Top 10: Manchester Christmas party venues ft. Refuge & Beastro

Still not planned your work or mates get together ahead of the big day? We’re rounded up a few ideas to make it easy.

1. Beastro – the Meaty one
Check into Beastro, a new restaurant run by butchers-turned-chefs in Spinningfields. We like the sound of the  £44 booze and beef spectacular. Book soon and you might even be able to have the place to yourselves.
Irwell Square, Leftbank, Manchester M3 3AG. Tel: 0161 327 0265, www.beastromcr.co.uk

2. El Gato Negro – modern tapas & Michelin Bib Gourmand winner
This three-tiered tapas restaurant, cafe and bar is the kind of place you don’t have to move on from. Seafood is a house special and they just won a Michelin Bib Gourmand award, meaning that good food at a reasonable price is guaranteed. The festive menu is £40 per person, and includes house classics like salt cod croquetas and chargrilled lamb with harissa. Drinks start at £15 per person for a glass of prosecco and half a bottle of house wine.
52 King Street, Manchester M2 4LY. Tel: 0161 694 8585, www.elgatonegrotapas.com

3. Fazenda – stylish, South American all you can eat
This upmarket rodizio has a massive buffet packed with sushi, salads, and cheese – but the real draw is the meat served by roving waiters, who carve it off there and then, and add it to your plate. Choose from chicken hearts, various cuts of Argentinean beef, marinated chicken thighs and everything in between. There’s an solid wine list too. £31.50 per person (evenings).
1 The Avenue, Manchester M3 3AP. Tel: 0161 207 1183, www.fazenda.co.uk

4. Font Chorlton – banging value
Festive deals include £17.50 for 2 courses and a drink at The Font Chorlton from 1-14 Dec 2017 + a ‘Festive Feast’ sharing board ft. lamb & game stew, cauliflour cheese, chicken parfait and loads more for £18.
The Font Chorlton, 115-117 Manchester Road, Manchester M21 9PG. Tel 0161 871 2022, www.thefontbar.wordpress.com

5. The Chophouses (Sam’s, Tom’s & Albert’s) – classic Christmas fare
Few things beat Christmas at the Chophouses and the menus are remarkably reasonable too, coming in at around £35 per person for classic roast turkey or hake with lentils. Don’t forget the malt loaf bread and butter pudding and a boozy take on rice pudding alongside some of the most intriguing wine lists in the North West.
Tom’s Chop House, 52 Cross St, Manchester M2 7AR, Tel: 0161 832 2245, www.tomschophouse.com – see also Sam’s and Albert’s.

6. The Marble Arch – surprisingly exciting cooking, in historic surrounds + great house beer
The Christmas menu is £21.95 for two courses, or £25.95 for three-courses, and includes starters such as drunken mushroom soup, potted chicken liver and herb pate alongside mains such as pot roast beef feather blade and IPA pesto crusted salmon with crayfish butter sauce. The Marble Arch is the original home of Marble beers, thus the ideal place to get festive.
73 Rochdale Road, Manchester M4 4HY. Tel 0161 832 5914, www.facebook.com

7. Gorilla – cool nightspot serving modern classics, cocktails & tunes
Go for two courses for £25 or three for £30, or a Christmas buffet for £20 per person. Options include chipotle pulled pork tacos, herb crusted scallops, turkey, slow cooked shin of beef, sticky toffee and date pudding, Alpine chocolate and hazelnut cheesecake and more. A fun place to start – and end – the night.
54-56 Whitworth Street West, Manchester M1 5WW. Tel 0161 826 2998, www.thisisgorilla.com

8. The Refuge – Manchester’s most sophisticated party destination (we’re having our party here anyhow) 
The Refuge has actually dropped the group dining prices from last year, offering a sharing menu at £29.50 packed with house classics such as padron peppers, salt cod croquettes, turkey porchetta, vimto-braised red cabbage and chocolate fondue. The soaring ceiling, DJs and excellent bar guarantee a night to remember (or try to remember).
The Principal Hotel, Oxford Street, Manchester M60 7HA. Tel: 0161 233 5151, www.refugemcr.co.uk.

9. Hard Rock – a classic American Christmas
Book your festive celebration in true Hard Rock style with a three-course meal guaranteed to make this winter the season to be jolly. The yuletide menu is £26.95 per person and starts off with a glass of Prosecco. Read our preview.
The Printworks, Exchange Square, Manchester M4 2BS. Tel: 0161 831 6700, www.hardrock.com

10. The Fitzgerald – a lavishly vintage 1920s themed Christmas – plus get the whole place to yourselves
Take a trip back to the glitz and glamour of the 1920s this Christmas at The Fitzgerald. Go for canapés and buffet-style dining from £6 per person, with full venue hire with buffet and prosecco from £22.95. Details below are for the Northern Quarter branch, but there’s a sister venue in Heaton Moor too.
11 Stevenson Square, Manchester M1 1DB. Tel 0161 228 6629, www.thefitzgerald.co.uk

Some other ideas: Bundobust – enjoy the whole menu with your team for £66. We’ve done it. It’s great. Impossible is a new bar, theatre space and ‘gin nest’ located opposite Albert Hall on Peter Street. We like the sound of their Gin Journey for £30 per person – or opt for a traditional Christmas lunch from £19.50.