The act of eating out on Christmas Day is like marmite. You either love it or you hate it. Traditionalists who prefer to stay at home for their Christmas feast would almost certainly have plenty to think about if they were able to sample food at The Carrington Arms.

The bay window, charming fire and sparkling Christmas tree give the Carrington Arms that home from home feel. The restaurant was full, which was hardly surprising but there was also an incredibly warm and joyful ambience about the place; an atmosphere that you can only experience on Christmas Day itself.

As I, my partner and her two boys were incredibly hungry; we all took our seats shortly after ordering our drinks. The tables were immaculately prepared and as a treat there were little gift boxes for the guests containing chocolates and party poppers. The crackers were of a high quality with generous prizes to the winner. Now I know they say you should never believe what you read in the newspapers but having read one the day before explaining the perfect technique for pulling crackers I was confident I would win all the prizes. I duly lost at every attempt. Good eh?

I had ordered the seared breast of wood pigeon on a chestnut mushroom and walnut risotto. Risottos are a nightmare to prepare so full marks to the chef Peter Goodman for getting this spot on. This proved to be both a wonderful combination of flavours and textures. As always seems the case with The Carrington Arms, it was beautifully presented too.

My partner chose to start with the Pea & Mint Soup served with Croque Monsieur. I sampled this dish and actually wish I had ordered it, yet I am not a lover of peas. It was incredibly moreish and the Croque Monsieur (bread with ham and cheese) was an exquisite accompaniment.

We all chose the traditional roast turkey for our main courses. This was served with pigs in blankets, sage and onion stuffing, cranberry jelly and gravy. This was a dish of the highest quality, cooked to perfection. The fact that the potatoes were so good, left me wishing I had been given at least a few more. I took an almost cautious look at the boys sitting opposite. The food might have been traditional, but the exceptional presentation was not. Would this put them off? They looked, almost confused, but proceeded to leave their plates squeaky clean.

Despite the fact that I absolutely loved my chocolate fondant I wish I had chosen the trio of baileys instead. This was my partner’s choice and I could not believe she managed to finish the entire dessert even if I did help myself to the occasional mouthful. This was a truly exceptional dish that many would struggle to match. The cheesecake, ice cream and cake were all beautiful - mouth watering in fact, and with just the right amount of baileys this was a serious treat!

The service was, despite a packed restaurant, to a particularly high standard. We did wait slightly longer than we wanted to for our starters but that was only because we were all so very hungry and anyway – who rushes on Christmas Day? They say the best things come to those who wait and in this instance, I they were right!

A number of people have already booked again for next Christmas so if you’re thinking about it yourself, I wouldn’t leave it too long. Places will surely be limited!