Maybe cooking and doing dishes during the Yuletide season isn’t your idea of a holiday. Perhaps you don’t celebrate Christmas, or have decided to forgo nightmarish travel. Whatever your reason, a number of D.C. destinations are welcoming diners who want to enjoy carved meats, charcuterie, and champagne in good company. Read on to get a feel for who’s serving specials on the 24th, the 25th, or both days.
Christmas Eve: Monday, December 24
701 Restaurant (701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW)
When: 5 – 9:30 p.m.
In Penn Quarter, Executive Chef Lincoln Fuge dishes out a three-course prix fixe ($60 per adult, $30 for children 12 and under) in addition to the seasonal a la carte menu. Standouts include foie gras with spiced fig, local duck breast with confit fennel, and a vanilla Yule log with Bavarian mousse. A live jazz band will entertain guests.
The Oval Room (800 Connecticut Ave. NW)
When: 4:30 – 9 p.m.
For a traditional Christmas goose, head to Farragut Square for Executive Chef Bryan Moscatello’s three-course prix fixe ($60 per person, $90 with wine pairings). The goose comes with sunchoke, sage, prunes, and smoke; other entrée options include venison with Georgia candy roaster squash and a butter-poached lobster.
NoPa Kitchen + Bar (800 F St. NW)
When: 5 – 9 p.m.
The holiday a la carte menu at this Penn Quarter brasserie includes a roasted porcelet, or suckling pig, prepared with Sea Island red peas, Japanese Hakurei turnips, and Anson Mills grits ($32). Cap off the evening with a gingerbread dessert arrayed with orange mousse, poached cranberries, and rosemary ($9).
Feast of the Seven Fishes
It’s Roman Catholic tradition to avoid eating meat on holy days, so several restaurants have crafted a traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes for Christmas Eve dinner.
Bibiana Osteria-Enoteca (1100 New York Ave. NW)
When: 5 – 9:30 p.m.
The downtown Italian establishment’s tasting menu ($75 per person) includes house-made cured and smoked salmon with veggies, crème fraîche, and salsa verde; seafood risotto; and poached Chilean sea bass.
Dyllan’s Raw Bar Grill (1054 31st St. NW)
When: 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
The six-course prix fixe menu ($250 per couple) at this Georgetown seafood spot kicks off with a salmon mousse crostini, and then gets some kick from an orange-habanero lobster and shrimp ceviche. The full a la carte menu will be available as well.
Lupo Verde (1401 T St. NW) and Lupo Verde Osteria (4814 MacArthur Blvd. NW)
When: 5 – 11 p.m.
Culinary Director Orlando Amaro and Executive Chef Todd Sprik will put a different spin on each locale’s Italian prix fixe experience ($90 per person). For example, the 14th Street location will serve a chargrilled octopus course while the Palisades outpost will feature octopus carpaccio.
Christmas Day: Tuesday, December 25
Ambar (523 8th St. SE)
When: 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
For the Capitol Hill location’s Christmas Day brunch ($39 per person), the selection of mezze, egg dishes, and crepes includes “Popara” Balkan bread pudding with aged cow cheese, milk, and chili flakes with a side of country-style bacon, and a prosciutto Benedict served with ajvar, a Serbian roasted red pepper sauce.
American Son (1201 K St. NW)
When: 5:30 – 10:30 p.m.
Chef Tim Ma welcomes guests downtown for a Chinese-American a la carte feast. Ma recreated favorites from his own childhood Christmas memories, including kung pao pork belly with cashews and celery ($18), scallion pancakes with sweet tamari and sesame seeds ($14), and a whole roasted duck ($80). The whole menu can be yours for $250.
City Perch Kitchen + Bar (11830 Grand Park Ave., North Bethesda)
When: Tuesday, December 25, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. – 10 p.m.
A four-course prix fixe meal ($68 per adult, $20 per child, optional $30 wine pairing) will be available at this North Bethesda spot. The bill of fare includes spinach-ricotta gnudi, a lighter take on gnocchi that substitutes ricotta for a potato shell, and prime rib (with butternut squash available for vegetarians). The regular dinner menu will also be available.
Willard InterContinental (1401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW)
When: Tuesday, December 25, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Glide from the omelet station to the carving station at this sumptuous Christmas Day brunch buffet held in the iconic downtown hotel. Bottomless bubbly drinks or Bloody Marys are included in the price ($125 per adult, $55 per child under 12).
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
Blue Duck Tavern (1201 24th St. NW)
When: Monday, December 24, 5:30 – 10:30 p.m. and Tuesday, December 25, 6:30 – 10:30 a.m. and 12 – 8 p.m.
Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day breakfast at this Michelin-starred Foggy Bottom eatery are both a la carte. For Christmas dinner, however, a spread of seafood, cheese, and charcuterie leads into a three-course meal highlighting regional produce ($135 per adult, $55 for children under 12, beverages not included). End the meal with Pastry Chef Colleen Murphy’s selection of seasonal desserts.
Café Berlin (322 Massachusetts Ave. NE)
When: Monday, December 24 seatings at 2:30, 5, and 7 p.m.; Tuesday, December 25 seatings at 2, 4:30, and 7 p.m.
German settlers and soldiers brought Christmas trees to the United States, so it’s fitting to celebrate the season with three courses of authentic German fare ($55 per person) at this Capitol Hill establishment. Try the Wildschweinbraten, a braised wild boar leg, or the house-made gnocchi with a forest’s worth of chanterelle, cremini, and porcini mushrooms.
The Hay-Adams (800 16th St. NW)
When: Monday, December 24, 5:30 – 10 p.m. and Tuesday, December 25, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
A contemporary three-course American feast awaits inside the hotel’s Lafayette restaurant ($95 per adult, $45 per child ages 4-12). Think Shenandoah lamb loin and seared Atlantic striped bass. Christmas Day brings brunch with a bird’s eye view of the White House at Top of the Hay restaurant, with Maine lobster salad and ravioli stuffed with spiced burrata and citrus among the offerings. If you love a piano man, you’re in luck: Tom Vogt, who screen legend and civil rights activist Lena Horne called her favorite pianist in Washington, will take requests at both meals.
Kingbird (2650 Virginia Ave. NW)
When: Monday, December 24, 5 – 8 p.m. and Tuesday, December 25, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. and 5 – 8 p.m.
Dinner for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at the Watergate Hotel’s restaurant will be a four-course prix fixe Feast of the Seven Fishes ($150 per person), with limited a la carte and vegetarian selections available. Brunch on Christmas Day ($95 for adults, $55 for children 5-12) includes bottomless mimosas as well as leg of lamb, salmon, and breakfast items.
Mi Vida (98 District Sq. SW)
When: 12 – 8:30 p.m.
Take in a view of The Wharf while indulging in the regular menu, or enjoy special holiday dishes, like Veracruz-style seared cod with roasted tomato sauce, olives, and capers ($31); empanadas filled with Mexican delicacy cuitlacoche, a corn fungus ($14); and a spiced apple cake ($10).
