The best restaurants open on Christmas Eve and Day in NYC

Feste, this year’s seasonal restaurant at The Standard, East Village, will host both a Christmas Eve dinner and a Christmas Day brunch this year. The former will be a classic Feast of the Seven Fishes on December 24, available from noon to 8pm—for $95 fer person, you can enjoy seafood-forward plates like red wine braised octopus with sunchoke puree, poached yellowfin tuna with fennel and citrus, and bucatini with sardines and saffron, with ricotta cookies or rum cake to finish things off on a sweet note. And on December 25 from 11am to 4pm, the festively festooned restaurant (think red-checkered tablecloths, Italian-themed ornaments and lush green garland throughout) will be serving a la carte brunchtime dishes such as bacon-onion quiche ($18) and Burrata toast with blood orange marmalade. 

Time Out Tip: The Bananas Foster buttermilk waffles ($20) will satiate that sweet tooth. 

Inspired by Executive Chef Lena Ciardullo and her team’s Christmas Eve traditions and family recipes, Union Square Cafe will be hosting its third annual Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve. The four-course menu ($195 per person, with an optional $95 wine pairing) will include festive stuff like caviar with tater tots, antipasti in abbondanza, a choice between two seafood pastas, and a choice between swordfish piccata and beef tenderloin. For dessert, enjoy orange sorbetto and an Italian-inspired cookie tin alongside a special Strega Nona Spritz cocktail with which to toast the holiday. Reserve your spot here.

Time Out tip: Bring the kids for $55 per person.

Chef-owner Christopher Cipollone and owner-operator John Winterman invite you to celebrate the season with a touch of understated style and, of course, duck. Along with the Brooklyn brasserie’s usual à la carte menu, the kitchen will be offering festive additions for its Christmas Eve dinner, including king crab tortelloni with sea urchin and a shareable fromage flambée with chartreuse verte and black truffle vinaigrette. You can book a table from 4pm to 9pm on December 24 via Resy.

Time Out tip: Caviar service is also available if you want to go all out for Saint Nick.

Along with a spirited take on the Italian-American classic, the Feast of the Seven Fishes, on Christmas Eve (for $210 per person, reserve here), the midtown Mediterranean staple will welcome diners on Christmas Day for a merry four-course feast filled with all sorts of holiday indulgences—think lobster bisque with black truffles; Trofie Nero pasta with squid ink spirals and crustacean ragù; and pan-seared halibut with chanterelle, turnip and orange. The meal is set at $165 per person. Reservations are available from noon to 8pm on December 25; book here. 

Time Out tip: Up the Christmas cheer with a wine pairing, priced at $120 per person. 

Approach The Golden Swan’s 11th Street address (the same one previously occupied by The Spotted Pig) and you'll find a graceful and comfortable spot at which to celebrate the holidays. The restaurant will be open on Christmas Eve for a $165 prix-fixe dinner menu (reservations available on Resy), with yummy offerings like steak tartare with brown butter emulsion, red snapper with smoked pork belly, beef Wellington with bordelaise jus and a classic Bûche De Noël served with eggnog ice cream.

Time Out tip: This evening is co-hosted by The Box. After dinner, head over for iconic cabaret at one of New York's finest. 

The in-building brasserie La Marchande, from Michelin star-awarded chef Jean Fraser, at the Wall Street Hotel is offering a primo prix fixe for Christmas Eve. On December 24 from 5pm to 10pm, guests can enjoy a $110 spread with a choice of starter (roasted chestnut velouté, duck egg raviolo, chicory and citrus salad, or an elegant seafood tower) and main course (Australian Wagyu short rib, roasted Long Island duck breast, olive oil-poached Norwegian halibut, or a vegan cauliflower tarte tatin.) To conclude the evening, festive desserts like the Triple Chocolate Bûche de Noël and signature Christmas Cookies promise a sweet finish to a memorable holiday meal. Reserve your spot here.

Time Out tip: The three-course meal is also available Christmas Day from noon to 8pm. 

Give your holiday celebrations a Down Under spin at ACRU, the latest from chef Daniel Garwood and the team behind Atomix, Atoboy, NARO and Seoul Salon. The restaurant will be serving an “Aussie-style” late lunch ($145 per person) and dinner service ($165 per person) on Christmas Eve. The menus will feature a selection of grilled and raw seafood (fresh crudo, whole fish served with Damper bread), dry-aged dairy cow served with potato and desserts like pavlova and candy cane-chocolate ripple cake. Alongside the fresh crudité, chilled oysters and barbie prawns, the wine pairings will emphasize Tasmanian bubbles, textural whites, and crisp reds from Victoria and Adelaide.

