Food

Hot Restaurant Parties and Feasts for New Year’s Eve Around DC

Momofuku bo ssäm, pizza and Champagne at Maketto, and so much more.

Grab a ticket to Maketto (pictured), which includes a Champagne and pizza toast at midnight. Photograph by Scott Suchman

Maketto

1351 H St., NE

Chef Erik Bruner-Yang throws an open bar party all night long with all-you-can-eat pork steamed buns, Taiwanese fried chicken, Camodian sandwiches, and other belly-padding grub. Stay until midnight for a Champagne and pizza toast, and then see if you can last until 3 am when the live music winds down.

Details: Tickets are $90 per person, all-inclusive (available online). Party runs from 7 pm to 3 am.

Bluejacket

300 Tingey St., SE

Head to restaurateur Michael Babin’s brewery, restaurant, and bar in Navy Yard for a rocking party. starting at 9, where you’ll find an open bar with plenty of house-made brews, a constant stream of passed snacks from the kitchen, DJ tunes, and a photo booth.

Details: $115 per person all-inclusive; tickets available online.

Momofuku CCDC

1090 Eye St., NW

Cap off 2015 with a feast at chef David Chang’s popular new CityCenterDC restaurant. Two family-style menus are designed for parties of 1 to 4 or 5 to 8. We’d grab more friend and go for the latter—a bo ssäm feast with slow-cooked pork shoulder, shrimp cocktail, and all the accompaniments for making wraps–plus a whole Milk Bar crack pie for dessert.

Details: Five-course family style menus are $85 per person; reservations taken online for seatings, 5 pm to 1 am.

Barmini by José Andrés

855 E St., NW

The cocktail bar of José Andrés’s lauded Minibar opens for a party at 10 pm, where you’ll find “bubbles-themed” cocktails and equally whimsical snacks like “foieffles” (foie gras-peanut butter waffles). Additional entertainment comes in the form of a DJ and a Champagne toast at midnight.

Details: $150 per person; email barmini@minibarbyjoseandres.com for reservations.

The Dabney

122 Blagden Alley, NW

Chef Jeremiah Langhorne’s hot new Shaw dining room offers a seven-course prix-fixe menu for New Year’s Eve. Offerings change near-nightly, but expect a beautiful, fire-lit dining room and plenty of dishes from the open hearth.

Details: Menu is $125 per person; reservations via OpenTable or call 202-450-1015 for reservations.

Jaleo

480 Seventh St., NW; 2250 Crystal Dr., Arlington; 7271 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda

All three branches of Jaleo offer a menu of all-you-can-eat Spanish tapas, ranging from classic gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp) to surf-and-turf paella, plus flowing cava and dancing later in the evening. Details vary slightly by location, but a lively feast can be expected at all.

Details: Unlimited tapas and cava toast ($85 per person). Jaleo DC reservations from 8:30 to 11:30, with a DJ from 10 pm to 1 am; Bethesda and Crystal City offer a la carte from 5 to 6:30, with the prix-fixe menu starting at 8:30. Live music at both from 10 to 1:30 am.

Blue Duck Tavern

1201 24th St., NW

The dining room and lounge at the elegant Park Hyatt restaurant do double-duty for New Years. Diners will find a four-course menu and Champagne toast with dishes like foie gras parfait and a dry-aged ribeye. Over in the adjoining lounge you’ll find a premium open bar, small plates, a chocolate dessert buffet, and live music from Karla Chisholm.

Details: Dinner is $130 per person with reservations from 5 to 11; lounge party is $195 per person, all-inclusive, from 9 pm to 2 am (tickets available online).

The Partisan

709 D St., NW

You can have your meats and eat them too at the Partisan, which hosts a carnivorous dinner from chef Nate Anda followed by a full-on party in the bar. Diners can book tables for a five-course, family-style meal with meaty options such as oysters with shaved ham, pig ear fries, and a 45-day-dry-aged ribeye. Then from 10 pm to 1 am, the bar throws a party with more even more snacks, a cash bar, and a Lambrusco toast for the ball drop.

Details: Prix-fixe dinner is $75 per person (optional beverage pairing for $45). Bar party is $53.74 per person, or $30 with a dinner reservation, from 10 pm to 1 am.

The Riggsby

1731 New Hampshire Ave., NW

Restaurateur Michael Schlow’s popular new supper club hosts two events for the holiday: a cocktail party in the lounge with retro drinks and passed hors d’oeuvres (tater tots, deviled eggs) starting at 7, and/or a three-course tasting menu in the dining room from chef Philippe Reininger (reservations begin at 6). All guests in the restaurant will have a complimentary Champagne toast for midnight.

Details: Lounge party $65 per person (includes two cocktails, all snacks; a la carte dishes also available). Three-course dinner is $85 per person.

Fiola Mare

3100 K St., NW

Skip the overpriced open bar and splurge on a bounty of seafood at chef Fabio Trabocchi’s elegant Georgetown spot on the waterfront. A five-course tasting menu with lobster, caviar, and foie gras should do the trick ($175 per person). Note sister restaurants Fiola and Casa Luca are also serving festive holiday meals.

Details: Five-course menu for $175.

Del Campo

777 I St., NW

Chef Victor Albisu offers a grilled South American feast for NYE. The menu begins with complimentary provoleta and truffled bread, and continues with a shareable asado board piled with pork loin, smoked Wagyu, grilled lobster, and sides. Save room for dulche de leche crepes soufflé come dessert.

Details: Prix-fixe is $88 per person ($100 with Champagne; $128 with pairings). A small la la carte menu is also available.

Garrison

524 Eighth St., SE

Chef Rob Weland’s new and much-lauded restaurant serves a five-course menu for the holiday, filled with seasonal dishes such as fluke crudo, grilled and pickled mushrooms over grits, and a crispy portion of pig’s trotter. A complimentary glass of bubbly is served at midnight.

Details: Prix-fixe is $85 per person for two seating at 5 pm and 8 pm.

Rasika/Rasika West End

633 D St., NW; 1190 New Hampshire Ave., NW

All of restaurateur Ashok Bajaj’s restaurants celebrate New Year’s Eve in their own festive ways. One of our perennial favorites offers two seatings at 5 pm and 8 pm, for a three-course and four-course menu, respectively. Modern Indian dishes from chef Vikram Sunderam are served at both locations, such as cornish hen stew with ginger and a lamb chop-coconut fry.

Food Editor

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.