Fork It

4 Restaurants for seasonal celebrations

COMMONWEALTH KITCHEN

LONDON, ENGLAND
Recently opened to the public, the exclusive Commonwealth Club’s restaurant serves modern European cuisine with Commonwealth influences. Its festive fare includes baked grass carp stuff ed with almonds, spinach and quince chutney.
TWO-COURSE FESTIVE DINNER WITH A GLASS OF WINE, ABOUT £30 (€35). 25 NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, TEL: +44 (0)20 7766 9200, WWW.SEARCYS.CO.UK

RISTORANTE ALL’ORO

ROME, ITALY
Serious foodies should head to this elegant yet homely restaurant. On Christmas Day, expect roasted duck leg with hazelnuts and orange on the nine-course menu. And the New Year’s Eve nine-courser boasts lacquered chest of quail and thigh stuffed with honey and ’nduja (Calabrian pork sausage).
CHRISTMAS DAY MENU, WITHOUT DRINKS, ABOUT €150. NEW YEAR’S EVE MENU, WITHOUT DRINKS, ABOUT €180. 1E VIA ELEONORA DUSE, TEL: +39 06 9799 6907, WWW.RISTORANTEALLORO.IT

PARIS-MOSKAU

BERLIN, GERMANY
It’s not in Paris or Moscow, but the name of this rustic half-timbered restaurant alludes to a 120-year-old railway connection between the two cities. A highlight on the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menus is venison with black salsify, red cabbage cream and a pyramid cake of potato and Brussels sprouts. There’s similar razzmatazz on New Year’s Eve too.
CHRISTMAS SET MENUS, WITHOUT DRINKS, FROM €53 (THREE COURSES). 141 ALT-MOABIT, TEL: +49 (0)30 394 2081, WWW.PARIS-MOSKAU.DE

F12 RESTAURANT

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
It may only be opening for New Year’s Eve (closed 23–30 December and 1–8 January) but F12 in the historic Royal Art Academy is perfect for a celebratory evening. The artistically presented cooking is inspired by flavours from around the world, as well as an esoteric 17th-century Swedish farmers’ almanac named the Bonde-Practica. There’s a superb vegetarian fine dining menu too.
MULTI-COURSE MENU, WITHOUT DRINKS, 1,295SEK (€142). 12 FREDSGATAN, TEL: +46 (0)8 248052, WWW.F12.SE

The Foodies’ Column

TRENTO CHRISTMAS MARKET

TRENTO, ITALY
This renowned event is held in Piazza Fiera, beside the pretty town’s medieval walls. A bit of a gourmand’s feast, it off ers 70 wooden huts of crafts, food and drink, including a Flavours of the Christmas Market section. Lying in the shadow of the Dolomites mountains, Trento is the capital of the Trentino province, and foodie off erings from around these parts include treccia mochena (plaited pastry cake), tortel di patate (potato cake), canederli (dumplings), polenta brustolada (grilled polenta), cevap (kebab from Valle dei Mòcheni), and much more. Warm up with a parampampoli – a flaming brandy and coff ee concoction. The market is open every day, except Christmas Day, from 19 November to 30 December.
WWW.MERCATINODINATALE.TN.IT