New Year's Eve Dining Guide

Ring in the New Year with a fab feast at these 10 Houston bars and restaurants

Ring in the New Year with dim sum at Yauatcha.

Photo by Morris Malakoff

Of all the holidays, New Year’s Eve is the one that’s most closely associated with going out. While some people stay home and watch the ball drop, it’s more fun to go out, have a nice dinner, and enjoy a glass or two of champagne.

This roundup focuses on some new options with set menus, but it also includes a couple of more low key, a la carte spots. As of Friday morning, all of these establishments have tables available, but act fast. They’ll get snapped up quickly.

Looking for something to do after dinner? Don’t miss CultureMap’s guide to this year’s best New Year’s Eve parties.

Avondale Food & Wine
For its 9 pm seating, the Montrose restaurant is serving a five-course, prix fixe menu that includes all beverages and a champagne toast at midnight. The meal includes a farmers market salad, red snapper crudo, cacio e pepe, hanger steak, and Meyer lemon pie for $100 per person. Or show up at 11 pm for tunes by DJ Master Malcolm and a champagne toast for $30. Reservations online or by calling 713-360-6313.

Better Luck Tomorrow
For those looking for a more casual option, consider this popular bar in The Heights. No set menu or high prices here — just a special slate of tiki cocktails and housemade hot dogs (bun and all). Complimentary champagne toast at midnight.

Bravery Chef Hall
Get a preview of downtown’s newest food hall. All five of the concept’s chefs — Richard Knight (Atlas Diner), Christine Ha (The Blind Goat), Ben McPherson (BOH Pasta), Felix Florez (Cherry Block Craft Butcher & Kitchen), and David Guerrero (Nuna Nikkei Bar) — will be on hand to serve food from their restaurants. Tickets also include cocktails, wine, music by DJ Senega, and a balloon drop. Tickets ($150) are available online.

Danton’s Gulf Coast Seafood & Steaks
Make one last visit to the popular Montrose restaurant before it shutters and reopens next year in the former Mockingbird Bistro space as Eugene’s Gulf Coast Cuisine. The restaurant will have its full menu available; owner Kyle Teas will lead a toast at 10 pm, leaving diners plenty of time to make another stop or two. Reservations required for the main dining room. Open seating at the oyster bar.

Emmaline
Sam Governale’s stylish neighborhood restaurant has two options for New Year’s Eve. A special, three-course menu ($85, $125 with pairings) is available until 9 pm that includes options such as wagyu carpaccio, winter beet tart, beef Wellington, Colorado rack of lamb, and Italian chocolate and caramel ice cream bomba. After 9 pm, enjoy passed hors d’oeuvres, champagne, and music by DJ Melodic ($50). Reserve by calling 713-523-3210.

Indianola
As an alternative to prix fixe options, Agricole Hospitality’s EaDo restaurant will be open for regular dinner service on New Year’s Eve. Pair it with a visit to sister concept Miss Carousel for drinks after. Reserve online.

International Smoke
Celebrity chef Michael Mina and lifestyle guru Ayesha Curry’s restaurant devoted to live fire cooking will celebrate its first New Year’s Eve with a four-course, prix fixe menu ($85). Options include smoked lobster bisque, smoked New York strip, chocolate brownie parfait. Those feeling particularly celebratory may add a bottle of Krug Grand Cuvee Brut for $260 or a seafood tower for two or four people ($50/$85). Reservations either online or by calling 713-714-0126 are recommended. https://reservations.internationalsmoke.com, or call.

La Lucha
Gather a group of friends for a family-style feast at this Heights restaurant, which will take reservations for one night only. Chef Bobby Matos’ menu includes Johnny cakes with caviar, blue crab-stuffed ravioli in spicy shrimp sauce, and fried chicken with biscuits (a porterhouse supplement is also available). Wine pairings, including a champagne toast at midnight, will be available, as well as $0.69 cheeseburgers after 10 pm.

Poitín
Enjoy a fantastic view of the downtown skyline at this Sawyer Yards restaurant. Chef Dominick Lee’s four-course menu ($125, wine pairings included) begins with oysters and caviar. The meal also includes options such as chicken and sausage gumbo, char-grilled ribeye with spoon bread, halibut with winter greens, and a special dessert. Reserve online.

Yauatcha
Get down on dim sum at this Galleria restaurant. The four-course menu ($88, $128 with wine pairings) features multiple dishes per course. For example, the first round includes many of the restaurant’s signature items, including wagyu beef puff, lobster dumpling, and scallop shu mai. The entree includes truffle duck, sweet and sour pork, and baked Chilean sea bass. Finish up with a selection of pastries. Reserve online or call 713-357-7588.

holidays news-you-can-eat dinner

These are the 10 restaurant stories Houston devoured most in 2024

Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company/Facebook

Buff Brew might reopen.

