As Christmas nears, restaurants and pubs are now releasing their festive menus for foodies to try. Last week, the popular pub chain Wetherspoons launched its latest Christmas menu, featuring an array of unique meals as well as a classic roast dinner.
Heading to the pub on a chilly Sunday afternoon, my family and I decided to try most of the meals on offer. We spent roughly £65 on six dishes, including two different burgers, a pizza, the roast dinner and two desserts. I ranked the Wetherspoons meals below. Find out which dish left us all speechless and wanting more.
6. Chicken, stuffing, bacon and brie pizza – £11.52
Wetherspoons is iconic for its variety of thin-based pizzas, so when I saw the new Christmas-inspired pizza, I was excited to try it. The combination of brie cheese with chicken, bacon and stuffing sounds incredible; however, it was not.
I was expecting a burst of flavour from the stuffing, accompanied by the meaty and juicy chicken and bacon pieces, but this was all lost among the cheese and rocket topping.
The pizza was rather bland, which was super disappointing, as in theory, the ingredients should work together. Perhaps there needed to be more toppings on the pizza for it to truly shine, but unfortunately, this was not the case.
5. The Big Cheese Beef Burger – £10.89
My cousin had the big cheese beef burger. When we discussed the ranking of the meals, she pleaded that I put this burger at number five, as she did not enjoy it at all.
She stated that it was too dry, and the ‘Emmental & Cheddar cheese’ sauce (reminiscent of a Béchamel sauce) wasn’t to her taste, so she ended up ordering an extra BBQ sauce to make up for it.
The burger is also relatively low on the list, and it felt the least festive out of all of the dishes. However, she did enjoy the halloumi fries and the steak-cut chips.
4. Buttermilk chicken & stuffing burger – £10.89
My main dish of the visit was the Buttermilk chicken and stuffing burger. This burger was super dry. It came with a side of cranberry sauce, which was not nearly enough for the large, bland, and crispy breaded chicken.
I ended up spending 99p on some extra gravy, but this didn’t help much. Inside the burger, you will find a large stuffing patty, a few pieces of bacon, a tomato, a few shreds of lettuce, and onions.
The best part of the meal was the pigs in blankets on top (you can never go wrong with that) and the chips. I think if you like pork, sage and onion stuffing, then you might enjoy this burger more than I did, as I prefer stuffing without pork.
3. Giant profiterole – £5.58
Wetherspoons’ Christmas menu currently only offers two desserts: the giant profiterole and a cookies and cream Blondie with ice cream.
The profiterole was nice and refreshing. It featured a ripe strawberry and delicious chocolate sauce. The pastry was light and airy so it was easy to cut through with a spoon.
My only complaint was that there was too much cream, but that might not be a problem for all the profiterole lovers out there. This dessert was extra delicious with a pot of toffee sauce.
2. Sliced turkey breast and winter vegetables – £13.99
Coming in second is the turkey roast dinner. It was so good that my brother couldn’t help but lick his lips throughout the meal.
The meal came with a few slices of turkey breast, pork, sage and onion stuffing, carrots, garden peas, parsnips, mashed potatoes, pigs in blankets, cranberry sauce, and gravy.
My brother said the mash was the best part of the dish as it was incredibly smooth and creamy. The parsnips were steamed, yet delicious, and the carrots were beautifully roasted.
His only complaint is that the peas were a little undercooked. He enjoyed the gravy and stated that it tasted a little bit sweet. In under 10 minutes, he had completely cleared his plate with a smile.
1. Cookies and cream blondie – £5.58
The best dish of the entire experience, and the one meal I highly recommend, is the gooey and indulgent Cookies and Cream Blondie.
Even if you don’t have a sweet tooth, this dessert is incredible. It arrived perfectly warm, accompanied by a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream to balance out the white chocolate brownie and cookie pieces.
It was gooey, crunchy, and every bite was worth savouring. As soon as we took a bite, we all exclaimed: “Wow.” We then had a moment of silence for the slice of heaven we just experienced. 10/10.
Dining and Cooking