It’s the most wonderful time of the year! As such, I’ve written many articles about Christmas in Jamaica, including one about our unique Christmas carols and another about the interesting phenomenon of Christmas breeze. Most of those articles were written in 2020 for Blogmas when I had had more time to spare. Nonetheless, I think it’s time for a sequel to my 2020 article on festive eats as so many other restaurants and bars have hopped on the seasonal menu bandwagon and I’m here for it!
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In 2020, I made a whole day of holiday menu hopping with 3 friends. This included festive drinks at Café Blue Irish Town and Starbucks, followed by dinner at Chilitos. I hope to do something similar this year so stay tuned to my social media accounts to see where I end up. In case you’d like to try out these festive menus yourself, don’t worry. I’ve compiled them all for you. Please share this article with your crew!
1. Chilitos JaMexican
The sorrel margaritas are a Christmas holiday menu staple for Chilitos and I LOVE it! Whenever I have margaritas at other restaurants which don’t hit the spot, my first thought is always Chilitos would never! If you don’t like strong cocktails, settle on a Jamexmus sorrel shandy or a sorrel agua fresca. Their Christmas lunch and dinner menu is just as festive and for 2023, they have the Al Pastor Wholesome burrito bowl, Al Pastor Tacos and Al Pastor Burritos, all made with al pastor which are spit-grilled slices of pork originally from the Central Mexican region of Puebla and Mexico City.
2. Tac Bar
Another taqueria on this list with a Christmas menu is the trendy Tac Bar at Devon House in Kingston. Tac Bar has a Christmas dinner plate with ham, sorrel glaze, mac & cheese, sweet potato salad, plantain, string beans and carrot, a Christmas flatbread with mozzarella, Parmesan, ham and sorrel chutney, as well as ham and mac & cheese empanadas. If these aren’t already festive enough, ring in Joyeux Noel with a Rosemary Cranrita, Sorrel Sangria, Eggnog Russian and the Grinch, a cocktail made with white rum, blue curacao, orange juice and sweet & sour.
3. Starbucks
Starbucks Jamaica has maintained the seasonal traditions of their North American counterparts with special summer, fall and of course, holiday festive drinks. Their red festive cup is back too, and in it you can have the festive holiday cinnamon and the nutty toffee nut latte, iced coffee or Frappuccino.
4. Cafe Blue
As a loyal fan of local Blue Mountain coffee, Café Blue Irish Town has a piece of my heart. What better place to get coffee than at the source? Café Blue has had a seasonal Christmas menu for as long as I can remember and the Chairman’s eggnog is a must have every Christmas. This year, they also have the Gingerbread Crunch and the Frosted Fire Frappe which feature that deliciously exquisite JBM coffee!
5. Café Dolce
Another local coffeehouse which made my list of Kingston’s best cafes some years ago, Café Dolce is no stranger to festive menus too! Their holiday menu features the eggnog latte and peppermint mocha frozay. I hope to make it to their new Barbican branch soon– hopefully in time to catch these yummy festive drinks.
6. Summerhouse
Summerhouse is the only restaurant from my North Coast Restaurant recommendations at which I haven’t personally dined. Summerhouse is located in Tower Isle St. Mary at the beautifully preserved Georgian-style Harmony Hall, complete with gingerbread trimmings and a balustrade which are characteristic features of plantation houses in the nineteenth century. Don’t have the time to drive so far for a meal? Well, for the weekend of December 15-17, they’ll be coming to town at 10 West Kings House Road to bring a spread of festive seasonal bites and cocktails. How cool is that!
7. Devon House I-Scream
No festive menu article, I repeat, NO Jamaican festive menu article is complete without Devon House I-Scream’s festive duo of sorrel and eggnog ice-cream. Both flavours are absolutely delicious, but the sorrel with its spicy hints and bites of ginger is my favourite. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be the crowd favourite as its yearly launch date always lags behind the eggnog, but I continue to wait patiently on it and will be first in line as it drops! Check out these other two Devon House articles:
- Touring the Devon House mansion
- Ten Things to Do at Devon House besides getting ice-cream (although their ice-cream is superb and ranked as National Geographic’s 4th best ice-cream shop in the world!)
8. Terra Nova
Terra Nova is a boutique hotel in Kingston renown for its fine dining, and this year, they’ve put on a festive weekday lunch menu. Each day is a little different but features the Jamaican Christmas classics of ham, gungo (pigeon) peas, plantains, candied root vegetables, roast beef and curry goat alongside fresh fruit and assorted desserts. Terra Nova’s Regency Bar had featured delicious cocktails which made my 2020 festive menu list, so I hope their mixologists announce their 2023 festive drinks soon.
9. Chilly Witch
The Jamaican ice-cream 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 Kingston. Their festive flavours of eggnog ice-cream, sorrel & ginger sorbet and Christmas pudding ice-cream all sound mouthwatering. Check them out and tell me what you think!
10. Tai Tai Ice Cream Rolls
Last but not least, Tai Tai Ice Cream Rolls has added festive flavours to its usual mouth-watering line-up of dairy and non-dairy ice-cream options. These include the Sugar Cookie Dough, the Christmas Fruitcake and the Peppermint Mocha ice cream rolls and milkshakes. Thanks for this recommendation, Jules!
Wrap Up
By no means is this list exhaustive but these are the festive menus I’ve come across so far on Instagram. Feel free to share others I may have missed in the comments section. How do we feel about seasonal menus guys? Yay or nay? Sound off in the comments section as well. I know these seasonal menus are marketing ploys which somewhat encourage the over-consumerism associated with Christmas, but personally, I like having another thing to look forward to in the holidays.
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