Christmas Day lunch costs £68.95 to £150 at eight Oxford pubs and restaurants; festive menus from £21.49. 2026 prices, children's rates and deposits.

For Christmas Day in Oxford, the menus most people will find are at the Head of the River at Folly Bridge (£105 a head), the Young’s pubs the King’s Arms on Holywell Street (£100) and the Plough Inn on Cornmarket (£99), and Quod on the High Street (£150). The lowest Christmas Day price on this list is £68.95 at the Britannia Inn in Headington. Every entry was checked against the venue’s own site on 1 November 2026.

We have not eaten at any of these for this guide, and nothing here is a review. Each entry gives the price on the venue’s own 2026 Christmas menu, what it includes and what it says about deposits and booking, plus its Food Standards Agency (FSA) hygiene rating. Prices are per person and exclude any service charge unless we say otherwise. Christmas Day 2026 is a Friday.

Not every famous name opens on the day. The Turf Tavern’s Christmas page says it “won’t be opening its doors on the day itself”, and the Perch, the Bear and Malmaison list festive menus for December only (Malmaison keeps Christmas Day lunch for hotel guests on its packages). Those are in the second half of this guide.

Christmas Day in the city centre

1. The Head of the River, Folly Bridge

The Head of the River is the Fuller’s pub and hotel on the Thames at Folly Bridge, with a riverside terrace. Its Christmas Day menu is £105 a head and starts with a glass of English sparkling wine.

Starters include prawn and queen scallop ravioli in an English sparkling wine sauce and whipped chicken liver parfait; mains are British turkey breast with pigs in blankets and apricot stuffing, fillet of British beef with a braised beef pie, Cornish hake with a griddled tiger prawn, or a wild mushroom, spinach and celeriac pithivier. The children’s Christmas Day menu, for 12 and under, is £52.50.

Before the day, the Christmas dining menu is £41 for two courses or £45 for three, and there are Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve menus too.

Price Christmas Day £105, children 12 and under £52.50; Christmas dining menu 2 courses £41, 3 courses £45
Booking book through the pub's website or by phone
Call 01865 721600
Address 1 Folly Bridge, OX1 4LB
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 16 October 2026
Website headoftheriveroxford.co.uk/christmas
Listing Our listing
Good for riverside, glass of fizz included, children's Christmas Day menu, vegetarian main, rooms upstairs

2. The King’s Arms, Holywell Street

The King’s Arms is the Young’s pub on the corner of Holywell Street and Parks Road, opposite the Weston Library, and calls itself “one of Oxford’s most beloved pubs”. Its Christmas Day menu is £100 a head: starters include baked South Coast scallops in the shell and orange and fennel crusted venison carpaccio; mains are a crown of English turkey with maple roast gammon and duck breast, 28-day-aged West Country sirloin, Gressingham duck breast with a confit leg croquette, a beetroot, truffle and wild mushroom Wellington or halibut, all with a double egg Yorkshire pudding and goose fat roast potatoes.

The Youngsters Christmas Day menu is £65. The festive menu before the day is three courses for £42.

The menus carry no year, but the pub’s Christmas page lists 2026 opening hours. A 12.5% discretionary service charge is added.

Open Christmas Eve 9am to 8pm; Christmas Day 12pm to 6pm; Boxing Day 11am to 9pm
Price Christmas Day £100, Youngsters menu £65; festive menu 3 courses £42; 12.5% discretionary service charge
Booking enquire through the pub's Christmas page; the Wadham Room seats 30 for private dining
Call 01865 242369
Address 40 Holywell Street, OX1 3SP
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 9 January 2024
Website kingsarmsoxford.co.uk/christmas
Listing Our listing
Good for city centre, private room, children's Christmas Day menu, vegan main

3. The Plough Inn, Cornmarket Street

The Plough Inn is Young’s other city-centre pub, at 38 Cornmarket Street, with a private room upstairs it calls the Loft. Its Christmas Day menu is £99 a head and follows the same Young’s Christmas Day dishes as the King’s Arms: scallops or venison carpaccio to start, the turkey, gammon and duck crown, aged sirloin or a vegan Wellington, then Christmas pudding with brandy butter ice cream.

