WHETHER it's to enjoy stress-free and COVID-safe festive food with the family, or to avoid the big Christmas cook and clean-up, locals are leaping at the chance to fill their bellies at restaurants this silly season.
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Tamworth's Powerhouse Hotel and Riviera Bar and Grill are both booked out for Christmas Day lunches, and staff have been busy digging out the festive decorations and preparing delicacies for the big day.
Catherine Delaney is about to work her first Christmas at Riviera.
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"A lot of people seem to be really excited about getting out and about with their family and are looking forward to catching up with each other because they have not been able to much this year," she said.
"It's a beautiful team here and it's really a celebration so I'm looking forward to making it special for our guests."
Ms Delaney said staff had been busy in the kitchen designing a set menu to delight the tastebuds of Christmas crowds.
Everything from antipasto plates to turkey breasts and Christmas puddings will grace themed tables.
"We've even had quite a big wait list this year," she said.
A lot of people seem to be really excited about getting out and about with their family and are looking forward to catching up with each other because they have not been able to much this year.
- Catherine Delaney, Riviera
Ms Delaney said it seemed to be mostly locals looking for a long lunch outside the house, with no cancellations called in after Sydney's virus outbreak and the resulting restrictions on city-dwellers.
Powerhouse Hotel general manager Daine Cooper said coronavirus restrictions and capacity caps eased in the region just in time for Christmas bookings to grow, but it will still be a COVID Christmas like no other.
"This year we can't do our traditional seafood buffet, so we have moved to a more individually plated Christmas Day lunch," he said.
"We weren't sure how it was going to with changing from a buffet to plated, and with some restrictions still in place, but the interest seems as strong as ever."
The Powerhouse Hotel would normally be full to the brim with more than 250 people spread across three different rooms come Christmas Day.
This year, there'll be about 110 across just two rooms, and locals late to the booking party missed out.
Mr Cooper is a veteran of the hospitality industry and said he doesn't mind working Christmas Day - it's something he's used to over the past 15 odd years.
"We actually really enjoy it ... the upside is we get people coming in that don't get to see their family all that often, or we get lovely elderly couples who want to come in and have a nice lunch and it's always really good to provide people with somewhere special to go and enjoy the Christmas spirit," he explained.
The icing on the pudding for the Powerhouse staff is that many of the Christmas customers are locals, who are regulars at the hotel's restaurants throughout the year.
Several other favourites like Carmen's will host festive functions, but most smaller cafes and eateries are set to shut up shop.
Some are slated to be closed for some time over the holidays, so it's best to check each outlet.
Locals can get a coffee fix at Campgrounds every day except Christmas, and Tamworth's McDonald's stores will be open on Christmas Day.
Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald.
Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald.
