A festive supermarket highlight has been removed from the café menu leaving hungry customers like myself somewhat disappointed. I planned to enjoy a gluttonous three-course Christmas feast this afternoon, but I had to settle for a sandwich and snacks.
Supermarket giant Morrison’s has offered a stacked Christmas dinner every year for the past two decades, which has received resounding praise from customers and critics. Sadly, the first time I decide to visit, I learned too late the dish has been taken off the menu.
The Christmas dinner served up roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, sage and onion stuffing, mashed potato, cauliflower cheese, seasonal vegetables, sprouts, Yorkshire pudding, cranberry sauce and gravy for just £8.50.
The festive menu was filled with other mouthwatering classics such as prawn cocktail and hot Christmas pudding. When it comes to festive offerings from supermarkets, it’s a mixed bag in terms of variety and quality, but Morrison’s seemed to be knocking it out of the park.
Morrison’s has since confirmed its cafés will not offer the Christmas dinner this year, and it has launched a new Winter Warmer Menu instead. I paid a visit to the Morrison’s café in New Brighton, Wirral, to sample the Christmas menu, and to be honest, I was left feeling underwhelmed and disappointed.
Marine Point Morrison’s, New Brighton, Wirral -Credit:Liverpool Echo/Colin Lane
Festive menu highlights are now the brie and cranberry toastie (£4.50), festive toastie (£4.50) and festive feast sandwich (£4). For customers with a sweet tooth, there are mince pies (£1.50) and gingerbread persons (£1.50) ready for the taking.
With the Christmas dinner scrapped from the menu, and the interactive ordering screens temporarily unusable or switched off entirely during my visit, I realised the three course menu in my mind was not coming to fruition.
The Winter Warmers menu includes liver and onions, ham hock and leek casserole, and minced beef stew, but they’re not exactly Christmas specials, nor anywhere for me to see during my visit.
From the cold section, I ordered a festive feast sandwich, a gingerbread person, a mince pie and a hot chocolate, with the total coming to a reasonable £9.60.
The sandwich was stacked with a generous amount of stuffing, cranberry sauce, bacon and chicken, but ultimately tasted the same as your typical festive meal deal sandwich, which is nothing unique to write home about.
Morrison’s festive cafe items -Credit:christopher megrath
The mince pie had a sweet and delicious filling. Combined with a warm drink it went down a treat. The gingerbread person was also on the softer side instead of crumbly biscuit, and I loved it. A soft cookie has always been my favourite so the gingerbread snack was also swiftly polished off.
Overall, although there’s nothing particularly wrong with the menu, it’s nothing you can’t get at your local supermarket convenience store supermarket at lunchtime.
Removing the heavy hitters from last year and decades before has done Morrison’s a disservice as I can’t imagine the Winter Warms will receive the same fanfare as its predecessors. I’d sooner grab something heftier from the aisles and cook it when I got home than visit the café.
Dining and Cooking