The Youngsters Christmas Day menu is £50, and the festive menu in December is three courses for £36, with sides such as pigs in blankets at £6.

Price Christmas Day £99, Youngsters menu £50; festive menu 3 courses £36
Booking enquire through the pub's Christmas page; the Loft for private parties
Call 01865 587159
Address 38 Cornmarket Street, OX1 3HA
Hygiene rating 4, Food Standards Agency, 17 September 2026
Website theploughinnoxford.co.uk/christmas
Listing Our listing
Good for city centre, private room, children's Christmas Day menu, vegan main

4. Quod, High Street

Quod is the brasserie of the Old Bank Hotel at 92 to 94 High Street. Its Christmas Day sample menu for 2026 is £150 a head and begins with canapés.

Starters include ravioli of Cornish crab, venison carpaccio and seared scallops with spiced pork belly; mains are roast bronze turkey with all the trimmings, a 6oz Hereford beef fillet with slow-cooked beef cheek, halibut with lobster velouté, or a butternut squash and Puy lentil Wellington. Quod says reservations are essential and a 15% discretionary service charge is added.

Its Christmas party set menu is three courses for £85.

Price Christmas Day £150 (canapés and 3 courses); Christmas party set menu 3 courses £85; 15% discretionary service charge
Booking reservations essential for Christmas Day
Call 01865 799599
Address 92-94 High Street, OX1 4BJ
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 22 October 2026
Website quod.co.uk/private-dining-and-events/christmas-day
Listing Our listing
Good for hotel restaurant, canapés included, vegetarian main

Christmas Day around Oxford

5. The Fishes, North Hinksey

The Fishes is a Peach Pubs pub in North Hinksey village, off the Botley Road, with what it calls “beautiful grounds”. Its Christmas Day menu is three courses for £110: celeriac and apple soup, smoked salmon and hand-picked crab or pork and green peppercorn terrine to start, then free-range turkey or roast sirloin with pigs in blankets and Yorkshire pudding, chalk stream trout, or a plant-based butternut squash, lentil and chestnut Wellington.

The festive menu runs from Wednesday 25 November to Thursday 24 December at £33.50 for two courses or £39.50 for three, and Peach says diners in December get £20 to spend in 2027 (terms apply). A 12.5% optional service charge is added.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £110; festive menu 2 courses £33.50, 3 courses £39.50; 12.5% optional service charge
Booking book direct through the pub's website
Call 01865 249796
Address North Hinksey Village, OX2 0NA
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 7 May 2026
Website fishesoxford.co.uk
Listing Our listing
Good for garden and grounds, plant-based main, gluten-free menu, £20 back for 2027

6. The Victoria Arms, Old Marston

The Victoria Arms is the Butcombe pub at the end of Mill Lane in Old Marston, on the River Cherwell. Its Christmas Day menu is £105 a head: salmon gravadlax, duck liver pâté, caramelised goat’s cheese or Jerusalem artichoke soup, then roast English turkey with pork and chestnut stuffing, sirloin of grass-fed beef, baked cod with brown shrimp and caper butter, or a butternut squash and lentil Wellington, with jugs of gravy for the table.

Children aged 4 to 10 eat for £25. Butcombe asks for a £25 a head deposit for Christmas Day and full payment by 1 December.

Festive menus run from 16 November to 3 January, except 25, 26 and 31 December and 1 January.

Price Christmas Day £105, children 4 to 10 £25; cheese course £10 extra
Booking Christmas Day £25 a head deposit, paid in full by 1 December; other festive bookings £10 a head deposit; pre-orders for 8 or more
Call 01865 251174
Address Mill Lane, Old Marston, OX3 0PZ
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 4 September 2025
Website butcombe.com/the-victoria-arms-oxfordshire/christmas
Listing Our listing
Good for riverside, children's price, vegetarian main, beer garden

7. The Britannia Inn, Headington

The Britannia Inn is an Ember Inns pub on London Road at the corner of Lime Walk in Headington. It publishes the lowest Christmas Day price on this list: three courses for £68.95 for adults and £34.50 for children.

