Where to Eat on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Brooklyn this Year
In the grand New York tradition, a good number of Brooklyn’s restaurants will be serving both celebratory dinners and non-traditional feasts on Christmas – we’ve got you covered from roast goose to chicken lo mein. Plus, check out the pop-up holiday bars for some spiked egg nog!
Christmas Eve:
Traditional Feasts:
Oxalis
791 Washington Avenue, between Lincoln and St. Johns places.
This Prospect Heights pop-up turned brick-and-mortar was one of the more popular Brooklyn restaurants this year, eventually earning a Michelin star. On Christmas Eve, they’ll be serving a pre-fixe menu for $120 per person. The menu will feature roast goose and black truffles, with an optional beverage pairing, $50 per person. You can enjoy the menu in Oxalis’ bright and airy dining room.
Barano
26 Broadway, between Kent and Wythe avenues.
For Brooklyn’s Italian restaurants, the holiday season means a feast of the seven fishes. At Barano, the feast is served family-style for $70 per person, featuring four courses. Choices include baked clams, whole branzino, lobster fra Diavolo, octopus salad, cheesecake, and rainbow cake. You can pair it with a cocktail, or one of Barano’s many wines by the glass.
Stone Park Cafe
324 5th Avenue, between 2nd and 3rd streets.
Park Slope’s Stone Park Cafe is serving a special holiday menu for Christmas Eve. The menu will be a la carte. You can enjoy your meal on Park Slope’s scenic Fifth Avenue, with a walk around to look at the many Christmas lights for dessert.
Sauvage
905 Lorimer Street, between Norman and Nassau avenues.
Greenpoint’s Sauvage will be serving a three-course tasting menu for $58 per person this Christmas Eve, in addition to the a la carte menu. Options will include sweetbreads with white polenta, pear tarte tatin, and gnocchi.
il Fornetto
2902 Emmons Avenue, off of East 29th Street.
This Sheepshead Bay institution will be offering a three-course feast of the seven fishes this Christmas Eve, for $46.95 per person. Their set menu offers choices like lobster bisque cream soup, winter flounder, and tiramisu. In addition, you can order a la carte from their regular menu. Enjoy the view from their fully-windowed dining room while you eat.
Alternative Feasts:
Shalom Japan
310 S. 4th Street, between Rodney and Keap streets.
This Jewish-Japanese restaurant will be open on both Christmas Eve and Christmas day this year. Per their Instagram, the star of their menu will be a beautifully marbled Miyazaki beef, which they’ll be pairing with movie screenings from Hayao Miyazaki (of Studio Ghibli), ensuring that the nights will be playful and inventive.
Christmas Day:
Traditional Feasts:
Gentleman Farmer
278 Myrtle Avenue, between Adelphi and Clermont streets.
Gentleman Farmer in Fort Greene is offering a pre-fixe menu this Christmas day, for $85 per person. The French menu includes a glass of cava, bohigas, or dry cider, as well as an appetizer and entree. You can choose from dishes like boar chop, smoked duck breast, foie gras torchon, and mushroom fondue.
Antica Pesa
115 Berry Street, between N. 7th and N. 8th streets.
Williamsburg’s Antica Pesa is serving a four-course menu for Christmas day. It will feature many of their usual dishes, as well as a special dish for each course. Choices include cacio e pepe, duck breast, monkfish, affogato, and panettone. The meal can only be improved by Antica Pesa’s tasteful and warm interior.
Seven Seeds
96 Wythe Avenue, between N. 10th and N. 11th streets.
The new restaurant in the Williamsburg Hotel is serving an eight-course Feast of the Seven Fishes menu on Christmas day. The menu is a set pre-fixe for $95 per person, and includes dishes like roasted shrimp chorizo sausage, lobster crostini, whole branzino, and scallops.
Alternative Feasts:
Birds of a Feather
191 Grand Street, between Bedford and Driggs avenues.
Birds of a Feather, Williamsburg’s latest Sichuan restaurant, will be serving their regular menu for Christmas day. You can enjoy dishes like dim sum, tea-smoked duck, winter melon soup, and Sichuan cold noodles. Enjoy the minimal decor and long, family-style tables, perfect for meeting new neighbors and embracing that holiday spirit.
Maison Premiere
298 Bedford Avenue, between Grand and S.1st streets.
For a more casual Christmas day, head to Maison Premiere, where they’ll be serving their raw bar menu and cocktails. You can slurp oysters, enjoy scallop crudo, and sip on absinthe.
Mission Chinese Food Bushwick
599 Johnson Avenue, between Gardner and Scott avenues.
Bushwick’s location of Mission Chinese Food is offering three options for you this Christmas. There are silver ($55), gold ($55), and platinum($75) menus available, all of which include bubbles, a hibiscus panna cotta, and green tea noodles. Whichever you choose, it’s sure to be a celebration in their brightly lit and funky dining room.
New Ruan’s
1955 86th Street, between 19th and 20th avenues.
This Christmas, you can order off of this Bensonhurst Chinese restaurant’s extensive menu. Enjoy dishes like pan-fried butterfish, shrimp egg foo young, noodle soups, lo mein, and dozens more. The place looks the part for a fancier Christmas dinner, with red booths, tablecloths, and hanging lanterns, yet the food will transport you right back to 1980s.
Moldova
1827 Coney Island Avenue, between Avenue N and Avenue O.
This Moldovan eatery will be serving their full menu on Christmas Day. You can enjoy comforting dishes veal shish kebab, pastrav (grilled trout with vegetables), and schnitzel. The interior is just like home, with dishes hanging on the walls and tablecloths.
Toné Café
265 Neptune Avenue, between Brighton 4th and Brighton 6th streets.
This Georgian restaurant in Brighton Beach will be serving their full menu this Christmas. Start things off with a cheese platter featuring Georgian cheeses, enjoy fish mtsvadi (slow-cooked over charcoal), and slurp on some khashi (beef soup with a creamy broth).
Drink Specials:
Ho Ho Holiday Lounge
224 Franklin Street, between Green and Huron streets.
In between planning your holiday dinners, shopping for gifts, and setting up the tree, you could use a drink. Why not make it one called “Nog Yourself Out” (Mt. Gay aged Rum, orgeat, egg nog, and nutmeg)? The Springs in Greenpoint has transformed into a holiday lounge until the 31st, with events like caroling (December 20) and a White Elephant gift exchange (December 23). Sip on festive drinks and enjoy some Fornino’s pizza while you’re at it.
Sleyenda
221 Smith Street, between Baltic and Butler streets.
Carroll Gardens’ Leyenda turned into “Sleyenda” for their annual holiday season celebration, complete with a large igloo, lots of decorations, festive holiday glasses, and drinks. Try the Mexican hot chocolate, and you won’t be disappointed.
This article was originally posted on December 19, 2019 @ 12:26 PM