Of all French holidays, Christmas is celebrated in heightened gastronomic pomp. This is when the most refined French delicacies are on honor, from the finest grade oysters to rich foie gras and from truffled heritage hens to special reserve champagne. These extravagant French holiday meals are generally served on le réveillon de Noël, Christmas Eve dinner. However, some restaurants will also be offering festival meals on Christmas day, mostly at lunch. The following week, the feasts resume on New Year’s Eve, although generally with different food specialties served – and plenty of champagne! If you’re looking for the perfect place to celebrate, these Paris restaurants will be open on December 24th and/or the 25th and the 31st.
December 24 – Paris Restaurants Open On Christmas EVE
Le Train Bleu
If you’re looking for an opulent setting to celebrate Christmas Eve, I can’t imagine a more fitting place than the beautiful Belle Epoque restaurant of the Gare de Lyon. This year’s menu at Le Train Bleu will feature scallops with beet and citrus fruit, turbot with caviar, spinach and hazelnut butter, capon with celery macaroni and black truffle and vanilla and apple bûche de Noël (€180.00/person excluding drinks).
Fouquet’s
Recently restored, this famous institution of the Champs-Élysées will be serving a festive meal on December 24th. A gastronomic four-course menu including grey shrimp with caviar, foie gras with quince, sea bass with truffled leek cream, roasted capon with chestnuts and Cévennes onions, and Fouquet’s special bûche de Noël (310€/person, including a glass of champagne. Find out more information and make reservations for Fouquets on their website.
Le Coq & Fils
Montmartre is a great place to explore over the holidays and you can have a Christmas Eve dinner of exquisite poultry at Le Coq & Fils, the poultry-focused restaurant across from the Moulin de la Galette. Their special holiday menu usually includes various poultry dishes including capon, guinea fowl, Bresse chicken, and other exceptionally well-bred French birds.
Cléo
If you’re looking for a chic Christmas Eve meal on the Left Bank, consider the stylish restaurant of the five-star Hotel Narcisse, Cléo. Located between Les Invalides and the Eiffel Tower, it will have a special seven-course festive dinner served on the 24th.
December 24 and 25 – Paris Restaurant OPEN on Christmas eve and christmas day
Lucas Carton
Surround yourself in art nouveau glamor at the one Michelin-starred restaurant Lucas Carton in Place de la Madeleine. Talented chef Hugo Bourny and his team will be preparing a refined six-course holiday menu. The 350€ meal will start with a glass of vintage Champagne Louise Pommery and you can add a wine pairing for an additional fee.
Bouillon Julien
The alluring art nouveau establishment Bouillon Julien off the Grand Boulevards is presenting a very reasonably priced Christmas menu of à la carte options. You could start off with cream of mushroom soup or foie gras pâté en croûte, before moving onto filet of seabass with creamy risotto or suprême of roasted capon with shiitake mushrooms and a celery purée. These will be available for dinner on the 24th and lunch and dinner on the 25th. Full menu and reservations are available on Bouillon Julien’s website.
Petit Bouillon Pharamond
One of my favorite bouillon restaurants, Le Petit Bouillon Pharamond is another great place for a fairly affordable Christmas meal in Paris. Within its stunning Art Nouveau decor, you can opt to have a three-course meal for 38€ or order à la carte. I’d be tempted by the pumpkin soup with truffle oil and roasted hazelnuts and the duck parmentier and the candied chestnut cream with little meringues for dessert.
Le Violon d’Ingres
Christan Constant’s gastronomic restaurant Le Violon d’Ingres will be offering two separate menus for Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day lunch (at 280€ and 260€ respectively, without drinks). The refined meals will tempt you with Galician sea urchins, foie gras with apple and quince marmalade, sea bass with leeks and a champagne and caviar sauce, and roasted beef filet with morel mushrooms, brie de Meaux with truffles and more.
La Coupole
Celebrate Christmas in style at the grand Art Deco brasserie La Coupole in Montparnasse. The three-course menu has a choice of duck foie gras with black truffle, scallop carpaccio or six oysters followed by roasted sea bass with cep mushroom risotto or capon with chestnuts and a dessert of three-chocolate and cherry Christmas log (79€/person excluding drinks).
December 31st – Paris Restaurants Open on New Year’s Eve
While most Paris restaurants close on the 24th and 25th, a lot are open on the 31st. They usually do special meals and reservations are highly recommended. All the restaurants above have a New Year’s menu as well as the following restaurants which are fantastic places to ring in the new year.
Colère
The new restaurant of Instagram sensation Eloi Spinnler, which opened in September and is found near Les Grands Boulevards, will be a fabulous place to celebrate New Year’s Eve among a cool Parisian crowd. If I were staying in Paris this New Year’s Eve, Colère is where I’d like to spend it! The five-course meal will feature radicchio with trout roe and buckwheat, “Colère” rice, scallops with fennel, orange and green chili, farm-raised capon in cotton, chestnuts, mushrooms and truffle jus, and last but not least, his famous chocolate cream with beer caramel and espelette crumble.
Brasserie Thoumieux
One of the chicest brasseries in the city, the iconic Left Bank restaurant Brasserie Thoumieux will be a wonderful option for New Year’s Eve near the Eiffel Tower. Its large space is still cozy thanks to red velvet bench seats and dimly lit green lamps. You can expect a sumptuous feast of oysters, scallops, truffled foie gras, chicken with morel mushrooms, and beef Rossini.
Bonnie
Enjoy a sparkling view over the whole city by spending your New Year’s Eve at Bonnie, the trendy rooftop bar and restaurant. On the top floor of the SO hotel, located south of Bastille, Bonnie has a sweeping panorama featuring Notre Dame, the Panthéon, and the Eiffel Tower. You can choose between two menus at 200€ and 300€ which include refined dishes of lobster tartare, scallops with wild mushrooms, veal tenderloin with potatoes millefeuille and truffled gravy, and chocolate and tonka bean surprise.
Bazurto
Add a little South American spirit at Bazurto to your New Year’s Eve at the hip Colombian restaurant of Juan Arbelaez found in the 6th district. For 120€, you’ll be treated to truffle arepas, shrimp tartare empanadas, yuca bread, tuna and bergamot ceviche, and other delicious dishes. Expect to do some dancing once the meal is over.
Written by Lily Heise for HiP Paris. Looking to travel? Check out Plum Guide and our Marketplace for fabulous vacation rentals in Paris, France or Italy. Looking to rent long or short term, or buy in France? Ask us! We can connect you to our trusted providers for amazing service and rates or click here. Looking to bring France home to you or to learn online or in person? Check out our marketplace shop and experiences.
WRITTEN BY
Lily Heise
Lily Heise has been living in Paris for more than 10 years. When she’s not getting into romantic mischief, she writes on dating, travel, and culture. Her writing has been featured in Frommer’s Guides, the Huffington Post, Conde Nast Traveler, City Secrets, DK Eyewitness Guides, and other local and international publications. She is the author of Je T’Aime, Me Neither, and Je T’Aime… Maybe? lively novelized memoirs on her romantic misadventures, and continues to share dating tips, stories and travel features on her blog www.jetaimemeneither.com.
