16 NYC Restaurants That Will Be Open On Christmas

Hello and welcome to New York City at Christmastime, the one time of year in which our overcrowded metropolis transforms into a comparatively empty oasis. For this approximately weeklong period, you'll find the usual sea of selfie sticks has sort of trickled out of tourist hotspots; you'll briefly enjoy the luxury of personal space as you walk down the sparsely populated sidewalks, swinging your arms wildly and only hitting a couple people, occasionally. Yes, you will really be living like a king — that is, until it comes time for dinner on Decembers 24th and 25th, and you remember you made neither eating plans nor time in your regal schedule for grocery shopping.

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, restaurants will still be open, but definitely not as many restaurants, and to visit them you might need reservations. Yes you could probably just fire up the old Seamless and see who's operational, but as we've established, you're living like a king and you demand to feast as such! So, with that in mind, here are some options for you.

Sauvage (open December 24th)

905 Lorimer St, Brooklyn, NY 11222

Located in Greenpoint at the edge of McCarren Park, Sauvage will be serving a prix fixe dinner menu on Christmas Eve. For $58 per person, you have your choice of an appetizer, entree, and dessert; options include — but are not limited to — Wagyu Beef Tartare (pickled garlic scapes, chives, tarragon aioli), Gnocchi Parisienne (chanterelle mushroom, sweet potato, fonduta), and Pear Tarte Tatin (elderflower, candied walnuts, vanilla ice cream).

Faro (open December 24th)

436 Jefferson Street Brooklyn, NY 11237

In my subjective opinion, Faro is the best restaurant in Bushwick, and lucky you, they're going to be open Christmas Eve. If you are into homemade pasta and ready to throw down $110 on a prix fixe menu, please see their Feast of the Seven Fishes offering: Five courses, many seafoods, probably best to avoid if you and your dining companions have a shellfish allergy. But almost assuredly very, very good.

Harold's (open December 24th and 25th)

In the Arlo SoHo, 2 Renwick Street, New York, NY 10014

Hotel restaurants are typically a safe bet for holiday dining, and indeed, Harold's will be serving a limited menu on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. (Actually, Grub Street reports, it will be serving its Christmas menu all week.) Choose your fighter(s): Tortellini stew with butternut squash, kale, and navy beans; Baked brie with cranberries, walnuts, and maple syrup; Potato latkes with smoked salmon, apples, and creme fraiche; Christmas Duck, pecan crusted, a l'orange, with wild rice; herb crusted prime rib with au jus, roasted cipollini onions, on parker house rolls; and gingerbread cake with Nutella, caramel sauce.

Lumaca (open December 24th and 25th)

34 E 32nd St New York, NY 10016

On that same note, Lumaca — located in the HGU hotel — will be open all day both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The brunch menu for the latter includes something called "eggs in purgatory," an immensely festive treat we're sure, plus there will be Christmasy cocktails like boozy hot chocolate. In addition to those specials, though, you can pick from the regular menu, which features Southern Italian fare.

Lupa (open December 24th)

170 Thompson Street, New York, NY 10012

According to the Michelin Guide, Lupa — another Italian restaurant, this one located in the West Village — will be doing a Feast of the Seven Fishes in three courses, for $59 per person. According to Michelin, "Dishes include smoked trout, caviar and acciughe (anchovy); black spaghetti with uni, prawns and chile; and halibut cheeks with oyster brodo, spinach and salmoriglio." Lupa's website, however, appears to be stuck on Thanksgiving time.

La Vigna (open December 24th and 25th)

100-11 Metropolitan Ave, Forest Hills, NY 11375

Should you find yourself in Queens and in the mood for, you guessed it, Italian, consider La Vigna. Chef and owner Giuseppe Vitale will be serving a limited, a la carte menu, according to Eater: For Christmas you get pancetta risotto and veal chops, congrats.

Red Rooster Harlem (open December 24th and December 25th)

310 Lenox Avenue, New York, NY 10027

If you require comfort food this holiday season, Red Rooster is giving you an extremely accommodating Christmas schedule and menu, with both limited a la carte options and a family-style prix fixe ($55 per person, and your whole party has to opt in) meals. Also! If you are looking for something slightly more intimate, with atmosphere approximating a speakeasy's, Ginny's Supper Club — located under Red Rooster — will also offer a prix fixe menu both days: $55 per person on Christmas Eve, which will feature a special performance by Rakiem Walker (you need tickets for this); and a $65 buffet on Christmas Day (unless you are a child under the age of 12, in which case, $33).

