Christmas Day lunch costs £51.99 to £190 at 14 pubs, hotels and restaurants around Chelmsford: 2026 prices, children's rates, deposits and pay-by dates.

For Christmas Day in Chelmsford, most people end up choosing between the Gardeners in Springfield (£51.99, the lowest price here), Toby Carvery at the Chelmer Tavern (£77.99), the Vintage Inns at Broomfield and Barnes Mill (£92.95 and £99.95) and Galvin Green Man at Howe Street (£190, the dearest). 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 Day menu, what it says about children, deposits and booking, and its Food Standards Agency (FSA) hygiene rating from Chelmsford City Council’s inspections (Braintree District Council’s for the one pub in Hatfield Peverel). Every place on this list is rated 5. Prices exclude any service charge unless we say otherwise.

Chelmsford and Springfield

1. The Gardeners, Springfield

The Gardeners is the Greene King pub on Forsythia Close in Springfield, and it has the lowest Christmas Day price on this page. Its Christmas Day page says “four delicious courses for £51.99”, but the downloadable menu it links prints “Christmas Day 3 courses £51.99”, so check which you are getting when you book.

The pub lists pigs in blankets, cranberry Brie wedges and Marie Rose king prawns among the trimmings and starters, and promises meat-free choices. The kids’ Christmas Day menu is three courses for £25.99.

Price Christmas Day £51.99 (the page says four courses, the menu says three); kids' Christmas Day 3 courses £25.99
Booking £10 deposit for every adult and child
Call 01245 461020
Address Forsythia Close, Springfield, CM1 6XW
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 16 March 2026
Website greeneking.co.uk/pubs/essex/gardeners
Listing Our listing
Good for lowest Christmas Day price here, kids' menu, meat-free choices

2. Toby Carvery Chelmsford, Chelmer Tavern

The Toby Carvery is in the Chelmer Tavern on Dukes Lane, Springfield. Its Christmas Day menu page gives Christmas Day dining at £77.99, with “our famous carvery at the heart of it”.

Toby’s deposit page asks £10 a head for every Christmas Day guest, whatever the size of the party, and wants full payment and pre-orders by 1 December.

Price Christmas Day £77.99
Booking £10 a head deposit for every guest; full payment and pre-order by 1 December
Call 01245 450695
Address Chelmer Tavern, Dukes Lane, Springfield, CM2 6AD
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 22 May 2026
Website tobycarvery.co.uk/restaurants/east-of-england/thechelmertavernchelmsford
Listing Our listing
Good for carvery, families

3. The County Hotel, Rainsford Road

The County Hotel is on Rainsford Road, on the north-west edge of the city centre. Its festive season page links a Christmas Day menu: three courses served in the Crystal Ballroom and Samphire Restaurant at £90 an adult and £45 a child, with tea, coffee and petit fours.

Tables run from 12pm to 3pm, and the menu offers an early booking special: take the 12pm table, which is allocated for two hours, and save £10 a head. The menu lists roast turkey, beef striploin, hake, honey-glazed gammon and a vegan root vegetable Wellington, and marks allergens against every dish.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £90 an adult, £45 a child; £10 a head off for a 12pm table (two hours)
Booking tables 12pm to 3pm
Call 01245 455700
Address 29 Rainsford Road, Chelmsford, CM1 2PZ
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 20 May 2025
Website countyhotelchelmsford.co.uk
Good for early-table discount, vegan main, allergens marked

4. The Fox and Raven, Barnes Mill Road

The Fox and Raven is the Vintage Inn on Barnes Mill Road, Springfield. Its Christmas Day menu is three courses for £99.95, and the children’s Christmas Day menu is three courses for £42.50.

Vintage Inns’ deposit terms ask £10 a head for every Christmas Day table, with full payment and pre-order by 8 December, and add a 10% discretionary service charge for tables of seven or more.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £99.95; children's 3 courses £42.50
Booking £10 a head deposit; full payment and pre-order by 8 December; 10% discretionary service charge on tables of 7 or more
Call 01245 267364
Address Barnes Mill Road, Springfield, CM2 6NL
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 13 November 2025
Website vintageinn.co.uk/restaurants/east/thefoxandravenchelmsford
Listing Our listing
Good for children's menu, pre-order

5. Miller & Carter Chelmsford, Barnes Farm

Miller & Carter’s Chelmsford steakhouse is at Barnes Farm, next to the Fox and Raven on Barnes Mill Road. The Christmas Day page links a menu headed “Luxurious Christmas Day Menu for 109.95 per person”, with Christmas pudding and a Miller & Carter Yule log for one among the puddings, and a separate gluten-free Christmas Day menu.

There is a young guests’ menu for children aged 12 and under, with a complimentary J20; its price is not printed on the page.

