The best places for Christmas brunch in NYC

What is it? The flapjack-flipping favorite will be hosting a 12 Days of Brunch series from December 21 through January 1 with rotating seasonal brunch specials, including Swedish pancakes, roasted duck cranberry hash, steak Benedict, eggnog pie and more. Though the restaurant will be closed on Christmas Day, it will be open for brunch on Christmas Eve from 8am to 4pm for holiday celebrations. 

Address: 120 Hudson St, 10013
Christmas hours: Dec. 24 8am-4pm
Expect to pay: $25-$50 per person

What is it? With its prime lakeside setting smack-dab in the middle of Central Park, the Boathouse is a special occasion favorite any time of the year, but especially around the holidays. And on Christmas Day, the scenic restaurant will be open and serving an à la carte daytime menu along with yuletide specials like prime rib, lobster pasta, sticky toffee pudding, and olive oil cake. You can reserve a table via OpenTable.

Address: East 72nd St and Center Dr, 10021

Christmas hours: Dec 25 noon–5pm

Expect to pay: $100-$150 per person

What is it? Want your Christmas brunch with a side of holiday caroling and a sweet appearance from jolly old Saint Nick himself? Clement at the Peninsula New York hotel will present a lavish Christmas Day buffet beginning at noon on December 25, with carving stations, a seafood raw bar, fresh salads, and an opulent dessert selection, along with live singing from Victorian carolers and Santa Claus popping in to delight the kiddos.

Address: 700 Fifth Ave, 2nd fl, 10019

Christmas hours: Dec 25 noon–8pm

Expect to pay: $295 per person, $115 for children 12 and under

What is it? From noon on, the Crosby Bar at the Crosby Street Hotel is serving a special Christmas Day menu featuring four courses of elevated holiday dishes. After an amuse bouche of smoked salmon blini with Ossetra caviar, the jolly lineup includes blue-crab cakes with mango salsa, roast turkey with giblet gravy, beef bourguignon with mashed potatoes, and pecan pie with caramel ice cream, among others. Snag a table here.

Address: 79 Crosby St, 10012

Christmas hours: Dec 25 noon–9:30pm

Expect to pay: $145 per person

What is it? Break out your paper crowns and your Christmas crackers because uptown pub Jones Wood Foundry is here to give your Christmas festivities a little British accent. The taproom’s beloved Christmas Day lunch will feature three courses, including dishes like heritage-roasted turkey, roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, and traditional desserts such as mince pies and sherry trifle. Reserve via Resy.

Address: 401 E 76th St, 10021

Christmas hours: Dec 25, seatings at noon, 4pm and 6pm

Expect to pay: $150 per person, $45 for children 12 and under

What is it? The elegant French brasserie located inside the Wall Street Hotel is embracing the holiday spirit with a merry three-course menu on Christmas Day. Special-occasion options include a foie gras torchon with Kyoto carrots, a duck egg ravioli in Parmesan brodo, short ribs with pomegranate and bordelaise, and a dark-chocolate entremet with sea salt crunch. The meal will be padded out with shareable “accessories” including brioche stuffing, cranberry sauce, pommes purée, and more.

Address: 88 Wall St, 10005

Christmas hours: Dec 25 noon-8pm

Expect to pay: $100 per person, $55 for children 12 and under

What is it? Set inside the recently reopened Waldorf Astoria, the elegant all-day dining room will tap into the magic of the season with an abundant Christmas Day brunch, complete with house-baked pastries, smoked fish and bagel service, tableside flambée crêpes and comforting griddle signatures.

Address: 550 Lexington Ave, 10022

Christmas hours: Dec 25 6:30am–10pm

Expect to pay: $100-$150 per person

What is it? The all-day restaurant at the Dominick Hotel in Soho will be setting up a warm and welcoming holiday buffet from Chef Swapnil Doiphode on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, celebrating seasonal and locally sourced ingredients. Reserve your spot here.

