The Best Christmas Eve & Day Dining in NYC – 2015
If “going home for the holidays” involves staying in (or traveling home to) New York, consider yourself lucky to celebrate in one of the most festive & delicious cities in the world! That’s because a slew of the city’s best restaurants are throwing elaborate, multi-course feasts or holding extra-celebratory dinners on either one or both nights — from Piora to Rebelle to Chefs Club!
Piora
Chris Cipollone and Simon Kim’s unique West Village success is open for business and serving a $175 tasting menu on Christmas Eve, including seriously festive dishes, like “Mistletoe” Salad with cranberries and kale, Ocean Trout Crudo with osetra caviar, and Parsnip Agnolotti accented with Maine lobster & Perigord truffle (how good does that sound?), as well as a refined take on the candy cane from pastry chef Ryan Butler, flavored with pistachio, peppermint and chocolate.
Read MoreChefs Club
It says a lot that Dana Cowin would give up her editor in chief position at Food & Wine to become chief creative officer for Chefs Club. So why not use the holidays as an excuse to check out one-of-a-kind dining experience in Soho? Overseen by culinary director, Didier Elena, and executive chef, Matthew Aita, this innovative spot welcomes in a rotating roster of top toques. And it’s all hands on deck for the upcoming Christmas Eve and Day menus, featuring Foie Gras and quince terrine, Venison loin and kabocha squash, and Buche de Noel or Pavlova, for $98 per guest.
Read MoreRebelle
This Michelin-starred wine bar from the Pearl & Ash team is cooking up an $85 prix fixe on Christmas Eve. Selected dishes from talented chef, Daniel Eddy (formerly of Spring, in Paris), include a Foie Gras Terrine with red wine and spices, Seared Tilefish with fennel brot (a German-style bread) and citrus, and Lobster a l’Americaine; butter-poached lobster with tomato preserve and cayenne.
Read MoreAldo Sohm Wine Bar
The eponymous wine bar from acclaimed Le Bernardin wine director, Aldo Sohm, will be open for regular hours this Christmas Eve. And to complement the Eric Ripert-designed menu of elegant, shareable bites, such as Short Rib Skewers, Grilled Foie Gras Lollipops and luxe Truffled Pasta with Tibetan yak cheese, seasonal mulled wine and holiday cookies will be served; along with a special (surprise), festive bottle of wine that Aldo himself will share at 9pm.
Read MoreTempura Matsui
Pete Wells was just raving in the New York Times about this tempura-centric, fine dining tempura experience with bragging rights to a Michelin-award, which coincidentally happens to open on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. For $200, celebrants will enjoy their fantastic, flash-fried Omakase, complete with appetizer (such as steamed fluke paste with mushroom sauce), sashimi (including bluefin tuna, kensaki squid and horse mackerel), a rice course (served with akadashi miso soup), dessert (soybean jelly with black sugar syrup), and 14 pieces of ethereal tempura, of course! Think sea urchin, king crab, pumpkin, shitake and smelt.
Read MoreBlack Barn
Located near Madison Square Park, this barnyard chic, new spot from John Doherty in the former SD 26 space is offering a family-style feast for $75 per person on Christmas Eve, with ingredients sourced from local farmers, ranchers and fisherman. Think Mushroom Toast with robiola, tallegio and purple watercress salad, Chestnut Gnocchi with autumn vegetables, Maple Glazed Yorkshire Ham with heirloom carrots and coriander, and Chestnut Spice Cake with cinnamon white chocolate sorbet and roasted pears for dessert. Lest we forget to mention a wine cellar with over 1,000 bottles to choose from to celebrate the holiday!
Read MoreStreetbird
Open regular hours on Christmas Eve and from 11am – 8pm on Christmas Day, Marcus Samuelsson’s new Harlem rotisserie is inspired by street food from all over the world. So stop in anytime from brunch through dinner for fun and funky vittles, like “The Frenchie Toast,” made of cornbread drowned in bourbon maple syrup, a “Crispy Bird Sandwich” with smoky mayo and cheddar, and the “Ballin’ Bird Noodles,” topped with lemongrass-ginger chicken meatballs and chili tomato gravy.
Read MoreMulino a Vino
In the mood for avant garde Italian? The reliably out-of-the-box Mulino a Vino is offering five-course feasts on both Christmas Eve and Day for large parties of eight or more. Priced at $100 per person, the meal includes a welcome glass of prosecco, followed by an array of unique dishes from wunderkind chef, Massimiliano Eandi, such as Seafood with fennel carpaccio, chickpea cream and blue anise foam, Ravioli stuffed with braised duck and orange zest on a chicken broth gelatin, and Beef marinated in Barolo with foie gras and cubed potato confit, followed by a sweet ending of Snow Balls — ice cream with whipped cream powder, lime zest, meringue and pistachios, with a shot of hot chocolate for dessert.
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