News
Where to find the best alternative Christmas dinners in Manchester 2021
Think festive donuts, pizza, burgers, toasties, fry ups and loads more
Georgina Pellant -
9th December 2021 
Whilst there are a million different places in Manchester to go for a traditional Christmas dinner, if you’re looking for something a little more alternative then we’re got you covered.
There are always some great festive specials on offer in the city, but – possibly thanks to last Christmas being cancelled – Manchester’s kitchens have truly outdone themselves this year, with one literally reinventing the cheese wheel in the process.
From festive fry-ups to a bottomless mulled wine brunch, Christmas tree donut boxes, Christmas kebabs, a mince-pie-Eccles-cake hybrid, pigs in blankets-topped parmos and loads more, keep reading to discover where to find the best alternative Christmas dinners in Manchester this year.
A Christmas sausage and stuffing camembert pie
Classic baked camembert, but make it proper Manc with the addition of a wrap-around sausage and sage and onion stuffing roll with added chilli cranberry sauce. That, in a nutshell, is exactly what Potter’s Pies have done with this latest creation.
Not for you? They’ve also updated their sausage roll-pie hybrid, making it extra festive with added turkey, roast potatoes, crunchy stuffing, cranberry and a pig in blanket sausage roll lid.
Follow them here.
Festive fry ups with all the trimmings
Idle Hands ‘world famous’ festive fry ups are now flying out of the kitchen and onto plywood tables right through the month.
Loaded with such delights as pigs in blankets, sprouts, mushroom and chestnut stuffing, cranberry sauce and maple parsnips, plus all the usual fry up suspects, this is a cheeky twist on a roast if ever we saw one – and we’re absolutely here for it.
Follow them here.
A bottomless mulled wine brunch with peanut butter and jelly French toast waffles
Where: Firefly
Firefly has launched a Christmas bottomless brunch that comes with UNLIMITED mulled wine and special Christmas cocktails, prosecco, G&Ts and more.
As for your food, think peanut butter and jelly French toast waffles, a Firefly breakfast with all the trimmings or some gorgeous baked eggs with chorizo and feta.
Follow them here.
Pigs in blanket and fried stuffing-loaded Parmos
Where: Parmogeddon
Parmogeddon at Hatch has got some special festive breaded chicken parmos loaded with stuffing balls, bacon, pigs in blankets and oodles of cheesy bechamel sauce. You’ll even get a little pot of gravy to pour on top.
On top of that, you’ll also find loaded Xmas fries topped with everything from pigs in blankets and deep-fried stuffing to bacon, brie and cranberry on the menu throughout December.
Follow them here.
Christmas tree and candy cane snowflake donut boxes
Artisanal donut baker DGHNT has created a beautiful Christmas-themed box for the month of December, with four individually-flavoured creations inside.
Available from 10 – 22 December, flavours include a candy cane-topped white chocolate glazed donut with mascarpone whipped cream and a Christmas almond donut with edible holly.
Follow them here.
Italian pigs in Italian blankets AND sage and onion mozzarella sticks
Lazy Tony’s Lasagneria is a solid favourite at any time of the year, but it’s safe to say that the team is pulling out all the stops for Christmas.
Think massive mozzarella sticks rolled in sage and onion stuffing mix and served with a tangy, spiced cranberry dip, and Littlewoods’ pork chipolatas roasted in Calabrian nduja, wrapped in smoked pancetta rashers and served with a cinnamon honey dip.
Follow them here.
Christmas kebabs with ‘festive’ smileys from a Michelin star chef
Birmingham-based Michelin star chef Brad Carter opened his One Star Doner Bar at Escape to Freight Island earlier this year, selling some of the most indulgent kebabs in the city. Now he’s doing a Christmas version, and it sounds very special.
Think turkey and stuffing shawarma, topped with Paxo mayonnaise, cranberry hot sauce, shredded sprouts, onion and cabbage, plus festive smiley faces loaded with fried sprouts, lemon and pepper.
Follow them here.
A Christmas cheese platter feat. a Christmas cracker garlic bread burrito
Where: American Pies
For the ultimate Christmas cheese platter, you’d do well to visit American Pies – who’ve created this stunner in the name of the sweet baby cheesus (we joke).
