Christmas Day from £65 at the Hole in the Wall to £129.95 at the Fox Goes Free, December menus from £25: 11 Chichester pubs and hotels with 2026 prices.

For Christmas Day around Chichester, most people look first at the Crown & Anchor at Dell Quay (£125 a head), the Fox Goes Free at Charlton (£129.95), the George at Eartham (£120) and, in the city, the Ship at the Chichester Harbour Hotel (£95). The cheapest Christmas Day menu is £65 at the Hole in the Wall. Every entry checked against the venue’s own site on 29 October 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 menu, what that price includes, when it is served and the booking rules, with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) hygiene rating. Christmas Day menus here are pre-order and pre-paid, and most deposits are non-refundable, so read the terms before you book. Prices exclude service unless we say otherwise.

Open on Christmas Day

1. The Hole in the Wall, St Martin’s Street

The Hole in the Wall is the city-centre pub with live music, and its Christmas 2026 brochure has the lowest Christmas Day price in this guide: three courses for £65. Starters include wild mushroom soup and a smoked salmon salad, and the roasts come with roast potatoes, a Yorkshire pudding, maple glazed carrots and Brussels sprouts.

Festive sides such as pigs in blankets are £5.95 extra. The festive feast menu for other December days is two courses for £27.95 or three for £34.95.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £65, children £35; festive feast 2 courses £27.95, 3 courses £34.95; children's festive menu £20
Booking £10 per person deposit, refundable up to 28 days before the booking; drinks packages by pre-order
Call 01243 788877
Address 1A St Martin's Street, PO19 1NP
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 7 July 2026
Website theholeinthewall-pub.co.uk/christmas-2026
Listing Our listing
Good for city centre, children's Christmas Day menu, live music, Champagne arrival £11.95

2. The Ship at Chichester Harbour Hotel, North Street

The Harbour Hotel on North Street serves Christmas dinner in its restaurant, the Ship. The Christmas Day menu for non-residents is £95 a head and starts with canapés.

Starters include a harbour prawn and crab cocktail and mulled wine-cured salmon gravlax; mains are a bronze turkey ballotine with pigs in blankets, fillet of Hereford beef, roast halibut or a beetroot and shallot tarte tatin, all with roast potatoes, sprouts with chestnuts and red cabbage. The hotel says groups of 10 or more can hire the Orangery or Function Suite privately for Christmas Day.

Price Christmas Day £95
Booking book a table at the Ship online; private hire for 10 or more through the events team
Call 01243 778000
Address North Street, PO19 1NH
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 27 February 2026
Website harbourhotels.co.uk/our-hotels/sussex/harbour-hotel-chichester/christmas-new-year
Good for city centre, hotel restaurant, vegetarian main, private rooms for groups

3. The Royal Oak, East Lavant

The Royal Oak is a Butcombe pub with rooms on Pook Lane, and its Christmas page says the Christmas Day menu is served on 25 December 2026. The Christmas Day menu is £105 a head: roast English turkey with pork and chestnut stuffing, sirloin of grass-fed beef, whole baked megrim sole or a butternut squash and lentil Wellington, with roast potatoes and jugs of gravy for the table.

Butcombe calls its menus samples. Its festive menus run from 16 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, except 25, 26 and 31 December and 1 January.

Price Christmas Day £105, children aged 4 to 10 £25; festive party 2 courses £37, 3 courses £47, or £31.50 and £40 on selected early-week dates
Booking Christmas Day £25 per person deposit and full payment by 1 December; festive bookings £10 per person deposit; pre-order for 8 or more
Call 01243 527434
Address Pook Lane, East Lavant, PO18 0AX
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 23 January 2025
Website butcombe.com/the-royal-oak-inn-west-sussex/christmas
Listing Our listing
Good for children's Christmas Day menu, vegan option, rooms, gluten-free options on request

4. The George, Eartham

The George is a family-owned free house six miles from Chichester. Its Christmas Day menu 2026 is £120 for adults and £60 for children under 12.

Starters include gin-cured salmon and a Jerusalem artichoke and truffle soup; after a strawberry and Champagne sorbet, mains are Nyetimber-poached turkey breast with pigs in blankets, fillet of beef Wellington, sea bass or a root vegetable tarte tatin, then puddings, Sussex cheeses and a mince pie with coffee. The pub’s Christmas Day terms say there is one sitting: the doors open at noon and lunch is served from 12.30pm “sharp”.

