Carrot & coriander soup
Sweet carrots and fresh coriander, blended smooth, with warm bloomer bread and butter.
Christmas 2026 · Whalley, Ribble Valley
Christmas in Whalley: Christmas at
Vault Bar + Kitchen.
The festive menu
Christmas lunch,
Christmas dinner.
Christmas dinner begins on Tuesday 1 December. It starts at 17:00 on Tuesday 1 and Wednesday 2 December, and at 16:00 from Thursday 3 December. Christmas lunch, from 12:00 to 16:00, begins on Monday 7 December, when we start opening every day at 12:00, Mondays included. Both run until Thursday 24 December, alongside the usual menu, whenever the kitchen is open. At lunch, three courses are £34: £5 a head less than three at dinner. Tables of up to seven book online and order on the night; for groups of eight or more, we take everyone’s choices a week ahead.
Lunch · 12:00–16:00
- Two courses
- 27
- Three courses
- 34
From Monday 7 December
Dinner · from 16:00
- Two courses
- 32
- Three courses
- 39
From Tuesday 1 December; 17:00 on 1 and 2 December
Starters
Panko-crusted brie wedges
Creamy brie in a crisp, golden panko crumb, with peppery rocket and cranberry sauce.
Turkey & stuffing croquettes
Slow-cooked turkey, stuffing and potato, crumbed twice and fried until crisp, with cranberry mayonnaise.
Mains
Grilled sea bass
A golden, crisp-skinned fillet with parsley cream sauce and lemon, and new potatoes, Tenderstem broccoli and Chantenay carrots sautéed in chilli-garlic butter.
Feather blade of beef with red wine jus
Braised slowly until it falls apart, with buttery mash, Tenderstem broccoli and Chantenay carrots, finished with red wine jus.
Butternut squash & sage risotto
Roasted butternut squash and sage risotto with parmesan, topped with fresh cranberries and crispy sage leaves.
Desserts
Steamed chocolate pudding
A warm steamed chocolate sponge with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream.
Christmas pudding
Dark, rich and steamed, with our own brandy sauce.
Raspberry & white chocolate roulade
Soft roulade rolled with white chocolate and raspberry, with a sharp raspberry coulis and freeze-dried raspberries.
Vegan: the carrot and coriander soup, with vegan spread for the bread, and the butternut squash and sage risotto, made with vegan parmesan; please ask. For a vegan dessert, ask and we will see what the kitchen can do. Prices are in pounds and include VAT. Allergens: we cannot guarantee that any dish is free from all allergens. Tell us about any allergy or intolerance before you order and we will tell you honestly what we can do.
V · VegetarianN · Contains nuts or peanuts
Christmas parties
A table for eight,
a room for fifty.
Office parties, family gatherings, the friends you see only in December. Downstairs, up to 16 sit together at a big table in the middle of everything, with nothing to hire and no minimum spend. Upstairs is the quieter floor: timber walls, candlelight, long tables for 36 or the room cleared for 50 standing, and no hire fee or minimum spend either. It is yours alone any time we are open from Sunday to Thursday, and at lunch, 12:00 to 17:00, on Fridays and Saturdays. For a seated meal, everyone chooses a week ahead, so each course arrives together and the host can be a guest too. For an office party, the bill can be invoiced to the company rather than paid on the night.
Rooms and tables
Downstairs, a big table for 8 to 16. Upstairs, 36 seated or 50 standing, any time we are open from Sunday to Thursday, and at lunch, 12:00 to 17:00, on Fridays and Saturdays. Neither has a hire fee or a minimum spend. The whole place, around 70 seated, depending on the layout, or around 100 standing across the two floors, can be yours any day but a Friday or a Saturday, by quote: we close to everyone else for you.
Prices
Christmas dinner is £32 for two courses or £39 for three; Christmas lunch, from Monday 7 December, is £27 or £34. No hire fee and no minimum spend, upstairs or at a big table downstairs. What a party comes to.
Deposit and numbers
A £5 a head card authorisation holds the date when you book. No money is taken unless it is a no-show. Food choices a week ahead, final numbers 48 hours before.
Food and drinks
For a seated meal or a standing party, the food and drinks are put together around what you ask for. Tell us the occasion, the numbers and what you have in mind, and we come back with a menu, the drinks and a price. The festive menu, the food menu and the drinks list are good places to start.
