User's Guide

Where to Eat on Christmas Day

Wouldn't you rather spend Christmas at Balsan?
Wouldn’t you rather spend Christmas at Balsan? Photo: Helen Rosner

Don’t feel like cooking for Christmas? Well, that used to be an issue. See, like most people with jobs, many chefs around the city will have Christmas day off. Oftentimes people would have to head down to Chinatown for some admittedly delicious food. But as of late, a bunch of restaurants have stayed open and started to offer rich feasts of their own. Whether you’d like to spend the big day on the sixteenth floor of the Trump Building, or taking shots with a “Sexy Santa,” there are tons of options this year. Check out our list of a few of the places open for Christmas.

Balsan
Call for Reservations: 312-646-1400
There will be a “family-style feast” planned for Christmas Eve and Christmas day at Balsan. The three-course “shareable” menu will be available from 1 to 7 p.m. Menu items include pan-seared scallops, roasted prime rib of beef, mussel tortellini and a contemporary spice cake with with eggnog ice cream. It’ll cost $59 a person.

Mercat a la Planxa
Call for Reservations: 312-765-0524
On December 25, this contemporary Spanish restaurant is offering a full menu along with a special family style meal for $68 a person. The four-course menu will include, among other things, a Spanish omelette with potatoes and saffron aïoli, butternut squash dumplings with lamb ragoût and black truffle-beech mushroom escabèche, slow-roasted ham with smoked paprika-honey glaze, and spicy patatas bravas. For dessert, they are offering chocolate croquettes with banana marshmallows, rosemary caramel and Arbequina olive oil.

Sixteen
Call for Reservations: 312-588-8030
Sixteen is offering a Christmas Day brunch for $115 a person. Items will include slow roasted ham with fig-bourbon reduction, prime rib with horseradish, roasted monkfish with gingerbread cous-cous and curry apple foam. Children eat for $35 , and get to a special visit from Santa, Mrs. Claus, and two live reindeer. A dinner is also available from 6 to 8:30 p.m., with a three-course option available for $95, and a five-course one for $125.

Markethouse
Call for Reservations: 312-224-2200
From 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Markethouse will be offering a three-course menu for $36 a person. Main dish items include Painted Hill Farms Rib eye, Maple Leaf Farms cassoulet, and a trio of Cedar Springs lamb. Dessert is an “Egg Nog” Bread Pudding with Bourbon Butterscotch Sauce.

Kit Kat Lounge & Supper Club
773-525-1111
Kit Kat Lounge is hosting “Donations for Libations” on Christmas day. Bring in canned goods and a “Super Sexy Santa” will give you a complimentary shot of Effen vodka. There will also be a $30 Prix Fixe Menu featuring seared bay scallops and braised pork belly.

Lockwood
Call for Reservations: 312-917-3404
From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Lockwood will offer a $58 brunch. That includes chilled grilled shrimp cocktail, gnochetti sardi, and “roasted and peppered” prime aged rib of beef. After 5 p.m. the a la carte menu will be available.

Where to Eat on Christmas Day