So far, 2020 hasn’t given us many opportunities to celebrate—which is why you may want to splurge on a festive holiday spread for one, two, or a small group. These DC-area destinations all offer Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day feasts to-go.*
Looking for an Italian-American Feast of the Seven Fishes? Here’s your guide. And if your idea of Christmas is less prime rib, more Swiss fondue or Puerto Rican coquito, check out our roundup to international restaurants serving global holiday meals.
Annabelle
2132 Florida Ave., NW
At this Kalorama restaurant, former White House chef Frank Ruta will serve a four-course prix-fixe menu ($75 per person) for curbside pickup on Christmas Day. Elegant dishes include peekytoe-crab salad; Maine lobster “pot roast”; and stuffed panettone. For a family-style option, Ruta is preparing takeaway feasts with centerpieces like rack of lamb or house-cured-and-baked ham, plus sides and desserts. Details: Prix-fixe menu is available 4 to 9 PM for pickup. For the takeaway feasts, orders must be placed by Saturday, December 19, with pick-up available on Wednesday, December 23 and Thursday, December 24.
Bresca
1906 14th St., NW
The “bee home” Christmas menu from chef Ryan Ratino’s Michelin-starred restaurant requires some cooking—but the kitchen has done the hard work. A prime rib dinner for two ($175) or four ($350) includes milk bread rolls with truffle butter, a wedge salad, “loaded” potatoes, and a chocolate silk tart. You can also add additional splurges (i.e. caviar), cocktails, and wines. Details: Order online via Tock for pickup on December 23 or December 24.
Brothers and Sisters
1770 Euclid St., NW
Chef Erik Bruner-Yang is whipping up a Peking duck takeout feast for two-to-three from his Line hotel restaurant. The $150 package includes a whole duck, crispy wings, duck confit salad, duck fat tortillas and all the accoutrements. There’s also an a la carte dim sum menu with dumplings, bao, rice rolls, and more. Details: Order here for pickup, December 23 through December 26 (dim sum from 10 AM to noon; duck dinner from 5 to 7 PM).
Centrolina/Piccolina
974 Palmer Alley NW
Chef Amy Brandwein is making her annual Feast of the Seven Fishes for Christmas Eve—this year for pickup and delivery. The menu for two ($150) features a wealth of seafood, including starters like tuna crudo with Calabrian chilies; paccheri pasta with octopus ragu; seafood soup; and salt-baked branzino, plus sides and dessert. Details: Order here or via Tock by December 20 for pickup and delivery on December 23 and December 24.
Convivial
801 O St., NW
If your idea of comfort on a winter night is French onion soup, mulled wine, and cassoulet, chef Cedric Maupillier’s Christmas Eve menu will be up your alley. A three-course meal includes options like all of the above ($65 per person), plus an a la carte special of French-style duck paella with pan-seared foie gras, confit duck leg, cognac-and-duck sausage, roasted breast aiguillettes, hen of the wood mushrooms, and baby turnips. Details: Order online for takeout and delivery.
Cut by Wolfgang Puck
1050 31st St., NW
Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck’s Georgetown steakhouse has a full range of luxe offerings to-go, both meaty and vegetarian. For Christmas Eve, we have our eye on a peking-duck feast for two that nods to Puck’s Source days with a whole crispy duck, homemade tortillas, salsas, duck tamales, blue-crab fried rice, and more ($145). A “Christmas Experience” package for two boasts prime rib from Seven Hills farm in Virginia, lots of steakhouse sides (i.e. creamed spinach, macaroni and cheese), buche de noel, and more ($235). Details: Order online 24 hours in advance via Tock. Meals are available for pickup on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Fabio Trabocchi Restaurants
Located in Georgetown, the Wharf, and Downtown DC
Fine dining destinations Fiola, Fiola Mare, and Del Mar are all serving Christmas Eve feasts to-go. If you’re looking for an indoor/outdoor experience, Fiola offers tasting menus in private yurts, while Del Mar and Fiola Mare both boast enclosed igloos overlooking the water. Del Mar’s Spanish dinner for two to-go ($235) stars a roasted rack of lamb with rosemary jus, plus tapas, sides, and dessert. Fiola Mare mixes a bounty of seafood with prime rib in its carryout meal for two ($290), while sister Fiola serves pasta with crab and king prawns alongside roasted rack of lamb ($290). Details: Ordering deadlines and pickup times vary—check individual locations.