Festive cocktails
Four for December,
one for the driver.
Built for the season and gone with it. The four cocktails are £12 each from Tuesday 1 December, alongside the rest of the list.
Gingerbread Espresso Martini
12Eristoff vodka · Kahlúa · Our own gingerbread syrup · Espresso
The house Espresso Martini, with gingerbread shaken through and a proper crema on top.
Clementine Negroni
12Whitley Neill Blood Orange gin · Campari · Cocchi di Torino vermouth · Clementine peel
A blood orange gin in place of the usual, stirred with Campari and vermouth and finished with clementine peel.
Pear & Elderflower Royale
12Grey Goose La Poire · St Germain · Lemon · Prosecco
Pear and elderflower, topped with Prosecco. For the toasts.
Christmas Pudding Old Fashioned
12Woodford Reserve bourbon · Our own raisin, orange and clove syrup · Aromatic bitters · Orange zest
Bourbon, stirred slowly with a syrup of the pudding’s fruit: raisin, orange and clove.
Hot Spiced Apple
5.5Apple juice · Cinnamon · Clove · Orange peel · Star anise
Apple mulled with cinnamon, clove and orange, served hot. For anyone coming in out of the cold.
New Year’s Eve in Whalley
See the year out
on King Street.
Our New Year’s Eve party returns on Thursday 31 December, 19:30 till late, at £55 per person: fizz as you arrive and again at midnight, canapés through the night and live entertainment from Shannon Bond. A film of last year’s party and the full details are on the New Year’s Eve page.
Booking
Tickets are limited: book online or ring 01254 824 465. They are paid in full when you book and are not refundable. Over-18s only.
Earlier in the day
On Thursday 31 December we are open as usual from 12:00 to 16:00, the kitchen too. We then close, and from 19:30 we open again for the party, to ticket holders only.
The giveaway
Two winners, two tickets each, drawn on Tuesday 1 December from entries made by 23:59 on Monday 30 November. The giveaway in full.
Dates for the diary
The season,
date by date.
From Monday 7 December to Thursday 31 December, Mondays included, the bar and the kitchen are open every day from 12:00, except on Christmas Day. The hours from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day are set out below.
- Christmas dinner and the four December cocktails begin
- Open every day from 12:00, and Christmas lunch begins. Two for £16, the set menu and Sharing Thursdays are paused until Saturday 2 January
- Open 12:00 to 16:00, the kitchen too; closed from 16:00 for a private event
- Last day of the festive menu
- Closed on Christmas Day
- New Year’s Eve with Shannon Bond, 19:30 till late
- Closed on New Year’s Day
- Two for £16 and the set menu return; Sharing Thursdays is back on Thursday 7 January
Opening hours
- 12:00–22:30, kitchen until 21:00 · December hours
- Closed · Christmas Day
- 12:00–00:30, kitchen until 21:30 · December hours
- 12:00–22:00, kitchen until 20:00 · December hours
- 12:00–22:00, kitchen until 21:00 · December hours
- 12:00–22:00, kitchen until 21:00 · December hours
- 12:00–22:00, kitchen until 21:00 · December hours
- 12:00–16:00, then 19:30 till late, tickets only · New Year’s Eve
- Closed · New Year’s Day
Questions
What people ask
in December.
When is the Christmas menu on, and how much is it?
Christmas dinner starts on Tuesday 1 December, at 17:00 on Tuesday 1 and Wednesday 2 December and at 16:00 from Thursday 3 December: £32 for two courses or £39 for three. Christmas lunch, served from 12:00 to 16:00, starts on Monday 7 December, when we begin opening every day at 12:00, and is £27 for two courses or £34 for three, so three courses at lunch are £5 a head less than at dinner. Both run until Thursday 24 December, alongside the usual menu, whenever the kitchen is open. Every dish is listed under the festive menu.
Do we all have to eat from the festive menu?
No. Tables of up to seven order from either menu on the night. For groups of eight or more, everyone chooses a week ahead from one menu, so we can bring each course out together. That can be the festive menu, the set menu (Sunday to Friday until Sunday 6 December, and again from Sunday 3 January) or, any day, a menu put together with us around what you ask for. For a standing party, tell us what you have in mind and we will put the food together around it.
