Boston Chefs

Avenue One

Celebrate the season at Avenue One at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Boston. Chef Lisa Lyon and her team will be offering a three-course prix fixe on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Highlights from the menu include Maine lobster bisque with white truffle whipped cream and a New England corn beignet; salmon Wellington with spinach, scallop mousse and dill hollandaise; and raspberry crème brulée with a chocolate-dipped Florentine and a Chambord Royale sipper. Dinner costs $55 per person, not including tax and gratuity. Children ages 5-12 are half price, and children age 4 and under are complimentary. Call Avenue One at 617.422.5579 to make reservations.

Avila

Get cozy this Christmas Eve at Avila, where chefs Rodney Murillo and Paul King will be giving the holiday a decidedly Mediterranean twist. A sneak preview of the menu: chilled raw oysters with pomegranate sorbet and sturgeon caviar; olive oil poached John Dory with cauliflower mousseline, white and green asparagus, and blood orange citrus; and, from pastry chef Tom Ponticelli, a whole pastry cart’s worth of dessert-y goodness. The special holiday menu costs $65 per person, not including tax or gratuity. Call Avila at 617.267.4810 for reservations.

Bristol Lounge

Chef Brooke Vosika celebrates his first Christmas Eve as executive chef of Four Seasons Boston with a three-course prix fixe lunch and dinner menu at The Bristol Lounge. The menu, which also features desserts from pastry chef Tim Fonseca, costs $62 per person (not including tax or gratuity). Call 617.351.2053 to book your table or for more information.

Café Fleuri

Chefs Mark Sapienza and John Lambiase host their own version of a traditional Italian feast at Café Fleuri on Christmas Eve – join them for the Feast of the Seven Fishes anytime from 5:30-9:30pm. They’ll have a full seafood buffet and live piano entertainment. Call Café Fleuri at 617.956.8751 for more info and to save your table.

Crowne Pointe Inn & Bistro

Spend Christmas Eve at the Bistro at Crowne Pointe in Provincetown where chef Amy Howell celebrates with an elaborate four-course menu chock full of seasonal goodness. Guests can tuck in to puree of pear, parsnip and pumpkin soup; and prime rib with a robust Beaujolais veal reduction, and horseradish and browned shallot mashed potatoes. Before you head off to bed, enjoy gingerbread cheesecake with a gingerbread cookie. Howell’s Christmas Eve menu, which is available from 6:00-9:00pm, costs $54.95 per person, not including tax, gratuity or beverages. Call 508.487.6767 to make reservations.

dante

Enjoy a true Italian-style Christmas Eve dinner at dante on either Saturday, December 23rd or Sunday, December 24th. Chef Dante de Magistris recreates courses straight from the de Magistris family table for a $65 four-course menu, which will be available in addition to the restaurant’s a la carte menu. Call dante at 617.497.4200 to make reservations.

Eastern Standard

Eastern Standard is open for business all day on Christmas Eve. Stop in for breakfast to fuel up for holiday travels, lunch to get you through your super last minute shopping or dinner just to unwind and enjoy chef Jamie Bissonnette’s French brasserie fare. Call Eastern Standard at 671.532.9100.

Grotto

Chef Scott Herritt goes traditional at Grotto this Christmas Eve with Feast of the Seven Fishes. Believed to bring good luck in the year ahead, the four-course feast, featuring at least seven sea creatures, will be available starting at 2:00pm for $65 per person. They’ll also be offering a limited three-course menu for $55 per person. Reservations are recommended, so call 617.227.3434.

Lumière

Chef Michael Leviton welcomes guests to join him at Lumière on Christmas Eve for an a la carte menu of seasonal goodness. Celebrate the night before Christmas with dishes like mushroom soup with wild mushrooms, toasted almonds and orange-shallot gremolata; Gloucester skate with roasted cauliflower grenobloise and mustard vinaigrette; or duo of Niman Ranch pork Chinese “red braised” belly with ginger-garlic spinach, and twice cooked ribs with brown bean garlic sauce. Call Lumière at 617.244.9199.

