Where to eat on New Year's Eve

16 Houston restaurants serving fantastic feasts on New Year's Eve

Those looking for New Year’s Eve revelry in Houston don’t have to look too far. Restaurants throughout the city are offering a variety of dine-in options to help Houstonians ring in the new year. Whether it’s a fancy feast or an intimate date night for two, here are some of our recommendations.

Amrina
The chic Woodlands spot offers a six-course New Year’s Eve’s dinner, with seatings at 4 pm and 8:45 pm. Entertainment begins at 7 pm and a midnight champagne toast will be included for the later seating. The early seating is $125 per person; the later seating is $150. Optional add-ons include wine pairings, caviar, and wagyu. Reserve online.

Artisans
Ring in the New Year with an elegant, six-course pre-fixe dinner, available from 5-10 pm. Select from gourmet creations like Le Foie Gras au Torchon et Pot de Crème, lobster and salmon with chantilly sauce, and a tender filet de boeuf rôti Rossini. Dinner also includes dessert and a celebratory champagne toast. The cost is $160 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Reservations can be made online and require a credit card.

Aya Sushi
The restaurant offers 50 percent off select bottles of wine and sake to celebrate the new year. While the restaurant’s regular menu will be available, patrons can also opt for the winter omakase menu, which is $159 per person. Make reservations online.

Little's Oyster Bar
In addition to its a modified version of its regular menu, the upscale seafood restaurant will offer a six-course, $175 per person menu. The progression starts with raw oysters, Red Royal shirmp, and lobster bisque. Continue with white truffle pappardelle before choosing either yellow edge grouper with black eyed peas or beef filet with mashed potatoes. Finish with chocolate cremeux.

The Lymbar
Chef David Cordúa has created a shared dinner for two to ring in 2025. For $240, a couple can share caviar "oreos," squid ink blinis with DR Delicacy osetra gold mascarpone, and chives; plantain chips with chimichurri sauce; spaghetti carbonara; lobster roll "Twinkies" accompanied by a lobster bisque shooter; a rib roast served family style with horseradish cream, leek fondue potatoes, pesto green beans, and wedge fries; tres leches; and sticky toffee pudding. The meal also includes a Champagne toast. Two seatings are available, one at 6:30 pm and one at 8:30. Call 713-485-6230 to reserve or book online.

Marmo
The Italian chophouse in Montrose has a special four-course prefix dinner for New Year’s Eve. Select from items such as wagyu carpaccio, lobster salad, squid ink campanelle, lasagna, branzino roulade, New York strip, roast duck, and more. The early seating, 5:30-8 pm, is $129 per person; the late seating, 8:30-11 pm, is $159. An optional wine pairing add-on is available for $35. Those who book a patio table receive a complimentary bottle of bubbles. See the full menu and reserve online.

Milton's
Head to Rice Village for a five-course, $135 menu of Italian fare. The menu includes heart of palm salad with shaved fennel; Sicilian "tar tar" with tuna, salmon, and scallops; oyster duo; lobster risotto; grilled branzino; and porchetta. Finish with dessert. Add caviar and vodka for $99 and wine pairings for $75.

Perry’s
All locations of the swanky steakhouse will be open on New Year’s Eve beginning at 4 pm. The Standard Prixe Fixe Menu has three courses, including choice of starter, entree, and dessert, for $89 per person. The Rare and Well Done Prix Fixe Menu includes a choice of starter, salad, entree, and dessert and is $149 per person. Choose items such as lobster bisque, wedge salad, an eight-ounce filet, Perry’s famous pork chop, pumpkin cheesecake, chocolate crunch tower, and other selections. See the full menu and reserve online.

Postino
The chic wine bar offers its Boujee Board & Bottle on New Year’s Eve from 5 pm to midnight. The cost is $50, for the board of bruschetta and bottle of Millesimato Pas Dosé Brut premium bubbles. Festive dress encouraged. Reservations suggested.

Roka Akor
The Upper Kirby steakhouse and sushi establishment has a special New Year’s Eve five-course menu for $135 per person. Enjoy options such as yellowtail sashimi with poached ponzu garlic and serrano, lobster tempura, and prime filet served with truffle miso butter, grilled fingerling potatoes, and shiso chimichurri. Reservations available online.

State of Grace
Ring in the new year with a special four-course, prix fixe menu for $195 per person. Menu highlights include yellowfin tuna crudo, Crescent Valley duck, diver scallops, and delicious desserts. Wine pairings are available for $65 or $115. See the full menu here. Reserve a spot online.

Street to Kitchen
Join James Beard Award-winning chef Benchawan Jabthong Painter for a five-course menu with pairings by Meticulous Spirits Vodka and Texas-based winemaker Adega Vinho. It's priced at $120 per person.

Tavola
The Italian restaurant's four-course prix fixe menu features dishes like Cinderella Scallops, uovo en raviolo, and Beef Wellington with porcini mushrooms. The cost is $105 per person. At midnight, there will be complimentary champagne, grapes symbolizing prosperity, and a live pasta cooking demonstration on the patio serving freshly-made cacio e pepe to all guests. The restaurant is open from 4 to 11:30 pm, with limited food service after 10. Reservations are available via OpenTable or by phone.

