For those searching for a little originality amid the ubiquitous turkeyand sprouts, we suggest a few appeumng alternatives.
All prices include VAT, and are for set Christmas meal perhead.
EDINBURGH
I L'Auberge 56—58 St Mary‘s Street. 031 556 5888. Mon—Thurs 12.30-2pm and 6.30—9.30pm; Fri/Sat 6.30—10. 15pm. From this deliciously Gallic enclave come two appetising options: A Prestige Christmas Menu for parties (£13.50 for 3-course lunch; £17.50 for 4-course lunch/dinner) throughout December; and their Gastronomique
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& MAGAZINES BRING YOUR OHN DRINK /
Masterpiece. the Grand Christmas Day Lunch (£28.50) including such delicacies as 1e blanc dc Dindonneau en dodine (turkey French-style) and le gateau de Tante Alice. avec la creme Anglaise.
7 Santé!
I Sheep's Held Inn
| Duddingston.031661
1020. Food served Mon-Sat noon—3pm and 6—10pm; Sun 12.30-2pm and 7-9pm. A truly traditional inn. on-site since the 15th century. and offering appropriately British Christmas fare from 11 December. set 3-course meal costing£15. Choices include deep— fried camembert with redcurrant jelly as a starter; steak. turkey or stuffed rolled pork for the main tuck in. and raspberry cranachan or home-made Christmas pud to sink you in style.
I Doric Iavem 15 Market Street. 031 225 1084. Mon—Sat noon-2.30pm and 6—10.30pm; Sun 6.30—9.30pm. One of the city‘s most relaxed arty
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winebars makes a
chequered setting for a tempting British sit-down. with Beef Wellington or sauteed duck with prune and pork stuffing. served with chestnuts. honeyed carrots. Brussels sprouts and parsley potatoes. 3-course meal. coffee and mincemeat pies£14.50. Served 14—24 December. I Lilligs 30 Victoria Street. 031 225 7635. Mon-Sun 11am-11pm. Not open Christmas Day. Vault-ceilinged and relaxed. Lilligs has a continental atmosphere exclusively its own. and caters for all types. from vegans to rabid carnivores and junior appetites. Service is amiable and unruffled. and food has been vastly improving of late. Christmas lunches £8.50; Christmas Dinner £1 1.50.
I Jackson: 2 J ackson’s Close. 209 High Street. 031 225 1793. Mon—Thurs noon—2.30pm and 6.45—10pm; Fri/Sat noon—2.30pm and 6.45—10.3pm. Tucked away in a Burke and Hareish vennel. this intimate and friendly restaurant offers an imaginative selection. with Christmas lunches (£9.50/£7.50); Christmas Dinner (£14.95/£1 1 .95) and. unusually, a New Year’s Eve Dinner — five courses for£19.95. with
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poached in vermouth and brandy with parmesan cream sauce. and roast pheasant with chestnut. celery and apple stuffing to pave the way for the evening‘s excesses.
I Kalpna Vegetarian Restaurant 213 St Patrick‘s Square. 667 9890. Mon—Sat noon—2pm and 5.30—1 1pm. Give the turkey a rest — healthier for both of you - and choose instead from an exotic alternative lndian menu including carrot pasanda. chapati and banana raita. Recently chosen out of 900 competitors as one of Egon Ronay‘s top three British restaurants. the Kalpna offers food to be savoured. not gorged. (£10) 21-24 December.
0 80‘s Bistro 87 Grassmarket. 220 1464. Mon-Sat noon—3pm and 6pm—midnight. Small but airy. this pleasantly relaxed and unpretentious bistro offers a wide range of well-priced dishes. and an interesting a la carte Christmas selection . such as poached salmon in mint and tarragon sauce (£7.50). nut roast (£4.65) and 30‘s steak Balmoral (£7.50). as well as traditional turkey and trimmings for those who can‘t break the habit.
o Feast ol Stephen 1 12 St Stephen Street. 225 4768. Mon—Sat noon—2.30pm and 6—11pm. Artistic little restaurant with chintzy decor and hung with tales from the Arabian Nights. Subtly flavoured and attractively presented menu offers for Christmas main course: cannelloni beans and black olives in rich red sauce. fillet of sole Provencale or turkey in tarragon sauce. and a tempting choice of desserts. (£10.50).
GLASGOW
I Bar Luxembourg Pitt Street. 332 1111. Last orders 11.30pm. Closed
Christmas Day; Open Boxing Day. Coolly trendy decor. frantically trendy clientele. especially at weekends — not the place for an intimate chat. Highlights
ofthe Christmas menu are
stuffed baked trout in a champagne sauce. and homemade Bailey‘s ice-cream. (£14.95)
I Babbity Bowsters 16/18 Blackfriars Street. 552 5055. Open Christmas Day. 1—6pm. This city-centre reconstructed inn is one of the few to offer a totally vegetarian alternative: ‘a moist chestnut. walnut and red wine loafin fresh herb and horseradish gravy‘; and the inevitable turkey does have the benefit of an unusual hazelnut and whisky stuffing. Full marks also for their Scottish emphasis — steak marinated in pine-needles (l).Tay Salmon and at least two genuine local cheeses. (About £15)
I The Buttery 652 Argyle Street. 221 8188. Closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Expensive. yes. but four courses of beautifully executed and presented food in suitably seasonal Dickensian surroundings make it worthwhile. Those determined to have a bird of some sort should try the supreme of guinea-fowl
. filled with pistachio
mousse in a wild mushroom and tarragon sauce. and the traditional pudding can be foregone in favour of a biscuit basket of brandy and mincemeat ice-cream. (£21)
I Belfry 652 Argyle Street. 221 8188. Closed Christmas Day and
:. Boxing Day. Little sister
to the Buttery — cheaper. but with the same cosy. wood-panelled ambience. Nice to see an interesting fish dish — fillet ofsole with smoked salmon mousseline in a delicate cream sauce— might mean that movement or rational thought is possible after a Christmas meal. (£10.95)
I Banana 1 1 Royal Exchange Square. 248 4055. Closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Glasgow's best-looking restaurant. and a fine example of how an interior upgrading should be done — all the original fittings. complemented by warmly seductive walnut booths and old-fashioned attention to detail and service. A well- constructed four-course menu (five. if you count coffee and mince pies). includes salad of oysters and scallops in herb vinaigrette . smoked salmon and lime sorbet. and venison which 1 always find very Christmassy (poor old Rudolf). (£19.50) I Rooano Downstairs 11 Exchange Square . 248 4055. Closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Another cheaper offshoot of a glamorous upstairs- still a very pleasing spot tor a Christmas lunch with more impoverished company. Roast pork with ' crackling is the only other main course choice. (10.50) I Baby Grand 3 Elmbank Gardens. 248 4942. Closed Christmas Day; open Boxing Day. This bustling and often wildly cramped piano bar has an extremely reasonable carte for Christmas. with choices of smoked duck. fresh seasonal fish. and vegetarian spinach roulade as well as turkey. (£1 1) I Maison Bourbon at the Louisiana Ropeworks Company. 3943 Ropeworks Lane. 552 0048. Open Christmas Day 1.30pm and 8pm. Probably the most off-the-wall of the menus currently available. An extremely eclectic selection in this creole-inspired restaurant - escargots. ca jun frogs' legs. puerco naranja. Louisiana special. sitting a trifle uneasily beside the regular. traditional fare. Don’t way we didn‘t warn
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LUNCH _ 12—2.30—pm EVENINGS — 6—11pm (last orders 10.30pm)
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' "the List 11 Dec 1987-7Jan 198855