It's time of the year when festive menus for Christmas abound

The most wonderful time of the year is here and many restaurants around Shanghai are well and truly in the festive spirit. There is no better time to gather your nearest and dearest and unite around the dinner table. 

Luckily for gourmands in Shanghai, there are countless feasting table favorites at all the popular restaurants in town, and there's no shortage of special offerings catering to every taste. 

Plan ahead to book your Christmas Eve dinner or Christmas Day's feast and be ready to warm up with exciting festive menus bursting with seasonal dishes designed to share with family and friends.

The intimate, Aussie-influenced Mr Willis is the all-time favorite among long-time expats and local residents. Its cozy ambience, with tasteful arrangements and rugs, fits perfectly with the festive season. 

Organizing a Christmas dinner here with friends feels like dining in someone's apartment but the upside is you don't worry about preparing food. You just simply chill and get ready to enjoy a gourmet holiday experience. 

CHRISTMAS

You will start the night with eggnog and truffled puff, followed by smoked salmon, foie gras torches and octopus salad. The 680-yuan-per-person menu continues with two main courses: slow-roasted turkey and roast pork. Then, a sweet plate of a steamed Christmas pudding, fruit mince tarts and chocolate panforte ends the feast. 

Here, it is all about celebrating Christmas classics with chef owner Craig Willis' own twist. The booking is two persons minimum.

Blaz is a modern French eatery housed in a historic villa on Donghu Road. The indoor dining space is a balance of hip and contemporary, while the exposed brick columns give off a warm, homely feel. Here, good produce is effortlessly prepared, and good wine is served without fuss or formality. 

Christmas lunch and dinner are both open on December 24-25. This holiday season, Blaz offers a set-sharing menu (558 yuan per person) with some a la carte dishes to add on. 

The menu kicks off with Wagyu beef tartare on toast and Mackerel on toast. Then, king fish ceviche and foie gras au torchon is served to the table followed with the mains – Hokkaido scallops and roast spring chicken with aged Comte cheese sauce and fresh truffle and morels. 

More festive classics from the a la carte menu can be ordered for a heartier feast, including the seafood platter, Blaz carnivore board and stuffed pigeon, that are certain to delight whoever comes to celebrate the holiday season.

Across Scandinavia the festive season is seen as an opportunity to catch up with friends and family, and it is common to be invited to lunches and dinners throughout December. 

The Nordic countries have their own special Christmas traditions with special dishes. Bringing the Nordic warmth is Henke's Nordic Christmas menu (350 yuan per person) throughout the month. 

Get in the party mood with a whole table of Nordic plates specially prepared for this festive season. It involves a sumptuous feast of shrimps, eggs, snapper fillet with lemon remoulade, pepper rolled pork belly and warm liver pate. 

Frikadeller (Danish meatballs), a beloved national dish of Danes, is a must and a tradition to serve warm at Christmas table together with other pork dishes such as roast pork and sausage. And here, they basically present all the classics. Traditional Danish dessert rice pudding with cherry sauce, typically served after the big Christmas dinner, also ends the feast here.

Henkes also has another deluxe Christmas menu at 450 yuan per person throughout December with more options. From December 23 to 26, Christmas roast duck at 688 yuan (4kg for two to four pax) to eat in or takeaway is available. Booking for both set menu and roast duck has to be done three days in advance. The set menu usually requires eight people minimum for booking. 

Bhacus is the latest concept from Shanghai veteran restaurateur Eduardo Vargas, who has created a series of restaurants under the Azul Group. The restaurant is dedicated to wine and wood grill. From sea to land, from farm to fork, carefully selected ingredients are served this Christmas. 

Chef de cuisine Mandy Tang has created a seven-course menu for Christmas dinner on December 24-25 at 488 yuan per person.

This includes Alaska crab and tuna bite as amuse bouche, Hokkaido scallop as the starter, chestnut soup to warm you up, main courses of the black cod and wagyu striploin M5; finishing with a Christmas calamansi pavlova. 

For December 25 Sunday brunch (288 yuan per person), Bhacus will offer a semi-buffet style with a wide selection of antipastos, charcuterie and cheese board plus a choice of main course.

Italo Trattoria on Fumin Road is where friends and family can savor excellent Italian trattoria food developed by the new chef consultant Fabio Camilloni. The chef has worked at the city's iconic venues such as Casanova and Velvet Lounge, well-known in expat circles back 16 years ago. 

Christmas is probably the biggest event to enjoy Italian classics, and Italo has prepared a big feast for those wanting an authentic Italian experience. On December 24, a six-course dinner at 688 yuan per person will be served, starting with a glass of Prosecco. 

The feast begins with appetizers of king prawn carpaccio, warm seafood and fish salad, followed by the first course of porcini mushroom cream soup, and a plate of crab tagliolini. One can either choose the baked tenderloin with fig sauce or pan-fried salmon fillet. 

Italo also offers a Christmas buffet brunch for 288 yuan per person, 128 yuan for kids. The brunch includes a buffet spread of antipasti plus a choice of main and one dessert.