Traveler’s Table
Dine around the world without leaving Houston with a three-course prix fixe menu consisting of a small plate, entree, and dessert. The cost is $85 per person, plus tax and gratuity. A complimentary champagne toast will be served at midnight, and a DJ spins tunes into 2025. Reservations can be made via Resy.

Turner’s Cut
An opulent New Year’s Eve four-course, pre-fixe menu is available for $295 per person. Choose a starter such as foie terrine, king crab, or wild mushroom tart, followed by lobster ravioli, pan-seared scallops, or agnolotti. Entree selections include American Wagyu tenderloin, halibut, lamb chops, or white wine truffle risotto, and dessert choices are gateau Marjolaine, crème fraiche cheesecake, or cran-apple tarte-tatin. Reserve via OpenTable.

Uchiko Houston
Enjoy an omakase dinner to close out 2024 and welcome in 2025. Dinner begins with seasonal fruit and includes selections like caviar service, a two-piece nigiri course, Ora King salmon, New York strip, and a cheese course. The cost is $400 for two. Reserve online.

Photo by Shannon Smith

At Roka Akor, a sashimi platter is one of the five courses available as part of a special New Year's Eve menu.

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Let's Get Boozy

Houston restaurant celebrates 3 years with new cocktail program

Photo by Luke Chang Jia Media

To celebrate its third anniversary, Jun has introduced a cocktail program to its menu with a newly-acquired liquor license.

Heights restaurant Jūn has an additional reason to celebrate its third anniversary this year: liquor is officially on the menu.

The Heights restaurant, led by owners Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu, has built a loyal following and earned major recognition since its 2023 opening, including a 2026 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards nomination for Restaurant of the Year and two James Beard Award semifinalist nods.

But one complaint has remained consistent throughout the years.

“People will give us one star because we don't have the whiskey they want or we don't have a martini,” Lu tells CultureMap. “They're like, ‘Food is great. Service is amazing. We'll never come back here.’”

That’s about to change.

With a newly acquired liquor license, patrons can pair dishes like mussels with sour chorizo or tandoori-marinated lamb belly with drinks like the Pink Lady — a reimagining of the Texas classic White Lady made with beet-infused gin, citrus, and egg white.

Several drinks are closely tied to Lu and Garcia’s own stories, including the Post/Shift, an homage to the spicy margarita that Lu has sipped nightly at 9 pm for the past 15 years. The Jūn iteration adds ginger and tamarind, with mezcal as the spirit.

“We want to bring in things that are special to us, like the artwork in (Jūn), the food, the pottery — it all means something,” Lu says.

Other creations include the Good Old Fashion Fun, Very Dirty Martini, and The Bronx, a play on The Manhattan.

Before opening in 2023, Lu and Garcia looked into obtaining a liquor license but learned that installing a fire sprinkler system would be required due to an undefined occupancy limit. The pair planned to move forward with the installation, until they learned the wait time was at least a year.

“We're a legitimate mom and pop restaurant — I cannot delay this project for a year. We wouldn’t have opened,” Lu recalls saying.

After chatting with an industry colleague who had recently secured a license, Lu decided to revisit the process. With construction complete and an established occupancy limit, the restrictions had changed and a liquor license was easy to obtain. Jūn was in business.

When Jūn opened, Garcia and Lu developed a low-ABV “cocktail” program focused on wine and sake, emphasizing flavor through smoke and infusions of herbs and spices.

“We ran with what we had and we were really proud of it,” Lu says. “It really spoke of the creativity that this whole team strives for.”

That approach to flavor development carries into the expanded program, such as the carajillo, Jūn’s twist on the beloved coffee cocktail. The addition of smoked sake to the tequila-forward drink nods to the restaurant’s earlier beverage program.

“It gives it this well-rounded, beautiful, smoky flavor,” Lu says. “It's very homey. It's very reminiscent of a warm summer day.”

To mark both the restaurant’s third anniversary and the addition of liquor, Lu and Garcia are inviting the community to a celebration on Tuesday, March 31.

Attendees will find food by chefs Suu Khin of Burmalicious, Nina Fonte of Aleng Nina, and Ivan Chavez of Chavos BBQ, all regular pop-up participants at Third Place, Jūn’s daytime cafe and coffee concept.

A live sketch artist will capture portraits of guests for a group composite illustration that will hang on the restaurant’s wall. A photo booth, mariachi band, and live DJ are a part of the festivities, with drag bingo occurring later in the evening. The event begins at 6 pm. Tables are first come, first served, and RSVPs are required through OpenTable.

Jūn is open Wednesday through Monday from 5 pm to 10 pm at 420 East 20th Street, Suite A. Cocktails are not being served at Third Place.

To celebrate its third anniversary, Jun has introduced a cocktail program to its menu with a newly-acquired liquor license.

Photo by Luke Chang Jia Media

To celebrate its third anniversary, Jun has introduced a cocktail program to its menu with a newly-acquired liquor license.

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