Although we really hate to admit it, before we know it, Christmas 2012 will be here! Maybe time then to plan a festive lunch or dinner with friends, family or colleagues.
If a country house type party complete with a beautifully trimmed and twinkling Christmas tree to greet you and colourful table decorations is your idea of fun, then Channings or The Howard in Edinburgh might be for you.
Channings, situated near the West End, is an informal, relaxed hotel with a very friendly approach and the charm and uniqueness of a Scottish country home. Here, Lunch and Dinner is served in the hotel’s own cosy restaurant. The Festive menu has been personally created by chef Karen Higgins and is available from 5-23 December, featuring the finest festive fayre created using Scottish seasonal produce.
Menu highlights include mouth-watering starters of roasted parsnip soup or toasted sour dough salt cod fish cake, followed by the traditional roasted breast of outdoor reared Cumbrian Turkey with all the trimmings; and a warm plum pudding with brandy ice cream and toffee sauce or a naughty dark chocolate brownie, dark chocolate syrup and cranberry sorbet to finish.
Lunch is served between 12-2.30pm and priced at £14.50 for two courses or £17.50 for three. It might be the perfect way to spend time with friends, enjoy a family occasion or the annual get-together for colleagues.
Dinner is served between 6-9.30pm and priced at £18.50 for two courses and £25.50 for three.
If celebrating Hogmanay in Edinburgh sounds like the perfect way to see in 2013, then the Channings’ Hogmanay Break offers everything you need for a memorable experience! If you want friends to come and visit, but don’t have the room to put them up then maybe you could mention Channings to them.
Priced from £866 per room (based on two sharing) the package includes:
- Mulled wine on arrival
- 3 nights luxury accommodation in an individually designed bedroom
- Tickets to the famous Princes Street party
- Full Scottish breakfast each morning
- Gala dinner including glass of prosecco and entertainment from a Scottish band on 30th December
- 3 course dinner on New Year’s Eve
- Turndown gift
- Stovies served on return from the street party
If an intimate and discreet luxury 5-star hotel in the heart of Edinburgh’s New Town, sounds inviting, then The Howard’s Christmas and New Year celebrations await your arrival! The classically elegant hotel which occupies three Georgian townhouses with its tasteful decorations offers a menu also created using locally sourced ingredients.
The Howard’s Festive Lunch is served from (dates) and is priced at £20 for two courses or £25 for three. Dinner is priced at £27.50 for two courses or £32 for three.
Served in the hotel’s own Atholl restaurant which offers an elegant and sophisticated setting for the most important dining experiences of the year, and a perfect backdrop for groups. The menus feature all of the traditional favourites along with winter wild mushroom risotto or smoked venison to start; slow cooked shin of beef or seared salmon tournedos to follow; and delicious sweets or cheeses to finish.
Hogmanay Dinner at The Howard is the perfect way to see out the old year with good friends. Enjoy a five course menu in the cosy setting before wrapping up warmly and heading out to watch the fireworks that mark the arrival of 2013.
The Old Waverley on Princes Street is another perfect destination for a Christmas party! Here the festive lunch menu is £16.95 for two courses or £18.95 for three. Dinner is £27 for two courses or £32 for three. Includes crackers and festive decorations.
The Festive Menu includes of choice of the chef’s own homemade soup to start, roast Lothian turkey with chipolatas, roast potatoes and sage and onion stuffing or grilled salmon fillet with crushed baby potatoes, asparagus spears and baby corn; and to finish, it must be Christmas Pudding! All enjoyed against the unique backdrop of the Christmas festival which is situated opposite the hotel.
Hogmanay at The Old Waverley offers something special with its views across Princes Street and up towards Edinburgh Castle meaning that diners can have the best of both worlds – dinner followed by private views of the world famous fireworks.
The five course Hogmanay menu starts with an appetiser followed by a mouthwatering selection of starters and main courses to be enjoyed at a leisurely pace as the old year draws to a close.
Hogmanay at The Old Waverley is from £63 per person.
For further details on any of these festive dining experiences visit or call:
W: channings.co.uk; reserve@channings.co.uk; 0131-315 2226
W: thehoward.com; reserve@thehoward.com; 0131-557 3500
W: theoldwaverley.co.uk; reception@theoldwaverley.co.uk; 0131-556 4648
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
