No Cooking Required: Restaurants Open on Christmas
By Kate Parham Kordsmeier
Let’s be honest: sometimes the work of hosting a Christmas feast is enough to turn the cheeriest person into a Grinch. If your favorite thing to make for dinner is reservations, we’ve got you — and your loved ones—covered this holiday.
There are dozens of restaurants just waiting to host you for a meaningful meal on Christmas Day — no preheating or dish duty required (though, in the spirit of the season, consider leaving a generous tip for those who are working).
Whatever you’re craving at Christmas, one of these restaurants will satisfy.
The Grille at Morrison House, Alexandria, Va.
The Grille at Morrison House. (Photo: Sweet Root Village)
A snowball’s throw from the Capitol building, The Grille serves a three-course Christmas lunch featuring a parade of revamped classics — figgy pudding beignets, reindeer carpaccio, eggnog crème brûlée — along with complimentary champagne. The hotel picks a special color theme each holiday season (purple for 2014) and sets up Christmas trees in the dining room, wraps the banisters with pine garlands, and festoons the fireplace with winter florals. $50 per person.
The Ice Bar at Uley’s Cabin, Crested Butte, Colo.
The Ice Bar at Uley’s Cabin. (Photo: Crested Butte Mountain Resort / James Ray Spahn)
You’ll truly be dashing through the snow on a sleigh to reach this 200-year-old miner’s cabin in the woods, where chef Chris Schlaudecker prepares an intimate five-course, mountain-inspired dinner of Colorado venison chop, roasted chestnut soup with black-eyed peas, and Scottish toffee cake with pecan mascarpone. You’ll want to linger by the roaring fire inside the cabin. $120 per person.
Related: These Off-the-Beaten-Path Holiday Light Displays Will Blow Your Mind
Blaue Gans, New York City
Blaue Gans (Photo: KG-NY)
Michelin-starred chef Kurt Gutenbrunner’s three-course menu brings the tastes of Bavaria to downtown Manhattan, beginning with the traditional roasted Christmas goose. Wiener schnitzel, an array of sausages, caviar, and apple strudel round out the feast. Partake in the Austrian custom of hanging an ornament on the Christmas tree, which anchors the dining room at Blaue Gans, an invitingly laid-back space with oversize mirrors and vintage film posters. $90 per person.
Wit & Wisdom, The Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore
Wit & Wisdom. (Photo: Christian Horan and Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore)
Start Christmas morning off right with the special breakfast buffet ($55 per adult; $25 per child) at Wit & Wisdom, chef Michael Mina’s refined harborside venue. Or turn up later in the day for a three-course meal that features wild mushroom velouté with white truffle cream, pomegranate-glazed quail, and chestnut panna cotta. Diners even get a candy-cane–flavored macaron as a sweet treat to go. Don’t leave without checking out the hotel’s dozens of Christmas trees, decorated by local artists and available for purchase (proceeds benefit the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins). $79 per adult; $45 per child.
Related: The Most Festive Towns to Visit for the Holidays
Pistache French Bistro, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Courtesy: Pistache French Bistro
Expect a three-course Christmas dinner with slow-roasted duck, prime rib au jus, and bûche de Noël (yule log) for dessert at this classic Parisian bistro, done up with greenery, twinkling lights, and mistletoe. You’ll also get to savor panoramic views of the Intracoastal Waterway and West Palm Beach’s waterfront Centennial Park from the main dining room or spacious patio—after all, Christmas here is typically sunny and ’70s. $55 per person.
Filini at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel, Chicago
Courtesy: Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel
This Italian restaurant hosts a traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, starring Sicilian tuna carpaccio, fettuccine with anchovy sofrito, prosciutto- and sage-crusted swordfish, and chocolate mousse — with an included glass of Prosecco. You won’t find kitschy gingerbread houses or poinsettias here. In their place, suspended from the ceiling, are modern blown-glass ornaments and metallic spheres that put a contemporary spin on Christmas décor. $80 per person.
The Compound Restaurant, Sante Fe, N.M.
The Compound Restaurant. (Photo: Kitty Leaken)
James Beard Award-winning chef Mark Kiffin is preparing an à la carte menu of southwestern classics with a seasonal twist. So, you might dine on seared diver scallops with roasted apple and caramelized onion and foie gras farotto — amid hundreds of luminaries, metallic-wrapped presents, and fresh wreaths and garlands. Designed by graphic designer Alexander Girard in 1966, The Compound got a makeover in 2014, though items from Girard’s impressive folk art collection remain. You can admire more of his trove at Santa Fe’s International Folk Art Museum.
Peninsula Grill at Planters Inn, Charleston, S.C.
Courtesy of Peninsula Grill
At this legendary restaurant, a seasonal four-course menu of southern favorites (herb-roasted prime rib and eggnog cheesecake) makes this one Christmas to remember. You’ll be walking in a winter wonderland when you enter the velvet-lined dining room — a 12-foot Christmas tree, evergreen wreaths, holly garland, and candlelit lanterns adorn the restaurant and surrounding hotel. $70 per person.
Related: Grinch-Proof Christmas Destinations People Want to Visit Most
The Mansion Restaurant at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, Dallas
The Mansion Restaurant. (Courtesy: Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek)
’Tis the season at this historic hotel, site of Dallas’s best fine-dining spot, The Mansion, hosts both brunch and a decadent three-course Christmas dinner. The special menu features inventive seasonal dishes like lobster butternut bisque with coconut and kaffir lime and roasted pheasant with onion-pear soubise and quince.Frosted pinecones and sugared fruit adorn the garland draped on the grand staircase.$105 per adult; $45 per child.
The Heathman Restaurant & Bar, Portland, Ore.
The Heathman Restaurant & Bar. (Photo: John Valls Photography)
Christmas at The Heathman means the return of its holiday tea in the Tea Court Lounge, which sells out annually, attracting both locals and guests to its fireplace. The hotel restaurant also concocts a prix fixe buffet brimming with holiday favorites, plus carving stations, charcuterie boards, seafood towers, and masterful dessert displays. The family-friendly restaurant has decked the halls with Christmas trees, warm lights, and themed linens. $55 per adult; $18 per child.
See more restaurants open for Christmas
More from Travel + Leisure:
Best Stocking Stuffers for Travelers
Best Beauty Gifts for Travelers
Best Holiday Restaurants in the U.S.
Let Yahoo Travel inspire you every day. Hang out with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
