Nothing inspires festive joy quite like a good Christmas meal. And we’re not just talking about Christmas dinner itself, though that’s undeniably the main event. We also mean the tasty foodie bits in between, like the festive menus created by Norwich & Norfolk restaurants to get our taste buds in the Christmas spirit. And it’s even better when eating out with friends and family! So, to make sure you indulge this season with the very best, check out these Norwich & Norfolk eateries for all your holiday feasting needs.
And if you need even more recommendations on what fantastic restaurants and cafés to visit in your time in the City of Stories, check out our ‘Eat & Drink’ page!
We all deserve to really treat ourselves this Christmas, right? So, why not do it in style with a visit to Benedicts? One of a handful of fine dining restaurants in Norwich, Benedicts’ 3 AA Rosettes and feature in the 2023 Michelin Guide should tell you all you need to know about the quality of their food. It’s an incredible experience as much as it is a meal.
Cooked up by Head Chef, Richard Bainbridge, and his award-winning team, you won’t forget this Christmas meal anytime soon. With two tasting menus that constantly change, expect to be impressed by some festive treats this time of year, including Nanny Bush’s Christmas Trifle! Check the Benedicts website to see what’s on the menu for your visit this Christmas.
Benedicts Restaurant
There are few places celebrating Christmas like The Ivy – making it the perfect place to go for a fantastic festive feast. The theme this year is ‘A Polar Bear Christmas‘, and yes, it is as adorable as it sounds. From the decoration (including a giant polar bear dressed for the occasion welcoming you in), to the Christmas tree and dishes themselves, it’s a magical meal inside this gorgeous restaurant.
And it isn’t just Christmas dinners they’re serving at The Ivy! Instead, you can visit at any time of day and find something truly festive to enjoy – there’s festive menus for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even afternoon tea! Personally, we like the sound of ‘A Polar Bear Christmas’ for dessert, which comes with a melting white chocolate dome and orange sorbet underneath! Delicious.
If you’ve got a sweet tooth, especially around Christmastime, The Assembly House should top your list. Inside this Grade-I Georgian building, you’ll find gorgeous, festively-themed Nutcracker afternoon teas flying out the door. They’re award-winning and incredibly popular for good reason, so booking is essential!
For £29.50 per person, you can tuck into a series of ‘acts’, from finger sandwiches and savouries, to scones and, everyone’s favourite part, the delicate cakes and pastries. Enjoy the Sugar Plum Fairy Gateau Opera, made with soft peach melba layers, and savour the Under the Christmas Tree Shot, a mint choc-chip cheesecake with chocolate soil. And, if you can’t move afterwards, The Assembly House also offer overnight stays in their individually decorated rooms too. Perfect.
The mantra is simple at Farmyard – fine produce, not fine dining. So, if you’re looking for a fantastic Christmas meal with top quality food, without the need to dress up in all your best formal clothing (Christmas cracker hats are still mandatory!), this is the place to be. And their Christmas set menu sounds festively brilliant.
Tuck into two courses for £27 per person, or three courses for £36 per person, with dishes like their Norfolk turkey, sea bass, Christmas pudding, and award-winning Farmyard chocolate bar all available! Everyone will love it. Check out the Farmyard website for the full menu and booking information!
Where in Norwich is more Christmassy than the very street Hollywood has filmed a festive film on? That’s right, on our iconic Elm Hill, the set for 2020’s ‘Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey’, you’ll find Britons Arms – a beautifully preserved building from the 1300s to visit while you’re here.
Inside this coffee house & restaurant, you can soak up the surroundings while tucking into their Christmas Afternoon Tea for a truly magical visit. Featuring a range of treats including pigs in blankets sausage rolls, candied peel scone, Christmas cake and Christmas pudding, and so much more, this afternoon tea is available throughout December for just £18 per person! It’s a must-visit.
The Britons Arms on Elm Hill
How does lunch in the oldest hotel in the country sound? The Maids Head’s 2 AA Rosette restaurant, WinePress, offers the perfect city centre location to get friends and family from all over together for a good festive meal. Plus, if anyone needs an overnight stay, they won’t have to head far!
This year, WinePress are offering a delicious festive lunch with two courses for £32 per person or three courses for £40, with indulgent dishes like their herb smoked salmon, roast Norfolk turkey with all the trimmings, nut roast, Christmas pudding, and more! It’s a real, traditional lunch, and it’s bound to be as good as it sounds!
There’s a warm welcome awaiting you at The Cosy Club this year! And with so much on, including some seriously tempting menus, it would be rude to not pay them a visit, right? With the opulent surroundings of the refurbished National Provincial Bank, including the beautiful glass domed ceiling, a meal at The Cosy Club is as scenic as it is tasty.
And this year, there’s a whole host of Christmas themes available, it all depends on how many people you’re aiming to please! From the festive shindig, to the festive soirée, these sharing feasts are bound to get you in a jolly mood.
Who doesn’t love a good pizza? And, when you combine Christmas with pizza, we think it only gets better and better. That’s exactly what you can expect from Pizza Express this year, with their Italian Christmas Feasts getting our mouths watering.
But it isn’t just the pizzas that are getting the festive treatment! (Though, they are the main attraction!) Instead, you can choose from cocktails like the Jingle Bell-ini and Yule Sparkle, sides like the dough balls in blankets or loaded snowball doughballs, and pizzas like porchetta and mushroom & truffle!
Whether or not you’re seeing this year’s pantomime at Norwich Theatre Royal (which you really should, find out more about Sleeping Beauty here), a visit to Prelude is a must. It serves as the perfect pre-show meal, or even as a great place to catch-up with loved ones while enjoying tasty, fresh food!
With two courses available for £24 per person, or three courses for £28, there’s some seriously good festive dishes to choose from here. Start with the smoked mackerel, before moving onto the Norfolk venison loin, or get into the Christmas spirit and share a baked camembert with crusty bread! (Unfortunately, not included in the set menu prices). However you choose to spend this visit, it’s sure to be a magical one.
We have to mention a good roast in here somewhere, right? For that, you’ll want to head to the award-winning Goat Shed for their brand-new traditional Sunday Roasts. Plus, it means you can check out their farm shop afterwards and head home with a bunch of goodies for friends and family!
With two meat options changing weekly, a vegetarian dish, and sumptuous sides and extras, you can settle down to two courses for just £21 per person and three courses for £26 per person. Booking is advised, and afterwards be sure to make some time to see the incredibly cute goats!
