Where to eat dinner on New Year’s Eve, on any budget
From Champagne-soaked open bar packages to low-key happy hours, here are 13 options.
Philly is swimming with good options for sending off 2019 and ringing in 2020. But how much do you want to spend? Here are 13 choices, listed from cheapest to most expensive.
SouthGate
Lay a very affordably priced base at the Graduate Hospital Korean bar/restaurant, which celebrates New Year’s with all-night happy hour. Bulgogi burgers, Seoul hot-chicken sandwiches, and Korean dumplings will top out at $10, with other bites going for less; house wine and beers (Bell’s Two-Hearted, Kirin) go for $3-$6.
1801 Lombard St., 215-560-8443, southgatephilly.com
Square 1682
Surf and turf for $39 is a more-than-fair deal. The NYE special at the Rittenhouse restaurant scores you a 10 oz. ribeye with chimichurri sauce, a half-grilled Maine lobster with charred lime and drawn herb butter, and crushed fingerling potatoes on the side.
121 S. 17th St., 215-563-5008, square1682.com
Bing Bing
Reservations only on NYE at East Passyunk’s edgy dim sum supplier. The $50 four-course family-style menu features yellowtail sashimi, foie gras soup dumplings, Peking duck tacos, and Sichuan-style surf and turf. No substitutions, though.
1648 E. Passyunk Ave., 215-279-7702, bingbingdimsum.com
Jet Wine Bar
The South Street spot offers a temptingly good value: a $65 open bar with specialty wines, beer, cocktails, artisan cheese, charcuterie, appetizers, and a midnight Champagne toast.
1525 South St., 215-735-1116, jetwinebar.com
Panorama
The Old City wine bar has prime views of the fireworks at Penn’s Landing. Eat early and save: the 4(!) and 6:30 p.m. seatings are $30 cheaper (and one course less) than the 9 o’clock, which comes with a $95 prix-fixe four-course meal and a Champagne toast at midnight. The menu is full of crowd-pleasers: lobster bisque, rigatoni beef ragu, filet mignon, pan-roasted salmon, olive oil cake, and tiramisu. Don’t worry, there are fireworks shows at 6 p.m. and midnight.
14 N. Front St., 215-922-7800, pennsviewhotel.com/panorama
Oyster House
Seafood lovers know where to go on NYE. The Sansom Street staple offers a four-course menu for $70. Start with a roasted oyster swimming in uni butter, move on to lobster salad dressed in coconut sauce, then pan-roasted halibut garnished with lump crab. End with baked Alaska or cranberry tart in a gingersnap crust.
1516 Sansom St., 215-567-7683, oysterhousephilly.com
Tinto
Prefer Spanish? Get a slew of small plates for $70 at Rittenhouse’s tapas restaurant. Basque cheeses, Iberian ham, a fancified Caesar salad, bluefin tuna toast, grilled wild mushrooms, and more are on the menu.
114 S. 20th St., 215-665-9150, tintorestaurant.com
Good King Tavern
The four-course $85 menu at Queen Village’s cozy French pub includes hamachi crudo with citrus, wild mushroom raviolo, tea-smoked guinea hen, beef Wellington, and chocolate souffle. Yum. Wine pairings are extra but wisely chosen by owner Chloe Grigri. Bonus: There’s a build-your-own-Manhattan bar.
614 S. Seventh St., 215-625-3700, thegoodkingtavern.com
XIX
The beautiful Bellevue restaurant has a four-course $85 meal for NYE. Sunchoke and artichoke soup with truffle cream to start, followed by seared scallops with buttermilk-poached lobster medallions. A lemon-basil sorbet to cleanse the palate, followed by roasted venison with a gin sauce. Finish with Champagne mousse. Add $65 for wine pairings.
200 S. Broad St., 19th floor, 215-790-1919, nineteenrestaurant.com
Cadence
Three dollars from every four-course, $93 meal at the Fishtown BYOB’s NYE celebration goes to paying for a Cadence employee’s health care. Though the menu isn’t yet set, it will include current offerings (herb dumplings with seafood ragu, ’Nduja-stuffed squid, smoked sweet potato with chorizo) as well as few surprises.
161 W. Girard Ave., 215-419-7537, cadencerestaurant.com
Forsythia
Chef Christopher Kearse’s stylized French fare is on offer on the Old City newcomer’s NYE menu. The $100 five-course meal includes Ora king salmon crudo with rose crème, winter radish, and grapefruit; broiled monkfish with cauliflower, lemon, Kaluga caviar, and smoked beurre blanc; and dry-aged New York strip au poivre with black truffle, cheddar, and spinach soubise. Tack on wine pairings for $50.
233 Chestnut St., 215-644-9395, forsythiaphilly.com
Aqimero
New Year’s at the Ritz is a tiered affair. At its most basic, it’s $250 for a Champagne fountain, a three-hour premium open bar, and two hours’ worth of luxury hors d’oeuvres, whole-roasted pig, and … guacamole? Bump it up to $475 for the seafood tower, petit fours, and a reserved couch seat.
10 Avenue of the Arts, 215-523-8200, aqimero.com
Jean-Georges
The priciest NYE dinner deal in Philadelphia, perhaps? $388 for a six-course meal at Jean-Georges Philadelphia (8 p.m. reservations). After the trademark egg caviar, move on to trout-and-oyster tartare, mushroom and truffle risotto, Maine lobster (more truffle), Wagyu beef tenderloin (even more truffle!), and dark chocolate mousse. Keep in mind: While the views are guaranteed to be stunning, the same can’t always be said of the food.
1 N. 19th St., 215-419-5000, fourseasons.com/philadelphia