seafood bisque, roasted Finnish lamb leg, pan-fried Norwegian salmon with morel cream sauce and Swedish meatballs with mashed potato and lingonberry sauce. The dessert spread is inspired by the festive flavours of chestnut, cinnamon and winter berries, and there’s even unlimited Häagen-Dazs ice cream.
Where: 2/F, The Kowloon Hotel, 19–21 Nathan Road, TST
When: 24–25 December 2022 ( 2 seatings – 5:30–8pm and 8:30–11pm)
How much: HK$888.80/adult and HK$668.80/child (22% discount if you book by 9 December)
For reservations: book online
The Landmark Mandarin Oriental
It’s not often that we’d recommend the swanky hidden speakeasy at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental for anything other than top-notch tipples and bar bites, but this Christmas is one of those times. On the 24th and 25th, Please Don’t Tell (PDT) is serving up an American-style turkey dinner to make all Yanks proud. Classic American desserts like pecan pie with bourbon ice cream are set to follow the savoury portion of the meal, which is highlighted by roast heritage turkey served with a bounty of sides. The meal is inclusive of 90-minute free-flow of Roederer Estate sparkling wine, red and white wine from the USA and a punch bowl.
Where: M/F, The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, LANDMARK, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Central
When: 24–25 December 2022 (6–9pm)
How much: HK$798/person
For reservations: phone 2132 0110 or book online
La Paloma
If you’re craving “sexy” tapas this Christmas, La Paloma’s head chef, Alex Fargas, and team have crafted four fabulous Spanish feasts to celebrate the holiday season – suiting diners’ different requirements and budgets. Expect the likes of black truffle aplenty (both in the Spanish omelette and “bikini” sandwich), Wagyu beef cheek, the restaurant’s signature roast suckling pig and Basque burnt cheesecake for afters.
Where: 1/F, Soho 189, 189 Queen’s Road West, Sai Ying Pun
When: 24–25 December 2022 (lunch served only on 25 December)
How much: HK$298/person for 6-course festive lunch menu; HK$498/person for 8-course premium lunch menu; HK$588/person for 8-course festive dinner menu; HK$888/person for 10-course premium dinner menu; +HK$338/person for free-flow
For reservations: phone 2291 6161, WhatsApp 9409 6410 or book online
Magistracy Dining Room
Stunning newcomer Magistracy Dining Room makes quite the impression when it comes to Christmas dining, offering up a slap-up British Christmas lunch menu paying tribute to the timeless elegance of London gastronomy. The menu opens with Pacific blue prawn cocktail, Caesar salad and double-baked Lincolnshire Poacher soufflé, before moving on to tableside trolley service of slow-roasted prime rib with all the trimmings – by which we mean Yorkshire pudding, horseradish cream, beef jus, mashed potato, creamed spinach and roasted baby carrots. The traditional menu ends with perhaps our favourite sweet treat of them all, festive or otherwise – sticky toffee pudding.
Where: G/F, Central Magistracy, Tai Kwun, 1 Arbuthnot Road, Central
When: 25 December 2022 (12–3pm)
How much: HK$1,988/person
For reservations: phone 2252 3177 or book online
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