Christmas Day 2007 was to be the third in succession that we had opted to eat out instead of cook in. Two years ago we had a superb Christmas Day lunch at The Carved Angel in Earls Colne (now sadly closed) followed by a comparatively disappointing meal at the Marks Tey Hotel near Colchester in 2006 (this being the only place we could find to accommodate a party of 11 at the eleventh hour.)

For Yuletide 2007 we opted for somewhere altogether more cosy and intimate - The Red Rose Inn in the hamlet of Lindsey Tye between Hadleigh and Lavenham. As picture-postcard pretty as its name would suggest, this 15th century pub appealed because of its family friendly atmosphere and all round homeliness - that coupled with what we considered to be a very well balanced and well priced Christmas Day lunch menu - £49.50 per person; half price for children.

Having already sampled a lunch of smoked salmon and sour cream baguette and home cut chips at this pub back in the autumn I was confident that the Christmas fare wouldn’t disappoint - and it certainly didn’t.

We arrived to a convivial ambience, roaring log fire and complimentary glass of champagne and were shown to our table - festively laid with good quality crackers but suitably informal for a pub lunch out on Christmas Day. It was nice not to have our starters placed before us immediately - we had time to chat, enjoy our aperitifs and the youngest member of our party was presented with a surprise gift by the congenial manageress.

Back to the food. The overriding consensus was that the starters were faultless both in terms of taste and presentation. Even my teenage nephew (normally the fussiest diner) dissected his beef carpaccio with zeal, while others of us enjoyed creamy butternut squash soup sweetened with honey crème fraiche and smoked halibut with caviar and blinis.

Before the arrival of our main courses came a refreshing gooseberry sorbet and then the Christmas Day pièces de résistance - for the traditionalists among us roast turkey with all the trimmings, although a few did decide to give the poultry a miss this year, instead opting for a succulent looking roast sirloin of beef with beautifully risen Yorkshire pudding and whole baked seabass with braised fennel.

Speaking as someone who had the turkey, I must say that it was exceptional - as were the pigs in blankets, stuffing and other accompaniments: homemade bread sauce, sprouts sautéed with chestnuts and bacon, crispy roast potatoes, carrots and golden parsnips. Portions were perfectly sized and everything tasted distinctly fresh and home cooked - something you especially appreciate on Christmas Day.

All feeling decidedly full we debated whether we had any room left for afters, although none of us took much persuading when presented with a sumptuous array of desserts that looked just as good on the plate as they sounded on paper. The banana parfait and dark chocolate rum pots both proved to be big hits and our sole Christmas pudding devotee declared that his dainty little pud topped with brandy ice cream was rich and delicious.

Moreover, as none of the puds appealed to my eight-year-old niece - and I being pregnant wasn’t able to eat a dessert containing uncooked egg - the manageress went out of her way to come up with an alternative - in this case a gooey chocolate brownie with honeycomb ice cream which we both thought was divine.

We rounded off our meal with freshly brewed coffee and, in keeping with the generosity of spirit already displayed by this charming little establishment, a plate of buttery bite-sized mince pies. Although rushed off her feet the manageress even made time to find some edible tree decorations for my niece. Another thoughtful little touch that made this Christmas Day lunch one of our most memorable yet.

The Red Rose Inn
Lindsey Tye
Ipswich
Tel: 01449 741424
www.redroseinn.co.uk