New Year's Eve Dining Spots in the Washington, D.C. Area

Many Washington, D.C., area restaurants offer special New Year's Eve menus, including champagne toasts, party favors, dancing, and entertainment. There's nothing quite like saying goodbye to the old year with one last, great meal, and visitors to the nation's capital have plenty of venues to choose from. With noteworthy restaurants peppered across Washington, D.C., and into nearby Virginia and Maryland, you have the opportunity to celebrate the big moment in the district among all of the national monuments, or head to the suburbs.

On December 31, 2020, Washington, D.C., restaurants will not be open for indoor dining but some may be offering outdoor dining and delivery options. Many popular restaurants in the suburbs of Maryland and Virginia are open for indoor dining, but because restaurants are working with reduced capacities in 2020, reservations should be made as soon as possible.

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Ambar

Ambar's special New Year’s Eve menu typically showcases traditional Serbian dishes with a modern twist. The Capitol Hill restaurant offers multiple seating times throughout the day, each of which includes an unlimited amount of New Year's Eve special small plates and unlimited drinks. However, you can also attend the second late-night seating for a special champagne toast at midnight. Ambar is still offering a prix-fixe menu for New Year's 2020 but will be closed for indoor dining.

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Bangkok Joe's

A husband-and-wife team of chefs offers up an exquisite Thai-fusion menu at Bangkok Joe's in the Washington Harbour Shopping Mall. Enjoy a four-course prix fixe dinner menu with both seafood and meat options or choose from a la carte dinner items at the table. Round out your dinner with a trip to the city's first dumpling bar — a favorite dinner stop for locals. Bangkok Joe's will still offer a New Year's Eve menu in 2020, which will be available for curbside pickup and delivery.

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Bourbon Steak

The Four Seasons Hotel does it up right with both a traditional and tasting menu at its Bourbon Steak locale. Dishes like caviar, bison tenderloin, and guinea hen are served at this event in world-class fashion. Dine early for a three-course prix fixe menu or come to the later seating for the six-course tasting spread. Tack on another surcharge for unlimited wine to accompany your meal. In 2020, Bourbon Steak will serve its New Year's Eve dinners in outdoor dining bubbles.

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Evening Star Cafe

There will be no shortage of locals at this suburban Alexandria, Virginia, cafe on New Year's Eve, when you can enjoy the extensive wine list that includes special holiday food pairings. All guests at Evening Star Cafe are invited to join the late-night party in the downstairs bar or upstairs in the No. 9 Lounge, and you can even watch the ball drop at midnight with a complimentary champagne toast.

The Evening Star Cafe posted its New Year's Eve menu on Instagram and will be open for outdoor dining in 2020 with a heated, open-air dome.

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Jaleo

Jaleo typically adds a vibrant Spanish flair to New Year's Eve festivities. Its prix-fixe New Year's menu includes an a la carte tasting dishes complete with tapas, soups, and a sampling of wines. After dinner, guests can enjoy music and dancing in the bar, and a glass of cava and 12 grapes (for good luck) to usher out the year in typical Spanish tradition at midnight. A live DJ will play continuous late-night music until the bar closes in the early hours of the new year.

In 2020, Jaleo will be open until 10 p.m. on New Year's Eve, but there will be no special events at the Washington, D.C., location.

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The Melting Pot

If you're a fan of fondue and want to celebrate the new year with a bit of decadence, this Arlington, Virginia, restaurant specializes in hand-dipped cheese and chocolate varieties. You can dine with them on New Year's Eve to experience a four-course fondue party, complete with a salad course, a main, and a champagne toast.

In 2020, the Melting Pot will offer a prix-fixe menu on New Year's Eve, but alcohol will not be sold past 10 p.m.

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PassionFish

Bringing "passion to your palate," PassionFish's location in Reston, Virginia, features a full menu of seafood-inspired dishes—from sushi to ceviche to bisques. You can choose to end the year with a meal from a holiday-inspired menu of chef's specialties and fish-of-the-day entrees at a price that includes appetizer, entree, and dessert.

