Christmas Carol Programme 2021

We’re delighted to announce the return of our magical Christmas Carol: a celebration of festive food and drink, along with local partnerships that encapsulate all that is merry in Manchester.

The Refuge Christmas Carol will start the countdown to the festive season with a special launch event on 12 November, followed by weekly happenings until the end of 2021.

Below is an outline on what to expect – but we’ve still got a few more treats up our sleeve, so be sure to follow along on socials for the latest up-to-date info and last-minute surprises!

The programme

Every Friday (5-10pm), Saturday (1-10pm) and Sunday (1-6pm)
The Refuge Terrace will be transformed into our very own Christmas market, covered and heated, nestled away from the elements within our cosy Victorian street:

Grandad’s Sausages: giving that authentic Christmas market experience with their own spin on the traditional German sausage
Manchester Union Lager Pop-up – serving their popular award winning lagers alongside freshly bakes Bavarian pretzels

Every Thursday in December
We’ll be holding a Christmas Wreath Making Workshop in collaboration with Giraffe Flowers, the in-house florist at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel. At £70 per person, it includes all the materials and guidance from experts to make a showstopping Christmas wreath that you can hang proudly on your door, along with a festive cocktail and mince pie. Spaces are limited to 10 people per class. The workshop starts at 6.30pm and ticket are available here.

Friday 3 December
A welcome from our Town Crier
Public Bar DJs: Pasta Paul, David Dunne

Saturday 4 December
Public Bar DJs: Chris Maude, FreakOUT Collective

Sunday 5 December from 12 noon
A Refuge Christmas Fair: This week’s guest spots for your Christmas shopping must-haves come from:

Top of the Town Vintage: a gorgeous Stockport-based vintage boutique bringing hand-picked and carefully curated true vintage pieces
Deadstock: contemporary homewares and accessories pop-up
Northerner on the Run: a selection of handmade homewares, jewellery and digital artwork
The Dog Cake Co.: sweet treats for those four-legged besties including brownies, cupcakes and more!
Manchester Union Lager: selling the perfect gifts for the lager drinker in your life. From gift boxes filled with a selection of lager cans, a branded glass, enamel badge and Bavarian pretzel, through to mixed cases of cans and merchandise.

Public Bar DJ: Dr Sid

Friday 10 December
Public Bar DJs

Saturday 11 December
A special performance from Manchester Vocal Ensemble at 6.30pm

Sunday 12 December from 12 noon
A Refuge Christmas Fair: This week’s guest spots for your Christmas shopping must-haves come from:

Manchester Fashion Movement: a very exclusive and special pop-up from MFM which will showcase gifting in a bespoke, ethical, sustainable way with creative workshops.
HollieGraphik: Manchester-based Etsy best seller creating music-inspired prints
Mariel Osborn: handcrafted, unique homewares
Manchester Union Lager: selling the perfect gifts for the lager drinker in your life. From gift boxes filled with a selection of lager cans, a branded glass, enamel badge and Bavarian pretzel, through to mixed cases of cans and merchandise.

Plus a special performance from the Hallè Ancoats Community Choir at 6.30pm

Public Bar DJ: Dr Sid

Friday 17 December
A welcome from our Town Crier
Plus a special performance from The Sunday Boys Choir at 6.30pm

Saturday 18 December
A special performance from Manchester Choir at 4pm

Sunday 19 December
A special performance from Manchester Glee Choir at 4pm

20-22 December
Public Bar DJ: DJ Santa
There’ll also be an epic line-up of other resident DJs across the festive season.

Festive Feasting

Christmas in the Dining Room at The Refuge is all about the festive feasting menu, available to anyone pre-booked from Monday to Saturday throughout December. The menu features a collection of ‘sleeves up, dig in’ dishes for culinary yuletide delight, with the main event being a herb and butter-roasted turkey breast with cranberry and apricot stuffing, goose fat roast potatoes, cranberry-glazed pigs in blankets and lots of festive veg. Feasting menus are served sharing style and priced at £32.50 per person. Of course, if you fancy a table full of Voltini, our all day menu is available too.

Christmas Day (sold out)

Take the pressure of cooking for the whole family on Christmas Day itself and let The Refuge do it for you, with our Christmas Day menu. It’s a whole host of festive classics lovingly prepared, with hand-carved Cheshire roast turkey, sirloin tournedos, duck breast, or butternut squash, spinach and chestnut Wellington. For dessert, choose from Christmas pud, sherry trifle, chocolate and cherry parfait or treacle tart with liquorice ice cream. The Christmas Day menu is priced at £120 per adult, £60 for 13 to 17-year-olds, £30 for six to 12-year-olds and free for under 6s. To book for Christmas Day please email info@refugemcr.co.uk.

Of course, we’ll be throwing our annual New Year’s Eve bash – find out more here.

Stay tuned to our socials for the latest updates to the programme.