Amid all of the holiday season rush and crush, it’s easy to lose sight of what comes next. Like New Year’s Eve. Fear not. Atlanta restaurants have big plans and welcome you to join them in ringing in 2017.
Intown/Midtown/Virginia-Highland
5Church Atlanta has a three-course dinner on New Year’s Eve with a half bottle of Champagne for two or a full bottle for four. Seatings are from 5-5:45 p.m. ($75), 6-6:45 p.m. ($80) and 7-7:45 p.m. ($90). Reservations after 8 p.m. include post-dinner dancing and cost $120, with a $50 upgrade after dinner for an open bar. A festive party starts at 10 p.m. and features open bar and buffet, a DJ on two floors, a live countdown to the ball drop and a Champagne midnight toast. General admission is $80. Tickets to the party can be purchased here. Make dinner reservations online or by calling 404-400-3669. Beat the impending hangover with brunch on New Year’s Day. 5Church opens at 9 a.m. and will be serving their regular brunch menu.
Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar is hosting a New Year’s Eve party with an à la carte dinner menu featuring such items as shredded confit duck leg, crispy rock shrimp spring rolls, pan-roasted halibut and smoked prime rib, as well as Jägermeister drink specials and live music by DJ Lion beginning at 10 p.m. On New Year’s Day, enjoy the full brunch menu along with a special dish of roasted pork loin, hoppin’ John rice, braised greens and cornbread ($14). Call 404-876-7249 for reservations.
The Federal, the new neighborhood restaurant from Shaun Doty and Lance Gummere, is open for business as usual on both days, offering food specials on Dec. 31 and its signature weekend brunch on Jan. 1, with such Southern staples as chicken and waffles and brisket skillet hash. Reservations: 404-343-3857.
Gunshow is open for extended hours on New Year’s Eve, seating every half-hour beginning at 5:30 p.m. through 10 p.m. The Glenwood Park restaurant offers its singular dining experience, with chefs rotating selections tableside, and guests also can enjoy premium wines and cocktails. Make reservations online or at 404-380-1886.
Hand in Hand is the perfect spot for a low-key New Year’s Eve experience. The neighborhood pub will be featuring its regular food and drink menus with no cover and also is open on New Year’s Day with Sunday specials.
Ring in New Year’s with a never-ending pizza party at HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern. The ever-popular Midtown hangout is open normal hours on New Year’s Eve, offering its regular menu until 10 p.m., when guests can enjoy all-you-can-eat pizza and endless beer and Champagne, plus live music, a balloon drop, Champagne toast and party favors. Tickets are $49 per person in advance and $55 at the door. HOBNOB is also open regular hours on Jan. 1. Call 404-968-2288 for reservations.
Buckhead
American Cut is serving its menu of signature steakhouse favorites like filet mignon, New York strip, porterhouse and the Tomahawk Chop on Dec. 31 from 5:30-10 p.m. with $15 glasses of Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut available throughout the evening. Guests dining 8:30 p.m. and later receive entry to the restaurant’s separate rooftop bar, The Regent Cocktail Club, which is open to the public from 5-9 p.m. serving top-flight cocktails in an elegant setting, then hosting only American Cut patrons and celebrating midnight. Space is limited! Call 770-415-9766 for reservations.
Celebrate the arrival of 2017 in the newly redesigned dining room of Aria. Enjoy a four-course meal creatively prepared by chef Gerry Klaskala and pastry chef Kathryn King on Dec. 31 from 5:30-10 p.m. $95 per person. Find the perfect wine pairings for your meal with the help of general manager and wine director Andrés Loaiza. Reservations by phone only at 404-233-7673.
Dolce Italian welcomes guests with $15 glasses of Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut. New Year's Eve reservations are available from 5:30-10 p.m. and diners can order items from Dolce’s à la carte menu or order a special four-course prix fixe menu; includes a glass of prosecco and dessert ($125 per person). There will also be a DJ starting at 10:30 p.m. with a complimentary Champagne toast at midnight. Reservations: 678-686-2267.
