The £245 Christmas dinner: Merchant Hotel tops price tree

The top of the price list is predictably dominated by the premier luxury hotels with some going as far as six courses to justify the cost.

Top of the heap is The Merchant Hotel in Belfast with £245 per adult and £125 per child for a three course meal in the Great Room restaurant on Christmas Day.

For that your choice of starters are chicken with foie gras ravioli, Kikeel crab or smoked duck. The mains include the traditional Christmas turkey and ham, a roast beef fillet or wild seabass.

For dessert there is a choice of chocolate Yule log, lemon meringue tart or a traditional brandy soaked Christmas pudding.

The only hotel which comes close is the Hastings-owned Culloden in Cultra, Co Down, with a price tag of £190 per adult and £105 for kids under 12 for a gourmet lunch in its Vespers restaurant.

According to the brochure “guests will enjoy a cocktail and canapé reception in the lounge before our exquisite traditional Christmas Day five course luncheon.

“Our executive chef and his brigade of chefs have expertly designed a sensational menu with a delectable choice of the finest local seasonal produce.”

A buffet lunch in the five-star hotel’s Stuart suite will run to £155 for adults and £95 for the under 12s, while the Cultra Inn in the hotel grounds offers lunch for £120 per adult and £65 per child under 12.

Belfast’s largest hotel, the 300-room Grand Central, also owned by Hastings is offering Christmas lunch for £140 per adult and £75 per child under 13 at its Seahorse restaurant.

Christmas Day in the Grand Cafe will run to £100 per adult and £55 per child under 13.

Outside of the city the five-star Lough Erne Resort in Fermanagh is offering a two-night stay over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for £615 per person sharing.

It includes breakfast, lunch and supper on Christmas Day, breakfast on Boxing Day with access to the spa and golf course.

The Galgorm Resort and Spa outside Ballymena has four restaurants available on Christmas Day, with The River Room offering a six course lunch for £160 per person.

A five course lunch at either Gillies, Fratelli or the Castle Kitchen and Bar all costing £105 per adult and £37.50 per child.

At the more affordable end of the price list is the White Horse Hotel in Londonderry.

Part of the Best Western group, it’s putting on a five course lunch for £85 per person or £50 per child aged between four and 12 with free baby bowls for infants aged up to three-years-old.

Lunch at the Malmaison hotel in Belfast will cost £99 per adult or £50 for kids under 12 for a four course menu at Chez Mal restaurant.

Belfast Telegraph