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In New Orleans, where restaurants are part of the family, dining out for Christmas can be a revered tradition. At this second-most festive time of the year (yes, Carnival season is first), many top local kitchens prepare a special meal for New Orleanians who are wise enough to trust the professionals. Many of these options offer their regular everyday menu a la carte as well, so no pressure to commit to the prix-fixe. Just remember: whatever you eat it’s still Christmas, so don’t skimp on the tip.
Here’s a guide to some of the area’s best dining options for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. And check this lineup for more options of holiday meals featuring the New Orleans-centric Reveillon menus.
Where to dine on Christmas Eve
Addis NOLA
2514 Bayou Road
For something different this Christmas Eve consider Addis NOLA, a stunner of a restaurant on Bayou Road that spotlights Ethiopian cuisine as well as fare from across the African continent. Prime rib tibs, jollof rice, and whole-fried snapper are a few inviting choices. Check the $50 and $75 three-course family style meals, portioned to feed three happy diners. Call to reserve or book online.
Birdy’s Behind the Bower
1320 Magazine Street
This Lower Garden District charmer is a swell pick to jump-start the holiday with brunch, served from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Chef Marcus Woodham is driven by seasonal bounty in dishes like huevos rancheros, pulled pork Benedict, fried chicken biscuit, and a brunch board loaded with donuts, slab bacon waffles, mini pancakes, and eggs. Add in bottomless mimosas to get the party started. Reserve here.
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Brennan’s
417 Royal Street
Brennan’s is open for breakfast/lunch on Christmas Eve, serving from the regular menu. Come dinnertime, there’s an $85, three-course holiday menu, which includes choices like duck liver tart, chestnut cavatelli, and turtle soup to start, with mains ranging from beef wellington and roasted duck to trout with lump crabmeat. Naturally bananas Foster is on the dessert menu. Reserve here.
Cafe Degas
3127 Esplanade Avenue
The charming Cafe Degas makes for a lovely Christmas Eve setting, a New Orleans classic lit up by Christmas lights all year round. Snag a seat on the patio for the affordable five-course Reveillon menu, priced at $52 per person and including the intriguing escargot Rockefeller, lamb steak au poivre, and a decadent apple frangipane tart.
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MaMou
942 N. Rampart Street
CIA-trained chef Tom Branighan brings his finely honed level of French technique to the table at MaMou, open on Christmas Eve. Try classic French dishes like the poisson a la Florentine, with its luscious beurre blanc flecked with Louisiana caviar and a traditional cote de boeuf as well as the chicken bonne femme, an homage to his dad, who took him to Tujague’s for dinner as a kid. The lemon madeleines are swoon-worthy.
Miss River
Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans, 2 Canal Street
Big news: Both restaurants in the Four Seasons are open and serving dinner on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Miss River, Alon Shaya’s extravagant flagship restaurant on the ground floor of the towering hotel, is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. both days, serving its regular, special occasion-worthy menu. Reserve here.
Mister Mao
4501 Tchoupitoulas Street
The always-surprising Mister Mao is a spirited option for Christmas Eve brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. or dinner, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Chef Sophina Uong’s regular menu and roving dim dum cart includes the likes of Kashmiri chile fried chicken, fairy bread with unicorn sprinkles and condensed milk, and bacon scramble with ginger. Dinner ranges from grilled short ribs to smoked oyster mushrooms in curry and wood-fired puppy drum with brown butter cauliflower. Reserve here.
Tommy’s Cuisine
746 Tchoupitoulas Street
The holidays have an Italian accent at Tommy’s, with the $58 Réveillon menu offered both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Start with turtle soup or Caesar salad, follow with shrimp scampi with pasta or fettuccine Alfredo, and decide between chicken saltimbocca, Gulf fish Capri, or beef brasato for the main event. Classic Tiramisu and crème brûlée for the sweet ending. Reserve here.
Vessel
3835 Iberville Street
How fitting to celebrate a sacred holiday at a restaurant that used to be a church? Vessel offers a gorgeous setting any time of year, but the soaring space is especially festive during the holidays. No special menu featured, but chef de cuisine Willie Cooper offers polished American fare that’s impossible to resist. Try the Korean crispy pork belly, the crab au gratin with brandy, seafood pasta and steak au poivre. Reserve here.
Where to dine on Christmas Day
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Chemin à la Mer
Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans, 2 Canal Street
Donald Link’s restaurant Chemin à la Mer, French for “pathway to the sea,” offers dramatic front-row views of the Mississippi River from its perch on the fifth floor of the 34-story Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans, a special setting for a holiday meal. On Christmas Day, Chemin will offer a traditional prime rib special in addition to the regular menu. It’s open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Reserve here.
Compère Lapin
535 Tchoupitoulas Street
Celebrate Christmas with a midday meal (noon to 3 p.m.) at James Beard award-winning chef and St. Lucian native Nina Compton’s flagship restaurant downtown, priced at $95 per person. Enjoy family-style jerk pork with sides like coconut rice and peas and crispy Brussels sprouts, finished with rum cake with hibiscus sorbet. Reserve here.
The Elysian Bar
2317 Burgundy Street
The Elysian Bar, the part-French, part-Southern outpost in the Hotel Peter & Paul, will be open to serve guests and Marigny neighbors who wander into the cozy space, which feels exactly like a church’s cool bar, if that was a thing. The regular menu is served for dinner from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Christmas and brunch is also offered from noon to 3 p.m. Reserve here.
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The Grill Room
Windsor Court Hotel, 300 Gravier Street
This elegant Windsor Court restaurant breaks from its Réveillon menu to offer special menus on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The four-course menu for lunch or dinner ($150 per person) is anything but typical — try the soy-glazed eggplant with smoked pimento and maitake mushrooms, scallop and cobia mousseline, beef Wellington with wild mushroom ragout, duck with sweet potatoes, or halibut with forbidden rice. Choose from a gingerbread layer cake or a white forest cake for dessert. Add $100 for a very fancy wine pairing. Call to reserve.
Jack Rose
Pontchartrain Hotel, 2031 St. Charles Avenue
Open Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and serving guests of the Pontchartrain Hotel and everybody else, Jack Rose features chef Brian Landry’s focus on seasonal and Cajun flavors. The four-course prix-fixe menu ($61 to $93, depending on main course) served both days offers options like duck gumbo, beet and citrus salad, seared scallops and lamb tournedos. Look forward to dessert with options like the restaurant’s famed Mile High Pie or butter pecan bread pudding. Reserve here.
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The Roosevelt
130 Roosevelt Way
The annual Christmas Day brunch at the Roosevelt is back, featuring herb-roasted turkey breast, spice-rubbed prime rib, and Chardonnay-poached shrimp and scallops. This kid-friendly brunch is priced at $129 for adults, $49 for kids, and complimentary for kids under two. Reserve here.
Tujague’s
429 Decatur Street
Celebrate Christmas at New Orleans’s second oldest restaurant from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., with chef Gus Martin’s classic holiday three-course feast, priced at $65. Savor the likes of chicken and andouille gumbo, Gulf fish amandine, and grilled filet with blue cheese mashed potatoes. Bread pudding wraps up what for so many is an annual tradition.
If we’re missing a great spot open on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, let us know.