New Year’s Eve 2005 at Boston-area Restaurants

Better get a move on. 2006 will be here before you know it. Your favorite Boston-area

restaurants are ringing in the New Year with an array of festive menus and celebrations.

Scroll down to see what they’ve got in store and make your reservations soon.

33 Restaurant & Lounge

Celebrate

the dawn of 2006 at 33

Restaurant & Lounge where chef Anthony

Dawodu is offering an array of celebratory options for Saturday, December

31st. Make a reservation anywhere from 5:00-7:00pm and enjoy a lavish four course

meal with a complimentary cocktail for $99 per person. Opt for reservations

anywhere from 8:00-10:00pm and indulge in a four course prix fixe menu and a

Veuve Cliquot champagne toast for $125 per person. For those who’d rather skip

the dinner and relax in the lounge, there’ll be a VIP reception from 8:00-10:00pm

with passed hors d’oeuvres, a complimentary drink, party favors and a champagne

toast. Seating in the lounge is limited and reservations are required. The VIP

reception costs $100 per person (or $125 if reservations are made after December

20th). Call 33 Restaurant & Lounge at 617.572.3311 to make your New Year’s

Eve reservations.

Ariadne Restaurant & Bar

Wine

director Kathleen Malloy and chef Christos

Tsardounis invite guests to Ariadne

Restaurant & Bar in Newton for a festive four-course New Year’s Eve

menu boasting options like Maine crab salad with mango salsa; steak tartar with

arugula, parmesan, capers and jicama; and roasted duck breast with kumquats

and a duck crepe stuffed with kale, buttercup squash and chestnuts. Finish your

dinner with desserts like vanilla creme brulee, warm chocolate cake or apple

crisp. The evening’s prix fixe menu costs $70 per person. Call Ariadne Restaurant

& Bar at 617.332.4653 for reservations and complete menu information.

Aura

Celebrate

the arrival of 2006 with dinner from Aura‘s

award-winning chef John

Merrill. Served in Aura’s warm and inviting dining room, the four-course

prix fixe menu includes courses like pan-seared Maine diver scallops with tangerine

reduction, celery root mash, citrus dust and chervil; grilled Atlantic salmon

and curried shrimp wontons with coconut rice and baby bok choy glazed with lemongrass

reduction; and vanilla praline ice cream meringue cups with blackberries and

raspberries. Merrill will also be offering an a la carte menu. The prix fixe

menu costs $65 per person or $95 per person with accompanying wines. Call Aura

at 617-385-4300 to make reservations anytime between 6:00 and 10:00pm.

blu

To

celebrate the arrival of a new year, chef Tom

Fosnot will be offering three festive dining options at blu

at the Sports Club LA. For diners who’d like to enjoy an exceptional meal and

then continue their celebration elsewhere, there’s a 5:00pm seating that costs

$65 per person and features a four-course menu. There’s another seating at 7:00pm

for those who’d like to enjoy a five-course meal from Fosnot (for $95 per person)

but have someplace else in mind for ringing in the New Year. Lastly, there’s

a 9:00pm seating that includes complimentary hors d’oeuvres followed by a five-course

dinner and a champagne toast at midnight. The 9:00pm seating costs $125 per

person. The menu includes courses like oysters with kaffir lime mignonette;

celery root ravioli with celery emulsion, truffle oil and chervil; rack lamb

with braised lamb shank, lentil stuffed brik and spiced baby carrots; and chocolate

custard with pistachio kataifi, creme anglaise and candied Sicilian pistachios.

For more information and reservations, call blu at 617.375.8550.

The Blue Room
The Blue Room celebrates the arrival of the New Year with an a la carte menu that’s half new dishes for the night and half crowd-pleasing Blue Room favorites. Chef Jorge Lopes gets fancy with lobster “ravioli” in cepes consommé; Hawaiian blue prawns with grilled with blood orange salad and persimon sauce and Vermont pheasant with roasted with chestnut bread pudding and a pinot noir-cherry sauce. Call the Blue Room at 617.494.9034 to make reservations.

