where to eat on Christmas Day

More than 20 Houston restaurants that will be open on Christmas Day

On December 25, families all over Houston will gather for home-cooked Christmas Day feasts. We wish all of them a Merry Christmas.

For any number of reasons, not everyone will have that experience. This guide is for you. It contains a range of cuisines, locations, and price points to satisfy a range of tastes.

Of course, many restaurants in Chinatown and other Asian-oriented business districts will be open. Call your favorites to confirm their hours.

Afuri Ramen
Newly opened in the Heights, the restaurant will be serving steaming bowls of noodles, sushi rolls, and Basque cheesecake for its regular hours of 11 am - 10 pm.

Aga’s Restaurant & Catering
Nothing says Merry Christmas like goat chops and other Indo-Pak fare at this Southwest Houston restaurant that was recently featured in the New York Times. The restaurant will be open during its regular hours on Christmas.

Baso
The Heights restaurant will be open for its regular hours of 4-10 on Christmas. Expect the usual menu of chef-driven, Basque-influenced fare from chefs Max Lappe and Jacques Varon.

The Burger Joint
All three Houston-area locations will be serving sandwiches, fries, and milkshakes beginning at 11 am on Christmas.

Chow Wok
The Chinese American restaurant will be open its regular hours on Christmas. Since the restaurant will likely be busy, order your General Tso’s chicken, fried rice, shrimp rolls, dumplings, and more via its website.

Cleburne Cafeteria
The Houston institution will be open on Christmas Day from 11 am-8 pm with all of its comfort food favorites like chicken fried steak, roast turkey, and liver and onions. Don’t miss the freshly baked cakes and pies.

Davis St. at Hermann Park
Chef Mark Holley’s globally inspired restaurant will offer a four-course, $70 menu with lots of choices for appetizers, entrees, and desserts. Start with dishes such as gumbo, corn and crab chowder, chargrilled oysters, or crispy Thai shrimp. Entree choices include blackened redfish, turkey dinner, and grilled lamb chops ($14 supplement). Four dessert choices are available, but those in the know will opt for coconut cake.

Doris Metropolitan
The Israeli-inspired steakhouse will be open from 12-8 pm with its familiar menu of dry-aged steaks and Houston’s best bread service. Since December 25 is also the first night of Hanukkah, the restaurant will light a menorah at sundown.

Duck N Bao
For those craving Peking duck, soup dumplings, or Sichuan dishes, all three locations will be open their regular hours, 11 am - 9:30 pm.

Gold Tooth Tony's
Both locations of the Detroit-style pizzeria will open at 4 pm — just in time for the second half of the Texans game.

Hamsa
Rice Village’s modern Israeli restaurant will be open Christmas Day to serve its hummus, falafel, and other Mediterranean-inspired fare. Since December 25 is also the first night of Hanukkah, the restaurant will light a menorah at sundown.

Photo by Jenn Duncan

Live your own version of The Christmas Story at Duck N Bao.

Hongdae 33
This Korean restaurant in Chinatown’s Dun Huang Plaza will be open regular hours on Christmas Day, which means diners will be able to grill their meats tableside from 11:30 am all the way until midnight. The all-you-can-eat restaurant from the owners of Duck N Bao offers its full menu for $22 per person at lunch and $33 at dinner.

Juliet
The Galleria-area steakhouse will serve a Christmas Day buffet from 1-8 pm. Priced at $79 per adult, $48 for kids under 12, and free for children 5 and under, the buffet includes dishes such as hickory smoked ham, filet mignon, mashed potatoes, candied yams, cornbread dressing, cranberry sauce, lobster bisque, and dessert.

Karne
The upscale Korean steakhouse in the Heights will be serving up bulgogi, wagyu, and other grilled meats from 5-10 pm.

Kiran’s
The beloved Indian fine dining restaurant will serve its extravagant Christmas buffet ($110) with a wealth of choices that includes roasted duck, leg of lamb, cedar plank salmon, turkey pot pie, chicken tikka masala, a range of vegetable sides, and desserts. Reserve online.

La Griglia
The upscale Italian restaurant will be open from 12-6 with its usual menu plus specials such as short rib cappelletti, mushroom risotto, and grilled branzino.

Leo’s River Oaks
The upscale steakhouse and supper club will serve its regular menu that includes lobster bisque, seared scallops, grilled octopus, veal milanese, and more from 2-10 pm on Christmas Day.

New York Deli
Both the deli and its companion bagel bakery will be open their normal hours of 7 am - 4 pm on Christmas.

Ojo de Agua
This Mexico City-based restaurant in River Oaks District will be open from 11 am - 8 pm on Christmas Day with its regular menu that includes breakfast dishes such as chilaquiles as well as sandwiches, tacos, salads, and more. Don’t miss the signature Açaí Bowl.

Phat Eatery
Katy’s acclaimed Malaysian restaurant will add Wagyu Rendang Wellington to its regular menu, 11 am - 9 pm. The Woodlands location is closed on Christmas.

The Palm
In addition to its regular menu, the downtown steakhouse will offer prime rib specials of 16 and 22 ounces ($69 or $79). , and a bone-in cut that weighs a hefty 32 ounces. Add a lobster tail to complete the experience, 12-8 pm.

Red Lion Pub
Head to the Anglo-Indian pub for dishes such as Shepherd’s Pie, fish and chips, and chicken tikka masala as well as a Christmas Day turkey dinner special with turkey, stuffing, yams, Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, and more ($38). It will be open for regular hours on Christmas Day (11 am-12 am).

