Whether you want to sit down for your last meal of 2016 before heading out to a wild party or you'd rather celebrate the new year with a few friends and a glass of champagne in hand, we've compiled a list of restaurants where you can still grab a reservation and ring in the new year.
Crown Heights's BKW is hosting two seatings on the big day—a three-course meal at 6 p.m. that costs $55 a head, and another at 9 p.m. which includes a five-course meal and costs $75. The earlier seating includes your choice of appetizer, entree, and dessert—personally, I'd go with the seared sea scallop, pan-roasted salmon, and poached pear, but you do you—plus the optional addition of fresh oysters for $12 and a wine pairing for $30. The second dinner is a bit more extensive—there's a starter, appetizer, entree, cheese course, and dessert, though the options are a bit similar, and there's also an optional $30 wine pairing. 747 Franklin Avenue, Brooklyn // 718-399-1700
Upper West Side Mediterranean restaurant Bustan is offering their regular dinner until 9 p.m., as well as a prix fixe New Year's Eve dinner afterwards. The menu includes an amuse bouche selection of three mezzetim—hummus, tzatziki, spicy feta, smoked eggplant, or Turkish eggplant—with their house focaccia, and plenty of choices for their first and second courses. I recommend their yellowtail tartare with blood orange and ginger horseradish sauce to start, lamb terracotta kebabs for your entree, and Greek yogurt pana cotta for dessert, but the world is truly your oyster. Amsterdam Avenue, 212-595-5050
Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse in Midtown is serving up a four-course prix fixe dinner on New Year's Eve with multiple seatings after 5 p.m. For $75, you can chow down on Japanese wagyu carpaccio with blue cheese ice cream and caviar; beef wellington with king oyster mushrooms and potatoes; and a dessert of vanilla pound cake with raspberry gelato and bruléed bananas. Diners also get complimentary prosecco, and there's a midnight toast at, well, midnight. The restaurant is also offering their usual à la carte menu, but keep in mind that reservations are needed. 447 Lexington Avenue, Manhattan // 212-661-4810
Goat cheese balls from Esperanto. (Esperanto)
East Village Brazilian restaurant Esperanto is serving up a three-course dinner beginning at 6 p.m. For $42, you can choose your starter, entrée, and dessert from a selection of their favorite à la carte options, like their plantain-crusted fried goat cheese balls, pan-seared pork tenderloin with mashed potatoes and spinach, or flourless chocolate cake with raspberry coulis. If you'd like to stay a while, you can add an open bar to your tab for $75—they'll have a DJ spinning tunes starting at 9:30 p.m. and going well into the night. 145 Avenue C, Manhattan // 212-505-6559
Red Hook mainstay The Good Fork is transforming into a steakhouse to celebrate the new year and serving up a classic American menu with a twist. For $95, you can indulge in a poached shrimp cocktail with gochujang and kimchi, a caesar salad with trout roe and radicchio, risotto with black truffles, a pan-seared shell steak, and a dessert of flourless chocolate cake to top it all off. They'll also be offering wine pairings for an additional $55, and vegetarians/pescetarian can receive their own menu upon request. 391 Van Brunt Street, Brooklyn // 718-643-6636
Huertas in the East Village is serving up a special New Year's Eve menu. $75 a person gets you mushroom soup with poached egg and truffles; chicken liver mousse with pickled quince and sherry; octopus and sobrasada salad with kale, sunchoke, and almonds; pork-roulade with potatoes smoked in pork fat and chicory salad; and a dessert of almond olive oil cake. For an additional $40, you can pair drinks with your meal. 107 1st Avenue, 212-228-4490
Fort Greene-based Italian restaurant LaRina Pastificio & Vino is ringing in the new year with a seven-course tasting menu featuring not one, but two types of pasta. The prix fixe menu ($75) includes oysters; lobster pancetta in black ink spaghetti; and conchiglie pasta with taleggio cheese, cabbage, and slow-cooked cotechino sausage—in Italy, the sausage is eaten on New Year's Eve for good luck. They'll also be serving lamb chops with smoked potatoes, as well as Montebianco gelato with chocolate, chestnuts, and hazelnuts for dessert for a truly Italian New Year's celebration. 387 Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn // 718-852-0001
Squid ink pasta from LaRina Pastificio & Vino.
Williamsburg oyster house Maison Premiere is offering a four-course prix fixe menu with two seatings: the 6 p.m. seating costs $125, and the 9 p.m. seating costs $195 and includes a glass of champagne. You have a little bit of flexibility with the menu: you can choose one of two first course options (parsnip vichyssoise with curry and sea beans or black bass crudo with caviar and lemon crème fraiche), one of two second courses (veal sweetbreads with smoked caviar or truffle risotto with cured egg yolk), and three third course options (turbot with sea urchin puree, wagyu steak with potatoes, or lobster). If you're not looking for a full-on dinner, they're also taking walk-ins (with no cover!) and will be serving small plates until midnight, oysters until 1 a.m., and absinthe until 4 a.m. 298 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn // 347-335-0446
Machiavelli on the Upper West Side is hosting a black and white ball on New Year's Eve, complete with a northern Italian feast. For $100 per per person, you can choose from various à la carte dinner options to build a five-course meal. Some of the choices include zuppa di funghi, or wild mushroom soup with black truffles; risotto with fresh crabmeat, chives, and prosecco; and a fresh octopus salad with potatoes. Entree options include fried cod, roasted with onion and polenta and sautéed venison with pomegranate in wine sauce. And, of course, you should probably wear black and white. 519 Columbus Avenue, Manhattan // 212-724-2658
If you're looking for somewhere to enjoy your last meal—before heading out to celebrate the new year elsewhere—Pig & Khao on the Lower East Side will have dinner seatings from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. For $50, enjoy a Southeast Asian-inspired meal that includes crispy pork belly in Thai sauce; green curry with prawns, cauliflower, and roasted tomato; and a whole fish fried in Vietnamese caramel sauce and pickled vegetables; plus a complimentary glass of prosecco. They're also having a midnight toast. 68 Clinton Street, Manhattan // 212-920-4485