Bonfire

Todd

English’s Bonfire

Restaurant at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers is offering a number of

options for guests this New Year’s Eve. Drop by for the Early Bird Celebration

featuring a four-course prix fixe dinner oysters, bisque, salads or quail, followed

by an intermezzo course and entrée selections like salmon, veal, chicken

and beef. Top it all off champagne and dessert. The set price for the special

package is $90 per person with seatings from 5:00-7:00pm. Bonfire will also

be offering a five-course Festive Feast featuring a delicious prix fixe menu.

The set price for the special package is $125 per person with seatings from

7:30-9:30pm. Diners are invited to ring in the new year while enjoying a delicious

meal and watching the Times Square festivities on a large screen TV. Bonfire’s

hot and trendy bar will host a cocktail celebration complete with festive hors

d’eourves as well as a champagne toast. The bar celebration begins at 10:30pm

price is $40 per person. For reservations and additional information call 617.262.3473.

Cafe Fleuri

Cafe

Fleuri at the Langham Hotel welcomes guests to a special New Year’s Eve

Chocolate Bar on Saturday, December 24th. Drop by from 12:00-4:00pm for

an array of chocolate-themed treats from chef John

Lambiase – consider it a last pre-New-Year’s-Resolution hurrah, of sorts.

The Chocolate Bar costs $30 per adult, $14 for children 12 and under and is

free for children four and under. Call Cafe Fleuri at 617.956.8751 to make reservations.

Caffe Umbra

Chef

Laura

Brennan gets festive at Caffe

Umbra where she and her kitchen crew will be creating an extraordinary à

la carte menu for the evening. Highlights include Maine crab ravioli in lemon

brodo; truffled mushroom consommé with puff pastry crown; Provençal

lobster bouillabaisse; and porterhouse double cut lamb chop with artichoke barigoule.

Pastry chef Ron Roy will take off his toque and accompany singer Kent French

on a Baby Grand for an evening of selections from The American Songbook.

At 11:30pm, they’ll start their show Putting on the Ritz to ring in the

New Year. There’s a special entertainment fee of $15 per person. Call Caffe

Umbra at 617.867.0707 to make reservations.

Casablanca

Harvard

Square’s Casablanca

welcomes guests to join them on New Year’s Eve for a three-course prix

fixe menu from chef Ruth-Anne

Adams. Start out with sesame crusted crab cakes with cucumber salad with

red and yellow peppers, mâche and fennel oil; or baked stuffed mushrooms

with walnuts and truffle oil, arugula and lemon vinaigrette. Entrée options

include roasted tenderloin with garlic-herb potatoes, salsa verde, wilted spinach

and red wine reduction sauce and stuffed eggplant tomato, feta and cilantro

chutney with black chickpeas hummus. For dessert, you can choose from the regular

dessert menu. The evening’s menu costs $50 per person or $65 with matching

wines. Call Casablanca at 617.876.0999 to make reservations.

Chez Henri

Chef

Paul

O’Connell gives New Year’s Eve a French-Cuban twist with three- and five-course

menus at Chez

Henri. Menu items include artichoke soup with lobster mousse; peeky toe

crab and avocado salad with spicy mustard and citrus; crispy duck confit salad

with poached duck egg and truffle vinaigrette; chile and cocoa rubbed rack of

venison with pumpkin-feta risotto and mint chimichurri; and a trio of desserts.

The three course menu costs $65 per person. The five course costs $95 per person.

An a la carte menu will be available at the bar. Call Chez Henri at 617.354.8980

to make reservations.

Coriander

Ring

in the New Year away from the chaos of downtown. Head to Coriander

in Sharon where chef Kevin

Crawley will be whipping up a very special four-course dinner. The menu

includes courses like handcrafted gnocchi with tender braised short ribs,

very exotic mushrooms and winter truffles; salad of smoked duck breast and duck

confit, baby arugula, orange supremes and cranberry chutney with blood orange

vinaigrette; veal steak with crispy proscuitto, spaetzle and onion jam; and

three chocolate gateau with white chocolate sauce. The dinner costs $95 per

person and wraps up with a champagne toast. Call Coriander at 781.784.5450 to

reserve your table.

