Where To Eat On Christmas Day In NYC

Whether you’re visiting town or simply feel more festive when someone else is cooking, there are plenty of great options for Christmas dinner—or brunch or lunch—in NYC. We’ve chosen the best.

Augustine

The newest brasserie from restaurateur Keith McNally, Augustine occupies a room straight out of 19th-century Paris that seems to set its glamorous crowd glowing. Get any of the richly flavorful steaks, or the burger, served with Comté cheese and cooked onions plus a shot of bourbon on the side.
5 Beekman St., New York City
Beautiful setting. Augustine, New York, NY. #augustine #newyork #newyorkcity #foodie #foodporn #nyc #nycphotographer #food
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Charlie Palmer at The Knick

The chef known for his steakhouses is serving a $150 four-course special Christmas menu at Charlie Palmer at The Knick. Dishes include chestnut soup with cognac prunes and Berkshire pork roast with red cabbage, bread dumpling, cranberries, and “malt beer sauce.”
6 Times Square, New York City

Chinese Tuxedo

Chinese Tuxedo is one of our favorite new restaurants of the past year, and if Chinese food is a Christmas tradition for you, this is the best place in town to have it. Don’t miss the duck and lychee salad or the honey-glazed char siu.
5 Doyers St., New York City

Ferris

We adore Ferris, a brand-new spot turning out creative New American fare. It’s offering the full dinner menu on Christmas Day, along with a festive special for the table: duck on the crown, kumquats, confit duck legs, cranberry beans, and sauerkraut—a holiday favorite of chef Greg Proechel.
44 West 29th St., New York City

Le Coq Rico

Open for both lunch and dinner on Christmas Day, poultry-centric Le Coq Rico is offering a $98 prix-fixe menu with goose as the highlight. You’ll eat frog leg chervil soup with mushroom ravioli, stuffed roasted goose with potato gnocchi and red cabbage, and a raspberry and vanilla snowman vacherin.
30 East 20th St., New York City

Marea

Marea, the swanky Italian seafood spot from chef Michael White, is a great option for a white-tablecloth Christmas feast. It’s offering a special $150 four-course menu, which includes dishes like fusilli with red wine-braised octopus and bone marrow; and seared scallops with celery root, pistachio gremolata, and castelfranco.
240 Central Park South, New York City

Olmsted

One of Brooklyn’s best newer restaurants, with a back garden, open year-round, from which the kitchen plucks herbs and vegetables to use in dishes, Olmsted is offering a family-style tasting menu for $125 per person.
659 Vanderbilt Ave., Brooklyn, New York

Roberta’s

Roberta’s is carrying on essentially as usual, open for both brunch and dinner. This casual Bushwick spot, known for its excellent pizzas, is a great option for a low-key Christmas.
261 Moore St., Brooklyn, New York

About the author

Kathryn Maier

NYC Food & Drink Editor

Kathryn has eaten her way around the globe, seeking out local delicacies in more than 40 countries and counting. After receiving a Master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, she began writing about travel, food, and drink, and has held editorial roles at luxury publications including Conde Nast Traveler and the Robb Report. When she's in NYC, she can generally be found on a barstool at one of the city's best cocktail bars or at home sipping fine wine with her cat on her lap.