In 2020, Passionfish's Bethesda, Maryland, location closed permanently, but the Reston restaurant is offering a "New Year's At Home" meal kit that includes champagne. Orders must be placed by December 29, 2020, but the restaurant will also be open for a la carte service from 5 to 9 p.m.

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Zaytinya

The lively New Year’s Eve celebration at Zaytinya, across the street from the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, usually features a special mezze tasting menu, an all-night DJ counting down to midnight and keeping guests energized and dancing into the New Year, and a midnight cava toast. With a menu inspired by Turkish, Greek, and Lebanese cuisines, this Mediterranean city hot spot will deliver nothing but an indulgent New Year's Eve experience.

In 2020, Zaytinya is open for indoor and outdoor seating but has not released a special menu for New Year's Eve.

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Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar

The staff won't kick you out on New Year's Eve at Cuba Libre Restaurant—no matter how late you choose to stay. The restaurant is located around the corner from the Smithsonian American Art Museum and its six-course Cuban feast includes a reserved table all night long, plus party favors, a drink package, and several add-ons. A Cuban feast with two seatings is also available, and a champagne toast at midnight ushers in the new year. The later seating also includes entertainment and live music.

Cuba Libre has not posted a menu for New Year's Eve 2020. Dancing is not allowed, but they are open for outdoor dining.

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Espita Mezcaleria

The Oaxacan six-course menu at Espita Mezcaleria reeks of authenticity, showcasing the best dishes of Southern Mexico created by a world-class chef pair. Located near the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, a Mexican cantina-style New Year’s Eve party includes complimentary cocktails, wine, beer, and a selection of 10 mezcals and champagne at midnight.

Typically, you can enjoy flower tiaras for the ladies and come decked out with your most traditional attire for a night of DJ dancing. No tickets are required for dinner or the celebration; however, you should call for reservations since Espita Mezcaleria boasts that its prix-fixe menu is cheaper than most around. In 2020, Espita has not posted a menu for New Year's Eve 2020, but they are open for outdoor dining and delivery.

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Fig & Olive

Fig & Olive is a popular place across the country to enjoy an elegant, curated meal any time of year and its Washington, D.C., location is located down the street from the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian. For New Year's Eve, this famous restaurant typically nods to its French Mediterranean gastronomic heritage with a White & Gold New Year's Eve party featuring a four-course prix fixe menu, limited a la carte menu, music, and cocktail specials.

In 2020, Fig & Olive is open for delivery and outdoor dining on its heated terrace, but the restaurant hasn't rescheduled its annual party.

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fyve Restaurant Lounge at the Ritz Carlton

You can experience "elevated" dining at the Ritz Carton Pentagon City on New Year's Eve where fyve Restaurant Lounge will feature a traditional menu with locally sourced ingredients, complete with holiday additions. The hotel is located near the Virginia Highlands Park in Pentagon City. Live entertainment, party hats, noisemakers, and a champagne toast are all typically included for a fixed price at this famous restaurant, but make sure to book your reservations early since seating is limited.

No special events at fyve are planned for New Year's Eve 2020, but the Arlington restaurant will be open until 10:30 p.m. on December 31.

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Grillfish

Locally sourced ingredients and sustainably caught seafood grace the menu of Grillfish's city location, which often offers two packages for New Year's Eve dinner. Here, you'll have the option of a fixed three-course menu featuring Grillfish favorites like lobster and crab pappardelle or surf and turf, or a three-course menu crafted from the featured New Year's specials—a selection of appetizers, entrees, and desserts from the full menu at a fraction of the price.

In 2020, Grillfish shut down for the winter season, but its menu is available at Commissary, another Washington, D.C., restaurant with outdoor seating that will be putting out their own menu for New Year's Eve 2020.

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All Set Restaurant & Bar

All Set Restaurant & Bar will be closed on December 31, 2020.

Head to suburbia and ring in the New Year in Silver Spring, Maryland, with a specially-themed dinner and party at the All Set Restaurant & Bar. One year, the theme may be a masquerade and another year might be prom. All prix-fixe costs include a three-course meal followed by a night of music and dancing and a Champagne toast at midnight.