Here’s ho-ho-hoping you’ll have a delicious vegan Christmas with us at Festival Place
It’s the most wonderful time of the year – a time for scoffing mince pies, gingerbread men, crispy roast potatoes and chocolate yule logs.
Eating a plant-based diet doesn’t mean you need to miss out on festive favourites, and our food and drink specialists are pulling out all the stops to fill your Christmas with delicious vegan treats.
The decadent vegan Christmas menu at The Cosy Club serves up a sensational starter of charred broccoli, tahini and lemon, harrisa, cranberry pearls and toasted winter seeds, and is followed by beetroot and squash tarte tatin with roasted new potatoes, carrot, parsnip and sprouts and red wine gravy. Things finish on a high with baked cheesecake with raspberries and raspberry purée.
Christmas at Las Iguanas will see a vibrant Latin American feast that is sure to jingle everyone’s bells. Start with smoky chipotle tomato soup or Nachos Navidad – corn chips with jalapenos, cranberry salsa, guacamole, roasted pumpkin seeds and sweet chilli pepper pearls – before moving on to a portobello mushroom stack cooked in a special mix of spices, onions and peppers or a veggie chilli of sweet potato, butternut squash and chickpeas. Sweet endings include a melt in the middle toffee sponge with vegan coconut ice cream and a rum caramel sauce.
Cote Brasserie’s three-course Taste Noël menu is brimming with luxurious ingredients and seasonal flavours. Stunning vegan starters include velvety parsnip soup with crumbled chestnuts and white truffle oil, and the main event is a Jerusalem artichoke risotto with champagne vinegar caramel, mixed mushrooms and parsley. End with a perfect pud of pear and almond frangipane tart with vegan vanilla ice cream and winter berry coulis.
Yule love it over at Tapas Revolution, where a Spanish-style vegan Christmas is on the table. Start with queen olives from Seville, marinated in extra virgin olive oil and oregano, or fried sweet green padron peppers with Maldon sea salt and a cider reduction. Then choose your tapas – will it be seasonal mushrooms sauteed in garlic, white wine and parsley, or braised chickpeas with baby spinach, garlic and spices? Larger plates on the Fiesta menu include roasted butternut squash with chickpeas, spinach, mushrooms, garlic, pepper and almonds. Match your marvellous menu with a jug of fruity sangria to fill you with Christmas cheer.
Meanwhile, Costa, Starbucks, Caffe Nero and Pret are all sleighing it with a selection of vegan festive treats. Try Costa’s new P’gs & Blankets panini with a plant-based sausage and bacon filling, cheeZe, sage and onion stuffing and zingy cranberry sauce, or the Vegan Festive Feast Panini at Caffe Nero, which is stuffed full of plant-based turkey pieces, apple, sage and fennel stuffing and mulled wine pickled red cabbage. At Starbucks, seasonal signature favourites like caramel waffle latte, toffee nut latte, gingerbread latte and eggnog latte can be made with dairy alternatives and a vegan whipped topping, and Pret will help you add some tinsel to your tea break with new treats like the festive falafel and squash sandwich or the beet wellington baguette.
ASK Italian is serving up a cracker of a Christmas, with a Festivo menu featuring vegan brushetta with marinated tomatoes and fresh basil, Prima pizza with spicy No’duja, mozzarisella, sauteed mushrooms, balsamic red onions, red pepper pears and grated courgette. There’s a sweet ending of zesty blood orange and chocolate tart served with a tangy raspberry sorbet.