Christmas Day lunch from £90 to £150 and festive menus from £26: ten Winchester pubs, hotels and restaurants with 2026 prices and deposits, checked 1 November.

For Christmas dinner in Winchester, most people look first at The Wykeham Arms by the Cathedral, whose Christmas Day lunch is £150; the Winchester Royal Hotel, the lowest-priced Christmas Day in the city at £90; and Hotel du Vin on Southgate Street at £139.95. For December parties, The Chestnut Horse at Easton starts at £26. Every entry checked against the venue’s own site and menus on 1 November 2026.

We have not eaten any of these Christmas menus, and nothing here is a review. Each entry gives what the venue publishes for 2026: its prices, the dates its festive menu runs, and its deposit and pre-order rules where it states them, with the Food Standards Agency hygiene rating added. Christmas Day falls on a Friday this year. Places fill early, and several want full payment in November.

Christmas Day in the city centre

1. The Wykeham Arms, Kingsgate Street

The Fuller’s pub describes itself as “sandwiched between the Cathedral and the 14th century college”, a pub with rooms “surrounded by heritage”. Its Christmas Day menu is £150 a head with a glass of English sparkling wine and canapés to start; mains include fillet of British beef, roasted Cornish monkfish, British turkey breast and a wild mushroom, spinach and celeriac pithivier, with baked Alaska and Christmas pudding among the puddings.

The children’s Christmas Day menu, for 12 and under, is £75. The Christmas dining menu for December lunches and parties is £58 for two courses or £62 for three, with venison, cod and turkey mains.

The pub also publishes Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve and buffet menus.

Price Christmas Day £150, children 12 and under £75; Christmas dining menu £58 for two courses, £62 for three
Booking online through the pub's Christmas page or by phone; the menus do not state a deposit
Call 01962 853834
Address 75 Kingsgate Street, SO23 9PE
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 3 September 2026
Website wykehamarmswinchester.co.uk/christmas
Listing Our listing
Good for by the Cathedral, bedrooms, children's menu, Boxing Day menu

2. Hotel du Vin, Southgate Street

Hotel du Vin’s Winchester Christmas page offers a four-course Christmas Day lunch at £139.95 a head including a glass of Champagne; its 2026 brochure gives the children’s price as £79.95 for ages 5 to 11. From 18 November to 24 December the three-course Celebrations Menu runs at lunch and dinner from £39.95.

A party package with a glass of Champagne, half a bottle of house wine and water starts at £65 for groups of eight or more. Sunday lunch runs at £34.95 from 22 November to 20 December, and Boxing Day and New Year’s Day lunches are also on.

Price Christmas Day £139.95, children 5 to 11 £79.95; Celebrations Menu from £39.95; party package from £65, minimum eight
Booking online through the hotel's Christmas page
Call 01962 896329
Address 14 Southgate Street, SO23 9EF
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 9 March 2026
Website hotelduvin.com/locations/winchester/christmas
Good for city centre, private dining rooms, Christmas stays, Boxing Day lunch

3. Winchester Royal Hotel, St Peter Street

The hotel’s Christmas 2026 page prices Christmas Day lunch at £90 for adults, £45.95 for children under 12, with under-3s free, the lowest published Christmas Day price among the city-centre venues here. Festive lunches are £36 for three courses and festive dinners £39.

It also runs a Jane Austen Festive Afternoon Tea at £32.50 from 16 November to 20 December, and a Sunday Lunch with Santa on 13 December. Bookings are taken by email; the full detail is in the hotel’s 2026 Christmas brochure.

Price Christmas Day £90, children under 12 £45.95, under-3s free; festive lunch £36, festive dinner £39 for three courses
Booking by email to Christmas@winchesterroyalhotel.com
Call 0330 102 7242
Address 21 to 22 St Peter Street, SO23 8BS
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 15 January 2025
Website winchesterroyalhotel.com/christmas-2026-winchester-royal
Good for city centre, children's prices, festive afternoon tea, lunch with Santa

Christmas Day in the villages

4. Lainston House, Sparsholt

The country house hotel off the Stockbridge Road serves Christmas Day lunch in The Wellhouse, its wood-fired restaurant: four courses at £150 a head, according to its Christmas page. A Christmas afternoon tea runs through December from £48, and private lunch or dinner parties start at £99 a head.