Davio’s

Just

a short walk from the First Night festivities, chefs Eric

Swartz, Stephen

Brown and Rodney

Murillo welcome revelers to Davio’s

for an á la carte menu from 5:00-7:00pm. Those who’d like to make a night

of it can make reservations after 9:00pm and enjoy a four-course dinner, live

music and dancing, a champagne toast at midnight. The menu for the evening includes

courses like cheesesteak spring rolls with, spicy ketchup; pan seared jumbo

sea scallops with farro and root vegetables; veal porterhouse with broccoli

rabe, roasted peppers and roasted garlic jus. Dinner costs $125 per person,

not including additional beverages, tax or gratuity. Call Davio’s at 617.357.4810

to make reservations.

Eldredge Room

The

Eldredge Room in Chatham hosts their first annual New Year’s Eve with

Friends Dinner on Saturday, December 31st. Chef Brady Duhame, currently

chef de cuisine at Lure at the Winnetu Inn and Resort on Martha’s Vineyard

joins Eldredge Room chef-owner Toby

Hill and sous chef Matthew Koffman for a special menu highlighting

each of chef’s distinct taste in and style with food. We have done our job,

now it is your turn to make the menu that most intrigues you. The eight course

tasting menu starts off with sweet potato blini with Kelley’s Katch Tennessee

paddlefish caviar followed by courses like butternut squash & rosemary brown

butter soup with candy cap crème fraiche; alba truffle and rosemary-crusted

skate wing with caramelized cauliflower, shaved Alba truffle and Niman Ranch

bacon vinaigrette; pumpkin, wild mushroom and duck confit risotto with sage,

reggiano parmesan and duck crackling; and petite granny smith apple tart with

Shelburne Farms aged cheddar ice cream, dried Granny Smith apple strands and

cinnamon-caramel. The New Year’s Eve with Friends Dinner will be served from

5:00-10:00pm and costs $80 per person. Reservations are recommended, so call

508.945.2990.

Excelsior

Chef

Eric

Brennan welcomes guests to Excelsior

on Saturday, December 31st for a festive five-course dinner that’ll wrap up

2005 quite nicely. Courses include Big Eye tuna with Island Creek oyster and

Maine lobster with Osetra caviar; seared sea scallop wrapped in speck crabmeat

ravioli, ocean nâge; maple glazed squab and seared foie gras with parsnip

purée and cider glazed root vegetables; and carved tenderloin of beef

with gratin of Yukon potato, leek, mushroom and cave aged gruyere with black

winter truffle sauce. Pastry chef Molly

Hanson adds to the evening’s menu with a chocolate trio of mocha panna cotta

with blood orange; chocolate cake with roasted banana anglaise and honey; and

milk chocolate ice cream sandwich with cocoa nib caramel. The dinner costs $100

per person or $165 per person if paired with wine (not including tax and tip).

Reservations are required, so call Excelsior at 617.426.7878 to reserve your

table.

Gargoyles

Ringing

in the new year in Somerville? Chef Jason

Santos will be dazzling Davis Square diners with a three course prix fixe

menu at Gargoyles

on the Square. Reservations are required for the $75 dinner, so call 617.776.5300.

Golden Clove
Chef Lisa Whelan invites guests to ring in the New Year at the Golden Clove in Chatham, where she’ll be preparing a four-course prix fixe menu that features dishes like Wellfleet oysters on the half shell with lemon & fresh thyme; Bibb salad with red grapes, shaved manchego, toasted pecans and warm orange vinaigrette; and roasted half duckling with champagne glaze over house-made pheasant sausage with apricots and currants, accompanied by wild rice and roasted baby vegetables. Save room for a chef’s tasting of desserts which will include Tahitian vanilla bean, white chocolate crème brulée and warm molten chocolate cup. Dinner, which will be available at two seatings at 5:30 or 8:30, costs $75 per person, which also includes a champagne toast. Call the Golden Clove at 508.945.0028 for reservations.

Grill 23 & Bar

Chef

Jay

Murray rings in the new year at Grill

23 & Bar with a five-course tasting menu. Menu selections include steak

tartare with shiitake duxelles, porcini emulsion and soft cooked egg goat cheese

croquette with maple roasted butternut purée and caramelized apple; slow

roasted rack of lamb with almond persillade and olive oil crushed maine heirloom

potatoes; and seared dayboat scallops with lemon-tarragon gnocchi, chanterelles

and rich lobster jus. Pastry chef Molly

Hanson brings desserts like vanilla crème brulée and chocolate

layer cake to the table. The price for the evening is $175 per person, which

includes a champagne toast at midnight and live entertainment from Pulse starting

at 9:30pm. Reservations are required, so call Grill 23 & Bar at 617.542.2255.

