The Lowdown: Christmas day dining

Don’t the vast majority of restaurants close on Christmas day?​

Not anymore, apparently. According to OpenTable, 2016 saw a 43% increase in bookings on Christmas Day compared to the year before. The online bookings provider says it is probably down to families preferring to spend more quality time with each other.

Or maybe no one could decide whose job it was to peel the spuds...​

Actually, maybe no one wanted spuds at all. OpenTable also found that although the classic turkey dinner was still the most popular choice on Christmas day, Italian, Indian and French cuisines were all in the top choices for festive bookings between 24-26 December.

Curry? Isn’t that what the turkey leftovers get made into the next day?​

Not at Dishoom. The Bombay café concept restaurant is serving shared meals to emphasise community bonds, with a turkey raan at the centre. A whole turkey leg is cooked slowly with spices, and served with Bombay potatoes, masala winter greens and cranberry chutney.

No sprouts? It’s hardly Christmas without them…​

If it’s sprouts you want, you could try Palatino’s festive menu, which features antipasto of sprout, pecorino and finocchiona (fennel salami), followed by goose leg, and rounding off with panettone bread and butter pudding.

So we’re guessing we should leave the vegans at home, then?​

Not necessarily. Essence Cuisine have got them covered. The Shoreditch-based vegan restaurant is serving a chia seed caviar on a cracker with smoked carrot ‘gravlax’ and ‘faux gras’ (whatever that is), as well as a chestnut and porcini stroganoff with squash tagliatelle and walnut parmesan. Chelsea’s Rabbit and its sister restaurant The Shed are serving a vegan menu including endive with artichoke mud and thyme; beetroot crisps with pear and sorrel; and oak smoked potato with quince.

Yikes. We expect you’ll have to pay a little extra to book a meal on a day almost everybody besides the kitchen gets a day off?​

In some places, you can expect a hefty price tag. Christmas lunch will run you £269 per person at Galvin at Windows and a whopping £375 per person at Marcus Wareing’s eponymous restaurant at The Berkeley Hotel. Most of those do include a glass of bubbly, mind.

Think we might put that M&S turkey order in after all…​

If you’re short on cash but still want the whole roast, Soho crisp-and-dip specialist HipChips will be serving a whole Christmas dinner in dip form. Think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s three course dinner only with a Yuletide theme. The line-up includes smoked salmon and pickled cucumbers, a traditional turkey dinner and a sweet Christmas pudding and brandy sauce dip.

As long as you can eat them whilst getting drunk on Bailey’s, arguing about which film to watch and losing at Monopoly, we’re in.​