Are you looking for a festive set menu to do with family and friends sometime in December? Well, Cucina the Palm offers three different set menus, plus – to make it a little more special, you could even book in their private dining space.

Here’s an overview of Cucina’s Festive Set Menu offerings, available throughout December.

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Private Dining Area : The Garden Room

Tucked to the back of Cucina, you’ll find this beautiful private dining area called appropriately – The Garden Room. To the corners, there are stacked shelves of home-grown herbs and leafy vegetables ( also what Cucina’s chef uses to prepare the salads and pesto) .

The space can seat up to 14 guests in total, and it’s really quite grand with its marble table top and black leather-clad chairs. There’s a lot of natural lighting coming through ( so don’t be silly and come in a thick jumper if you’re dining in the afternoon! )

Throughout December, you can book this area – with a minimum of 4 pax. We were two families – so 8 pax at 4 adults, and 4 kids. It was just right for us.

Festive Set Menu

Cucina offers 3 different festive set menus throughout December 2025.

• Classico Menu 180 AED per person
• Tradizionale Menu 240 AED per person
• Prezioso Menu 320 AED

All three menus start off with a burrata – and from then on it varies with their starters, mains and dessert. In short, the classic menu’s main is a roasted turkey, the traditional one serves Cucina’s famous porchetta (slow-cooked pork belly), and lastly the prezioso (which means precious, in english) – serves salt crusted baked seabass.

Note : Minimum of 4 pax per menu when booking as it’s prepared in a sharing-style.

See Cucina’s Festive Set Menu

Cucina’s Tradizionale Menu

Let’s dive into the traditional menu.

We start off with antipasti’s – all served to table for sharing. It’s a nice balanced combination, with a light burrata and tuna salad, together with a heavier, meatier beef carpaccio with black truffle. We chatted away, nibbling on a bit of this and that, sipping on a glass of prosecco. The boys had ordered beer and it came in a steel jug – which was quite cool. Always appreciate something different.

The kids ordered from the kids menu – margherita pizzas, creamy pasta, chicken noodle soup. Can’t drag them into having burrata and carpaccios just yet so we were glad we could order the basic stuff for them.

Next up was their risotto funghi porcini – my absolute favourite dish out of them all. I just have a thing for mushroom risotto and Cucina does it so well. Rich and creamy, with tender porcini mushrooms. Their handmade rigatoni pasta with beef ragout deserves a mention as well.

The main dish was Cucina’s very own porchetta. This would be the first time that we tried an Italian-style slow cooked pork belly – cooked with roasted potatoes, pork jus and mixed vegetables. It was savoury, and moist inside – with a crispy skin, reminiscent of our asian-style roast pork. At this point I was craving rice to go with it – haha. Gotta put the asian cravings away and enjoy this dish, the Italian-way.

To end – tiramisu served in a glass. Oh – Cucina’s tiramisu is so good – just the right combination of coffee, mascarpone cheese and cocoa powder. Also included – gelato from Cucina’s Gelateria next door. We were so full so we didn’t go for it – but the kids did 🙂

Note : Cucina’s Festive Set Menu includes food-only. Drinks are extra, and as per consumption or otherwise you can opt for 2-hour free-flow craft tap beverages for 140 AED only.

Gingerbread House Making

You can pair the gathering with a gingerbread house making activity in ‘The Chef’s Room’ which is located right next to ‘The Garden Room’. This was a nice touch, as we got to do an activity altogether with a few drinks, prior to sitting down for a feast.

The kids of course, ate quite quickly and went back to carry on adding more icing ( and more mess ) on their gingerbread houses….

Read more on Cucina’s Gingerbread House Making experience.

Festive Gatherings Made Easy, at Cucina the Palm

If you’re looking for somewhere cosy and private to get-together with family and friends this festive season – do consider Cucina the Palm. The private dining room is like a home away from home – minus the stress and the mess. Pick a set menu that would fit, and let the team take care of the rest. Looking for an activity to do as well? Pair it with gingerbread house making before or after your meal. Little tip though – there is only that one private room, so book in quick – as there are only 31 days in December!

• Festive Set Menu @ Cucina the Palm Dubai
• Price : 180 AED Classico | 240 AED Tradizionale | 320 AED Prezioso _{See Cucina’s Festive Set Menu}
• Timing : Available at Lunch or Dinner, throughout December
• Private Room ‘The Garden Room’ : Minimum 4 pax, Maximum 14 pax
• Call +971 4 666 1408 
• Whatsapp +971 54 994 0095
• Email reservations@cucinadubai.com
• Book here

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Disclosure : Partner Content. We were guests of Marriott to review the Festive Set Menu with the family.