7 quirky Christmas dinner dishes you can get in Manchester – including burgers, pies and dumplings

By Boxing Day we are all going to be sick of Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, but we can’t get enough of it in the run up to the big day – that’s if the Christmas menus at Manchester restaurants are anything to go by. 

From bhajis to burgers, you can guarantee that a restaurant somewhere in Manchester has a Christmas version of it. Here are some of our favourites. 

Sprout Bhajis and Mince Pie Paratha – Bundobust

This Indian street food spot and brewery is a favourite of food critic Jay Rayner. They have some truly inspired dishes on their Christmas menu, including the famous sprout bhajis (£5.50), sprout bhaji butty (£7.50) and mince pie paratha (£4.50). You can find Bundobust in Manchester city near Piccadilly Gardens or on Oxford Road. 

Festive Bab – Bab

Bab, located at Stevenson Square, specialises in kebabs with a twist and it is only natural that they have a Christmas dinner version on their seasonal menu. The Festive Bab (£16.50) includes turkey, pigs in blankets, pork stuffing, creamed veg, pickled red cabbage, roasted carrots and parsnips, roasted chestnuts and spicy gravy. There is also a vegan nut roast version (£14). 

Crimbo Dinner Grilled Cheese – Northern Soul

Northern Soul have a whole range of festive menu items to enjoy, like the Yippee-Ki-Yay Waffle fries (£7) that come with fried chicken, sausage and herb stuffing and cranberry sauce, but the main event over the festive season is the Crimbo Dinner grilled cheese (£14.95). It includes turkey crown, stuffing, cranberry and gravy, topped with a Yorkshire pudding and pig in blanket. 

Deer Santa pie – Pieminster

The Christmas menu at Pieminister has several different festive options for you to choose from, such as the Deer Santa, with wild British venison, bacon, red wine and lentils, or The Cracker, which has turkey, ham, parsnip, cranberry and sherry. There is also the Good Elf vegan pie, with vegan turkey, cranberry, port and thyme. They all come with mash, parsnip crisps, stuffing ball stick, carrot and swede mash and gravy. They are also available in some supermarkets to buy and cook and home. 

Barbecue on 34th Street – Nell’s Pizza

The popular pizza place with locations at Kampus, the Northern Quarter and Chorlton have introduced two festive pizzas for the season. Barbecue on 34th Street includes smoked turkey, ham, green chilli, cranberry BBQ sauce, pickled red onion, and roquito peppers, and the vegetarian Christmas Brie, O Christmas Brie includes brie, pink pepper, shredded mozzarella, pickled red onions, cranberry BBQ sauce,  pomegranate seeds. 

Son of a Nutcracker – Almost Famous

You can always count on burger joint Almost Famous to come up with mad creations and the Son of Nutcracker burger is definitely one of them. Prepare yourself for this –  it includes: cheeseburger, spiced sausage patty, cheese, buttermilk fried chicken, gravy, Christmas slaw, bacon jam, BBQ sauce, bacon ketchup, brandy butter peppered mayo and it’s topped with a cheddar jalapeno and chorizo sausage roll, a pig in blanket and more gravy. 

Christmas Dinner dumplings – Desert Island Dumplings

Launching this weekend at Grub (24 and 25 November) and on Monday (27 November) at Afflecks, Desert Island Dumplings’ Christmas menu looks set to include: deep fried salt and pepper sprouts, cheesy pigs in blankets dumplings and Christmas dinner dumplings.