Eliminate some of the holiday stress this year by letting some of the best Houston chefs serve you and your family on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. After you've finished shopping, decorated the house and welcomed all of your family members into your home, you deserve a scrumptious meal prepared by someone else.
No need to worry about cooking the perfect meal for each person in your home, or stress about cleaning up the kitchen before you go to bed on Christmas Eve. We have compiled a list of restaurants open on Christmas Eve (and some on Christmas Day), so you can see what they have to offer on each of those days. As always, make your reservations in advance; the sooner, the better! We will update this list as it gets closer to Christmas.
Open on Christmas Eve:
Bistro Provence 13616 Memorial Dr., 713-827-8008
Enjoy a three-course dinner for $52 on Christmas Eve at Bistro Provence. The French restaurant requires a $25 deposit for either seating from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. or 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The meal begins with your choice of a mixed-greens salad with smoked duck magret, goat cheese and honey vinaigrette, marinated and smoked salmon tartare, or classic French onion soup. Entrée options include monkfish medallions Armoricaine with Camargue rice, beef filet with foie gras, wild mushrooms en croute and Lyonnaises potatoes, or a rack of lamb with herbs de Provence and roasted almond risotto. Conclude the meal with a traditional Buche de Noel or lavender crème brulee.
Rudi Lechner's German-American Restaurant 2503 S Gessner Rd, 713-782-1180
From 5 to 8:30 p.m., Rudi Lechner's will serve a special Christmas Eve a la carte meal with appetizers, soups, entrees and desserts. Starter options include a grilled sausage sampler with sauerkraut for $8.25, potato latkes with sour cream or apple sauce for $6.95, and Maryland crab cakes for $11.95. Choose from chicken noodle, French onion, goulash or white wine cheese soup for $5.25 each. Entrée selections include grilled salmon with a dill caper sauce, creamed spinach and potatoes for $23, roasted leg of lamb with mashed potatoes and sautéed zucchini for $22, and Wiener Schnitzel Austrian potatoes with red cabbage for $22.
Sorrel Urban Bistro 2202 W. Alabama St., 713-677-0391
This year's Christmas Eve dinner at Sorrel will feature dishes from around the world; it's an international Christmas Eve dinner. From 5-9 p.m., Sorrel will serve a la carte options, including South African lentil salad with tomato, lentils and coriander leaves for $9, and mofongo of fried plantains with roasted garlic and house pork rinds for $10 as appetizers; soup options include Korean miso soup with local market fish for $9 and Austrian Goulash with Hungarian crème fraiche for $8. Entrées include house-made pork confit tamales served with yucca mash and cucumber-cactus salad for $26, roasted squab with apples, currants and hazelnuts, red wine demi and braised cabbage-potato dumplings for $34, and charmoula lamb chops with curried cous cous and ancho honey glaze for $32. End the meal with a meringue and toasted hazelnut brittle topped with Houston's very own Cloud 10 vanilla bean ice cream for $11, a chocolate torte with blueberry-basil salad and fleur de sel for $10, or a sweet potato crème brulee with cranberry compote for $9.
The Bird & The Bear 2810 Westheimer, 713-528-2473
On Christmas Eve, The Bird & The Bear will serve a variety of appetizers for the entire family, including calamari, crab cakes, tuna tartar and fried gulf oysters, as well as main courses for every palate. Vegetarian options include a wild mushroom pasta, butternut squash ravioli and a gluten-free garden pasta. The restaurant will also serve crispy chicken roulade and bacon-wrapped brace of quail, seared Chilean sea bass, seafood paella, braised pork osso buco and The Ouisie's original chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes, black eyed peas, mustard greens and Lucy's corn pudding. Each item is priced a la carte.
Ouisie's Table 3939 San Felipe, 713-528-2264
Ouisie's Table will offer a similar menu to The Bird & The Bear on Christmas Eve; however, it will feature a few different items, such as a baked Cornish hen, baked Alaskan baby coho salmon and seared wild boar chops with port reduction. Each item is priced a la carte.
Backstreet Cafe 1103 S Shepherd, 713-521-2239
Backstreet Cafe will offer a three-course dinner on Christmas Eve for $49, including a complimentary amuse bouche of roasted cauliflower with aged white cheddar dip. Appetizer options include a petite lobster potpie and Saint Arnold-braised rabbit with wild mushrooms and sourdough garlic bread. Entrée options include grilled rib eye with a mushroom ragout and three-cheese scalloped potatoes, snapper with celery purée and roasted root vegetables, and rack of lamb with Brussels sprouts and a cauliflower gratin. End the meal on a sweet note with the delightful pumpkin cheesecake, sweet apple tarte tatin, chocolate pecan pie or mixed berries with orange custard sauce.
Hugo's 1600 Westheimer, 713-524-7744
This Christmas Eve, Hugo's will offer a Christmas Eve Buffet (Buffet de Noche Buena). The buffet costs $39 per person and $12 per child. Viento will provide live music throughout the buffet.
Kata Robata 3600 Kirby Dr, 713-526-8858
Who says you can't have sushi on Christmas Eve? Kata Robata will be open from 11:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve. The restaurant won't offer a happy hour on Christmas Eve, but will offer its full menu.
Kenny & Ziggy's 2327 Post Oak Blvd, 713-871-8883
Kenny & Ziggy's will be open on Christmas Eve until 8 p.m. serving all the classics -- giant sandwiches and salads, matzoh ball soup and Hungarian-style stuffed cabbage.
Mockingbird Bistro Wine Bar 1985 Welch, 713-533-0200
Enjoy either a three-course Christmas Eve lunch or dinner at Mockingbird Bistro for $65 per adult, $95 with wine pairings; children eat for $28. The first-course selections include smoked salmon timbale with a carrot-cucumber slaw, red snapper ceviche and roasted beet carpaccio. The main-course options include Rohan duck cassoulet, Kurabuta pork shank and a duet of grilled petit beef filet and Kobe beef cheeks. Enjoy a pumpkin crème brûléewith spiced cinnamon cookies, a flourless chocolate cake with white chocolate ice cream, chocolate pecan pie with vanilla been ice cream or a caramelized apple and pear crostata for dessert.
