Christmas is all about getting together, eating well and enjoying time with the people you probably do not get to see enough of during the rest of the year.
At The Nook in Dover, we are getting ready to make festive get-togethers a little more special this year with our Christmas festive menu, available for groups of eight or more from mid-November during both lunch and evening service.
This is Christmas dinner with plenty of familiar favourites, but with a few unmistakable Nook touches along the way.
A Christmas meal that feels a little different
There is something comforting about a traditional Christmas dinner.
Turkey, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, vegetables, gravy and Christmas pudding all have their place, and we are certainly not trying to reinvent Christmas completely.
What we have done is bring some of the smokehouse character of The Nook into the festive menu.
That means dishes such as our smoked butter-bath turkey breast, prepared in-house before being finished with all the trimmings, and our 12-hour hickory-smoked brisket, cooked low and slow for the deep flavour and tenderness that has become such an important part of The Nook Smokehouse.
If you are looking for a Christmas meal in Dover that feels familiar but not predictable, this is exactly what we wanted the menu to deliver.
Start your festive meal properly
A good Christmas meal should feel like an occasion from the first course.
The festive menu starts with warming, seasonal flavours including homemade honey-roasted parsnip soup, served simply with bread and butter.
For something richer, the smoked chicken liver pâté brings a little of our smokehouse approach to the starter menu. It is smoked in-house with herbs and spices and served with red onion chutney and sourdough.
There is also a classic prawn cocktail, bringing back one of those dishes that just seems to belong at Christmas.
The starters are deliberately varied, giving groups a choice between something warming, something rich and something fresh before the main event arrives.
Traditional turkey, The Nook way
Turkey is still the centrepiece of Christmas dinner for a lot of people, but ours comes with a smokehouse twist.
Our turkey breast is smoked in-house before being placed into a butter bath, helping create a tender, flavourful main course that still feels every bit like Christmas.
It arrives with the festive essentials, including pigs in blankets, beef dripping roast potatoes, hot honey parsnips, bacon-coated sprouts, braised red cabbage, gravy and a Yorkshire pudding.
It is a proper Christmas dinner, just with the kind of flavour you would expect from The Nook.
Christmas brisket? Absolutely.
If turkey is not your thing, this is where the smokehouse really comes into its own.
Our signature Australian beef brisket is hickory smoked for 12 hours, low and slow, creating the rich flavour and soft texture that makes brisket such a favourite on our smokehouse menu.
For Christmas, it comes with all the trimmings, including pigs in blankets, garlic and herb roast potatoes, hot honey parsnips, bacon-coated sprouts, braised red cabbage, gravy and a Yorkshire pudding.
It is a great option if you want the comfort of a festive roast but fancy something a little more indulgent than traditional turkey.
For anyone already familiar with The Nook Smokehouse, this is probably the Christmas main you have been waiting for.
Not everyone wants a roast
A festive group meal needs enough choice to keep everyone happy, so the menu also moves beyond the traditional roast plate.
Our pan-fried salmon fillet is served with spinach, grilled asparagus, Parmentier potatoes and beurre blanc sauce, offering something lighter while still feeling special enough for Christmas.
There is also a wild mushroom and pistachio nut roast, made in-house and served with garlic and herb roast potatoes, hot honey parsnips, braised red cabbage, vegetarian gravy and a Yorkshire pudding.
That means vegetarians do not simply get an afterthought. They get a proper festive main in its own right.
Save room for dessert
Christmas is not really Christmas without dessert.
Traditional Christmas pudding is there for anyone who wants the full festive experience, served with brandy sauce.
If you prefer something a little lighter and creamier, there is white chocolate cheesecake with winter berry compote.
And for the chocolate lovers, there is warm chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.
The hardest part may simply be deciding which one to order.
Christmas parties and group meals in Dover
Our festive menu is designed specifically for groups of eight or more, making it ideal for work Christmas meals, family get-togethers, friendship groups and end-of-year celebrations.
From mid-November, the menu can be booked during both lunch and evening service, giving groups a bit more flexibility over when they celebrate.
So whether you are organising the office Christmas lunch, planning a family gathering or getting a group of friends together before December disappears in a blur of diaries and commitments, The Nook gives you somewhere in central Dover to settle in and enjoy it properly.
Christmas dining with a smokehouse flavour
There are plenty of places to enjoy a Christmas meal, but The Nook festive menu has been created to feel like us.
You can still have your traditional turkey and all the trimmings, but you can also choose 12-hour smoked brisket, a smoked starter or something entirely different.
That combination of festive comfort food and smokehouse flavour is what makes Christmas at The Nook a little different.
Our festive menu is available from mid-November for groups of eight or more, during both lunch and evening service.
If you are planning a Christmas party in Dover, a festive meal with colleagues or a Christmas get-together with family and friends, now is a good time to start getting the group together.
Two courses are £35 and three courses are £40.
Come hungry. Leave Happy.
Christmas at The Nook is nearly here.
