How about taking it easy this Christmas and letting someone else do the cooking and going out for lunch? The number of Britons choosing to eat out on the big day has increased by more than 250% over the past 15 years, according to research by the restaurant booking site Bookatable (now The Fork).
Rich people are the most likely to dine out on Christmas Day, and of course spend the most money doing so. All of London’s most high-end restaurants are sold out for lunch on 25 December, despite charging as much as £600 a head. Some hotels have even converted function rooms into extra restaurant space in order to try to meet demand.
Lunch at The Ritz sold out months in advance, so no matter how much money you’re prepared to part with, those without bookings will not be able to take up its invitation to “indulge in a truly traditional and delectable six-course lunch, meticulously crafted by our esteemed executive chef, John Williams MBE”.
As well as turkey, the £600-a-head meal for over-16s (£310 for those 15 and under) features live entertainment including a concert pianist, live singer, a “dynamic jazz-style quartet” and, “of course, no Christmas Day celebration would be complete without a special visit from Father Christmas himself, bearing gifts for each child, creating cherished memories that will last a lifetime”.
The hotel has installed almost 100 Christmas trees, including a 7.6-metre (25ft) fir in its Louis XVI lobby that was selected by its in-house florist. Decorating it with cherubim, luxurious presents, model deer and Ritz teapots took seven hours. In total there are more than 10,000 decorations and 6,500 lights.
Diners are advised that they must look the part in order to be served. The dress code states: “Gentlemen are required to wear a jacket and tie (jeans and sportswear are not permitted for either ladies or gentlemen).”
If you’re worried you might get a bit too merry at lunch and it might be a good idea to stay the night, only two rooms are available on 25 December. The cheaper one is £5,500.
Andrew Love, a senior adviser to the Ritz, has previously said some British establishment families “take over full suites of rooms”. “The truth is you have got families whose great-grandfather has been coming to the hotel since 1906,” he said. “And the great-great-grandchildren still stay here.”
Claridge’s £495-a-head Christmas lunch is so popular this year that the hotel has converted two extra entertaining rooms into overspill seating for the day. A total of 342 guests can choose between mains of turkey, Wessex county beef wellington, seared Cornish turbot, or celeriac and black truffle risotto. Guests will be served in the Claridge’s restaurant, the foyer and because it’s so busy, a spokesperson said, “we have also set our French salon/drawing room for lunch”.
For those who fancy something a little less traditional – but still very expensive – Canton Blue, a new Cantonese restaurant at the Peninsula London hotel overlooking Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner, is offering an eight-course menu, including peking duck wraps, for £265.