Open Christmas Day from 12pm, one sitting, lunch served from 12.30pm
Price Christmas Day £120, children under 12 £60; festive menu 2 courses £39, 3 courses £45, Wednesday 2 to Wednesday 23 December
Booking Christmas Day minimum 2 people; non-refundable deposit £50 per adult and £30 per child; pre-order by Sunday 6 December; cancel 14 days ahead or pay in full; 10% service added; crackers not included
Call 01243 814340
Address Eartham, PO18 0LT
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 1 October 2025
Website thegeorgeeartham.com/christmas.html
Good for children's price, log fires, vegetarian main, Sussex cheeses

5. The Crown & Anchor, Dell Quay

The Crown & Anchor is a Young’s pub on the shore of Chichester Harbour. Its Christmas page mentions “roaring open fires” and a Christmas Day menu, and the Christmas Day menu is five courses for £125 a head: hand-dived Cornish scallops or a prawn, lobster and langoustine cocktail, a lobster bisque, then turkey crown, Cornish turbot, Speyside beef fillet Wellington or a lentil, celeriac and chestnut pithivier, with puddings and a British cheese plate.

Extras such as oysters and caviar carry supplements. The festive menu for other days is three courses for £42.

Open Christmas Day 12pm to 6pm; Christmas Eve and Boxing Day 11am to 11pm
Price Christmas Day 5 courses £125; festive menu 3 courses £42
Booking Christmas Day paid in full on booking, refundable up to 14 days before; pre-order online by 10 December; no cheques
Call 01243 781712
Address Dell Quay Road, Apuldram, PO20 7EE
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 4 September 2025
Website crownandanchorchichester.com/christmas
Good for harbour views, open fires, children's Christmas Day menu, vegetarian main, private dining room

6. The Fox Goes Free, Charlton

The Fox Goes Free describes itself as a “400-year-old country pub restaurant and Inn” near Goodwood. Its Christmas menus page has the dearest Christmas Day menu in this guide at £129.95 a head.

It starts with a glass of Prosecco, festive sausage rolls and a spiced apple and whiskey consommé, then starters such as Selsey crab salad or pan-seared pigeon, and free-range bronze turkey, Southdowns striploin of beef or a butternut and wild mushroom pithivier. Sussex cheeses are £7.50 extra.

Its Christmas party menu is two courses for £39 or three for £47.

Price Christmas Day £129.95; Christmas party 2 courses £39, 3 courses £47
Booking Christmas Day £50 per person non-refundable deposit, pre-order 4 weeks ahead; party £15 per person non-refundable deposit, pre-order 2 weeks ahead; 10% discretionary service; book by email
Call 01243 811461
Address Charlton, near Singleton, PO18 0HU
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 23 February 2026
Website thefoxgoesfree.com/christmas
Good for Prosecco on arrival, Selsey crab, vegan and gluten-free options, near Goodwood

Festive menus through December

These five publish a Christmas menu for the run-up to Christmas but no Christmas Day meal on their websites.

7. The Bell Inn, Broyle Road

The Bell Inn is the independent pub opposite Chichester Festival Theatre. Its Christmas page shows a Christmas Menu 2026 served from 30 November to 23 December, not on Sundays, at £29 for two courses or £34 for three.

It says groups that book and pay the full deposit by 31 October get a free 200ml bottle of Prosecco. On Christmas Day the bar opens 12pm to 2pm, but the kitchen is closed.

Open Christmas Day bar 12pm to 2pm, no food
Price Christmas menu 2 courses £29, 3 courses £34, 30 November to 23 December, not Sundays
Booking by email, phone or in person; full deposit by 31 October for the Prosecco offer
Call 01243 783388
Address 3 Broyle Road, PO19 6AT
Hygiene rating 4, Food Standards Agency, 15 May 2025
Website thebellinnchichester.com/christmas
Listing Our listing
Good for opposite the Festival Theatre, independent pub, real ale, before a show

8. The Eastgate, The Hornet

The Eastgate says it “started life as a local brewery” and has a log burner and a courtyard garden. Its Festive Menu 2026 is the cheapest here: two courses for £25 or three for £29.

Mains are roast turkey with a Yorkshire pudding, pigs in blankets and cranberry stuffing, boeuf bourguignon, baked cod loin or a homity pie, all with seasonal vegetables. Book at the bar or by phone.

Price festive menu 2 courses £25, 3 courses £29
Booking at the bar or by phone
Call 01243 774877
Address 4 The Hornet, PO19 7JG
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 14 July 2026
Website eastgatechichester.co.uk
Listing Our listing
Good for log burner, dogs welcome, vegetarian main, real ale

9. The Park Tavern, Priory Road

The Park Tavern faces Priory Park. Its Christmas menu 2026 is served from 1 November to 24 December at £33 for two courses or £36 for three.