The hotel’s Season Cookery School also runs festive classes, from £149. Lainston publishes no separate children’s price for Christmas Day on that page, so ask when booking.

Price Christmas Day £150 for four courses; Christmas afternoon tea from £48; private parties from £99
Booking online through the hotel's Christmas page or by phone
Call 01962 776088
Address Stockbridge Road, Sparsholt, SO21 2LT
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 2 June 2026
Website exclusive.co.uk/lainston-house/highlights/christmas
Good for country house, wood-fired cooking, Christmas stays, cookery classes

5. The Running Horse, Littleton

The Upham Inns pub on Main Road calls itself a “stylishly restored village inn” with 15 rooms, close to junction 9 of the M3. Its Christmas page has a five-course Christmas Day at £115 with a glass of Prosecco or Buck’s Fizz on arrival; the menu lists turkey, sirloin of beef, fillet or ribeye steak, stone bass and a sweet potato Wellington.

Under-12s are £49.95 and under-6s £24.95. The festive menu runs from 25 November to 24 December at £34.95 for two courses or £39.95 for three.

Live music is on every Friday in the run-up, and breakfast with Santa is on the What’s On list.

Price Christmas Day £115, under-12s £49.95, under-6s £24.95; festive menu £34.95 for two courses, £39.95 for three
Booking Christmas Day needs a non-refundable £25 deposit a head, with full payment and pre-orders by Wednesday 25 November 2026; festive menu £10 deposit, pre-orders seven days ahead; 12.5% discretionary service charge
Call 01962 880218
Address 88 Main Road, Littleton, SO22 6QS
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 4 September 2025
Website runninghorseinn.co.uk/christmas
Listing Our listing
Good for bedrooms, children's prices, large groups, breakfast with Santa

6. The Chestnut Horse, Easton

The pub describes itself as “a warm, characterful country pub at the heart of the Itchen Valley”, on the Itchen Way about ten minutes from the city, and says dogs are welcome. Its Christmas Day menu is £105 a head and £50 for children 12 and under, with mains including Avington trout and winter squash, and duck fat potatoes and pigs in blankets for the table.

The festive dining menu is £26 for one course, £32 for two and £38 for three: bacon-wrapped stuffed turkey, bream or pumpkin and sage ravioli. Boxing Day and New Year’s Day are brunch menus with dishes from £19.

Price Christmas Day £105, children 12 and under £50; festive menu £26 for one course, £32 for two, £38 for three
Booking online through the pub's Christmas page; 12.5% discretionary service charge
Call 01962 391500
Address Avington Park Lane, Easton, SO21 1EG
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 7 October 2025
Website thechestnuthorse.com/christmas-new-year
Listing Our listing
Good for dogs welcome, children's prices, Itchen Way walks, Boxing Day brunch

7. The King’s Head, Wickham

The Fuller’s pub on The Square calls itself “Historic Wickham’s much-loved village pub”, a former coaching inn known for home-cooked food and real ales. Its Christmas Day menu is £99 a head with a glass of English sparkling wine and canapés, and the children’s Christmas Day menu, for 12 and under, is £49.50.

The Christmas dining menu for parties and December meals is £38 for two courses or £42 for three. There is a children’s Christmas dining menu and a buffet menu too.

Price Christmas Day £99, children 12 and under £49.50; Christmas dining menu £38 for two courses, £42 for three
Booking online through the pub's Christmas page or by phone; the menus do not state a deposit
Call 01329 832123
Address The Square, Wickham, PO17 5JN
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 10 October 2024
Website kingsheadwickham.co.uk/christmas
Listing Our listing
Good for village square, children's menus, buffet menu, real ales

Festive menus and Christmas parties

8. The Chesil Rectory, Chesil Street

The restaurant, independently owned “since 2008 by a small group of friends”, serves a modern British menu. Its Christmas menu 2026 is £49.95 a head, served Monday to Friday lunch and dinner from 1 to 23 December for parties of 2 to 32.

Mains are turkey ballotine with pigs in blankets, baked hake, 12-hour braised ox cheek, or a roasted root vegetable ballotine. The usual set lunch and early evening menu is not available in December.

The restaurant also publishes Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve menus.

