Christmas Day lunch costs £57.95 to £104.95 at nine Romford, Hornchurch and Upminster pubs: 2026 prices, children's rates, deposits and pay-by dates.

For Christmas Day around Romford, most people end up choosing between the Golden Lion on the High Street (three courses for £57.95, the lowest price here), the Ember Inns pubs such as the Mawney Arms (£71.95) and the Railway Hotel in Hornchurch (£74.95), and the Thatched House in Upminster (£104.95). Every entry was checked against the venue’s own site on 1 November 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 pub’s own 2026 Christmas Day menu, what the pub says about children, deposits and booking, and its Food Standards Agency (FSA) hygiene rating from the council’s inspections. Prices are for three courses and exclude any service charge unless we say otherwise.

Romford town centre

1. The Golden Lion, High Street

The Golden Lion stands on the corner of the High Street and North Street and is a Grade II listed building; Historic England’s list entry describes an inn “of various dates from the 17th century” with a late 18th century front. CAMRA’s pub record dates it to the 15th century.

Greene King runs it, and its Christmas Day page gives three courses for £57.95. The menu PDF lists hand-carved turkey, a cranberry-glazed nut roast and a sirloin surf and turf among the mains, with a warm mince pie and tea or coffee to finish.

The children’s Christmas Day menu, for under-12s, is £27.95. The pub also shows live sport on Sky and TNT.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £57.95; children's Christmas Day menu (under 12) £27.95
Booking £10 a head deposit secures a Christmas Day booking
Call 01708 740081
Address 2 High Street, Romford, RM1 1HR
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 14 July 2025
Website greeneking.co.uk/pubs/essex/golden-lion
Listing Our listing
Good for Grade II listed building, lowest Christmas Day price here, children's menu, meat-free main

2. The Mawney Arms, Mawney Road

The Mawney Arms is the Ember Inns pub on Mawney Road, a short walk north-west of the Market Place. Ember describes it as a place to “relax and refuel in front of the fire” and lists free parking on site.

Its Christmas page gives Christmas Day as three courses for £71.95 for adults and £35.95 for children, which is a few pounds under the other Ember pubs in Havering. The Christmas Day menu names “the Ultimate Christmas Duo”, grilled salmon and hand-carved roast beef, with vegetarian and vegan choices.

For the rest of December the festive set menu is two courses for £22.99, and Boxing Day is three courses for £32.50.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £71.95, children £35.95; festive set menu 2 courses £22.99, children £9.99; Boxing Day 3 courses £32.50, children £11.99; Breakfast with Santa £12.99
Booking Christmas Day £10 a head deposit, full payment and pre-order by 1 December; deposits non-refundable within 14 days
Call 01708 761162
Address 44 Mawney Road, Romford, RM7 7HT
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 22 January 2026
Website emberinns.co.uk/nationalsearch/london/the-mawney-arms-romford/christmas
Listing Our listing
Good for free parking, log fire, vegetarian and vegan choices, Boxing Day menu

Hornchurch

3. The Railway Hotel, Station Lane

The Railway Hotel is next to Hornchurch station on Station Lane, with what Ember calls a “spacious beer garden” and 12 rooms upstairs in its Innkeeper’s Collection hotel, which suits anyone with family staying over Christmas. Its Christmas page gives Christmas Day as three courses for £74.95 for adults and £37.50 for children.

The festive set menu runs through December at two courses for £22.99, Boxing Day is three courses for £32.50, and Breakfast with Santa is £12.99 a head.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £74.95, children £37.50; festive set menu 2 courses £22.99, children £9.99; Boxing Day 3 courses £32.50, children £11.99
Booking Christmas Day £10 a head deposit, full payment and pre-order by 1 December
Call 01708 440028
Address Station Lane, Hornchurch, RM12 6SB
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 2 February 2026
Website emberinns.co.uk/nationalsearch/london/the-railway-hotel-hornchurch/christmas
Listing Our listing
Good for next to Hornchurch station, rooms to stay, beer garden, Breakfast with Santa

4. The Ardleigh, Ardleigh Green Road

The Ardleigh is the Ember Inns pub on Ardleigh Green Road, close to the A127 and Harold Wood Park. Ember describes “cosy evenings by the fire” and a menu range that includes a children’s menu and a vegetarian and vegan menu.