Mains are roast turkey with cranberry stuffing, pigs in blankets and a Yorkshire pudding, a slow-cooked lamb shank, grilled sea bass or a vegan butternut squash tarte tatin, and a Sussex Charmer cheese plate is among the puddings.

Price festive menu 2 courses £33, 3 courses £36, 1 November to 24 December
Booking pre-order required for all festive bookings, by email or phone
Call 01243 785057
Address 11 Priory Road, PO19 1NS
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 24 March 2026
Website park-tavern-chichester.co.uk
Listing Our listing
Good for opposite Priory Park, vegan main, dogs welcome

10. The Crab & Lobster, Sidlesham

The Crab & Lobster calls itself “a stylish waterside hideaway” on the banks of Pagham Harbour. Its Christmas party menu, updated on 15 October 2026, is three courses for £44 a head, served from 1 to 24 December, and must be booked ahead.

Mains are a ballotine of turkey with chestnut and sage stuffing and pigs in blankets, cod fillet with a leek and sweetcorn chowder and steamed clams, a fish and shellfish pie, or a roasted celeriac steak. The cheese board is a £5 supplement.

Price Christmas party menu 3 courses £44, 1 to 24 December
Booking pre-booking required
Call 01243 641233
Address Mill Lane, Sidlesham, PO20 7NB
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 10 June 2026
Website crab-lobster.co.uk/bar-and-restaurant/christmas-party
Good for Pagham Harbour, seafood, vegan main, rooms

11. The Halfway Bridge, Lodsworth

The Halfway Bridge, between Midhurst and Petworth, describes itself as “an elegant countryside escape in the heart of the South Downs National Park”. Its Christmas set lunch and party menu, also updated on 15 October 2026, is served from 1 to 24 December at £33.50 for two courses or £39.50 for three.

Mains are roast crown of turkey with chestnut stuffing and pigs in blankets, hake with lobster cream, confit duck leg, or a leek and butterbean croquette.

Price Christmas set lunch and party menu 2 courses £33.50, 3 courses £39.50, 1 to 24 December
Booking 10% discretionary service on tables of 7 or more
Call 01798 861281
Address Halfway Bridge, Lodsworth, Petworth, GU28 9BP
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 26 August 2026
Website halfwaybridge.co.uk/restaurant/christmas-party
Good for South Downs, rooms, vegetarian main, gluten-free pudding

How we chose

These are the Chichester-area pubs, restaurants and hotels that have published a 2026 Christmas menu with prices on their own website. We checked each one on 29 October 2026 and added the Food Standards Agency hygiene rating; ten are rated 5 and the Bell Inn is rated 4. Some well-known places are missing because their Christmas pages still show last year’s dates or no prices: the Horse & Groom at East Ashling, for example, shows 2025 party dates and says it is open for drinks only on Christmas Day. We left out the Spread Eagle in Midhurst, whose Christmas Day lunch is listed at £168 a head but marked fully booked, with no year shown. Menus and prices can change, so check with the venue before you pay a deposit. Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@chichesterlive.co.uk. Taken a good photograph of any of these places? Email it to newsdesk@chichesterlive.co.uk and we will add it with your name as the credit.

For more, see our guides to Chichester pubs, Chichester restaurants and Sunday roast in Chichester, the Chichester Christmas markets, the Christmas lights switch-on and Christmas shows and pantomime, things to do in Chichester and what’s on in Chichester this month, or browse local businesses in Chichester in our directory.

Frequently asked questions

Which Chichester pubs and restaurants are open for Christmas dinner on Christmas Day 2026?

Six publish a Christmas Day 2026 menu on their own websites: the Hole in the Wall (£65), the Ship at the Chichester Harbour Hotel (£95), the Royal Oak at East Lavant (£105), the George at Eartham (£120), the Crown & Anchor at Dell Quay (£125) and the Fox Goes Free at Charlton (£129.95).

How much is Christmas dinner in Chichester in 2026?

Christmas Day menus cost £65 to £129.95 a head. A festive menu on other December days is much cheaper: three courses for £29 at the Eastgate, £34 at the Bell Inn, £34.95 at the Hole in the Wall and £36 at the Park Tavern, rising to £47 at the Fox Goes Free and the Royal Oak.

Is the Bell Inn in Chichester serving food on Christmas Day?

No. The Bell Inn on Broyle Road says its bar opens 12pm to 2pm on Christmas Day but its kitchen is closed. Its Christmas menu runs from 30 November to 23 December 2026, not on Sundays, at £29 for two courses or £34 for three.