Food

Where to Have Christmas Eve and Christmas Dinner (and Brunch) in Washington

This year, leave the prep to the professionals by booking a feast at one of these festive spots.

A booth at Mintwood Place. Photograph by Erick Uecke.

Christmas Eve

2941 Restaurant

From foie gras velouté with salsify to a bûche de Noël, 2941 is pulling out all the stops this year.

Price: $48 to $65
Availability: 4 to 9
Menu: Three-course menu

Adour

Head to this elegant, modern restaurant in the St. Regis for a five-course tasting menu featuring braised striped bass and veal medallions.

Price: $95 per adult; $45 per child
Availability: 5:30 to 10
Menu: Five-course tasting menu

Ardeo & Bardeo

If you haven’t sampled the suckling pig leg—braised for seven hours and served with creamy cheddar grits—at Ashok Bajaj’s Cleveland Park eatery, the three-course Christmas Eve feast is a good time to do it.

Price: $50 per person
Availability: 5 to 10:30
Menu: Three-course menu or à la carte

Assaggi Mozzarella Bar

The Bethesda restaurant’s Feast of Seven Fishes includes codfish with potato croquettes, spaghetti and clams, and octopus with garlic bread and arugula.

Price: $59 per person
Availability: 11:30 to 10
Menu: Eight-course menu or à la carte

Assaggi Osteria

Feast on a special à-la-carte menu with items including pumpkin risotto with scallops and lobster tail and quail stuffed with chestnuts and pancetta.

Price: $9 to $28
Availability: 11:30 to 10
Menu: À la carte

Bastille

A foie gras terrine, pan-seared venison, and Valrhona chocolate mousse rolled up in a hazelnut dacquoise are all on the menu at this Alexandria eatery, where chefs Christophe and Michelle Poteaux are putting a French twist on seasonal fare.

Price: $85 or $129 with wine pairings
Availability: 5:30 to 9:30
Menu: Four-course menu

Bibiana

Celebrate a traditional Christmas Eve Feast of Seven Fishes at this upscale Italian spot, offering a five-course tasting menu featuring sea urchin, oysters, cod, and eel.

Price: $65 per person
Availability: 5:30 to 10:30
Menu: Five-course menu

Bistro Vivant

Basque turbot with corona beans and Muscovy duck with chestnut-cranberry sauce are two ways to get into the Christmas spirit at this McLean eatery.

Price: $49 per person; $77 with wine pairings
Availability: 11:30 to 10
Menu: Three-course menu or à la carte

Blue Duck Tavern

The sprawling yet cozy restaurant in the Park Hyatt will be serving its usual menu of modern American cuisine, including roast barbecue chicken with cornbread purée and jumbo lump crabcakes with fennel.

Price: Varies
Availability: Breakfast from 6:30 AM to 10:30 AM, lunch from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM, and dinner from 5:30 PM to 10:30 PM
Menu: À la carte

Bourbon Steak

This restaurant, located in the Four Seasons, will be serving seared scallops in kaffir lime and chili sauce, roast goose á l’orange with foie gras and kumquats, and a bourbon brownie with butterscotch sauce.

Price: $110 per person
Availability: 5:30 to 10
Menu: Three-course menu

Café Bonaparte

Enjoy sweet and savory crepes while finishing up any last-minute shopping in Georgetown.

Price: Varies
Availability: 9 to 4
Menu: À la carte

Dino

This Cleveland Park mainstay is taking on the Feast of Seven Fishes with cioppino, clams, mussels, and Italian wedding soup with fish meatballs.

Price: $59 per adult; $30 per child
Availability: December 24 from 4:30 to 9:30
Menu: Six-course menu

Fiola

For an Italian take on Christmas Eve dinner, chef Fabio Trabocchi is serving a Feast of Seven Fishes including ahi tuna carpaccio, scallop risotto, and wild cod with mushrooms.