Price Christmas Day £109.95 a person
Booking online through Miller & Carter
Call 01245 495336
Address Barnes Farm, Barnes Mill Road, Springfield, CM2 6NL
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 28 February 2026
Website millerandcarter.co.uk/restaurants/east-of-england/millerandcarterchelmsford
Listing Our listing
Good for steakhouse, gluten-free Christmas menu, young guests' menu

Villages north of the city: Broomfield, Writtle, Boreham and Howe Street

6. The Angel, Broomfield

The Angel is the Vintage Inn on Main Road, Broomfield. Its Christmas Day menu is three courses for £92.95, the lowest Vintage Inns price around Chelmsford, and the children’s menu is three courses for £40.50.

The deposit terms are £10 a head, with full payment and pre-order by 8 December, and a 10% discretionary service charge on tables of seven or more.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £92.95; children's 3 courses £40.50
Booking £10 a head deposit; full payment and pre-order by 8 December; 10% discretionary service charge on tables of 7 or more
Call 01245 444917
Address 160 Main Road, Broomfield, CM1 7AH
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 4 December 2025
Website vintageinn.co.uk/restaurants/east/theangelbroomfield
Listing Our listing
Good for children's menu, lowest Vintage Inns price here

7. The Horse & Groom, Writtle

The Horse & Groom is the Chef & Brewer pub on Roxwell Road, on the Writtle side of the city. Its Christmas Day page offers three courses for £90 a person, with a no-gluten Christmas Day menu and a young guests’ Christmas Day menu (the page does not print the children’s price).

Booking takes a deposit of £10 an adult and £5 a child.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £90
Booking deposit £10 an adult, £5 a child
Call 01245 420245
Address Roxwell Road, Writtle, CM1 3RU
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 27 August 2026
Website chefandbrewer.com/pubs/essex/horse-and-groom
Listing Our listing
Good for no-gluten Christmas menu, young guests' menu

8. The Grange, Boreham

The Grange is the Chef & Brewer pub on Main Road, Boreham, and its Christmas Day page carries the same offer as the Horse & Groom: three courses for £90, a deposit of £10 an adult and £5 a child, and no-gluten and young guests’ Christmas Day menus. The starters listed include a hot smoked salmon and prawn cocktail.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £90
Booking deposit £10 an adult, £5 a child
Call 01245 398495
Address Main Road, Boreham, CM3 3HJ
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 16 March 2026
Website chefandbrewer.com/pubs/essex/grange
Listing Our listing
Good for no-gluten Christmas menu, young guests' menu

9. The Lion Inn, Boreham

The Lion Inn is a hotel, bar and restaurant on Main Road, Boreham. Its Christmas and New Year page describes Christmas Day lunch as champagne on arrival, a three-course traditional menu, tea or coffee and the chef’s homemade treats, at £130 an adult and £55 a child under 11.

On 1 November the page offered Christmas Day only by joining a waiting list, by email to the team. The Lion says Christmas Day is reservations only, though most of the year it runs walk-in dining.

Boxing Day is a three-course festive menu at £38.95, 12pm to 5pm.

Price Christmas Day £130 an adult, £55 a child under 11; Boxing Day 3 courses £38.95
Booking waiting list only on 1 November, by email to thelion@innmail.co.uk
Call 01245 394900
Address Main Road, Boreham, CM3 3JA
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 13 March 2026
Website lioninnhotel.co.uk
Listing Our listing
Good for champagne on arrival, hotel rooms, Boxing Day menu

10. Galvin Green Man, Howe Street

Galvin Green Man is the Galvin restaurant group’s pub and restaurant on Main Road at Howe Street, near Great Waltham. Its Christmas page gives a five-course Christmas Day menu at £190 a person, opening with canapés and closing with coffee and warm mince pies, and a four-course children’s Christmas Day menu at £65.

On Christmas Day the restaurant seats from 12pm to 3pm and closes at 6pm. Boxing Day is £75 a person.

The restaurant notes it is not within walking distance of Chelmsford station: it puts a taxi at about £18 and there is an hourly bus. There is a large car park.

Price Christmas Day 5 courses £190; children's 4 courses £65; Boxing Day £75
Open Christmas Day seatings 12pm to 3pm, closes 6pm
Call 01245 408820
Address Main Road, Howe Street, Great Waltham, CM3 1BG
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 13 August 2025
Website galvinrestaurants.com/galvin-green-man
Listing Our listing
Good for five-course menu, children's menu, car park, Boxing Day menu

Great Baddow and South Woodham Ferrers

11. The White Horse, Great Baddow

The White Horse is the Ember Inns pub at 76 to 78 High Street, Great Baddow, pictured at the top of this page. Its Christmas page gives Christmas Day at three courses for £74.95 an adult and £37.50 a child.

Ember’s deposit terms ask £10 a head for every Christmas Day guest, with full payment and pre-order by 1 December. Boxing Day is three courses for £32.50 (children £11.99).