Grotto

On

New Year’s Eve, chef Scott

Herritt welcomes guests to Grotto

for a More is More menu that celebrates the the finer things in life (look for

the last of the fresh white truffles). The five course meal will cost $65 per

person, though they’ll also be offering three-course and four-course options

that will be available for $40 and $50 respectively. To make reservations or

for specifics on the evening’s menu, call 617.227.3434.

Hamersley’s

Ring

in the New Year at Hamersley’s

Bistro where Fiona and Gordon

Hamersley will be welcoming revelers to the restaurant for an exquisite

four-course prix fixe dinner. The evening’s menu, which costs $125 per person,

includes options like grilled pear with spiced walnuts and citrus vinaigrette;

game consommé with truffle crisps; pan roasted lobster with knuckle risotto

and saffron sauce; and a trilogy of desserts to top off the meal. An a la carte

menu will also be available throughout the evening at the bar for those who’d

like to keep their plans a little more flexible. Call Hamersley’s at 617.423.2700

to make reservations or for more information about the evening’s menu.

Harvest

Dining

at Harvest

on New Year’s Eve? Choose between a three or five-course menu from chef Keith

Pooler. Courses include white asparagus salad with blood orange, upland

cress and crabmeat glaçage; porcini mushroom bisque with Nantucket bay

scallops and garlic chips; roasted milk fed veal chop with truffled rosti cake,

leeks, rutabaga and natural jus; pan-seared Atlantic cod with lentils, caramelized

baby Brussels sprouts, crispy potatoes and finnan haddie sauce. Pastry chef

Liz

O’Connell contributes desserts like white chocolate-pistachio layer cake

with caramel cream; and key lime pavlova with candied Buddha’s hand and passion

fruit coulis. The three-course menu costs $55 per person, while the five-course

menu costs $85. Call Harvest at 617.868.2255 to make reservations.

Henrietta’s Table

Henrietta’s

Table at the Charles Hotel teams up with upstairs neighbor, the Regattabar,

to make New Year’s Eve at the Charles Hotel that much more festive. Guests can

enjoy a two course dinner from chef Peter

Davis anytime from 5:30-7:00pm followed by a sumptuous dessert buffet and

champagne toast. Dancing and musical entertainment from The Dwight Ritcher Band

will kick things off, while Nicole Nelson will keep things going until 2:00am.

The dinner-dessert-champagne-show package costs $175 per person. Guests who

are dining elsewhere can opt for the dessert-champagne-show package for $125.

Call the Regattabar at 617.395.7757 to purchase tickets. If you’d prefer to

skip the musical entertainment portion of the evning, Henrietta’s Table will

be offering a three-course prix fixe menu from 5:30-10:30pm. The menu costs

$45 per person. Make your reservations by calling Henrietta’s Table at 617.661.5005.

Indigo

To

celebrate the dawn of the new year, chef Todd

Ciampolillo will be serving two festive prix fixe menus at Indigo

in Needham. Make reservations for the early seating from 5:00-7:00pm and enjoy

three courses for $60 per person. Guests with reservations anytime after 7:00pm

can enjoy a champagne toast and a four course menu for $79 per person. Call

Indigo at 781.453.0002 to save your table.

Julien

Julien

greets 2006 with an extraordinary gala dinner from chef de cuisine Mark

Sapienza. The New Year’s Eve dinner features a six-course prix fixe menu

complete with a champagne toast at midnight and dancing to the Jeffrey Moore

quartet. On the menu for the evening? Peppered foie gras terrine with figs and

aged balsamico; roasted breast of squab with caramelized endive and lavender

honey; proseco and ruby grapefruit sorbet; Maine lobster fricassee with cider,

thyme and chanterelles; and milk chocolate passion cremeux with citrus fruit

confit. The dinner costs $210 per person, not including tax and gratuity. Call

Julien at 617.451.1900 extension 7120 for reservations and menu information.

