Set menu: why it works
On the busiest dates of the year, a set menu is your best friend:
- Exact ordering. You know how many guests are coming and what they’ll eat.
- A planned kitchen. Few dishes, lots of mise en place and orderly courses.
- Customers know what they’ll pay before they sit down.
- Less work front of house: no long orders or last-minute changes.
Typical structure
- Starters or sharing plates: generous and good-looking.
- First course: a soup, a fish starter or a prawn cocktail.
- Main, with a choice of two or three: turkey with all the trimmings, a fish and a vegetarian main. Ask for the pre-order when the booking is confirmed, not on the night.
- Dessert: Christmas pudding and a lighter alternative.
- Coffee and mince pies, and on Christmas Day, crackers and a glass of fizz on arrival.
Always offer a vegetarian option and ask about allergies when people book. Adapting a dish with a week’s notice is far easier than mid-service.
Price per head and what’s included
The price is per head, in plain view. Underneath, a line that leaves no doubt about what’s included:
£65 per head · Includes a glass of prosecco, coffee and mince pies
In the UK, the price shown must include VAT; in the US, say whether tax and gratuity are added. On drinks:
- Included: say which wine (style or region), water, soft drinks and beer, and how much, for example one bottle of wine for every so many guests.
- Not included: write “Drinks not included” and keep the wine list to hand.
- Supplements: if an optional dish costs extra (a lobster tail, a premium steak), put the amount next to it.
Children’s menu
- Its own price and the age it applies to (for example, “under 12s”).
- Simple dishes: turkey with roast potatoes, sausages and mash, pasta, an ice cream sundae.
- A drink included (juice or a soft drink), so the bill is predictable.
There are more ideas in how to make a kids’ menu.
Bookings, deposits and terms
Clear terms from the start prevent upsets. Write them at the bottom of the menu or on a separate sheet you hand out when people book:
- Deadline for booking and for confirming final numbers.
- Deposit: amount, whether it comes off the bill and when it’s refunded.
- Pre-orders: the deadline for sending the choice of dishes.
- Sittings and times: arrival time and, if there are two sittings, when the table needs to be free.
- Service charge: if you add one for groups, say so and whether it’s optional.
- Allergies and intolerances: to be given when booking.
What matters is that customers know these terms before they pay anything. For office parties, see also how to make a group and corporate menu.
Allergens at Christmas
Christmas menus concentrate allergens:
- Christmas pudding, mince pies and Christmas cake: gluten, often eggs and milk, tree nuts in many recipes and marzipan, and sometimes sulphites in the dried fruit.
- Stuffing, pigs in blankets and gravy: gluten, and often celery and sulphites (many British sausages use them as a preservative).
- Shellfish: prawns and lobster are crustaceans; mussels and scallops are molluscs. They’re declared separately.
- Nut roast: tree nuts and, often, gluten.
- Champagne, prosecco, wine and port: sulphites.
Check the labels of bought-in puddings and sweets and mark everything dish by dish. If your Christmas dishes aren’t on your usual menu, make a separate allergen matrix for them.
Design and formats
A Christmas menu deserves a special design. The Déco style, with a 1920s feel, suits New Year’s Eve and gala dinners very well. A few ideas:
- A5 at every place setting, as a table menu.
- A4 or A3 by the entrance or in the window from early autumn.
- Post and story to promote it on social media and fill the bookings.
Write the event as a custom date (“Christmas Day · 25 December”) instead of the automatic date. If you also open on 31 December, read how to make a New Year’s Eve menu.
MenuDesign has a Christmas menu template ready to adapt, in the Déco style. Change the dishes and the price and you’ll have the PDF in minutes, free.
Frequently asked questions
Can I ask for a deposit to book the Christmas menu?
It's common practice. What matters is that customers know, before they pay, the amount, whether it's refundable if they cancel and until when. Put it in writing on the menu or in the booking confirmation.
Should drinks be included in the price?
It makes the evening much simpler and avoids arguments over the bill. If you include them, say which wine, which other drinks and how much. If not, state clearly that drinks are charged separately.
What goes on the children's menu?
Simple dishes, its own price and the age it applies to. A starter, a main and a dessert are usually enough.
Do allergens have to be shown on a set Christmas menu?
Yes, as on the main menu. Christmas food is full of tree nuts, shellfish, gluten and sulphites, so check it with extra care.