2020 has been an eventful year and not for the right reasons, but Christmas isn’t cancelled! If there’s one month which can save 2020, it will be December, and not because it’s the only month left. The festive season is my favourite season of the year— the religious significance, the get-togethers and parties, the cheer, the charity, the decorations, the gifts and best of all, THE FOOD! I love the aromas and flavours of the festive season: the rum-spiked sorrel, the Christmas cake made from fruits marinating in red label wine for months, the ham, candy canes, Christmas cookies, egg nog, and knowing that my favourite dishes will be on the Christmas breakfast and dinner table. As if those weren’t already enough reasons to look forward to the holidays, many restaurants and eateries across the country have joined the festivities to deliver delicious seasonal treats on their menus. Here are my recommendations for where to enjoy festive flavours for 2020.
Note: This post is not sponsored. All pictures are either my own or obtained from the companies’ Instagram account.
Devon House I-Scream
I like to think of myself as the unofficial ambassador for Devon House I-Scream’s festive flavours. I eat ice cream like 300% more during Christmas just because of their tantalizing limited edition sorrel and egg nog flavours, and I’ve put dozens of friends and relatives on to them. They are literally my favourite ice cream flavours. Sometimes I wish I could enjoy their sorrel and eggnog ice cream in the other eleven months of the year, but then they’d lose their magic since we couldn’t call them Christmas flavours anymore, right? Few experiences beat enjoying Devon House ice cream while strolling the well-manicured lawns at night when all the pepper lights come on. Note: If you’re not a fan of ginger, skip the sorrel flavour.
Starbucks
Starbucks is the real trendsetter here. The very minute they rolled away the pumpkin spice from their menus after Halloween, they launched their cranberry white mocha, peppermint mocha and the newcomer Holiday Cinammon Latte, and I’m thoroughly pleased. I hope other companies take notes– this is how early we want our festive drinks every year, and I’m ecstatic that they’ll be served in festive cups to match. I can’t wait to try the new flavours and get in the holiday spirit!
Café Blue
It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas at Cafe Blue with their signature Christmas drinks. I demand a Chairman’s Eggnog this very minute! It’s so good; I choose the same drink every festive season, but perhaps 2020 will be the year I explore their other holiday drinks because I’m sure they’re just as stellar. Drinking Chairman’s Eggnog in the hills of Irish Town 3,000 feet above sea level as the cool mountain breeze caresses your face is an experience that cyaa miss yuh this year!
Regency Lounge
The Regency Bar and Lounge at the Terra Nova Hotel offers a weekly special on Thursdays with endless cocktails… yes, you read right. All-you-can-drink alcohol every Thursday for an affordable price of $2,000JMD per person. Last year they traded out their usual cocktail menu for a list of four delicious Christmas-themed drinks, and it was pure bliss according to Simplylocal.life. All the drinks were a hit! Up to the time of writing, I haven’t received a reply to confirm if they’ll be offering this menu again, but considering how great last year went I’m sure they’ll be on offer for 2020. Regency, just say the word. We’re ready!
Café Dolce
Last year’s holiday drinks at Café Dolce included the Candy Cane Latte (pictured below), a Candy Cane Frozay (frappuccino), Chai Eggnog Latte and Frozay and the sorrel spritzer! Not only do these drinks sound perfect, but there’s a festive edition banana gingerbread to go with it– the perfect accompaniment for Christmas. I’ve never been to Cafe Dolce before, but these pictures from last year make it seem like I missed out. Hopefully this Christmas I’ll get a chance to visit and I’ll definitely be trying everything on the Christmas menu! This luxurious latte will entice one customer at a time.
Chilitos Jamexican
Easily Jamaica’s trendiest restaurant, Chilitos never misses a beat when it comes to every season and holiday– New Year’s, Cinco de Mayo, summer, and of course, Christmas. Do you see the sorrel margaritas pictured below? I feel festive JUST LOOKING at them. They have a limited edition menu consisting of chicharron burritos with sorrel salsa, cheesy jalapeño chimichangas with sorrel dip and churros with sorrel jelly for this month which will pair just perfectly. A lot of restaurants seem to only have a special drink menu for Christmas, but our wanga guts love festive dishes too.
Chilly Witch
The Jamaican icecream wizard of the West, Chilly Witch’s preservative free ice creams and sorbets are made from local produce in Montego Bay, with frequent deliveries to the capital city. Their festive flavours of eggnog icecream, sorrel sorbet, cranberry sorbet and Christmas pudding icecream all sound mouthwatering. Only a wizard could envision and pull off Christmas pudding as icecream. Take my money!
Cannonball Café
Last but not least is the Cannonball Cafe blasting its way into Christmas with the caramel crunch blizzard. Nothing could go wrong with caramel and crunch in the same sentence. These two are a match made in heaven. This poster is from 2019, so as soon as I get word of the Christmas menu launch date for 2020, I’ll let you know. Meanwhile, we (not-so-) patiently wait.
Wrap Up
Let me take this opportunity to officially welcome you to BLOGMAS 2020! For those of you who don’t know, Blogmas is a smash-up of blog and Christmas, and is basically how dedicated bloggers celebrate the festive season by posting more often– usually with 12 blog posts leading up to Christmas Day. These posts may or may not be holiday-themed. I’ll be posting new articles every other day on Adventures from Elle starting today until December 24, majority of which will be holiday-themed and written for a Jamaican audience. There’ll be a few giveaways and discount partnerships with several brands as well, so keep an eye out! You don’t want to miss those. This is my first time participating in Blogmas, and I hope you enjoy what I have in store.
Speaking of discounts, here’s one to look forward to between December 13 and 19, 2020. It’s valid at all Starbucks branches islandwide, except at the airport.
For a discount code you can use now, visit Cafe Blue between today and December 4, and tell them Adventures from Elle sent you to redeem 10% off the Christmas menu drinks (peppermint mocha, Chairman’s eggnog and Monymusk Christmas Breeze) at all branches islandwide. 🙂
Thanks for reading! See you on Friday, where I’ll share some more discount codes.
Also, did I leave out any restaurants, cafes and food businesses with festive menus this Christmas? Let me know in the comments.
***December 8, 2020 Updates:
Other places with Christmas menus:
Also, this article inspired myself and several bloggers to go Christmas menu-hopping on 07/12/2020 and we had a lovely time! Check out the photos. 🙂
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