Christmas in Salzburg on the 24th or 25th?

WE ARE A FAMILY OF FIVE BOUND FOR CHRISTMAS IN SALZBURG, STAYING IN THE OLD TOWN. I AM TRYING TO BOOK A CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION MEAL WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE OF THE RADISSON BLU HOTEL. SHOULD THIS BE CHRISTMAS EVE OR CHRISTMAS DAY? SEVERAL HOTELS PROVIDE A SET MENU – MOST INCLUDE CRAYFISH/SALMON AND BRUSSELS SPROUTS. I HAVE TWO CHILDREN HIGHLY ALLERGIC TO FISH, AND SINCE BOARDING SCHOOL DAYS I HAVE HAD AN AVERSION TO BRUSSELS SPROUTS!

P. LARKINS, CHATSWOOD

Restaurants in Salzburg have not yet published their Christmas menus for 2015, but you can expect similar menus to those of Christmas 2014. Christmas Eve is the traditional date for the feast throughout continental Europe, but many hotel restaurants will open on Christmas Day so you have a choice. The Radisson Blu will have its own special dinner menu, which started at 6.30pm on Christmas Eve in 2014. Restaurant Mirabell in the Sheraton Salzburg (sheratonsalzburg.com) will likely have a festive Christmas Eve buffet once again, but it includes wines and coffee; the price was €125 each in 2014. The Salzachgrill​ in the ritzy Hotel Sacher​ (sacher.com) offered an a la carte Christmas menu in 2014, and this might be a better choice. The Sacher is 500 metres from your hotel. A couple of other restaurants will likely offer an a la carte menu for the 24th, but only during the day. Both close in the evening. The list includes the Arthotel Blaue Gans (hotel-blaue-gans-salzburg) and the folksy Gasthof Goldgasse​ (gasthofgoldgasse.at) – my own preference. Both will probably serve an a la carte lunch menu on the 24th, and both are within half a kilometre of your hotel. These last two might be open for lunch and dinner on the 25th, but you'd need to check.