ATXGuide
Where To Have New Year's Eve Dinner In Austin
photo credit: Mackenzie Smith Kelley
There are a lot of great ways to ring in the New Year: You could try to teach your cat how to waltz, or queue up that corny text to all your friends that says “see you next year!” But if you feel like getting out of the house and dressing up a little bit, these Austin restaurants are offering special menus to help you ring in 2024.
THE SPOTS
Hestia is one of the few spots in town where a suit doesn’t feel out of place. Especially so on NYE, when you can reserve seats at one of two dinners Downtown. There’s a big one starting at 7pm, with 10 courses, and there’s the “Home Before Midnight” option, a six-course meal starting at 5pm. Both options offer an optional wine pairing, plus a list of limited spirits and wines that can be reserved in advance.
The Deal: $175, six-course tasting menu at 5pm, $215, 10 course tasting menu at 7pm. Optional wine pairings available for both.
Located at the bottom of a condo building, in a cozy, home-themed space that feels very fitting, given the name, Apt 115 is a wine bar and restaurant that serves Texas-Chinese small plates. And on NYE, you’ll get to try those small plates in the form of a tasting menu. Of course, since this is first and foremost, a wine bar, there will be pairings available, mostly in the form of small production and low intervention wines.
The Deal: $150, “multi-course” tasting menu, optional wine pairings available.
Over on East Cesar Chavez, the upscale Mediterranean restaurant Ezov will be hosting a NYE party that starts with eight Ezov dishes paired with an Eastern Mediterranean wine flight. After dinner, there’s a DJ and disco party on the patio.
The Deal: $95, eight course dinner with optional wine flight.
Most of the year, Underdog is a great neighborhood wine bar with an excellent menu of Korean-inspired plates. But on December 31st, it’s a place to ring in the new year with a five-course tasting menu, a caviar bump, and a champagne toast at midnight.
The Deal: $125, five-course tasting menu with a complimentary glass of champagne and caviar bump at midnight.
photo credit: Nitya Jain
At Dai Due in Cherrywood, you can ring in the new year with one of three prix fixe menus. Wild game, seafood, and vegetable menus are all available, each consisting of three courses.
The Deal: $150, three-course, prix fixe menu (with wild game, seafood, and vegetable options).
If you’re going to spend NYE on Rainey Street, it might as well be at Emmer & Rye, a modern American farm-to-table restaurant that we like a lot. On the 31st, Emmer will be offering a special five-course menu with an optional wine pairing. And if you want to keep the party going after dinner, just step outside.
The Deal: $150, five-course dinner with optional wine pairing for $90.
photo credit: Raphael Brion
Austin doesn’t have a lot of nikkei-inspired restaurants, but Lucky Robot on South Congress has reliably been serving the Japanese-Peruvian cuisine for over a decade. And on the 31st, you can enjoy an eight-course tasting menu of nikkei small plates and nigiri, with an optional wine or sake pairing. There are also vegetarian and gluten free options available.
The Deal: $115, eight-course tasting menu, with optional wine or sake pairing.
If you’d rather get into a more tropical mindstate for the holidays, Canje on East 6th Street is offering a six-course, Caribbean-inspired menu that pays tribute to the chef’s roots.
The Deal: $125, six-course tasting menu.
Maie Day, the semi-casual chophouse at the bottom of the South Congress Hotel, is offering a prix fixe, three-course dinner made up of some house favorites. The dinner price also includes entry into a NYE party at the hotel, with dancing, live music, and DJs.
The Deal: $130, three-course prix fixe dinner, optional wine pairing available.
In case you didn’t want to spend the money to take a vacation down to Tulum this December, head to Nômadé on South First instead, where the theme is basically “Yucatan resort” all year round. And this New Year’s Eve, that means a five-course tasting menu of crudos, botanas, and a few mains that should give you a pretty decent sample of Nômadé’s menu. Wine and agave spirit pairings are available, as well as a plant-based tasting menu.
The Deal: $95, five-course tasting menu (plant-based option available) with optional wine or agave pairing.
Instead of the standard menu of upscale Mediterranean dishes, on NYE at The Peacock in downtown Austin you’ll enjoy a four-course prix fixe menu that includes oysters, duck breast, wagyu beef, and more. Wine pairings are available, and you can even add on a bit of caviar, if you really want to go all out.
The Deal: $195, four-course prix fixe menu, optional wine pairing for $80.
Olamaie is a fancy, upscale Southern restaurant set in a picturesque old house near The Capitol, complete with creaky floorboards and a breezy back porch that’s probably been home to a rocking chair or two. And on the 31st, you can enjoy a three-course prix fixe menu made up of a few Olamaie favorites.
The Deal: $150, three-course prix fixe menu.
Juniper offers a prix fixe menu all year long, but on New Year’s Eve it’ll be offering a special, five-course menu, with an optional wine pairing. On the menu, expect to find a lot of favorites—like the puffy potatoes and cacio e pepe—plus a few seasonal specials.
The Deal: $150, five-course tasting menu, optional wine pairing for $75.
Up on the roof of The Austin Proper Hotel in downtown Austin, La Piscina will be offering a large-format, bone-in tomahawk served with mole and mint chimichurri, along with rice, beans, and tortillas. There’s also an eggnog flan available for dessert.
The Deal: $135 bone-in tomahawk (for two, unless you’re really hungry).