Time Out tip: Opt for the traditional Australian-style glazed ham for $45 more. 

This Christmas Eve, the Michelin-starred French restaurant will be serving an opulent tasting menu for $195 per person, full of fancy courses like cured Hiramasa with avocado mousse and caviar; celeriac and cabbage lasagna with black truffle and hazelnut; grilled tilefish with baby leeks and whey emulsion; venison striploin with Brussels sprouts and barberries; and a nougat parfait with caramelized pistachio and cranberry sauce. There's also an optional $155 wine pairing to wash it all down. Reservations can be made on Resy. 

Time Out tip: Any seat is a good seat at Le Jardinier, but the booth seats are truly special, brightened by live greenery. 

All through the festive season, Kimpton Theta New York – Times Square and Bar Sprezzatura are debuting holiday programming and specials to bring cheer to both locals and guests alike. One such activation is the Tower of the Seven Fishes, being offered from December 23 to 29: inspired by Southern Italian holiday traditions, the tower will be jam-packed with seafood stuzzichini such as acciughe crostino, crispy tuna carpaccio, Montauk fluke, market oysters, impepata di cozze crostino, sardina gratinato, and black bass pescatore, bringing a little sunny Amalfi Coast to the chilly Big Apple. Reserve it here. 

Time Out tip: Bring the taste of Italy home with the signature spritz: Cosmo + Wanda. 

Jean-Georges' Four Twenty Five in Midtown invites guests to indulge in a luxurious three-course holiday menu to celebrate the season. On Christmas Day, the restaurant will offer a three-course holiday menu from noon to 8pm for $188 per person. Menu standouts from the three-course prix fixe include: Nantucket Bay scallop tartare with tahini citrus dressing; butter-poached lobster with a black peppercorn condiment; seared Wagyu beef tenderloin with roasted pistachio crumb; and a Mont Blanc dessert with hazelnut praline and cassis sorbet. Reservations are available on Resy.

Time Out tip: Perk up at the end of dinner with the Espresso Martini made spirited with your chocie of vodka or reposdado tequila. 

At both its Nomad and Murray Hill outposts, the whiskey-forward Flatiron Room will toast the holiday season with a $135 per person prix fixe available on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Menu highlights include Long Island duck breast with caramelized apple, New York Strip with trumpet mushrooms, butternut squash risotto with saffron horchata, and a selection of house-made desserts. Even better? There will be live music playing all day!

Time Out tip: Primo upgrades include the seafood plateau ($90) and white truffle taglioni with poached egg yolk ($80).

While less of a greasy spoon, B&L Diner is still a diner through and through. Chef Franklin Becker's take still screams classic Americana with formica booths, memorabilia on the walls and an incredibly nostalgic TV Dinner cheekily served on a portioned metal tray. For Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, that TV Dinner is getting a festive makeover with honey-baked ham, cheesy scalloped potatoes, Brussels sprouts and house-made buttermilk biscuits. That spread if $38 a la carte or pad it out with mushroom-and-chestnut soup or a Brussels sprout salad with toasted pecans and Vermont cheddar. You can make reservations directly through the restaurant's website. 

Time Out tip: Chef Becker is making a Bûche De Noël for the season, add it on for $18 more. 

At the lobby restaurant in the Wythe Hotel, holiday festivities are given a touch of French flair. On Christmas Day, with seatings from 1pm to 8:15pm, Le Crocodile will serve a special three-course prix fixe ($163 per person), with tasty-sounding options like sunchoke-chestnut soup, citrus salad with Berkswell cheese, prime rib with jus, baked Atlantic halibut, maple-glazed carrots and Brussel sprouts with pancetta. Desserts will include Mont Blanc with Biscoff and white chocolate; butter-roasted pear with honeycomb ice cream; and ruby grapefruit sorbet.

Time Out tip: Save room for a nightcap and head upstairs to to the sixth floor to visit Bar Blondeau. 

One of NYC’s most delicious cross-cultural projects is a rare conflation of Jewish and Japanese. Glowing on the corner of a sedate South Williamsburg block, Shalom Japan beckons like a bubbe. And on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, they will welcome the beckoned with its 12th Annual Hot Pot Holiday Feast, a $75 family-style spread with appetizers like the kitchen's signature Jew Egg and Sawa's Mama's Karaage, choice of hot pot (Wagyu beef, seafood or vegetarian) or matzoh ball ramen for your entree. Secure your spot at the table here.

Time Out tip: Feeling fancy? Add on decadent supplements like "okonomi-latkes" and black truffles.