Added on Wednesday 5 Dec 2012

How did all this Christmas dinner malarkey get started - and how did the turkey come to be the festive poultry of choice?

What we now think of as the traditional British Christmas - decorated trees, Christmas cards, heavy emphasis on gifts - was really down to one man, Queen Victoria's consort Prince Albert.

He added a hefty dose of his native German culture to the annual celebrations, but even in his day (mid-19th century) turkey was still a somewhat exotic festive dining option.

Other aspects of Christmas which still lurk beneath the glitzy surface today include mistletoe and the Yule log, both relics of pre-Christian Druidic culture, but most of today's Christmas trimmings, including Santa, are German or Scandinavian in origin.

There are various theories about how the now ubiquitous Christmas Day main meal became standard, but it seems likely the bird arrived in numbers after the conquest of Mexico by Cortez and his gold-hungry desperadoes - it was yet another New World "innovation" which, like chocolate, was to become a European must-have delicacy.

Read Dickens, of course, and it's obvious more traditional treats were still to the fore during the earlier part of Victoria's reign - swan, pheasant and of course (as in A Christmas Carol) goose were the special occasion poultry treats of choice.

Turkey was, curiously, the preserve of the rich, and had been since Tudor times, but it was only comparatively recently that it edged out of the upper class niche market and into mainstream festive dining.

I saw my first turkeys as a youngster when my late grandmother, whose friends ran a farm in Inverness-shire, sent one to her home in Edinburgh every year - a complete bird, feathers and all, which hung from a nail on the larder door until it was time to de-feather, pluck and gut the bird for Christmas.

These days only real chefs go in for this kind of full-monty cook from scratch, and equally since most people only buy a turkey once a year there are invariably reports of people succumbing to food poisoning because they didn't follow the essential rules on defrosting and thorough cooking.

Is it worth bothering with at all? A giant bird is obviously a strong choice for the centrepiece of a large meal for the whole family, but on the other hand some people, for example writer Matthew Parris, reckon it is essentially dry, tasteless and boring - he argues that of all the trad Christmas meal ingredients only cranberry sauce is remotely memorable.

Supposing you don't want turkey (and endless turkey sandwiches, etc, on Boxing Day and thereafter), are there any other serious options when it comes to tucking into something a bit special?

The West End's restaurants and bars nearly all have their own particular take on the ideal festive meal (which could be on Christmas Day itself, or any time over the festive fortnight when friends or family gather together), and it isn't surprising to see previously marginalised people, including vegetarians and fans of top class fish, getting rather more consideration than usual on Glasgow's Christmas Menus

The Ubiquitous Chip's festive menu, for example (three courses for £40) offers classic Christmas turkey (free range), but also options including Perthshire pigeon breast or grilled fillet of organic salmon - while its main course vegetarian entry is Leek, hazelnut and ewe's cheese lefse (flatbread) with caramelised chicory, puy lentil salsa and lemon confit.

Cottier's Christmas lunch, meanwhile (£19.75) also includes the time-honoured turkey but also offers herb-crusted cod in a Lyonnaise sauce, or fillet steak - and for vegetarians roast butternut squash, spinach and gruyere gratin with cherry tomato and red pepper compote.

At The Finnieston in Argyle Street there's no sign of any turkey at all (which not a few diners will see as a main attraction) but, of course, absolutely no shortage of fish choices - since this is very much this interesting bar-restaurant's main culinary offer.

The bill of fare begins with a classic Victorian appetiser, fresh oysters with Tabasco, then various fish soups, followed by a choice of individually priced main courses - for example Orkney Brown Crab Gratin with fries and toast at £12.95.

For those who prefer a hearty red meat dish there's Perthshire venison stew, or - another game choice from Perthshire - you could go for pheasant with Ayrshire bacon, pork and pumpkin stuffing, Savoy cabbage and roast parsnips. There are purely vegetarian choices too - for example caramalised Onion Tarte Tatin

Inverlochy Goats Cheese , with Cranberry puree, leek salad - and there are several "small plate" options if you want to eat well but not "Christmas dinner" style, such as Ayrshire haggis croquette oat crust, turnip puree, with wholegrain mustard whisky cream.

Over at Stravaigin in Gibson Street the venue's well-attested fondness for global cuisine gives us such exotic starter options as Oaxacan beef flank empanada, drunken (it says here) pinto beans, tomato and jalapeno salsa. But when you get to the mains there's that Mexico-originated bird, the turkey, in pride of place again - along with vegetarian options such as parsnip and potato croquette, beer and thyme braised pearl barley, salsa verde, and beetroot muhammara; while the fish option is baked yoghurt, herb and walnut-crusted lythe (ie fish), saffron and fennel haricot beans, buttered kale and roast baby onions.

The dessert options in this £26.95 lunch are similarly intriguing, including for example steamed orange and pineapple pudding, and candied fennel salad. How about some totally non-European options, just by way of a total change from the familiar?

Alla Turca restaurant in Pitt Street might be not a bad place to start, even before you consider Persian options or, of course, Indian - of which Mother India (and its various offshoots) has to be the West End front runner.

As another savoury alternative to the trad Christmas meal ensemble it could be pleasantly different to try a Mother India signature dish such as Parsley and Coconut Salmon or, Sea Bass simmered in Lemon and Coriander Butter. You might opt instead for a hearty Lagan Ka Vegetarian Festive Stew, or Lamb Mussalam with Baby Turnips and Roasted Leeks - it is a sumptuously engaging bill of fare well worth investigating in detail.

Mother India (check the Christmas menus section) is our number one choice - as in previous years - for excellent Indian food which never fails to deliver that "special" dining experience.

You may also care to visit The Glasgow Curry Shop, from the same stable, above Jinty's in Ashton Lane - a veritable shrine to all that's wonderful about Glasgow-born high quality Asian cuisine.

Over at The Black Rabbit on Great Western Road we're being invited to enjoy "pizza with a difference", with a gravy base topped with a medley of roast turkey, chipolatas, pancetta, diced roast potatoes and melted brie garnished with fresh parsley (and Cranberry Sauce is an option too).

Black Rabbit is pitching at "discerning" office parties of up to 15, with a festive bill of fare which also includes pigs in blankets, chicken liver pate oatcakes, fig and olive tapenade, grilled mushroom and brie bruschetta accompanied with roasted vegetables.

Firebird in Argyle Street is another well above-average venue with an ambitious festive offer, which besides a full Christmas menu has its own enticing take on that traditional, time-honoured turkey - a whole wood-roasted turkey with maple butter-crisp skin, gravy and bread sauce.

This serves six or more (depending on appetites) and is accompanied by seasonal vegetables and artisan breads - with the option of paying a little more from the main festive menu for starters and desserts.

And it has to be ordered and paid for at least a week before the date - so it's not going to be anyone's last-minute choice.

These are just some of the more eye-catching festive dining options currently on offer in the West End best restaurants and bar-restaurants - we'll take a look at some of the others, along with our regular news update, in a week or so.