Gypsy Kitchen and The Southern Gentleman are offering limited à la carte menus with special chef features. Music at both – a DJ at Gypsy Kitchen and a live band at The Southern Gentleman -- as well as party favors, a balloon drop and a complimentary Champagne toast at midnight. The Southern Gentleman also is open for brunch on Jan. 1 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. with $5 mimosas and live music. Gypsy Kitchen: 404-939-9840; The Southern Gentleman: 404-939-9845.
There’s nothing quite like dancing away the New Year’s count down at Johnny’s Hideaway. $40 per person includes your reserved seat for the evening and party favors at midnight. Reserve by phone at 404-233-8026.
New Year’s Eve at Storico Fresco Alimentari e Ristorantebrings a five-course meal of Old World Italian favorites for $80 per person, plus tax, gratuity and alcohol. There’s also a children’s menu available for $30 per child. Reservations can be made by phone at 404-500-2181 or on OpenTable.
Marietta
Chicken and the Egg is serving a New Year’s menu with options including hangar steak, a filet with fried Maine lobster tail or snow crab legs, grouper, shrimp and grits and the restaurant’s famous buttermilk fried chicken. The menu is available 5-10 p.m. Dec. 30 and 31. Start the new year with brunch on Jan. 1 from 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Reservations: 678-388-8813.
Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar has a New Year’s Eve $75 prix fixe menu with such offerings as Atlantic grouper, jumbo lump crabcakes, butter-poached Maine lobster and wood-grilled Bay of Fundy salmon, with wine pairings available for an additional $25. Regular menu not available. Call 770-635-7641 for reservations.
Seed Kitchen & Bar and Stem Wine Bar, located next to each other in Marietta’s Merchant’s Walk retail center, are featuring a $75 four-course prix fixe menu on Dec. 31 with such selections as sweet potato ravioli, Boston blue cod, Maple Leaf Farms duck breast and grilled center-cut filet mignon. Wine pairings are available for an additional $25. For reservations, call 678-214-6888.
Decatur
Kevin Gillespie’s Revival has both family style and à la carte menus of traditional Southern favorites such as black-eyed peas, cornbread, pork, roasted prime beef and fried chicken. Dinner reservations for New Year’s Eve are available from 5-10 p.m. In addition to the restaurant’s regular cocktail, wine and beer lists, guests also can enjoy prosecco for celebratory toasts. Make reservations by calling 470-225-6770.
OTP/Multiple Locations
Celebrate 2017 early at Atlanta's favorite neighborhood tavern. Marlow's Tavern is dishing out a prix fixe menu on Friday, Dec. 30 and Saturday, Dec. 31 for $39 per person or $59 per person with pairings. First tastes include your choice of Maine Lobster & Shrimp Chowder or MT Winter Salad. Main plate options include Marlow's Surf & Turf or Crab Stuffed Trout and end the night with The Perfect Sweet Plate or Holiday Spiced Martini.
Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails is serving a $65 prix fixe menu on Dec. 31 to ring in the new year. Call 770-817-0161 for reservations.
Don your best duds and flapper dresses for a New Year’s Eve Great Gatsby Gala at Ray’s on the River. Rollicking in the Grand Pavilion from 9:30 p.m.-1 a.m., this one-of-a-kind event features an open bar, heavy hors d’oeuvre, dancing to live music from Jennifer Hanson’s five-piece live band, a Champagne toast and a midnight balloon drop. $130 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Reservations required: 770-955-1187.
Ray’s on the River, Ray's at Killer Creek and Ray's in the Cityare each serving a $70 three-course prix fixe menu on New Year’s Eve. Selections are subject to change but are expected to include such offerings as artisan field greens, a broiled seafood platter, filet mignon, pan-seared Chilean sea bass, rib-eye and Ray’s signature praline basket dessert. Each restaurant also is serving a limited dinner menu. Live music is in the lounge at each restaurant. On New Year’s Day, all three restaurants have a brunch buffet from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. ($39.95 at Ray’s in the City and Ray’s at Killer Creek; $45.95 at Ray’s on the River) and an à la carte dinner menu from 5-9 p.m.