Jackie
79 Potomac Ave., SE
Chef Jerome Grant’s holiday menu includes centerpieces that riff on tradition such as heritage slow-roasted jerk pork shoulder with green papaya chow-chow or beef rib roast crusted with house-made spice rub, chopped herbs, and roasted garlic with horseradish cream, red wine demiglace, and local mushrooms. The roasts can be ordered as complete meals for six with rolls and sides ($250 to $280) or a la carte. Details: All orders are available through Tock; deadline is December 22 to place your order.
Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak, and Stone Crab
750 15th St., NW
The downtown steak and seafood destination is open for carryout and delivery on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It’s a good option if you want something decadent (steaks, stone crab) but also prefer to go a la carte. Details: Open noon to 8 PM on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Order here for carryout and delivery.
Kinship
1015 Seventh St., NW
Michelin-starred chef Eric Ziebold puts on a refined holiday spread to-go. Diners can opt for a generous range of a la carte dishes, including holiday roasts (i.e. ham, capon, prime rib), seafood plateaus, appetizers, sides, sweets, and morning-after brunch. The kitchen also offers a three-course prix-fixe menu ($75 per person) starring a half roast chicken with truffle panade, or prime rib. Details: Order online via Tock for pickup on December 23 and 24.
Le Diplomate and St. Anselm
1601 14th St., NW; 1250 Fifth St., NE
Stephen Starr’s DC restaurants are celebrating the holidays on both Christmas Eve and Christmas day. They’ll offer dinner and brunch packages as well as menus for outdoor dining on premises. At Le Dip, guests can opt for a prime rib dinner for two ($160) or brunch boxes ($100) packed with quiche Florentine, lox platters, and more. Over at sorta-steakhouse St. Anselm, the dinner offerings center around honey-baked ham or prime rib ($65 to $90 per person), and a la carte brunch boxes. All of the above can be rounded out with additional a la carte items, cocktails, and wine.
Oyster Oyster
1440 Eighth St., NW
If you’re dining a deux with your favorite vegetarian, chef Rob Rubba’s plant-based restaurant has a catered meal for you. The homey feast for two ($100) includes honey-baked “ham” (aka a smoked lion’s mane mushroom), rosemary potatoes, cheddar-scallion biscuits, truffle cauliflower au gratin, and gingerbread cake. Guests can add on beet wellingtons ($50) or (real) oyster-shucking kits ($40)—plus wine and cocktails. Details: Order online via Tock by December 21 at noon for pickup on December 24.
Rose’s Luxury
717 Eighth St., SE
Chef Aaron Silverman’s “Rose’s at Home” catering division is whipping up several options for Christmas, whether you’re in for a full feast (centered around a choice of honey-baked ham or tenderloin) starting at $195, or you just want to round out your spread with a la carte sides or splurges like five-layer caviar dip or truffled potatoes au gratin. Details: Order via Tock.
Succotash
Chef Ed Lee’s Southern and Asian-influenced menu for Christmas leans classic for some dishes (shrimp cocktail, a country ham board) and eclectic for others (Cajun-spiced ribeye, collards with kimchi). The spread feeds two or more guests for $68 per person. Details: Order pickup and delivery from the National Harbor location here; for those in DC, order here.
Seven Reasons
2208 14th St., NW
Chef Enrique Limardo is ready to cater your Christmas meal with a ready-to-heat feast ($105 per person). The packages include a choice of roasted bone-in pork, tenderloin, or calabaza squash plus sides like Venezuelan-ham Christmas bread, vegetables, and sweets. Details: Order via Tock for pickup on December 24.
Tail Up Goat
1827 Adams Mill Rd., NW
Let chef Jon Sybert prepare your whole holiday spread—or just contribute a few sides and pies. The a la carte menu to-go boasts everything from a guinea hen centerpiece to desserts like sticky-toffee pudding and splurges such as a Champagne and caviar package. Details: Order online for pickup on December 18, 19, and 23 (note: preorder deadlines vary by date; check the website).
* Since the publication of this post, all DC restaurants will be shut down for indoor dining starting December 23, with takeout and delivery only.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