Le Soir

For

those who wish to escape the bustle of Boston, celebrate the New Year at Le

Soir, where chef Mark

Allen will be offering an intimate and romantic evening with two seatings

and two tempting tasting menus. At 6:00pm, the first seating, with its six-course

tasting menu, begins. For $95 per person, diners can enjoy courses like pickled

shrimp with baby romaine, cesar dressing; lobster raviolis with butternut squash,

chopped egg-vanilla sauce; and quail stuffed with cornbread and pecans, caramelized

onion sauce. The second seating, at 9pm, will offer a nine-course menu for $135.00

as well as a champagne toast and midnight revelries. Courses include roasted

squab with truffle risotto; chopped sirloin and foie gras meatloaf with pomme

purée and mushroom gravy; and green apple sorbet in pernod broth. Call

Le Soir at 617.965.3100 to make reservations.

Lumière

Celebrate

the New Year in Style at Lumière

where chef Michael

Leviton is planning a four-course tasting menu for $80 per person. Appetizer

options include seared hamachi with hamachi tartare, leek compote and soy-ginger-wasabi

vinaigrette; and seared Stonington, Maine sea scallop with wild mushrooms, potato

mousseline, mushroom sauce and shiitake vinaigrette. Entrée offerings

include Gloucester skate with house-cured salt cod brandade and black truffle

vinaigrette; and Niman Ranch rack of lamb with herbes de provence, braised lamb

galette, white bean ragoût, niçoise olives, roasted tomatoes and

gremolata, jus de garrigue. Save room for desserts like dried apricot tarte

tatin with fromage blanc sorbet and sauternes sauce; and the ever-popular molten

valrhona manjari chocolate cake with candied pecans, sweet potato-bourbon ice

cream and molasses sauce. Accompanying wine pairings will be available for an

additional per person charge. Call Lumière at 617.244.9199 for reservations

and more information.

Meritage

Chef

Daniel

Bruce invites guests to bid 2005 farewell and greet 2006 at Meritage

where he’ll be offering a five-course prix fixe menu from 5:00-11:00pm. The

dinner costs $125 per person, which includes accompanying wines selected from

Meritage’s 12,000 bottle collection. Call Meritage at 617.439.3995 for reservations

and more information.

Metropolitan Club

Celebrate

New Year’s Eve at the Metropolitan

Club & Bar in Chestnut Hill. The restaurant will be serving their full

menu as well as a special New Year’s Eve tasting menu from chef Jeffrey

Fournier from 5:00pm ’til midnight. Or pop in to the Met Bar, which opens

at 4:30pm, where they’ll be serving champagne, festive hors d’oeuvres and dessert.

Festivities in the bar are $40 per person in advance or $50 per person at the

door.

Navy Yard Bistro

Celebrate

New Year’s Eve at the Navy

Yard Bistro and Wine Bar in Charlestown where chef Dave

Poulin will be welcoming guests for a four-course dinner with suggested

wine pairings. The dinner costs $50 per person. Call The Navy Yard Bistro at

617.242.0036 to make reservations.

No. 9 Park

What

better way to ring in the New Year than with a five-course prix fixe from No.

9 Park‘s award-winning chef Barbara

Lynch? The price has yet to be determined and the menu itself under wraps

but you’re in good hands, so relax. Of course, if you’re feeling pressed for

time and a five-course meal doesn’t fit into your festivities for the evening

– you can enjoy the same menu a la carte in the cafe. Call No. 9 Park at 617.742.9991

for reservations and more information.

Oxford Street Grill
Celebrate the dawn of 2006 in Lynn, where chef David Fitzgerald welcomes the new year with a four course prix fixe menu featuring courses like sashimi of Hawaiian big-eye tuna and Japanese hamachi; warm spinach salad with house-made bacon, egg and pickled red onion; Vermont free-range goose confit with Westphalian-style wild mushroom, shoyu, herb and truffle-stuffed onion. Wrap it all up with cherries jubilee or warm chocolate nut tart. The dinner, which is available at two seatings (5:30 0r 8:30pm), costs $75 per person and includes a glass of Brut. Call the Oxford Street Grill at 781.593.3111 to make reservations.

Red Pheasant

The

Red

Pheasant in Dennis Village celebrates the arrival of 2006 with a festive

four-course menu from chef-owner Bill

Atwood. Courses for the evening include options like wild mushroom strudel

with Madeira sauce; spinach salad with pinenuts, roasted red pepper and goat

cheese with reduced balsamic vinegar; and boneless roast duckling with cranberry

port gastrique, braised Swiss chard and carrots. Dessert selections include

flourless chocolate cake, Linzer torte and almond hazelnut dacquoise. The evenings

first seating, from 5:00-5:30pm costs $70 per person, not including tax or gratuity.

