Eight places in and around Southend serve Christmas Day lunch from £49.99 to £195, with children's rates, deposits and the dates to pay by. Checked November 2026.

For Christmas Day in Southend, most people end up choosing between the Guildford on Sutton Road (£49.99, the lowest price here), the two Toby Carverys on Prince Avenue and the Thorpe Bay seafront (£74.99), Ye Olde Smack in Old Leigh (£76.95) and the Roslin Beach Hotel (£195, now waiting list only). Every entry was checked against the venue’s own site on 1 November 2026 and again on 9 November.

Prices exclude any service charge unless we say otherwise.

Leigh-on-Sea

1. Ye Olde Smack, Old Leigh

Ye Olde Smack sits on the High Street in Old Leigh, by the estuary. Greene King runs it, and its Christmas Day page gives a three-course menu at £76.95 and a kids’ menu at £37.95.

The starters listed include pan-fried black tiger prawns, spiced minestrone and a twice-baked Croxton Manor cheese and chive soufflé, and the pub promises roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and pigs in blankets with the mains. There is a separate no-gluten Christmas Day menu.

The pub notes that its balcony seating cannot be booked.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £76.95; kids' Christmas Day menu £37.95
Booking £10 a head deposit for adults and children; full payment by 11 December, or at booking after that; online bookings close 18 December
Call 01702 476765
Address 7 High Street, Leigh-on-Sea, SS9 2EN
Website greeneking.co.uk/pubs/essex/ye-olde-smack
Listing Our listing
Good for Old Leigh waterfront, children's menu, no-gluten Christmas menu, vegan starter

Southend: Prittlewell, Sutton and Southchurch

2. The Guildford, Sutton Road

The Guildford is the Greene King pub on Sutton Road, north of the town centre, and it has the lowest Christmas Day price on this page. Its Christmas Day page says “four delicious courses for £49.99”, but the downloadable menu it links prints “Christmas Day 3 courses £49.99”, so check which you are getting when you book.

The menu lists festive Brie wedges and Marie Rose king prawns among the starters, and the kids’ Christmas Day menu is three courses for £24.99. The pub says under-18s are not allowed in after 7pm, which matters only for a late lunch.

Price Christmas Day £49.99 (the page says four courses, the menu says three); kids' Christmas Day 3 courses £24.99
Booking £10 a head deposit for adults and children; menu choices and final payment by 11 December, or by 18 December for later bookings; no bookings after 18 December
Call 01702 602258
Address 95 to 97 Sutton Road, Southend-on-Sea, SS2 5PB
Website greeneking.co.uk/pubs/essex/guildford
Good for lowest Christmas Day price here, kids' menu, meat-free choices

3. The Old Walnut Tree, Southchurch Boulevard

The Old Walnut Tree is a Greene King grill pub on Southchurch Boulevard. Its Christmas Day page gives “4 Courses for £57.99” and makes a point of steak as a Christmas Day choice alongside the roasts, with vegan and vegetarian dishes and a chocolate orange torte (vegan) among the puddings.

There is a children’s Christmas Day menu, but the page does not print its price. Before the day, the pub’s festive menu runs from 12 November at two courses for £19.99, or three for £3 more.

Price Christmas Day 4 courses £57.99; festive menu from 12 November 2 courses £19.99, 3 courses £22.99
Booking deposit £10 an adult and £5 a child
Call 01702 465790
Address Southchurch Boulevard, Southend-on-Sea, SS2 4XA
Website greeneking.co.uk/pubs/essex/old-walnut-tree
Listing Our listing
Good for steak on Christmas Day, vegan choices, children's menu, cheapest festive menu here

4. Toby Carvery Southend A127, Prince Avenue

This is the Toby Carvery at the Bell on Prince Avenue, the A127 out of Southend. Its Christmas Day page puts “our famous carvery at the heart of it” and gives Christmas Day dining for £74.99.

For the rest of the season the festive menu costs from £14.99 Monday to Friday, £16.99 on Saturdays and £19.99 on Sundays, the cheapest Christmas meal on this page outside Christmas Day itself. Toby does not publish a separate children’s Christmas Day price on the page, and it wants full payment and pre-orders by 1 December.

Price Christmas Day £74.99; festive menu from £14.99 Monday to Friday, £16.99 Saturday, £19.99 Sunday
Booking £10 a head deposit; full payment and pre-order by 1 December
Call 01702 436168
Address The Bell, Prince Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, SS2 6RL
Website tobycarvery.co.uk/restaurants/east-of-england/southendessex
Listing Our listing
Good for carvery, on the A127, lowest festive menu price

Thorpe Bay seafront

5. Halfway House Toby Carvery, Eastern Esplanade

The Halfway House is the Toby Carvery on Eastern Esplanade, on the seafront between Southend and Thorpe Bay, with a Premier Inn on the same site for anyone with family staying over. Its Christmas Day page gives Christmas Day dining for £74.99, the same as Prince Avenue.

The festive menu here is dearer than at Prince Avenue: from £16.29 Monday to Friday, £18.29 on Saturdays and £21.29 on Sundays.