Think nduja-crumbed burrata in blankets with hot honey, deep-fried Goude filo lollipops, bacon, cranberry and brie cheesy garlic knots, turkey meatball sliders, festive tots with whiskey and orange sauce, a Christmas cracker garlic bread burrito and jalapeno and cheddar stuffed jumbo pigs in blankets.
Follow them here.
A Christmas burger with beef-fat fried Christmas pudding
Where: Slap and Pickle
Called ‘All I Want for Christmas’, think two Swaledale beef smash patties, smoked bacon, cranberry Wensleydale, pickles, Paxo mayo, red cabbage, lettuce, and a fried slice of Christmas pudding. For veggies and vegans, there’s a plant-based version too – served in a bright green bun.
Elsewhere, you’ll find loaded ‘All The Trimmings’ fries, Biscoff cheesecake and plenty more.
Follow them here.
A Christmas dinner cheese toastie with all the trimmings
Where: Northern Soul
The Christmas dinner cheese toastie at Northern Soul is the stuff of legends. A special that people look forward to every year, it’s slathered in gravy and stuffed with sliced turkey, pink lady stuffing, cranberry sauce, cheese, and topped with a pork lollipop.
Follow them here.
A ‘White Christmas’ pizza with turkey dinosaurs, stuffing, and pigs in blankets
Where: Crazy Pedro’s
Crazy Pedro’s December special always comes with a festive twist – and this one is pretty solid. Featuring turkey dinosaurs, pigs in blankets, stuffing, gravy, cranberry and sage on a cheesy white pizza base, it’s available all month.
Follow them here.
A festive mince-pie-Eccles-cake hybrid
Where: Batard
It doesn’t look much, but this buttery beauty is everything you want out of a festive pastry treat this Christmas. Created by small-batch bakery team Batard, it fuses the traditional Eccles cake with a mince pie filling for the ultimate naughty indulgence.
A ‘Boxing Day Burger’ with curry sauce, sprout bhajis and fried chicken
Where: Yard and Coop
Yard and Coop’s ‘Boxing Day Burger’ is absolutely massive, stacked with buttermilk fried chicken, butter chicken curry sauce, topped with sprout bhajis and curry-salted parsnip crisps. But that’s just the start of things.
There’s also the ‘Winner Winner Christmas Dinner’, which comes with fried chicken piled on top of cheesy mash, pulled chicken and sage stuffing, Yorkies and all the trimmings; plus gin and cranberry infused negroni wings, sticky marmalade chipolatas and loads more.
Follow them here.
Yuletide Christmas pizzas including ‘Mistletoe and Swine’
Where: Nell’s
Nell’s has created three festive pizas this year – one for meat-eaters, one for veggies, and one for vegans (full disclosure: the slices don’t actually come out shaped like Christmas trees, as far as we’re aware).
‘Mistletoe and Swine’ combines mozzarella with Sykes Fell cheese, guanciale, sausage, sage and onion crunch and chilli, whilst ‘Pigs in Blankets’ offers a veggie alternative with veggie bacon and Beyond Sausage. Vegan option ‘By the Baubles’, meanwhile, comes loaded with spinach, sprouts, facon, roquito peppers, leek and lemon.
Follow them here.
Festive gourmet kebabs and giant stuffed Yorkshire puddings
Where: Bab
These beautiful-looking gourmet kebabs at Bab have been given the festive touch, loaded with the likes of roast turkey, pigs in blankets and sprouts, brie, cranberry and chilli sauce – or lamb chops with green peas and mint sauce.
There’s also an unsung hero on this festive menu, a giant Yorkshire pudding filled with roast beef, veggies and Bab gravy. If you’re not feeling a kebab, this is the one for you.
Follow them here.
Mince pie empanadas
Where: Peru Perdu
Peruvian eatery Peru Perdu has created a festive empanada for the season, combining the traditional Spanish turnover with the English mince pie.
Served with cream for dipping, inside the classic empanada casing you’ll find sweet mincemeat. According to the restaurant, it’s the UK’s first ever mince pie empanada.