In December its festive set menu is two courses for £21.49, or £9.99 for children, and it also lists Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve menus and a Breakfast with Santa. Ember says deposit, payment and pre-order rules vary by occasion and are set out on its Christmas deposits page and in the booking confirmation.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £68.95, children £34.50; festive set menu 2 courses £21.49, children £9.99
Booking deposit and pre-order terms on Ember's Christmas deposits page
Address London Road at Lime Walk, Headington, OX3 7AA
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 4 June 2026
Website emberinns.co.uk/nationalsearch/southeast/the-britannia-inn-headington/christmas
Listing Our listing
Good for lowest Christmas Day price here, children's price, Breakfast with Santa, Headington

8. The Kings Arms, Sandford-on-Thames

The Kings Arms is a Chef & Brewer pub on Church Road in Sandford-on-Thames, by Sandford Lock, about four miles south of the city centre. Its Christmas Day menu is three courses for £90 a head, and the pub also publishes a separate Christmas Day menu with no gluten-containing ingredients and a young guests’ menu.

Bookings need a deposit of £10 per adult and £5 per child.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £90
Booking deposit £10 per adult, £5 per child
Call 01865 777095
Address Church Road, Sandford-on-Thames, OX4 4YB
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 30 October 2025
Website chefandbrewer.com/pubs/oxfordshire/kings-arms/christmas/christmas-day
Listing Our listing
Good for by the Thames, no-gluten Christmas Day menu, young guests' menu

Festive menus before the day

9. The Trout Inn, Wolvercote

The Trout Inn sits on the Thames by Godstow Bridge in Wolvercote. Its festive menu is £40.95, and it also has a festive grazing menu and Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve menus.

The Trout does open on Christmas Day, but the price sits in its online booking system rather than on the page, so ask when you book. Christmas Day needs a non-refundable £10 a head deposit, with full payment and pre-orders by 8 December.

An optional 10% service charge is added to all tables.

Price festive menu £40.95; Christmas Day price given at booking; optional 10% service charge
Booking festive menu £10 a head deposit for 10 or more; Christmas Day £10 a head deposit, paid in full with pre-orders by 8 December
Address 195 Godstow Road, Wolvercote, OX2 8PN
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 10 November 2025
Website thetroutoxford.co.uk/christmas
Listing Our listing
Good for riverside, Christmas Day bookings, Boxing Day menu, grazing menu

10. The Perch, Binsey

The Perch is the thatched pub on Binsey Lane, reached on foot from Port Meadow or by car from the Botley Road. It takes Christmas parties of 2 to 120 in its restaurant and marquee.

The 2026 Christmas menu is £39.50 for two courses or £49.50 for three, and there is a separate marquee feasting menu. Bookings are handled by James or Jennifer on the number below or at christmas@the-perch.co.uk, and need a £20 a head deposit.

Price Christmas menu 2 courses £39.50, 3 courses £49.50
Booking £20 a head deposit; email christmas@the-perch.co.uk
Call 01865 728891
Address Binsey Lane, OX2 0NG
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 17 July 2024
Website the-perch.co.uk/christmas
Listing Our listing
Good for thatched pub, marquee, large groups, Port Meadow walks

11. The Bear Inn, Alfred Street

The Bear is the Fuller’s pub on Alfred Street, between the High Street and Christ Church. Its Christmas dining menu is £33.95 for two courses or £37.95 for three, with a glass of Prosecco for £7 or a Christmas G&T for £7.50.

It also lists a Christmas buffet menu and a children’s Christmas dining menu. It does not list a Christmas Day menu.

Price Christmas dining menu 2 courses £33.95, 3 courses £37.95
Booking book through the pub's website or by phone
Call 01865 728164
Address 6 Alfred Street, OX1 4EH
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 12 December 2025
Website bearoxford.co.uk/christmas
Listing Our listing
Good for city centre, children's menu, buffet for groups

12. The Cherwell Boathouse, Bardwell Road

The Cherwell Boathouse is the restaurant at the punt station on Bardwell Road in north Oxford. Its Christmas 2026 set menu is two courses from £34.50 or three from £43: roast sweet potato and almond soup, brandade or chicken tarte tatin to start, and Christmas pudding among the desserts, which it says can be made vegan.

