The coffee house giants have not held back on the Christmas goodies
Howard Lloyd Regional content editor
06:50, 22 Nov 2025
A selection from Pret’s Christmas menu
I love all things Christmas – the food, the atmosphere, the presents, but especially the food. For that reason, when I heard about Pret A Manger’s new Christmas menu, I certainly did not need a second invitation to give it a try.
And believe me when I say they certainly have not held back. Items include the Porchetta & Sage Baguette, Salmon, Soft Cheese & Dill, Truffle & Brie Toastie, Festive Truffle Pasta Bake, a Frosted Mint Hot Chocolate, and a Gingerbread Latte. There is also a Veggie Christmas Flatbread, a delightful-sounding Pigs in Blankets Hot Roll, Hog Roast Macaroni & Cheese, a Caramelised Biscuity Bar, Pret’s Mince Pie, and even a Christmas Tiffin.
Last but most definitely not least, there is the return of the Christmas Lunch Sandwich – which is apparently Pret’s most popular Christmas item. And in what is a classy touch from Pret, £1 from every Christmas Lunch Sandwich sold is donated to the Pret Foundation as it celebrates its 30th anniversary.
The Pigs in Blankets Hot Roll
To be honest, pretty much all of these sound great. But what do they actually taste like? As a self-confessed food snob, I headed out to my local Pret to try a selection of these festive goodies to see if they passed muster.
Well, as a Christmas fan, it seemed only natural to start with the Pigs in Blankets Hot Roll. The Pret description says: “Served warm in a ciabatta roll with caramelised onion chutney and a touch of mustard mayo, this little bundle of joy is pure festive comfort.”
It was warm and the porky smell coming from it was mouth-watering. Unsurprisingly, it was very meaty but what surprised me was the sweetness to it. The onion chutney really came out in what was a fine addition to the sandwich. And, while I have to be honest and say I couldn’t detect any of the mustard mayo, it was still a solid start.
The Porchetta & Sage Baguette – with plenty of apple
I quickly moved on to the Porchetta & Sage Baguette, which is apparently ‘made up of slices of Porchetta which has been hand rubbed in an apple and rosemary seasoning to ensure flavour in every bite. The new baguette is then layered with sage mayo, matured Italian cheese, dried cranberries, shredded apple and spinach on freshly baked baguette’.
Reading that, you might think that there is a lot going on in one baguette but really, this is very much a pork baguette – it was packed with tasty, salty meat. It was also generously filled with cranberries which again added a nice sweetness.
The real revelation was the apple though. I know pork and apple is a classic combo but it added a real freshness to the sandwich I really enjoyed.
I was pretty full by this stage and decided to head home for the rest of it – but not before enjoying something sweet. I am a big fan of chocolate and mint, so the Frosted Mint Hot Chocolate was a must. To me, chocolate and mint is a match made in heaven so I was always going to enjoy this.
The Frosted Mint Hot Chocolate – a little too sweet for my liking
It was perhaps a touch too sugary for my liking, but I am a big fan of dark chocolate so I am always going to want less sweetness and more bitterness in anything chocolatey that I have.
I was looking forward to trying the chocolate tiffin but they unfortunately had none in stock. Undeterred, I cycled home via another Pret – which, to my horror, had also sold out. There were literally none left. Had they just been snapped up already? I had to make do with a mince pie instead which, although decent, was no chocolate tiffin.
The Truffle & Brie Toastie was next and, if there was one item that missed the mark, this was probably it. Don’t get me wrong, it was perfectly pleasant, but it was very heavy on the Brie but lacked much of a truffle punch.
The mince pie – let me know if you get your hands on a tiffin
Pret describe the sandwich as a ‘rich, gooey blend of Brie and Cheddar cheese with a truffle layer’. I know truffle is both expensive and not to everyone’s taste, but I could not really detect it at all. Really, it was a Brie baguette, which is no bad thing, just not quite what I hoped for.
I deliberately saved the Christmas Lunch Sandwich for last – and this one really proved me wrong. “Perfected over the years, this legendary classic wraps up all the joy of Christmas in one bite, featuring British turkey, port & orange cranberry sauce, herby pork stuffing, spinach, mayo and crispy onions, all layered on soft malted bread, freshly prepared in shop kitchens every day all season long,” is how Pret described it.
The Christmas Lunch Sandwich – Pret’s best seller and a very pleasant surprise
I was not blown away looking at it, as I thought they had gone a bit too heavy on the spinach. But I learnt a valuable lesson – never judge a book by its cover or, in this case, a sandwich by its packaging.
Tt was actually delicious. The turkey was thick and satisfying, the port and orange cranberry sauce was beautifully rich, and herby stuffing was, well, herby. I was surprised at just how much flavour they had managed to pack in to one sandwich.
Looking back on the whole menu, I have to say that Pret have done a great job is cramming a lot of Christmas flavours into a handful of food items. Every Christmas flavour you can think of is there, and the portions were generous too – there was no scrimping, especially on the meat.
So, while I would not call it fine dining, if you want a satisfying Christmas foodie hit, you could definitely do a lot worse.
Dining and Cooking