It’s that time of year again: no parking, no taxis, no reservations, queues for days - no wonder it's known as the most wonderful time of the year. Christmas in the capital: we wouldn’t have it any other way (except maybe the no-taxis-in-the-rain part), but the season also brings with it food and drink items that would turn any cranky shopper-to-be into their cheeriest selves. We’ve rounded up some of the most good looking Christmas food the city has to offer right now, that we will be attempting to systematically get through before the year is out.
The Christmas Kebab From Kerb
Ingenuity at its best: brussel sprouts in a kebab. Kerb have outdone themselves with this effort, and frankly swinging by Foxrock just to enjoy a turkey, crush carrot, crispy brussel sprout, stuffing and cranberry mayo kebab is well within the realms of possibility for those hairier days over the Christmas season.
Gingerbread Choux From Chapter One
Chapter One pastry chef Darren Hogarty never lets us down, and when it comes to seasonal desserts the standard is as high as ever. This gingerbread choux, part of the petit four selection, has a brown butter bun, candied clementines and gingerbread mousse, and looks like a particularly festive way to polish off a Christmas lunch.
The Gobbler Sandwich From Greenville Deli
Honey glazed ham, turkey, crispy onions, cranberry sauce, stuffing and mayo. If there was a prize for best festive sandwich in the city, we think Tara Street café Greenville Deli's edition would be in with a shot.
Mini Panettone From Alma
Argentinean café Alma's mini panettones are the perfect excuse to pop over to the South Circular road for some pre-shopping lunch featuring all the Argentinian deliciousness. You'll need your energy after all...
Happy Out's Christmas Toastie
There’s never an excuse needed to visit this container for a sandwich, however, a chow down on Happy Out's Turkey-brie-cranberry combo seems like a particularly perfect reason to pop over and refuel after a chilly stroll on Dollymount strand.
Craft's Christmas Pudding
You know it’s going to be good when it’s pipped by pastry chef Gary Corrigan as “mam’s Christmas pudding”. This one comes with a dollop of custard, milk crumb and vanilla ice cream for all the flavours you expect when you visit Craft in Harold’s Cross.
Sherry Trifle From Beo Wine Bar + Kitchen
Sherry trifle - a mildly contentious Christmas dessert - when executed right can make for the champion of festive treats, and even though Beo in Stoneybatter's version is atypically vegan, we'd hazard a guess that it's pretty good.
Veginity's Cranberry Canoli
More accidental veganism, but this savoury cannoli from Veginity is like none we have ever encountered before. It's filled with smoked almond mascarpone, and is served on a cranberry chilli jam, and honestly we're intrigued.
Brother Hubbard's Christmas Salads
Think you hate brussel sprouts? Bet Brother Hubbard can make you change your mind. One of their seasonal salads this week is a sprout extravaganza with pomegranate seeds and hazelnuts, and we promise it will banish all memories of those over boiled, feet smelling monstrosities you most likely grew up with.
The Christmas Sandwich From Junior's
The Christmas sandwich arrived back at Junior's in Beggar's Bush yesterday, and they sound pretty excited to be serving the turkey, ham, bacon, stuffing and rocket filled roll again. We're equally excited to eat it.
Mince Pies And Custard At Gertrude
You didn't think we could get the whole way through this without mention the M word did you? There’s nothing - nothing worse than a lonely mince pie. Thankfully Gertrude understand this and are drowning theirs in custard. We are very appreciative.
More Mince Pies From Three-Twenty Ice-Cream Lab
And one more for good measure. Three-Twenty Ice-Cream Lab has teamed up with The Cupcake Bloke to provide the mince pies, which they warm up and serve with Baileys nitro ice-cream. It's what Christmast dreams are made of.