Its Christmas page gives Christmas Day as three courses for £74.95 for adults and £37.50 for children, the same Ember Christmas Day menu as the Mawney Arms. Boxing Day is three courses for £32.50, and the December festive set menu is two courses for £22.99.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £74.95, children £37.50; festive set menu 2 courses £22.99, children £9.99; Boxing Day 3 courses £32.50, children £11.99; Breakfast with Santa £12.99
Booking Christmas Day £10 a head deposit, full payment and pre-order by 1 December
Call 01708 442550
Address 124 Ardleigh Green Road, Hornchurch, RM11 2SH
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 9 September 2026
Website emberinns.co.uk/nationalsearch/eastofengland/the-ardleigh-hornchurch/christmas
Listing Our listing
Good for log fire, children's menu, vegetarian and vegan choices, Boxing Day menu

5. The Harrow, Hornchurch Road

The Harrow is on Hornchurch Road (the A124) near Harrow Lodge Park, and Ember notes “plenty of free car parking on site”. Its Christmas page gives Christmas Day as three courses for £74.95 for adults and £37.50 for children.

As at the other Ember pubs, the festive set menu is two courses for £22.99 through December, Boxing Day is three courses for £32.50, and children can have Breakfast with Santa for £12.99 a head, which includes a gift.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £74.95, children £37.50; festive set menu 2 courses £22.99, children £9.99; Boxing Day 3 courses £32.50, children £11.99; Breakfast with Santa £12.99
Booking Christmas Day £10 a head deposit, full payment and pre-order by 1 December
Call 01708 462611
Address 130 Hornchurch Road, Hornchurch, RM11 1DP
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 24 September 2025
Website emberinns.co.uk/nationalsearch/london/the-harrow-hornchurch/christmas
Listing Our listing
Good for free parking, Breakfast with Santa, vegetarian and vegan choices, Boxing Day menu

Upminster

6. The Thatched House, St Mary’s Lane

The Thatched House is the Vintage Inns pub on St Mary’s Lane at the eastern edge of Upminster. The pub describes “beautiful gardens” and “crackling log fires” and says it is dog friendly.

Its Christmas Day menu is three courses for £104.95, the highest price on this list. Starters include baked scallops and gin-cured smoked salmon; mains are roast duck, monkfish, hand-carved turkey breast, noisette of lamb, Black Angus beef or a vegan truffled mushroom Wellington.

The children’s Christmas Day menu is £42.50, and the festive menu for the rest of December is £35.50.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £104.95, children's Christmas Day menu £42.50; festive menu £35.50
Booking Christmas Day £10 a head deposit, full payment and pre-order by 8 December; 10% discretionary service charge for tables of 7 or more on Christmas Day; deposits non-refundable within 14 days
Call 01708 641408
Address St Mary's Lane, Upminster, RM14 3LT
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 15 January 2026
Website vintageinn.co.uk/restaurants/london/thethatchedhouseupminster/christmas
Listing Our listing
Good for dogs welcome, log fires, gardens, vegan main, children's Christmas Day menu

7. The Optimist Tavern, Hacton Lane

The Optimist Tavern is the Ember Inns pub on Hacton Lane, between Hornchurch and Upminster and a short drive from Upminster Windmill. Ember describes “cosy evenings by the fire” and offers children’s, vegetarian and vegan menus.

Its Christmas page gives Christmas Day as three courses for £74.95 for adults and £37.50 for children. Boxing Day is three courses for £32.50, the December festive set menu is two courses for £22.99, and Breakfast with Santa is £12.99 a head.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £74.95, children £37.50; festive set menu 2 courses £22.99, children £9.99; Boxing Day 3 courses £32.50, children £11.99; Breakfast with Santa £12.99
Booking Christmas Day £10 a head deposit, full payment and pre-order by 1 December
Call 01708 641530
Address Hacton Lane, Upminster, RM14 2XY
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 29 November 2025
Website emberinns.co.uk/nationalsearch/london/the-optimist-tavern-upminster/christmas
Listing Our listing
Good for log fire, children's menu, vegetarian and vegan choices, Breakfast with Santa

8. The Huntsman and Hounds, Ockendon Road

The Huntsman and Hounds is on Ockendon Road, south of Corbets Tey, the furthest Ember pub from the town centre and handy for Rainham Marshes and Top Meadow. Its Christmas page gives Christmas Day as three courses for £74.95 for adults and £37.50 for children, with the same Ember menu of a Christmas duo, salmon or roast beef and vegetarian and vegan choices.