Open Mon to Fri 12pm to 3.30pm and 5.30pm to 11pm; Sat 12pm to 3.30pm and 6pm to 11pm; Sun 12pm to 4pm and 6pm to 10pm
Price Christmas menu £49.95 a head, weekdays 1 to 23 December
Booking £10 a head deposit; full pre-order seven days ahead to manager@chesilrectory.co.uk; deposits kept on cancellations within 48 hours; 12.5% discretionary service charge
Call 01962 851555
Address 1 Chesil Street, SO23 0HU
Hygiene rating 4, Food Standards Agency, 10 December 2025
Website chesilrectory.co.uk
Listing Our listing
Good for historic building, groups up to 32, Boxing Day menu, vegan options

9. The Old Vine, Great Minster Street

The Old Vine calls itself “an 18th century inn steeped in character and charm”, a short walk from the Cathedral, with six rooms and a restaurant and pub. For Christmas 2026 it takes groups of up to 16 in its private dining room, the Little Minster Room, with a festive set menu at £42 a head from 20 November, booked by email.

Reservations for up to eight can be made online. The inn says it is now cashless and that dogs are welcome.

Price Christmas set menu for groups £42 a head, from 20 November
Booking groups by email to reservations@oldvinewinchester.com; up to eight online
Call 01962 854616
Address 8 Great Minster Street, SO23 9HA
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 27 January 2025
Website oldvinewinchester.com/eat-drink
Listing Our listing
Good for by the Cathedral, private dining room, bedrooms, dogs welcome

10. The Fox Inn, Bramdean

The Fox Inn at Bramdean has a 2026 Christmas set menu at £29.50 for two courses or £35.50 for three: roast turkey with all the trimmings, beef Wellington at a £5 supplement, or seared tuna, with Christmas pudding, crumble or cherry and chocolate tart. A glass of Prosecco is £6 extra and a cheeseboard with port £10.

The pub is open for drinks only from 12pm to 2pm on Christmas Day, so this is a pub for a December meal rather than Christmas lunch. Its Christmas quiz, with supper, is on Monday 14 December at £10 a head.

Price Christmas set menu £29.50 for two courses, £35.50 for three; Christmas quiz with supper £10
Booking £5 a head non-refundable deposit and a pre-order from every guest; by phone
Call 01962 771363
Address Petersfield Road, Bramdean, SO24 0LP
Hygiene rating 4, Food Standards Agency, 21 January 2026
Website thefoxbramdean.co.uk/christmas-nye
Listing Our listing
Good for country pub, bed and breakfast, Christmas quiz, open Boxing Day

How we chose

These are the Winchester-area pubs, hotels and restaurants that people search for at Christmas and that had published their 2026 Christmas prices on their own websites when we checked on 1 November 2026. We used each venue’s own Christmas page and menus, and the Food Standards Agency’s hygiene ratings; nothing here is rated below 3. Pubs and hotels still showing only last year’s menus were left out until they publish this year’s, and the Winchester Wessex Hotel’s Christmas Day page gave no price we could read. Prices change and menus sell out, so confirm with the venue before you book. Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@winchesterpost.co.uk. Taken a good photograph of any of these places? Email it to newsdesk@winchesterpost.co.uk and we will add it with your name as the credit.

More for the season: the Winchester Christmas market, New Year’s Eve in Winchester, what’s on in Winchester this month, things to do in Winchester and the Winchester business directory.

Frequently asked questions

How much is Christmas Day lunch in Winchester in 2026?

Published 2026 prices run from £90 at the Winchester Royal Hotel to £150 at The Wykeham Arms and at Lainston House. In between, The King’s Head at Wickham charges £99, The Chestnut Horse at Easton £105, The Running Horse at Littleton £115 and Hotel du Vin £139.95. Each publishes a lower children’s price.

Where can I get a Christmas party meal in Winchester for under £40?

The Chestnut Horse at Easton charges £26 for one course, £32 for two and £38 for three. The Fox Inn at Bramdean charges £29.50 and £35.50, The Running Horse £34.95 and £39.95, the Winchester Royal Hotel £36 at lunch and £39 at dinner, and Hotel du Vin’s Celebrations Menu starts at £39.95.

Do Winchester restaurants want a deposit for Christmas bookings?

Most do. The Running Horse asks £25 a head for Christmas Day and £10 for its festive menu, the Chesil Rectory £10 a head, and The Fox Inn £5 a head, and all three want pre-orders in advance. The Running Horse wants Christmas Day paid in full by 25 November 2026.