Meritage

Meritage at the Boston Harbor Hotel hosts a Christmas Eve dinner full of festive culinary delights from chef Daniel Bruce. From 5:00-10:00pm, guests can sit down for a five course menu of Jonah crab-stuffed jumbo shrimp with champagne sweet corn cream; maple rubbed roast Colorado lamb chop with minted butternut squash risotto; and the chocolate tasting plate of white chocolate fondant tart, milk chocolate crème brulée and dark chocolate flourless cake. Dinner costs $95 for adults and $37.50 for the children’s three-course prix fixe. Call Meritage at 617.439.3995 to reserve your table.

Metropolitan Club

Leave the Christmas Eve cooking to chef Todd Winer and his team at The Metropolitan Club in Chestnut Hill. The menu includes courses like fried rock shrimp millefeuille with trufffle aioli; rolled rib roast with a green bean casserole and crispy shallots; sticky toffee pudding from pastry chef Michelle Pattinson. Winer and company will also be offering a Christmas Eve brunch from 11:30am until 2:30pm. The special brunch menu, which will be available in addition to the regular menu, features holiday flights of four champagne and mini frittatas pairing a Maine red sweet shrimp frittata with sparkling sake, a manchego and Serrano ham frittata with cava and so on. Call the Met Club at 617.731.0600 to book your table or for more information about their Christmas Eve offerings.

Sandrine’s

Chef Raymond Ost invites guests to give Christmas Eve an Alsatian twist at Sandrine’s, where he’ll be offering a specially designed holiday prix fixe from 5:00-9:00pm. For starters, enjoy oysters on the half shell with apple cider mignonette and quince gelee; traditional baked Alsatian escargots or a fresh Jonah crab cake with cumin, sweet onion and tomato compote. Entrees include Alsatian choucroute garnie; and grilled beef tournedos rossini with pommes lyonnaise, foie gras and sauce perigourdine. Pastry chef Lee Napoli adds chocolate kougelhopf, clafouti and warm hazelnut beignets. The three-course menu ranges in price from $60-72 per person, depending on the entrée selection. Call Sandrine’s at 617.497.5300 to make reservations or for more information.

Sel de la Terre

Sel de la Terre take their Christmas Eve cues from their Italian neighbors this holiday season, offering a traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes on Sunday, December 24th. Chef Geoff Gardner’s three-course menu, which costs $55 per person, includes gravlax of Pacific king salmon, smoked trout and ceviche of dorade with toasted brioche, pickled red onions and arugula; and a Fisherman’s bouillabaisse with littleneck clams, mussels, scallops and local fish, grilled baguette and rouille. The evening’s fishless dessert: chestnut castagnaccio with vanilla fleur de sel ice cream. Call 617-720-1300 to book your table for Sel de la Terre’s Fest of the Seven Fishes dinner.

Tremont 647

If all that quality family time around the holidays is a bit much, chef Andy Husbands wants to remind you that Tremont 647 will be open on Christmas Eve, so you can duck out for a little break over a bite to eat and a couple cocktails. They’ll be serving their regular menu from 5:30-10:00pm (though if you need to head out earlier, they’re open for brunch from 10:30am until 3:00pm). Call 617.266.4600 to make reservations or for more information.

Turner Fisheries

Turner Fisheries hosts a Christmas Eve Jazz Brunch on Sunday, December 24th from 10:00am until 3:00pm. Book your table and enjoy seafood specialties with traditional Christmas dishes from chef Frank Neugebauer. The brunch, which costs $49 per adult and $22 per child, includes an appetizer buffet and soup station, a la carte entrees as well as a dessert buffet. Call Turner Fisheries at 617.424.7425 to get the whole rundown and to make reservations.

UpStairs on the Square

Proprietresses Mary-Catherine Deibel and Deborah Hughes invite guests to spend Christmas Eve at UpStairs

on the Square where chef Steven Brand is putting the finishing touches on a three-course prix fixe holiday menu. Make your reservations between 5:00-8:30pm to enjoy courses like roasted winter baby beets with arugula, horseradish panna cotta and passionfruit; and prime grilled ribeye steak creamed parmesan spinach and Yukon gold potato gratin. Pastry chef Emily Wholey contributes chocolate ganache Buche de Noel with meringue mushrooms; and Clementine ice with citrus syrup and Noel cookies. Dinner costs $85 per person (or half that for guests under 12). Call 617.864.1933 to reserve your spot.