Don’t feel like cooking on Christmas? These DC-area restaurants will be open
Staying in town for the holidays and too lazy to cook? There are a number of restaurants in the D.C. area that have you covered on Christmas Day. Many are also open Christmas Eve and offer grab-and-go holiday specials.
Founding Farmers will be offering an all-day Christmas Day buffet from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at select locations in the region, including the Tysons and Reston Station locations in Northern Virginia as well as Founding Farmers & Distillers DC and Farmers Fishers Bakers DC. The festive spread will include baked oysters and honey glazed ham, priced at $55 per person. Children ages 7 to 11 eat for $22 while children 6 and younger eat for free.
Both Montgomery County’s and D.C.’s Founding Farmers locations will be open Christmas Day as well, offering an a la carte breakfast and regular lunch and dinner menus.
Brazilian Steakhouse chain Fogo de Chao will be open on Christmas from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Locations in the DMV include North Bethesda, Downtown DC, National Harbor, Tysons and Reston.
In Bethesda, the hibachi chain restaurant Benihana is taking reservations for lunch and dinner on Christmas Day.
Ambar, which serves elevated Balkan cuisine, is open for Christmas Day brunch at its Capitol Hill, Shaw and Clarendon locations.
Draza Mojsilovic, service director for the Street Guys Hospitality restaurant group which owns Ambar, told WTOP that traditional Balkan Christmas dishes include shrimp buzara with grits, tomato, white wine and onions and lamb pâté with horseradish cream and dried cranberries.
All three locations will be open for Christmas Eve dinner. Ambar Capitol Hill will also offer a Christmas Eve brunch. The restaurant is also selling a $79 grab-and-go Christmas meal for two; orders must be placed by Saturday, Dec. 23 and picked up on Christmas Eve.
San Lorenzo in Northwest D.C. is open for lunch and dinner, offering a three-course holiday meal for $95. The Italian restaurant is also celebrating the traditional Italian-American Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve.
Kinship, also in Northwest, has a take-away Christmas meal-for-two menu. The $200 four-course holiday special includes a truffle Waldorf salad, slow-roasted prime rib, truffle-stuffed chicken or poached halibut — and gingerbread mousse cake for dessert. Pickup is Sunday, Christmas Eve.
For those craving Indian food, Aditi Indian Dining in Alexandria is open for lunch and dinner on Christmas.
Chinese food is a popular cuisine on Christmas and there are a number of options in the region including City Lights of China in Bethesda and Northwest D.C., and A&J Restaurant in Rockville and Annandale.