A cheese course is a £2.75 supplement. The restaurant has also published a New Year’s Eve 2026 menu.

Price Christmas set menu 2 courses from £34.50, 3 courses from £43
Booking book through the restaurant's website or by phone
Call 01865 552746
Address 50 Bardwell Road, OX2 6ST
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 10 November 2025
Website cherwellboathouse.co.uk
Listing Our listing
Good for riverside, vegan options, New Year's Eve dinner

13. Malmaison, Oxford Castle

Malmaison is the hotel in the former prison at Oxford Castle. From 18 November to 24 December its three-course Celebrations menu in the Chez Mal brasserie costs £39.95 to £49.95, and private dining packages start at £42.50 a head with room hire and crackers.

Its Christmas Day lunch, four courses with Champagne, or a mocktail for children, and crackers, is part of its two-night (from £700 a room) and three-night (from £950) Christmas stays rather than sold as a table.

Price Celebrations menu 3 courses £39.95 to £49.95; private dining from £42.50; Christmas stays from £700 a room for 2 nights
Booking book through the hotel's Christmas page
Address 3 Oxford Castle, New Road, OX1 1AY
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 28 October 2024
Website malmaison.com/locations/oxford/christmas
Good for hotel, private dining, Christmas Day for residents, drinks packages

14. The Plough, Upper Wolvercote

The Plough is the family-run pub on the green in Upper Wolvercote; its site says “Tim, Kim, and Katy welcome you”. Its Christmas menu 2026 is £35 for two courses or £40 for three, with warm Christmas pudding, a cheddar, onion and potato pie with red wine sauce among the mains, and tea, coffee and chocolates to finish.

It asks for a £5 a head deposit and says it will charge for no-shows. Vegan, vegetarian and other diets can be arranged on request.

Price Christmas menu 2 courses £35, 3 courses £40
Booking £5 a head deposit; ask for vegan and vegetarian dishes when booking
Call 01865 556969
Address The Green, Upper Wolvercote, OX2 8BD
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 20 March 2025
Website theploughoxford.co.uk/christmas-menu-2026
Listing Our listing
Good for village pub, family-run, small deposit

How we chose

We started from the pubs and restaurants in our Oxford pub directory and the hotel restaurants people search for at Christmas, opened each venue’s own Christmas page, and kept those that publish a 2026 price. Prices come from the venue’s own menus and PDFs; hygiene ratings come from the FSA register (Oxford City Council inspects most of these; Vale of White Horse covers the Fishes and South Oxfordshire the Kings Arms at Sandford). Nothing here has a rating below 4. Prices and dishes can change, so check with the venue before you book.

For more on the season, see the Oxford Christmas market, Christmas trains and travel, the Christmas lights switch-on, what’s on in Oxford this month and things to do in Oxford.

Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@theoxfordpost.co.uk. Taken a good photograph of any of these places? Email it to newsdesk@theoxfordpost.co.uk and we will add it with your name as the credit.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I have Christmas dinner in Oxford on Christmas Day 2026?

Eight places on this list publish a Christmas Day 2026 price: Quod on the High Street (£150), the Fishes in North Hinksey (£110), the Head of the River at Folly Bridge and the Victoria Arms in Old Marston (£105 each), the King’s Arms on Holywell Street (£100), the Plough Inn on Cornmarket (£99), the Kings Arms at Sandford-on-Thames (£90) and the Britannia Inn in Headington (£68.95). The Trout Inn at Wolvercote also takes Christmas Day bookings but does not print the price on its page.

How much is Christmas dinner in Oxford in 2026?

Christmas Day runs from £68.95 a head at the Britannia Inn in Headington to £150 at Quod. Before the day, festive menus start at £21.49 for two courses at the Britannia Inn, about £34 to £45 at most city pubs, and £39.95 to £49.95 at Malmaison.

Are there children’s prices for Christmas Day in Oxford?

Yes. The Victoria Arms charges £25 for children aged 4 to 10, the Britannia Inn £34.50, the Plough Inn £50, the Head of the River £52.50 for children 12 and under, and the King’s Arms £65 for its Youngsters menu. Malmaison’s Christmas Day lunch includes a children’s mocktail.