Address: 246 Spring St, 10013

Christmas hours: Dec 24 and 25 8:30am-–2:30pm

Expect to pay: $65 per person, $25 for children

What is it? The Financial District outpost of the splashy Japanese stalwart is offering a brunch prix fixe on Christmas Day, kicking off with a family-style first course featuring kitchen signatures like spicy crab crispy rice, lobster futomaki and tempura fish tacos. The festive repast continues with your choice of main (Nobu fish and chips, chicken katsu sando, steak-and-eggs donburi and more), followed by matcha mousse for dessert. Reserve your table now for the holiday offering.

Address: 195 Broadway, 10007

Christmas hours: Dec 25. 11:45am-2pm

Expect to pay: $85 per person

What is it? Pinkies up! The timeless tea salon inside the iconic Plaza Hotel is celebrating Christmas Day with a fittingly ritzy afternoon tea featuring an array of sandwiches (smoked salmon, English cucumber), savories (hello, foie gras macarons!), scones (cranberry-ginger), mini tarts, sweet pies and more.

Address: 768 Fifth Ave, 10019

Christmas hours: Dec 25 seatings at noon, 2pm and 4pm

Expect to pay: $230 per person, $115 for children aged 5 to 12

What is it? Schastlivogo Rozhdestva! Give your festivities some Eastern European flavor at this midtown classic, with a three-course prix fixe of red borscht, boeuf à la stroganoff, apricot-glazed duck, beef pelmeni with sour cream, côtelette à la kiev, cranberry orange crème brûlée, and more.  With that famous red-and-green decor, it always looks like Christmas at the Russian Tea Room. Reserve via OpenTable.

Address: 150 W 57th St, 10019

Christmas hours: Dec 25 11am-11:30pm

Expect to pay: $145 per person, $95 for children

What is it? The Jewish-Japanese fusion spot will be hosting its 13th annual Holiday Hot Pots event on December 25, with your choice of Japanese hot pot or matzo-ball ramen, appetizers like okonomi-latkes, hamachi lox and “Jew Eggs,” and decadent upgrades like black truffles and A5 Wagyu beef. Book your spot here. 

Address: 310 S 4th St, 11211

Christmas hours: Dec 25 11am-10pm

Expect to pay: $80 per person, a la carte children’s menu

What is it? Baby, it’s cold outside, but John McDonald’s splashy seafood brasserie inside the W Union Square will give you a taste of coastal-cool for Christmas Day. Brunch on December 25 will reportedly include a smoked salmon tower with all of the festive accoutrements, a cacio e pepe scrambled egg pizza, and caviar service because, hey, it’s the holidays.

Address: 201 Park Ave S, 10003

Christmas hours: Dec 25 11:30am-10pm

Expect to pay: $100-$150 per person

What is it? Right off the Beekman Hotel’s stunning atrium, you’ll find Tom Colicchio’s Temple Court, a sumptuously designed dining room that is serving an all-day menu on December 25. From 1pm onwards, guests can enjoy four holiday courses including your choice of festive starter (hamachi crudo with green apple, chilled Maine lobster with artichokes and orange), second course (chestnut agnolotti, mushrooms à la Grecque), main (confit duck leg with red peas, Diver scallops with sunchokes and black truffle) and dessert (eggnog custard, sticky toffee pudding).

Address: 5 Beekman St, 10038

Christmas hours: Dec 25 1–9pm

Expect to pay: $195 per person, $65 for children 12 and under

What is it? From now through January 11—including on Christmas Day, beginning at noon—the high-end Japanese BBQ joint will be offering a special holiday prix fixe featuring a curated selection of appetizers (Wagyu sushi, shrimp with quail eggs, assorted kimchi), your choice of main (prime beef platter or sukiyaki), garlic rice, cold noodles and more.

Address: 37 W 17th St, 10011

Christmas hours: Dec 25 noon–11pm

Expect to pay: $130 per person