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £74.95 an adult, £37.50 a child; Boxing Day £32.50, children £11.99
Booking £10 a head deposit; full payment and pre-order by 1 December
Call 01245 476209
Address 76 to 78 High Street, Great Baddow, CM2 7HH
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 22 August 2025
Website emberinns.co.uk/nationalsearch/eastofengland/the-white-horse-great-baddow
Listing Our listing
Good for village high street, children's price, Boxing Day menu

12. The Town Crier, South Woodham Ferrers

The Town Crier is the Greene King pub on Chandlers Way, South Woodham Ferrers. Its Christmas Day page does not print the price, but the menus it links do: three courses for £57.95, and £27.95 for the kids’ menu.

The starters listed include a twice-baked Croxton Manor Cheddar soufflé and chicken liver and brandy pâté, and there are meat-free mains. The deposit is £10 a person.

Greene King’s terms on the page give both 1 December and 11 December as payment deadlines, so pay by 1 December to be safe.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £57.95; kids' 3 courses £27.95
Booking £10 a person deposit; pre-orders opened 21 October
Call 01245 329774
Address 18 to 24 Chandlers Way, South Woodham Ferrers, CM3 5TB
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 7 April 2026
Website greeneking.co.uk/pubs/essex/town-crier
Listing Our listing
Good for kids' menu, meat-free choices

13. Shaw Farm, South Woodham Ferrers

Shaw Farm is the Vintage Inn on the Wickford Road side of South Woodham Ferrers. Its Christmas Day menu is three courses for £104.95, the highest of the three Vintage Inns around Chelmsford, with the children’s Christmas Day menu at £42.50.

The deposit terms match the others: £10 a head, full payment and pre-order by 8 December, and a 10% discretionary service charge on tables of seven or more.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £104.95; children's 3 courses £42.50
Booking £10 a head deposit; full payment and pre-order by 8 December; 10% discretionary service charge on tables of 7 or more
Call 01245 320916
Address Old Wickford Road, South Woodham Ferrers, CM3 5QY
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 14 August 2026
Website vintageinn.co.uk/restaurants/east/shawfarmchelmsford
Listing Our listing
Good for children's menu, pre-order

Just outside: Hatfield Peverel

14. The Duke of Wellington, Hatfield Peverel

The Duke of Wellington is the Greene King pub on The Street in Hatfield Peverel, just over the Braintree district line. Its Christmas Day page gives three courses for £68, and the kids’ Christmas Day menu it links is three courses for £33.

The mains listed include hand-carved roast turkey with a pig in blanket and Yorkshire pudding, and a duo of grilled salmon and black tiger prawns. The deposit is £10 for every adult and child.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £68; kids' 3 courses £33
Booking £10 deposit for every adult and child
Call 01245 380246
Address The Street, Hatfield Peverel, CM3 2EA
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, Braintree District Council, 21 April 2026
Website greeneking.co.uk/pubs/essex/duke-of-wellington
Listing Our listing
Good for kids' menu, fish main

How we chose

We listed the pubs, hotels and restaurants in and around Chelmsford that publish a 2026 Christmas Day price on their own site, and checked each one’s Food Standards Agency hygiene rating. Some places we looked at are not here for a reason. Pontlands Park Hotel in Great Baddow says it is closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The Six Bells in Boreham and the Anchor at Runsell Green, Danbury publish festive menus that run up to Christmas Eve but no Christmas Day menu, and Channels’ Essex Barn lists Christmas lunches and party nights rather than a Christmas Day lunch. The Harvester at the Plough on Springfield Road has a Christmas Day menu page, but it showed no price we could read on 1 November. We will add any of them when they publish. Prices, deposits and dates are the venues’ own and can change; confirm when you book.

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

For more of the season, see the Chelmsford Christmas markets, the Christmas lights switch-on, Christmas concerts and carols, Christmas train times, Christmas bin collections, what’s on in Chelmsford this month, things to do in Chelmsford and the Chelmsford business directory.

Frequently asked questions

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

Fourteen places in and around Chelmsford publish a Christmas Day 2026 price. In the city and Springfield: the Gardeners (£51.99), Toby Carvery at the Chelmer Tavern (£77.99), the County Hotel (£90), the Fox and Raven (£99.95) and Miller & Carter (£109.95). In the villages: the White Horse in Great Baddow (£74.95), the Horse & Groom in Writtle and the Grange in Boreham (£90 each), the Angel in Broomfield (£92.95), the Lion Inn in Boreham (£130, waiting list) and Galvin Green Man at Howe Street (£190). In South Woodham Ferrers: the Town Crier (£57.95) and Shaw Farm (£104.95).

What is the cheapest Christmas Day lunch in Chelmsford?

The Gardeners in Springfield has the lowest Christmas Day price on this list at £51.99, with a kids’ Christmas Day menu at £25.99. The Town Crier in South Woodham Ferrers is next at £57.95 (kids £27.95).

Do I need to pay a deposit for Christmas Day in Chelmsford?

Yes, almost everywhere. Most of the pubs here take £10 a head when you book. Toby Carvery and the White Horse want full payment and pre-orders by 1 December; the Vintage Inns (the Angel, the Fox and Raven and Shaw Farm) by 8 December. The Chef & Brewer pubs take £10 an adult and £5 a child.