Where to Celebrate New Year’s Eve in Washington, D.C.
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Abbe Baker
- 30 Dec 2019 | People & Places
New Year’s—a time where many celebrate (or mourn) what has transpired over the last year and revel (hopefully) in anticipation of what’s to come. No doubt, the nation’s capital is ready for 2020, with many restaurants and bars hosting a night of nights with prix fixe menus and Champagne toasts.
From a five-course Mexican feast to a lavish three-MICHELIN-star affair, here’s where to head this New Year’s Eve in D.C. and wipe that slate clean.
“A stone’s throw from the White House, this plush brasserie cuts an opulent figure," say inspectors of Hakan Ilhan's plush eatery on 16th St. NW. Executive chef Keith Bombaugh and team are serving up a four-course menu (with a complimentary glass of Champagne) for $95 per person. Guests can expect dishes like smoke-roasted sweet carrot tartare; boudin blanc with poppy seed brioche purée; beef Wellington with potato mille-feuille; and chocolate-orange mousse with Cognac hazelnut butter and Grand Marnier sorbet for dessert.
Executive chef Nilesh Singhvi is offering a three-course menu for $55 per person and a five-course menu for $85 per person over two seatings at his Penn Quarter stalwart. Dishes include an amuse bouche of roasted butternut squash shorba; a chaat sampler of various chutneys; halibut caldin curry with kokum, cilantro, anise and coconut; chicken tikka lababdar with onion, tomato, fenugreek and garam masala; and fig-huckleberry pudding for dessert.
Those looking to go all out for the holiday should head to chef/owner Johnny Spero's contemporary hidden gem in Georgetown, where he is serving up a decadent six-course menu for the tune of $200 per person. Guests will dine on dishes like poached Whitestone oysters with horseradish, whey and caviar; kohlrabi tempura with yuzu and wasabi; grilled kampachi with tomato marmite, trout roe and truffle; and fried chicken with foie gras, sancho and smoked paprika.
Per inspectors of this ultra-popular Mexican haven in Penn Quarter: "Can they help it if they’re packed most nights? Chef José Andrés knows his food and the loyal crowds here bear testament." For New Year's Eve, head chef Omar Rodriguez is offering up a five-course prix fixe menu for $85 per person, while diners sip on cocktails specifically crafted for the affair, as well as a complimentary sparkling toast.
"Set 90 from D.C. in a town whose very existence seems tied to the restaurant, The Inn at Little Washington is a destination in every sense of the word," state MICHELIN inspectors of Patrick O'Connell's three-starred beauty in Little Washington, Virginia. "Embellished to the last inch, the dining room resembles a jewelry box lined with patterned carpets, lush wallpaper, heavy drapes and bejeweled upholstery." This year, O'Connell and team are hosting two seatings at 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. (priced at $340 per person and $528 per person, respectively) as they channel "The Grace and Glamour of Monte Carlo." Guests can expect a special menu for the evening, entertainment and "special surprises at every turn," per the restaurant's website.