We may only be in November, but Christmas food is already taking over supermarket shelves, Christmas Markets are springing up across the nation, and cafes are tempting us with their full-on festive menus.
Marks and Spencer’s beloved in-store cafes have gone all out with their festive offerings this year, and their Christmas ranges are now available. This year’s menu includes some new hot options, including a signature Schnitzel dish, to get shoppers into the holiday spirit.
However, be aware that the new festive hot specials are only available from 12pm in the cafes, so don’t plan on sneaking in early for a pig-in-blanket breakfast.
I visited my local M&S Cafe to check out this year’s festive menu, aiming to sample new items across savoury snacks, sweet treats and their Christmassy drinks.
New to the drinks menu this year is M&S’s take on the S’mores trend. This American sweet treat of toasted marshmallow sandwiched between biscuits has become almost as common on our shores recently, and the flavour is incorporated into two new drinks on the Cafe menu – a S’mores hot chocolate (£4.10), and a S’mores milkshake (£4), reports the Manchester Evening News.
Personally, I’ve never been a big fan of the S’mores flavour, and I found it rather sickly in the hot chocolate which was topped with two large pink marshmallows and some biscuity crumb.
The milkshake was more to my liking, offering a refreshing taste with a subtle hint of marshmallow flavour.
For those who love savoury, the MandS turkey and ham hock toastie is making a comeback this year, promising even more turkey and cheesy goodness. At £7.50, it’s a substantial sandwich that could easily be split between two, especially if you’re thinking about trying some of the new sides this year – more on that later.
I particularly enjoyed the salty, herby crunch of the bread on the toastie, although I didn’t notice an increase in turkey content – in fact, the sample I tried seemed light on meat. However, the generous layers of stuffing, melting cheese and cranberry provided plenty to enjoy.
This year, I managed to get a dipping pot of turkey gravy (they were sold out when I visited the cafes last year), and for an extra 50p, it’s well worth it as it really elevates the toastie. Dipping the bread into the rich, meaty gravy adds moisture and creates a truly festive bite.
This year also sees the introduction of a Gluten Free version of this toastie.
For those with a hearty appetite, there are some exciting new additions to the cafe menu for 2024. For the first time, they’re offering a chicken Schnitzel dish – a golden breadcrumb crusted chicken breast smothered in a double drizzle of cranberry sauce and mayonnaise, served with roast potatoes and salad, all for £9.95.
It’s also worth noting that this year, you can order a portion of roast potatoes as a side dish for just £2, and add a dipping sauce of either gravy or cranberry sauce for an extra 50p. The roasties were a standout feature of this menu for me.
At first glance, the potatoes accompanying the schnitzel dish seemed a bit lacklustre, but upon tasting them, I was blown away by their quality. They had a deliciously crispy exterior thanks to a tasty fat, while the inside was fluffy perfection.
The Schnitzel itself was decent, although I wasn’t too sure about the salad accompaniment, and I’m not convinced I’d shell out £9.95 for this dish again. However, I would definitely grab the roasties as a £2 snack again.
Another new addition this year is the headline-grabbing pigs-in-blanket dippers. You can order these as a side dish for £2.50, which includes a portion of gravy for dipping.
I was eagerly anticipating these as pigs-in-blankets are always a hit at Christmas dinner. They were served as a foursome skewered onto a stick to aid in gravy dipping, which I appreciated.
However, upon their arrival, I noticed that they appeared slightly undercooked for my personal preference – the bacon wrapping some of the sausages was rather limp and not crispy as I would typically prepare mine, and I wasn’t particularly fond of the sausage flavour either.
Turning to the selection of sweet dishes, there’s a combination of returning favourites and new additions, none of which I can really criticise.
I sampled the salted caramel chocolate yule log (£4.25), which is even more sticky and gooey than last year’s version and an absolute winner. I also tasted the classic M&S mince pie (£2.50), both of which are superb festive desserts here.
This year introduces a Christmas spiced tiffin (£3), a rather substantial chocolatey option that you might not want to tackle after one of those enormous Turkey toasties, so I took this one home to try later. And I’m extremely pleased I did as it’s actually a fantastic dessert offering, topped with a smooth layer of chocolate sprinkled with crunchy sweet bits.
The festive menus at the MandS Cafe have made a strong comeback, and I was quite taken aback by how quickly they managed to whip up everything – even during an extremely busy lunchtime session that I attended. The festive menu is now available right through to Christmas at MandS Cafes across the UK.
Here’s the full MandS Cafe Christmas menu now in stores.
- Turkey and Ham Hock Toastie
- NEW Made Without Turkey and Ham Hock Toastie (GF)
- NEW Cheeseboard Toastie (V)
- NEW Chicken Schnitzel with Roasties
- NEW Roast Potatoes (V)
- NEW Pigs in Blankets and Gravy
- Gravy Dipper (V)
- NEW Cranberry Dipper (VE)
- NEW Chicken and Grain Soup
- Turkey Feast Sandwich
- NEW Christmas Ham and Winter Slaw Sandwich
- Salted Caramel Chocolate Yule Log (V)
- NEW Christmas Spiced Tiffin (V)
- NEW Cinnamon Sticky Bun (V)
- Mince Pie (V)
- NEW S’mores Hot Chocolate (V)
- NEW S’mores Milkshake (V)
- Cinnamon Bun Latte (V)
- Cinnamon Bun Iced Latte (V)