Can we have our Christmas party at Vault?
Yes. Downstairs, a big table for 8 to 16; upstairs, a floor of your own for 36 seated or 50 standing, any time we are open from Sunday to Thursday, and at lunch, 12:00 to 17:00, on Fridays and Saturdays. Neither has a hire fee or a minimum spend. For more, the whole place takes around 70 seated or around 100 standing across the two floors, any day but a Friday or a Saturday, by quote. We are on King Street in Whalley, about ten minutes from Clitheroe by road; Whalley station is about a fifteen-minute walk, and there is parking in the village. Tell us what you have in mind and we will come back with dates, a menu, the drinks and a price.
Is there a hire fee for the upstairs?
No, and there is no minimum spend either, upstairs or at a big table downstairs. Only the whole place is priced by quote.
Do you take a deposit for Christmas parties?
For a table of eight or more, or a party upstairs, we hold the date with a £5 a head card authorisation when you book. No money is taken unless it is a no-show.
What if our numbers change?
Tell us as soon as they do. Food choices are due a week ahead and final numbers 48 hours before; those are what the kitchen cooks for.
How far ahead should we book?
As soon as you have a date. Tables on Fridays and Saturdays in December are the first to go, so it helps to have a second date in mind. The upstairs is hired on those days only at lunch, 12:00 to 17:00; for an evening party upstairs, choose any day from Sunday to Thursday.
What is on for New Year’s Eve in Whalley?
Our New Year’s Eve party at Vault, on Thursday 31 December from 19:30 till late: fizz on arrival and at midnight, canapés through the night and live entertainment from Shannon Bond. Tickets are £55 per person, paid in full when you book and not refundable. Over-18s only. There is no dress code; bow ties and sequins are welcome, never required. Book online or ring 01254 824 465. A film of last year’s party and the full details are on the New Year’s Eve page.
Are cocktails two for £16 in December?
Until Sunday 6 December, yes, Sunday to Friday. From Monday 7 December to Saturday 2 January, New Year’s Eve included, two for £16, the set menu and Sharing Thursdays are paused; until Thursday 24 December, the festive menu takes their place. Two for £16 and the set menu return on Sunday 3 January, and Sharing Thursdays on Thursday 7 January.
Is there a vegan Christmas menu?
Not a separate one, but the festive menu has a vegan starter and main: the carrot and coriander soup, with vegan spread for the bread, and the butternut squash and sage risotto, made with vegan parmesan when you ask. There is no vegan dessert on it, so ask when you book and we will see what the kitchen can do. Please let us know about any allergy at the same time, and we will tell you honestly what we can do. We cannot guarantee that any dish is free from all allergens.
Can we bring the children?
Yes. The children’s menu is served alongside the festive menu. The New Year’s Eve party, from 19:30, is for over-18s only.
Can the dog come?
Yes, dogs are welcome. If yours is joining you on New Year’s Eve, please mention it when you book.
Can we bring a cake, decorate, or have our own music?
Yes. Bring your own cake and we will plate it, at no charge. Decorations are welcome, short of confetti, glitter or anything fixed to the walls. Our playlist plays in the background; upstairs, you are welcome to bring your own playlist, a DJ or live music, by arrangement.
When are you open over Christmas and New Year?
We are closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Otherwise, from Monday 7 December to Thursday 31 December, the bar and the kitchen open every day at 12:00 and close at the usual time; on Mondays, the bar closes at 22:00 and the kitchen at 21:00. On Thursday 17 December we close at 16:00 for a private event. On New Year’s Eve we are open as usual from 12:00 to 16:00, the kitchen too, then closed until 19:30, when the party begins, for ticket holders only. Every day from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day is listed under Dates.
What if someone in our party needs step-free access?
The bar and dining room are on the ground floor, level apart from one small step. Tell us in your enquiry and we will plan around it.
Christmas enquiries
Tell us when,
and how many.
A table for ten on a Friday in December, or the upstairs for the office party, any day from Sunday to Thursday or at lunch on a Friday or Saturday. Give us the date, roughly how many, the occasion and what you have in mind, and within 48 hours we will reply with what is free, where we would host you, and a menu, the drinks and a price. Seven or fewer on the festive menu can book online. New Year’s Eve tickets are booked online or on 01254 824 465.