13 DC Restaurants That Have Christmas Dinner Covered This Year
From the Feast of the Seven Fishes to a Puerto Rican-style feast.
Like many of you, restaurants have a holiday wish list this year—mainly, they need your support and there’s no better way than by dining out after yet another tough year of pandemic-related issues.
So skip the meal at home and snag a reservation or order takeout instead this holiday season. DC restaurants are offering up everything from a whole roasted suckling pig that makes an epic centerpiece to takeout spreads that span cuisines like Chinese and Puerto Rican. No matter what type of meal will make your holiday merry and bright, DC restaurants have you covered, so check out our roundup of the best Christmas dinners offered all around the District this year.
Ambar
Balkan restaurant Ambar will be offering its unlimited brunch on Christmas Day from 10 am to 3:30 pm at $49.99 per person. The menus boast an all-you-can-eat selection of mezze, soups, salads, sandwiches, egg dishes, pastry, crepes, and sweets, which should leave you more stuffed than Santa Claus.
Blue Duck Tavern
Blue Duck Tavern at the Park Hyatt Washington, DC is offering a variety of seasonal dishes with festive touches to tempt the palate. The restaurant will remain open for dinner on Christmas Eve and for breakfast and a prix-fixe dinner on Christmas Day. Highlights from the Christmas Day menu include jumbo lump crab cakes with farmhouse salad and sauce gribiche, bone-in pork loin with apple mostarda, parsnip, and purple yam, and duck breast with sweet potato, sunchoke chip, pear, and duck jus. The pre-paid holiday menu is priced at $125 per person for adults and $55 for children ages 6-12, plus children under six eat free.
Bresca
Carmine’s Italian Restaurant
For a traditional Feast of Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve, book a table at Carmine’s in Chinatown. The dine-in-only menu is a seven-course meal that includes a choice of appetizers, pasta courses, and two seafood entrees served family style. The entire meal is priced at $350 and serves six to eight guests.
CUT DC
Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck and his crew at the Rosewood Hotel are offering both a Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menu with super-luxe dishes to celebrate a holiday that truly sparkles. The Christmas Eve dinner is a prix-fixe menu priced at $155 per head, and the Christmas menu features a la carte options like Alaskan king crab; Chesapeake Bay scallop crudo with winter black truffle and roasted chestnut tortelloni; plus a choice of desserts, either a Buche de Noel or Kaisserschmarrn.
dLeña
Chef Richard Sandoval will be offering a menu he calls “Felízmente Unidos” (or Happy United) for the holidays. Through Monday, January 3, guests are invited to revel in the festive flavors of Mexican cooking while enjoying the sleek vibes of this recently opened wood-fired kitchen. The menu includes festive and seasonal dishes like hot toddies, pork adobo, and crispy buñuelos.
Dolcezza Gelato
If you’re in no mood to make desserts for your holiday feast, head over to Dolcezza Gelato and pick up a few pints of their nostalgic holiday flavors, handcrafted using seasonal ingredients from the Mid-Atlantic region. Flavors include the “King Leo and his peppermint-palace-as-gelato” or “Chocotorta,” an iconic Argentine celebration cake distilled down to the loaded spoonful.
King & Rye
King & Rye is hosting a Winter Wonderland courtyard with Veuve Clicquot this year just in time for holiday celebrations. You and some friends can book a private igloo with sleek furnishings, individual heaters, speakers (where you control the music), and cozy blankets to lounge around. To stay cozy, sip on a curated menu of stellar seasonal cocktails by executive bourbon steward Allison Strunk that feature Veuve Clicquot champagne and spirits, as well as the restaurant's robust whiskey list. And of course, you’ll need to pace yourself on some of the made-from-scratch, Southern-inspired tapas menus—the jam and biscuits are perfect for sharing.
Kinship
Take your next-of-kin to Kinship for a Christmas Eve dinner that is sure to impress. The five-course affair is $150 per person, and chef Eric Ziebold includes festive touches like a chestnut soup and fried Hungarian flatbread with cured salmon and crème fraiche. Save room for the third course, too. It is the must-order dish at the restaurant, a decadent lobster French toast served with a toasted sesame mousse.
La Famosa
Chef Joancarlo Parkhurst and the La Famosa team are serving up an expansive Puerto Rican-style feast to enjoy at home for the holiday season. This to-go meal feeds six people with dishes like slow-roasted pernil, pasteles de yucca, and rice and pigeon peas, plus a bottle of Coquito—a rum-based holiday cocktail that comes paired with vanilla flan or tres leches cake for dessert. The meal kit is priced at $225, and available through Three Kings Day on Thursday, January 6. That’s in addition to a selection of La Famosa favorite dishes, such as savory pastelillos, mofongo, and tostones, sold a la carte.
The Pig
Harkening back to holiday traditions in Spain and Germany, The Pig is serving up a whole roasted (you guessed it) suckling pig—a mainstay for Christmas celebrations and the centerpiece of a true holiday feast. Each pig is between 20 and 25 pounds and will serve up to a dozen people. Prices range from $375 to $470 depending on size and suckling pigs must be ordered by Saturday, December 18 for pick up on Friday, December 24.
Stable
DC's Alpine outpost, Stable, is open with holiday hours for Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas Day brunch, and Christmas Day dinner. Guests will experience traditional Swiss comfort food and a special set fondue option centered around pots of warm, bubbly cheese for sharing. The restaurant has an extra festive option to enjoy with a ski chalet vibe or a cozy and heated streatery lined with holiday lights. The fondue prix-fixe addition to the regular menu ($52 per person, minimum of 2 guests) features a glass of Simonet Blanc de Blancs sparkling wine, a choice of appetizer, Stable’s signature fondue, and a choice of dessert.
Tiger Fork
Chinese food on Christmas Day is essential, and it’s best served from Blagden Alley’s Cantonese restaurant Tiger Fork. The restaurant’s dining room will be on Christmas Eve and the restaurant will also take to-go orders on Christmas Day for a family-style feast. Tiger Fork’s culinary director Nathan Beauchamp and executive chef Jong Son have curated the ultimate family-style holiday feast ($75 per person, minimum of 2 guests). Dishes include a barbecue plate of roast duck breast, crispy pork belly, and char siu, as well as Hong Kong pan-fried noodles with pork dobanjian gravy.