The second seating, from 8:30-9:00pm, includes live entertainment by R.C. &

Blues Alley, and costs $90 per person, not including tax and gratuity. Call

the Red Pheasant at 508.385.2133 to make reservations or to request more information.

Rialto

Celebrate

the dawn of the new year at Rialto

with either a five-course or a seven-course menu from chef Jody

Adams. The first seating, at 6:00pm, costs $95 per person (or $130 with

paired wines) and is ideal for guests who have other plans for the actual stroke

of midnight. Guests who choose the 9:00pm seating, which costs $135 per person

(or $180 with paired wines), will enjoy a seven-course meal, a champagne toast

and live tunes from Toussiant and the China Band. Menu items include poached

halibut on saffron-seafood Bavarian with crisp cardoons; goose confit with pomegranate

glazed leek and chanterelles; and roast organic beef tenderloin with gorgonzola-chestnut

bundle and brussel sprouts. Call Rialto at 617.661.5050 for reservations and

more information.

Sel de la Terre

Rejoice

in the promise of the coming year at Sel

de la Terre‘s New Years Eve celebration. Chef Geoff

Gardner will be offering a six course prix-fixe menu that includes decadent

lobster and sugar pumpkin bisque; pinenut crusted rack of lamb with pancetta-apple-black

trumpet risotto, broccolini and pomegranate jus; and seared diver scallops with

orange glaçage, crispy duck confit, haricots verts and toasted almonds.

Gardner will also be offering a six-course vegetarian menu as well. Diners can

listen to the live jazz and swinging sounds of the Joe Morocco Trio and toast

the New Year in style just steps from Sel de la Terre’s front door while watching

fireworks over Boston Harbor at midnight. Sel de la Terre’s New Year’s celebration

costs $95 per person with optional wine pairings for an additional $35 per person.

Call 617.720.1300 to make reservations.

Spire

With

New Year’s Eve just around the corner, chef Gabriel

Frasca at Spire

at the Nine Zero Hotel has prepared a festive holiday menu to help ring in a

joy-filled 2006. Guests at Spire can indulge in a four course prix fixe of Frasca’s

seasonal delights, including courses like seared Nantucket bay scallops with

sunchoke puree, Meyer lemon and smoked bacon; chantenay carrot soup with Maine

lobster, plumped cranberries and hazelnuts; braised short ribs with pommes puree,

baby turnips, baby carrots and horseradish; and pain perdu with maple walnut

ice cream and caramelized grapefruit. The New Year’s Eve prix fixe costs $105

per person or $140 with matched wines. Call Spire at 617.772.0202 for reservations.

Umbria

The

Financial District’s Umbria,

welcomes New Year’s Eve revelers to an exclusive party on all five floors of

the chic urban townhouse that houses Umbria. There’ll be an open bar and plenty

of fabulous Umbrian food from chef Marisa

Iocco. The festivities get underway at 10:00pm and will undoubtedly run

until closing time at 2:00am. The price of admission is $100 per person. Call

Umbria at 617.338.1000 to purchase your tickets to Umbria’s New Year’s party.

UpStairs on the Square

The

ladies of UpStairs

on the Square ring in 2006 in style, with early and late seatings in both

the Monday Club Bar and Zebra Room, and the Soiree Room.

The Monday Club Bar and Zebra Room will be serving a fabulous four-course prix

fixe menu from 5:00-6:30pm for $75 per person. Diners at the late seating, which

begins at 8:30pm, will enjoy a four-course menu, a champagne toast at midnight

and dancing to the tunes of Catherine and the Greats for $100 per person. In

the Soiree Room, chef Steven Brand will be serving a special $85 four-course

prix fixe dinner starting at 5:30pm followed by a $135 five-course prix fixe

menu that’ll be available to diners with reservations after 8:00pm. The late

seating also includes flowing champagne and dancing to Catherine and the Greats

in the Monday Club Bar as the New Year approaches. Call UpStairs on the Square

at 617.864.1933 to make your reservations and start planning your New Year’s

Eve.

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