Christmas might still be three months away but a Newcastle restaurant is expecting a surge of bookings for its dinner
10:50, 15 Sep 2025Updated 11:15, 15 Sep 2025
Branches has launched its Christmas Day bookings(Image: Instagram)
If this is the year when you want to let someone else do the cooking at Christmas and you fancy having a slap up meal once Santa’s been, a popular Newcastle restaurant has just opened bookings for its £170 a head five course festive feast. And they’re expecting huge demand as people clamour to book up.
Temperatures have most definitely dipped a bit over the last few days, meaning that, while sometimes September had a habit of surprising us with warmer than expected weather, summer is most definitely over. And, given that it’s already been a few weeks since the first advent calendars and selection boxes were spotted in shops in and around Newcastle, whether the Scrooges amongst you want to accept it or not, Christmas is on the way.
Yes, we know we haven’t even had Halloween yet, although that too has descended over a month early thanks to the launch of Psycho Path 2025 at the weekend; but when it comes to Christmas there really is nothing wrong with planning ahead and getting your activities for the festive season in the diary nice and early. There are many of us who think Christmas dinner should always be eaten at home, with no need to leave the house the whole day, but others love to push the boat out on December 25 by treating themselves to a meal out.
And somewhere that looks set to attract plenty of custom this year is Branches in Jesmond, the very place Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer headed for a pre-Christmas meal with family last year and famous for its twinkling light exterior over the festive season. A popular calling point for a rather pricey Sunday dinner, Branches has now opened the book for Christmas Day 2025, with a five course offering costing £170 for adults and £100 for children.
The sumptuous meal will kicked off with a bread course, before a range of starters to choose from, including lobster and prawn cocktail, duck liver pate and grilled goats cheese & slow cooked beetroot salad. After an intermediate course, the mains are up, of course including traditional roast turkey, along with roasted halibut butternut squash and parmesan risotto and slow cooked sirloin of beef.
And then, if they’ve still got room for dessert, diners can tuck into everything from Christmas pudding to a very berry cheesecake or a selection of French cheeses.
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Dining and Cooking