Price Christmas Day £74.99; festive menu from £16.29 Monday to Friday, £18.29 Saturday, £21.29 Sunday
Booking £10 a head deposit; full payment and pre-order by 1 December
Call 01702 588645
Address 213 Eastern Esplanade, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 3AD
Website tobycarvery.co.uk/restaurants/east-of-england/thorpebaysouthendonsea
Good for seafront, carvery, Premier Inn on site

6. The Roslin Beach Hotel, Thorpe Esplanade

The Roslin Beach Hotel faces the estuary on Thorpe Esplanade and is the most expensive Christmas Day on this page. Its Christmas 2026 page calls it a “luxurious three-course menu”, and the Christmas Day menu is £195 a head: an amuse-bouche, then starters including a native lobster seafood cocktail and Shetland scallops with Iberico pork belly, mains of bronze turkey, Black Angus beef Wellington or Scottish halibut, and a mushroom and pumpkin Wellington for vegans.

On 1 November the hotel was taking Christmas Day names only for a waiting list. Boxing Day is three courses for £90 in the restaurant, with a £35 deposit, but the balance and pre-order were due by 9 November, so ring the events team before booking now.

Price Christmas Day £195 a head; Boxing Day 3 courses £90; festive lunch and dinner from 20 November £45 to £62
Booking Christmas Day waiting list only (1 November); Boxing Day £35 deposit; balance and pre-order were due by 9 November, so call first
Call 01702 586375 (events team)
Address Thorpe Esplanade, Thorpe Bay, SS1 3BG
Website roslinhotel.com/christmas-2026
Listing Our listing
Good for estuary views, hotel rooms, vegan main, Boxing Day menu

Just outside the city: Rochford and Rayleigh

7. The Cock Inn, Hall Road, Rochford

The Cock Inn is the Greene King pub on Hall Road in Rochford, just north of the city boundary. Its Christmas Day page gives three courses for £61, with “Brussels sprouts to pigs in blankets” promised among the trimmings and smoked salmon on toasted ciabatta among the starters.

It works to the same Greene King rules as the Guildford and the Smack: £10 a head deposit, and menu choices and full payment by 11 December.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £61
Booking £10 a head deposit for adults and children; menu choices and final payment by 11 December, or by 18 December for later bookings; no bookings after 18 December
Call 01702 540429
Address Hall Road, Rochford, SS4 1PD
Website greeneking.co.uk/pubs/essex/cock-inn
Good for just outside the city, three-course menu

8. The Rayleigh Lodge, The Chase, Rayleigh

The Rayleigh Lodge is the Ember Inns pub on The Chase in Rayleigh, the nearest Ember pub to Southend. Its Christmas page gives Christmas Day as three courses for £71.95 for adults and £35.95 for children.

Boxing Day is three courses for £32.50 (children £11.99), the festive set menu runs through December at two courses for £22.99, and Breakfast with Santa is £12.99 a head. Ember’s deposit page asks £10 a head for Christmas Day, with full payment and pre-order by 1 December.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £71.95, children £35.95; Boxing Day 3 courses £32.50, children £11.99; festive set menu 2 courses £22.99, children £9.99; Breakfast with Santa £12.99
Booking Christmas Day £10 a head deposit, full payment and pre-order by 1 December
Call 01268 742149
Address 70 The Chase, Rayleigh, SS6 8RW
Website emberinns.co.uk/nationalsearch/eastofengland/the-rayleigh-lodge-rayleigh/christmas
Good for children's prices published, Boxing Day menu, Breakfast with Santa

Festive menus, not Christmas Day

The Shoeburyness Hotel at 1 High Street in Shoeburyness serves a festive menu through December at two courses for £29.95 or three for £34.95, Wednesday to Saturday 12pm to 3pm and 5pm to 8.30pm and Sunday 12pm to 7pm, but not on Christmas Day or Boxing Day. Its site asks a £10 a head deposit, with bookings on 01702 296415.

How we chose

We listed the pubs, hotels and restaurants in and around Southend that publish a 2026 Christmas Day price on their own site, then checked them all again on 9 November. Several other places may well do Christmas Day but did not show a price we could read on 1 November: the Harvester Shorehouse in Shoeburyness and the Crooked Billet in Old Leigh load their Christmas menus only in the browser, the Hamlet Court in Westcliff shows festive dining with no Christmas Day price, the Trading Rooms still links a 2024 menu, and Holiday Inn Southend’s rooftop Christmas Day lunch is listed only on Visit Essex, with no year on the price. We will add 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@southendtoday.co.uk. Taken a good photograph of any of these places? Email it to newsdesk@southendtoday.co.uk and we will add it with your name as the credit.

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

Frequently asked questions

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

Six places inside the city publish a Christmas Day 2026 price: the Guildford on Sutton Road (£49.99), the Old Walnut Tree on Southchurch Boulevard (£57.99), the two Toby Carverys, on Prince Avenue and at the Halfway House in Thorpe Bay (£74.99 each), Ye Olde Smack in Old Leigh (£76.95) and the Roslin Beach Hotel in Thorpe Bay (£195, waiting list only). Just outside, the Cock Inn in Rochford charges £61 and the Rayleigh Lodge £71.95.

What is the cheapest Christmas Day lunch in Southend?

The Guildford on Sutton Road has the lowest Christmas Day price on this list at £49.99, with a children’s Christmas Day menu at £24.99. The Old Walnut Tree is next at £57.99.

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

Yes, at all of them. The Greene King pubs (the Guildford, Ye Olde Smack and the Cock Inn) take £10 a head and want full payment by 11 December. The Old Walnut Tree takes £10 an adult and £5 a child. The Rayleigh Lodge takes £10 a head with full payment and pre-order by 1 December. The two Toby Carverys take £10 a head, with full payment and pre-order by 1 December.