Shalom Japan (open December 24th and 25th)

310 South Fourth Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Maybe you would like to have a Jewish-Japanese fusion meal in Williamsburg? Okay great, Shalom Japan can help. Per Grub Street, they're offering "Japanese hot pot, okonomi-latkes, Jew eggs (Scotch eggs, but falafel instead of sausage) and something they’re calling Miyazaki beef," in tribute to Japanese animator and director Hayao Miyazaki, whose films will also be playing as you feast.

Fish Cheeks (open December 24th and 25th)

55 Bond St., New York, NY 10012

Beloved Bond Street Thai destination will be open both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, offering fish-forward, family style dining at its regular hours. NY Times food critic Pete Wells once called the cooking here "fresh, vivid, and intense," three adjectives that perfectly describe the holiday experience we are all after.

Aldo Sohm Wine Bar (open December 24th and 25th)

151 West 51st Street, New York, NY 10019

According to the Michelin Guide, this Midtown wine bar will be providing you with a reasonably priced yuletide prix fixe: For $40 per person both days of Christmas, the menu will reportedly feature "mâche salad with aged Gruyère and truffle vinaigrette, braised beef cheek goulash with spaetzle, and a chestnut tart with rum caramel mousse and Armagnac sabayon." You can tack on some wine pairings for $25 to $35 a head, and! There will be hot wine, hell yes.

Ivy Lane (open December 24th and 25th)

116 E. 60th Street, New York, NY 10022

Alright settle down settle down, Ivy Lane is about to make it real festive in here. Eater reports that each table in this three-level joint will be festooned with "a colorful mini faux tree," plus there will be a roaring fire. There will also be a standard a la carte menu on offer, and also a take on the Feast of the Seven Fishes from Chef Sung Park: Seven Fish Stew, ft. "shrimp, monkfish, mussels, scallops, baby octopus, Arctic char, and cuttlefish," according to Town & Country, "in a tomato saffron lobster broth garnished with fingerling potatoes and roasted fennel," for $39.

Pinch Chinese (open December 24th and 25th)

177 Prince Street, New York, NY 10012

Pinch will be satisfying your demands for an elaborate, sprawling holiday spread with brunch and dinner both days. For $88 ($45 if you are under 12), you will enjoy a three-course prix fixe menu — app, main, dessert — with non-alcoholic beverage pairings. Wine pairings start at $25.

Bubby's (open December 24th and 25th)

120 Hudson Street in TriBeCa and 73 Gansevoort Street, near the Highline

Starting December 21st, Bubby's is launching 12 Days of Brunch, which is basically just their regular brunch plus holiday specials: Roasted duck cranberry hash; steak Benedict; Swedish pancakes with lingonberries; Meyer lemon meringue pie; eggnog pie. Your goal at brunch — and yes, this is only brunch, as the restaurants will close at 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve and Day — is to eat enough to stay full until you go to sleep again. Do you think you can do that? I think you can do that.

City Island Lobster House (open December 24th and 25th)

691 Bridge Street, Bronx, NY 10464

City Island Lobster House informs Gothamist that it never closes and will absolutely be open on both December 24th and 25th, offering a full menu both days at its regular hours. Meaning you can enjoy lobsters (famously the same color as Christmas, which probably isn't a coincidence) and many other varieties of seafood while looking out over the water. It will doubtless be a real treat for you, winter be damned.

Hortus NYC (open December 24th and 25th)

271 5th Ave, New York, NY 10016

If all you want from your Christmas Feed is to be drowned in noodles and Champagne, there's Hortus, a pan-Asian eatery in NoMad that will — according to Eater — feature free bubbles for holiday diners. Here, you will also be able to find a bûche de Noël, as well as other specials, including white truffle noodles with mushroom and A5 wagyu steak with wasabi edamame puree.

Lakruwana (open December 24th and 25th)

668 Bay Street, Staten Island, New York

This Michelin-recommended Sri Lankan restaurant on Staten Island confirmed to Gothamist that, as long as Christmas Eve and Day don't fall on a Monday, it'll be open. So you'll be able to enjoy the house specialty, lamprais (rice and assorted sides folded into and baked in a banana leaf, a little food present) backed by a reportedly 300-year-old recipe on both days if you so desire. (If you hold out until Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, you'll be able to try their essential buffet.)