Rudyard's
The favorite Montrose pub will open at 5 pm. Catch a free comedy show upstairs at 8 pm.

The Taco Stand
Both locations of the casual taqueria will be open from 8 am until midnight, because even Santa’s helpers deserve to start their day with breakfast tacos and finish it with canned margaritas.

Three Brothers Bakery
This bakery that's a staple of Houston's Jewish community will be open on December 25 from 9 am - 5 pm with plenty of treats for both Christmas and Hanukkah, which begins at sundown. Braeswood location only.

Toro Toro
The pan-Latin steakhouse at downtown's Four Seasons Hotel will serve a four-course, $120 menu from 11 am - 3 pm. Choices include coconut butternut squash soup, baby kale salad, family-style entrees of Chilean sea bass and beef filet, and a dessert trio. Reservations are required.

The Warwick
The Galleria-area restaurant will be open on Christmas Day from 4-10 pm with its regular menu of elevated Southern fare.

Willie G’s
This seafood restaurant next to the Post Oak Hotel will serve an expansive Christmas buffet that’s priced at $69 for adults and $29 for children. Expect a full spread that includes prime rib, stuffed leg of lamb, a wide array of starters and sides, and an extensive raw bar with oysters, smoked salmon, peel & eat shrimp, and sushi rolls. Breads, pastries, and a couple of kid-specific dishes round out the offerings. 11 am - 7 pm

news-you-can-eat holidays christmas

New Year's greetings

Chris Shepherd gives thanks for underrated wine and talented Houston doctors

Photo by Chris Shepherd

Chris has been enjoying wines from California's Lodi region.

I know my articles have been a bit scarce these past few months, and I owe you an apology. Life shifted in a big way. In September, my wife Lindsey was diagnosed with breast cancer, and our world narrowed, in the best possible way — to home, health, and the fight in front of us.

The first and most important thing I’m thankful for is early detection and the city we live in. Having MD Anderson here in Houston is a gift I’ll never take lightly. Lindsey is doing great with treatment. She’s an absolute warrior, and this experience has a way of reframing everything. It forces you to look back, take inventory, and find purpose in both the good and the hard. Today, we’re focusing on the good.

I love documenting delicious bottles, great bites, and the people we share them with. Every year, I scroll back through my photos to see if my drinking patterns have changed. The answer? A little, but not dramatically. That’s part of what makes wine so fascinating — it’s alive, always evolving, and so are we.

Chablis and Sangiovese were heavy hitters in 2024 and carried right into 2025. But on the white side, I found myself diving deeper into Aligoté, Burgundy’s other white grape. While Chardonnay is the big dog, Aligoté deserves your attention. Think green apple, citrus, herbal, and floral notes, with bright energy and lift. The real bonus? You can drink Aligoté from top Burgundy producers at a much friendlier price point. It punches well above its weight and belongs on your table.

I’ve also been blown away by Chardonnay from northern Oregon. Early mistakes with clones led to wines that never quite found balance, but producers committed to getting it right with different clones that did much better in cooler sites, with less oak and shorter barrel time. Barrels should be nurturing vessels, not seasoning agents. Producers like North Valley, Soter, and Alexana are making some of the best Chardonnay I’ve had in years, and I am here for it.

This past year also brought new adventures, including a month-long stay in Healdsburg, California in July. With a Southern Smoke event and another trip already planned, we packed up the cats, rented a house, and lived somewhere else for a while. It was magical and something I hope we do again.

While out there, my friend Tegan Passalacqua (Turley Vineyards, Sandlands) invited me to Lodi to taste what’s happening in that region. Lodi has long been known for bulk wine, but the story runs much deeper. Sitting just outside the Sierra Foothills, the region was shaped by massive geological shifts millions of years ago that helped it draw settlers searching for gold in the 1800s. They brought vines with them: Zinfandel, Syrah, and countless lesser-known varieties that are finally getting their moment.

Zinfandel, genetically linked to Tribidrag (Croatia) and Primitivo (Italy), has been thriving there since the 1850s. After its boom in the early 2000s and an era of ultra-ripe, high-alcohol styles it lost some favor. But tastes change. What’s coming from Lodi’s old vines today is refined, balanced, and beautiful.

“Think head-trained, dry-farmed, own-rooted vines — some 100 to 150 years old — producing wines that speak clearly of place,” Passalacqua tells me. His Zins sit around 14.5-percent alcohol, elegant and structured, a far cry from the 16-17-percent monsters of decades past.

One of my newest obsessions is Old Vine Cinsault from the Bechthold Vineyard, planted in 1885. Traditionally a blending grape in southern France, here it shines on its own with bright red fruit and soft tannins — an incredibly crushable wine. If you love lighter Pinot Noir or Gamay, this will make you smile. Look for bottles from Sandlands, Turley, Lorenza, Birichino, and others.

So here’s the takeaway, like always: break down the walls you’ve been drinking behind. Try something new. Aligoté and Lodi aren’t new but they don’t need to be. They just need people willing to make them cool again. Trust me, they’re delicious and deserving.

And in the words of the late, great Jerry Garcia:

Photo by Chris Shepherd

Chris has been enjoying wines from California's Lodi region.

Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world
The heart has its beaches, its homeland and thoughts of its own
Wake now, discover that you are the song that the morning brings
The heart has its seasons, its evenings and songs of its own

Happy New Year, team. Never forget to be kind and show love.

chris shepherd wine