14 Denver Restaurants That Have Christmas Dinner Covered

Sure, you could try to smoke your own duck breast or spend 48 hours smoking short ribs, but you’re better off letting chef Christian Graves at Citizen Rail do it for you. Other options for the three-course Christmas dinner include oysters, roasted scallops, and flourless chocolate cake with bourbon caramel for dessert. Is your mouth watering yet?
Cost: $75 per person

Chef Terence Rogers was named a Food Waste Hero by Bon Appetit, and the heroics he’s cooking up at TBD Foods and Sullivan Scrap Kitchen are delicious. Take home some of his sustainable offerings for Christmas dinner without having to do any of the cooking. Options include 72-hour aged brisket with salsa verde, sage gnocchi with smoked mushrooms, and bread pudding with cinnamon stewed apples.
Cost: Meals start at $45; orders must be placed by December 20 for pick-up December 22 - 24

With five locations around the Denver metro area, Mici is a favorite for family-friendly Italian. This year, they’re bringing back their popular pans of holiday lasagna, available baked and ready to eat or unbaked so you can keep it in the fridge or freezer for Christmas day.
Cost: $110 per tray (12 large pieces or 20 small); pre-order online with at least 24 hours notice or by calling 720-295-6109

Former chef de cuisine at Eleven Madison Park Brian Lockwood has returned to his native Boulder to cook a special Israeli-inspired menu through December, including on Christmas Eve. The five-course prix-fixe menu features white truffle gnocchi, a whole roasted fish for two, honey meringue with ice cream, and more tasty courses. Even better? Proceeds from chef Lockwood’s residency at Basta benefit Sophie’s Neighborhood.
Cost: $95 per person; reserve online for December 24, 5 - 8:30 pm

It’s not like you want a non-epic Christmas feast, right? So go full-on epic with Guard & Grace’s takeout Christmas boxes and a la carte items. From smoked salmon dip to truffle mac & cheese to bacon wrapped filet mignon to a festive Christmas yule log for dessert, your dinner will be one for the ages.
Cost: Depends on the order; order by December 22 for pick-up December 24, 10 am - 2 pm

This special restaurant in DTC’s Belleview Station is whipping up a terrific four-course dinner for Christmas Eve. Start your meal with a bang with either foie gras creme brulee or escargot with garlic butter and white wine, and keep it fancy with an entree of lobster thermidor or pan-seared ribeye. The restaurant, known for its dessert, finishes strong with a choice of pomegranate orange pavlova or maple pecan roulade with vanilla cake and a dark chocolate pecan shell.
Cost: $85 per person

Upgrade your bird game this year with a take-home peking duck feast from the Ace team. This deal includes a whole duck, mu-shu crepes, pickled chiles, apricot chili jam, and sesame hoisin. Bonus: turn your peking duck carcass into duck ramen the next day with Ace’s ramen kit.
Cost: $60 for the duck; $20 for the ramen kit, order online for pick-up by December 24

The new Apple Blossom is showing off what they can do with a holiday prime rib dinner on both Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Chef Paul C. Reilly will up your holiday dinner game with a Painted Hills Ranch prime rib with potato souffle, glazed root vegetables, roasted garlic, and bone marrow jus. End the meal on a sweet note with pastry chef Jodi Polson’s chocolate chestnut cake for dessert.
Cost: $74 per person; open December 24, 4 - 9 pm and December 25, 11 am - 8 pm

Over at The Source, one of Denver’s best BBQ joints is serving up a meaty main event: smoked brisket. The meal is designed for reheating at home and includes about five pounds of on-site smoked brisket, truffle potato gratin, roasted garlic brussels sprouts, and a rich, creamy cheesecake for dessert. And if you think you’ll still be hungry after all of that, you can also add on anything from their regular menu, including mini pecan pies.
Cost: $200 (serves 6); Call 720-452-2487 to order ahead for pickup on December 22 or 23

You deserve an over-the-top Christmas meal, minus the pain of having to prep it, cook it, and clean it. Urban Farmer is open 11 am - 8 pm on the 25th, serving a multi-course, pre-fixe menu. Or, if you insist upon the clean-up, they have to-go, family-style meals that feed up to eight people better-than-you-could-make prime rib with oven roasted yams and other tasty meats and veggies.
Cost: The in-restaurant pre-fixe menu is $80 per person; to-go meals start at $110

We love Pizzeria Locale every day of the year, but we especially love it when nonna takes over. Christmas Eve at Nonna’s is Locale’s annual holiday tradition where nonna takes over the kitchen, creating riffs on Italian-American classics and wood-fired pizzas.
Cost: Depends on the order; reserve online for December 24 starting at 4 pm

Order a to-go vegan Christmas dinner from Whole Sol, where everything is organic and gluten-free. Dinner options include vegetable shepherd’s pie, baked kale gratin, and “meatballs” with cranberry glaze. Just save room for the maple pecan bread pudding, coconut chocolate cheesecake, or peppermint bark for dessert. (Or all three; it’s Christmas!)
Cost: Depends on the order; order online by December 20 for pick-up at the Boulder and Sloan’s Lake locations on December 24 or 25.

Jax has been making Feast of the Seven Fishes dinners for more than a decade now, so you know that this Italian-American Christmas Eve classic is going to be stellar. The five course meal includes frutti di mare, clams and white beans, grilled little gems, whole roasted striped bass, and panna cotta (fish-free, in case you were wondering).
Cost: $85 per person, open for dine-in on December 24 from 3:30 - 9 pm

There’s never really a bad night for The Post’s fried chicken, and Christmas Eve is no exception. In fact, they’re upping the bird’s class factor by pairing it with bubbles and offering specials on champagne all night long. And if you want to elevate your fried chicken game even more, The Post will be frying up chicken-fried duck a l’orange. Yes, really.
Cost: Depends on the order