Editor’s note: Readers turn to CultureMap to stay informed on all the latest Houston restaurant news, but some stories grab more people’s attention than others. As always, closings rank highly, taking four of the 10 places on this list. But it wasn’t all bad news. Readers demonstrated their excitement for the Michelin Guide’s arrival in Texas by looking at our predictions for which restaurants would earn stars, and they celebrated national recognition for Texas-based eateries such as Torchy’s and Chuy’s. This year also saw sudden changes at a prominent steakhouse and a Houston breakfast favorite being acquired by new owners.

Here are the 10 most-read restaurant stories of 2024 in Houston.

1. Houston beer shocker: Sawyer Yards brewery shutters after landlord lock out. Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company's existence came to an abrupt end in January, when its landlord suddenly terminated its lease for non-payment of rent. Initially, the brewery vowed to reopen. Instead, Gulf Coast Distillers claimed the facility as the new home for its Tejas Beer brand.

2. Predicting 14 Houston restaurants that should earn a Michelin star. Overall, this article fared reasonably well. Three of the four “locks” earned stars, and one of the four “probably” restaurants did, too — meaning we correctly identified four of the six restaurants that ultimately earned a star. Six of the other predictions for stars and Bib Gourmands earned either a Bib or a “Recommended” designation.

3. Embattled Houston hospitality group negotiating sale of its signature steakhouse. Published in July, neither Underbelly Hospitality nor the ownership of Bari Ristorante have ever commented publicly on the status of who’s operating Georgia James. What is known is that the menu has changed significantly in the last few months. In addition, the people serving as Georgia James’ executive chef, general manager, wine director, and Underbelly Hospitality’s then-president have all left the company.

4. Favorite Texas taco chain ranks high on USA Today 10-best list. From its humble food truck roots, Torchy’s Tacos has spread to 14 states, allowing it to capture the affection of USA Today’s readers. Part of the credit for the success goes to these practices: making items from scratch, originating delivery orders at the counter rather than offsite, and tip- or profit-sharing.

5. Iconic Fulshear barbecue favorite will soon shutter after 67 years. Despite considerable acclaim, Dozier’s BBQ closed suddenly in March, citing a steep decline in business. Thankfully, this story has a happy ending. Tyler Risinger, the great-grandson of founder Ed Dozier, reopened the restaurant in August.

6. Katy's massive new beer garden boasts 100 taps and German-inspired design. Steven Salazar took the experiences from a lengthy stint with the Kirby Group and applied them to Katy Beer Garden. The massive, indoor-outdoor features a landscaped beer garden, an air-conditioned beer hall, and a more intimate cocktail bar.

7. Rice Village bistro quietly closes after only 3 years in business. Gratify Neighborhood Bistro had some initial success, but operator The Big Vibe Group elected not to renew their lease on the space. Instead, ownership said that they plan to expand sister concepts Coppa Osteria and Flora Mexican Kitchen. The group also operates California-inspired Graffiti Raw in the Montrose Collective mixed-use development.

8. 7 Mexican chain restaurants from Texas attempting to conquer America. We all know Texas has great restaurants, so it’s no surprise to see concepts such as Torchy’s, Chuy’s, and Velvet Taco expanding across the country. Some of that has been fueled by acquisitions by bigger companies, such as Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants buying Chuy’s this summer for approximately $605 million.

9. Houston breakfast staple has new owners, but giant pancakes will remain. Then again, not all acquisitions involve big corporations. This summer, the company behind Adair Kitchen and Los Tios purchased Buffalo Grille, the all-day concept known for its giant pancakes and classic Southern comfort food. As for former owner John McAleer, fans will find him running two establishments in Galveston: Lil’ Buffalo Grille and the recently-opened 1817 Steak & Seafare.

10. Historic Houston Italian restaurant will shutter after 41 years in Midtown. High-profile restaurant closures always generate plenty of reader interest. In 2024, no closing stung quite as much as Damian’s Cucina Italiana. General manager Johnny B. Mandola, the son of co-owner Frankie Mandola, told CultureMap that the restaurant never fully recovered from changing in dining habits that took place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company/Facebook

Buff Brew closed abruptly in January.

hot-headlines news-you-can-eat

New Year's Eve Dining Guide

Ring in the New Year with a fab feast at these 10 Houston bars and restaurants

top restaurant stories of 2024

These are the 10 restaurant stories Houston devoured most in 2024