Price: $135 to $145 per adult; $20 per child
Availability: 5:30 to 9:30
Menu: Eight-course and five-course menus

The Grille at Morrison House

This Feast of Seven Fishes will feature shrimp toast, mackerel with capers and olives, and salt cod pappardelle.

Price: $85 per person
Availability: 5:30 to 10
Menu: Seven-course menu

Legal Sea Foods

Whether you favor fried, grilled, raw, or baked, all types of fish are on the menu at this restaurant with several area locations.

Price: Varies
Availability: 1 to 9
Menu: À la carte

Mintwood Place

Make a Christmas feast out of chef Cedric Maupillier’s bistro fare—including escargot hushpuppies, steak frites in bordelaise sauce, and baked Alaska for dessert.

Price: Varies
Availability: 5:30 to 10:30
Menu: À la carte

Perry’s

From sushi to duck leg confit, Perry’s can please multiple palates.

Price: Varies
Availability: 5:30 to 10:30
Menu: À la carte

Plume at the Jefferson

Local beets with citrus and mâche, prime rib with popovers and mashed potatoes, and carrot cake cheesecake are all on the Christmas Eve menu.

Price: $98 per adult; $45 per child
Availability: 5:30 to 9:30
Menu: Four-course menu

West End Bistro

Eric Ripert may have cut ties with this Ritz-Carlton eatery, but new chef Devin Bozkaya is creating cuisine worthy of a celebratory feast. Try duck liver mousse rolled in black truffle and quince, a rack of lamb with rosemary jus, and a chestnut tart for dessert.

Price: $75 per person
Availability: 5:30 to 10
Menu: Four-course menu


Christmas Day

Adour

Enjoy venison medallions with winter veggies and foie gras with pickles and brioche.

Price: $95 per person
Availability: 5:30 to 10
Menu: Four-course dinner or à la carte

Assaggi Mozzarella Bar

This Italian restaurant will be open serving its usual à-la-carte menu complete with several types of burrata as well as pastas and secondi.

Price: Varies
Availability: 11:30 to 10:30
Menu: À la carte

Assaggi Osteria

The mozzarella bar’s McLean sister restaurant will serve Italian favorites such as arancini, veal-stuffed ravioli, and cioppino.

Price: Varies
Availability: 4 to 10
Menu: À la carte

Blue Duck Tavern

A buffet-style brunch featuring items such as pumpkin ravioli with sage and creamy mushrooms with eggs and bacon will be on the menu.

Price: $95 per adult; $42 per child
Availability: 11:30 to 9
Menu: Three-course buffet menu

Bourbon Steak

Executive chef Adam Sobel will be offering lobster pot pie, truffle tagliatelle, and a citrus terrine for Christmas dinner.

Price: $135 per person
Availability: 5:30 to 10
Menu: Three-course menu

The Grille at Morrison House

Christmas brunch is served, complete with figgy pudding.

Price: $50 for adults; $30 for kids
Availability: 11 to 3
Menu: Three-course menu

J&G Steakhouse

The restaurant in the W Hotel Washington will be serving prime cuts on Christmas day, as well as a tasting menu with butternut squash soup and tuna with citrus-chili sauce.

Price: $72 per person
Availability: Noon to 9
Menu: Four-course tasting menu or à la carte

Legal Sea Foods

Whether you favor fried, grilled, raw, or baked, all types of fish are on the menu at this restaurant with several area locations.

Price: Varies
Availability: 1 to 9
Menu: À la carte

Plume at the Jefferson

Go for Chris Jakubiec’s Christmas feast featuring chicken with mushrooms and tarragon sauce, seared ahi tuna with avocado mousse, and warm orange-cranberry cobbler.

Price: $89 per adult; $45 per child
Availability: 11 to 8:30
Menu: Three-course menu

Rosa Mexicano

Dine on a festive spread of duck tamales with cranberry salsa, beets and kale dressed with roasted poblanos, and pumpkin crème brûlée at all three of this upscale Mexican restaurant’s area locations.

Price: $45
Availability: Noon to 10:30
Menu: Three-course menu or à la carte