Boxing Day is three courses for £32.50. Its FSA hygiene rating is 3, from an inspection in July 2026; every other pub here is rated 5.

Price Christmas Day 3 courses £74.95, children £37.50; festive set menu 2 courses £22.99, children £9.99; Boxing Day 3 courses £32.50, children £11.99; Breakfast with Santa £12.99
Booking Christmas Day £10 a head deposit, full payment and pre-order by 1 December
Call 01708 221672
Address Ockendon Road, Upminster, RM14 2DN
Hygiene rating 3, Food Standards Agency, 21 July 2026
Website emberinns.co.uk/nationalsearch/london/the-huntsman-and-hounds-upminster/christmas
Listing Our listing
Good for children's menu, vegetarian and vegan choices, Boxing Day menu, Breakfast with Santa

Just over the border: Chadwell Heath

9. Toby Carvery Moby Dick, Whalebone Lane North

The Moby Dick is the Toby Carvery on Whalebone Lane North at the A12 junction, in Barking and Dagenham but sold by Toby as its Romford restaurant. Its Christmas Day page puts “our famous carvery at the heart of it” and gives Christmas Day dining for £77.99.

For the rest of the season the festive menu costs from £15.49 Monday to Friday, £17.49 on Saturdays and £20.49 on Sundays, the cheapest Christmas meal on this page outside Christmas Day itself. Toby says a deposit may be required when you book.

Price Christmas Day £77.99; festive menu from £15.49 Monday to Friday, £17.49 Saturday, £20.49 Sunday
Booking a deposit may be required at the time of booking
Call 020 8590 9524
Address Whalebone Lane North, Chadwell Heath, RM6 6QU
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 24 January 2026
Website tobycarvery.co.uk/restaurants/london/mobydickromford
Good for carvery, lowest festive menu price, on the A12

How we chose

We listed the pubs in Romford, Hornchurch and Upminster that publish a 2026 Christmas Day price on their own site, and checked each one’s Food Standards Agency hygiene rating, which comes from Havering Council’s inspections (Barking and Dagenham’s for the Moby Dick). Several other places do Christmas Day but did not show a price we could read on 1 November: the Harvesters in Gidea Park and Hornchurch load their menus only in the browser, and some independent restaurants and hotels had last year’s menus still up. We will add them when they publish. Prices, deposits and dates are the pubs’ own and can change; confirm when you book.

Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@romfordtoday.co.uk. Taken a good photograph of any of these places? Email it to newsdesk@romfordtoday.co.uk and we will add it with your name as the credit.

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

Frequently asked questions

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

Nine pubs on this list publish a Christmas Day 2026 price: the Thatched House in Upminster (three courses £104.95), the Toby Carvery Moby Dick in Chadwell Heath (£77.99), the Ardleigh, the Harrow and the Railway Hotel in Hornchurch and the Optimist Tavern and the Huntsman and Hounds in Upminster (£74.95 each), the Mawney Arms in Romford (£71.95) and the Golden Lion on Romford High Street (£57.95).

What is the cheapest Christmas Day lunch in Romford?

The Golden Lion on Romford High Street has the lowest Christmas Day price on this list: three courses for £57.95, with a children’s Christmas Day menu at £27.95. The Mawney Arms is next at £71.95 for adults and £35.95 for children.

Do I need to pay a deposit for Christmas Day?

Yes, at most of them. The six Ember Inns pubs take £10 a head with full payment by 1 December. The Thatched House takes £10 a head with full payment and pre-order by 8 December. The Golden Lion takes £10 a head. Toby Carvery says a deposit may be required when you book.