Where to Indulge in Holiday Lunch in Boston
Here’s the 2024 rundown on special weekday lunch menus available around the city this holiday season, featuring luxurious steaks, seafood, and lots more.
Holiday lunch at Yvonne’s in Downtown Crossing. / Photo by Lisa Richov
One particularly fun aspect of the holiday season in Boston is special holiday lunches: Some of the city’s typically dinner-only spots add a midday meal to their schedule temporarily, and some others that do regularly serve lunch make it extra fancy for the season. It’s a nice way to jazz up your winter break—or sneak out of work for a leisurely afternoon eating lobster thermidor or wagyu steak with a side of champagne.
Here are the details for 13 holiday lunches to try around Boston in December 2024.
Last updated December 2024.
The Banks Seafood & Steak
WHEN: Weekdays throughout December | Reserve
This seafood-heavy sibling to Grill 23 & Bar (see below) serves weekday lunch year-round. Come December, the usual menu (we’re particularly fond of the chowder) is supplemented by a festive three-course prix fixe menu for $45. The 2024 selection includes dishes such as honeynut squash bisque with butter poached lobster, rabbit sugo gnocchi, and Biscoff chocolate mousse. Bonus: Lunch service ends at 3 p.m., and a special holiday happy hour caviar menu is available from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. throughout December with caviar spoons, oysters, mini lobster rolls, and more.
406 Stuart St., Back Bay, Boston, 617-399-0015, thebanksboston.com.
Bistro du Midi
WHEN: Weekdays throughout December | Reserve
This Public Garden-adjacent French restaurant, around since 2009, features a fireplace on its second floor—a great place to cozy up on a chilly day. An à la carte lunch menu is available throughout the year, but in December, Bistro du Midi is also offering its special holiday “Bouchon” lunch, a three-course prix fixe for $55 per person. The 2024 menu includes dishes such as French onion soup, sweet potato tortellini with seared scallops, and crème brûlée with gingersnap cookie. The team is recommending several special wines by the glass to enhance the meal.
272 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston, 617-279-8000, bistrodumidi.com.
Grill 23 & Bar always decks the halls. / Courtesy photo
Grill 23 & Bar
WHEN: Most weekdays from December 3-20 | Reserve
This award-winning steakhouse always gets fully decked out for the holiday season, filling its grand two-story space with wreaths, Christmas trees, and twinkling lights. All of which means it’s the perfect time of year to swing by the usually-dinner-only restaurant for a power lunch that will impress with a variety of festive specials. The 2024 menu, which is à la carte, features a full range of luxurious steak options (including wagyu), caviar, lobster rolls, and more.
161 Berkeley St., Back Bay, Boston, 617-542-2255, grill23.com.
Haley.Henry
WHEN: December 6, 13, 20 | Reserve (find the holiday lunch bookings near the bottom of the page)
The intimate Downtown Crossing wine bar is offering a $55 four-course holiday lunch by chef Kathryn Britten that includes dishes such as squash carpaccio with pine nut gremolata, porchetta with mustard braised greens, and chai crème brûlée. Plan on ordering some wine, because this is a killer wine bar! (And if you find yourself in the Fenway neighborhood this month, sibling spot Nathálie will also be serving a holiday lunch menu on select dates as well—see details below.)
45 Province St., Downtown Crossing, Boston, 617-208-6000, haleyhenry.com.
Harvest
WHEN: Daily throughout December | Reserve
Head down the hidden pathway to find this Harvard Square mainstay, where chef Nick Deutmeyer is showcasing modern New England cuisine with a three-course prix fixe menu ($55) alongside the regularly available lunch menu. This year’s selection includes dishes such as steak tartare, lobster spaghetti, and gingerbread mousse.
44 Brattle St., Harvard Square, Cambridge, 617-868-2255, harvestcambridge.com.
Juliet
WHEN: Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays between December 16 and 30 | Reserve
During lunch service in the latter half of December, Juliet is offering a special steakhouse-inspired prix fixe menu (alongside its usual à la carte offerings). For $39/person, the three-course menu includes dishes such as French onion soup, steak frites, and more.
263 Washington St., Union Square, Somerville, 617-718-0262, julietsomerville.com.
The Koji Club’s winter vibe. / Photo by Ally Schmaling
The Koji Club
WHEN: Fridays in December | Reserve (find the holiday lunch bookings near the bottom of the page)
Located at the Speedway, this cozy sake bar is offering a three-course prix fixe holiday lunch menu ($99) highlighting caviar and A5 wagyu beef. (A pescatarian menu is available as well.) Sake’s not included in the price, but you’ll definitely want to explore owner and sake expert Alyssa DiPasquale’s recommendations.
525 Western Ave., Brighton, Boston, thekojiclub.com.
Nathálie’s hazelnut torte from the 2023 holiday lunch menu. / Photo by Joe St. Pierre, styling by Madison Trapkin
Nathálie
WHEN: December 6, 13, 14, 20, 21 | Reserve (find the holiday lunch bookings near the bottom of the page)
One of Boston’s finest wine bars, Nathálie continues to impress six years in with its focus on intriguing small-production, natural wines. But don’t forget that there’s food, too! Though the usual dinner menu is a compact but delightful selection of snacks and a few larger plates, for just a few beautiful days in December, executive chef Isaac Reyes and his crew are pushing the petite kitchen to its limits with an à la carte holiday lunch menu featuring dishes such as roasted oysters with creamy spinach and bacon, lobster caramelle with roasted wild mushrooms, pan-seared duck breast with spiced carrots, and chestnut torte with goat cheese custard. (See sibling spot Haley.Henry’s holiday lunch plans above.)
186 Brookline Ave., Fenway, Boston, 857-317-3884, nathaliebar.com.
Nautilus Pier 4
WHEN: Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in December | Reserve
This Nantucket export made a splash when it expanded to Boston’s Seaport in 2021, serving a flavor-packed Asian-fusion menu that dances from Sichuan dandan noodles to barbecue Korean-style short ribs. For the holiday season, the team is adding an extra day to its usual weekend lunch schedule and offering a special menu showcasing the restaurant’s signature Peking-inspired whole roast duck. Also available: Japanese fried chicken, blue crab fried rice, steamed pork buns, Thai sausage lettuce wraps, and more, not to mention seasonal cocktails like hot buttered rum.
300 Pier Four Blvd., Seaport District, Boston, 857-957-0998, thenautilus.com/boston.
No. 9 Park
WHEN: December 12, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22 | Reserve
Barbara Lynch’s Beacon Hill flagship will close at the end of the year, so this is your chance to bid farewell to the restaurant that’s been serving up fine-dining for over a quarter century. Its annual lunch returns one last time for select dates in December, with the menu to be announced soon.
9 Park St., Beacon Hill, Boston, 617-742-9991, no9park.com.
Prezza
WHEN: December 6, 13, 20 | Reserve
This upscale North End favorite—which is usually only open for dinner—will open early for Friday lunches this holiday season, featuring a Feast of the Seven Fishes-inspired à la carte menu alongside other dishes such as a wagyu burger with truffle cheese, chicken cutlet Milanese, and gemelli with meatballs.
24 Fleet St., North End, Boston, 617-227-1577, prezza.com.
Scampo
WHEN: Tuesday through Saturday in December | Reserve
Inside the Liberty Hotel (with its eye-catching upside-down Christmas trees), Scampo is adding a few days to its usual lunch schedule and offering a special seasonal menu with dishes such as lobster stew, a hybrid wedge-Waldorf salad, pizza with speck and roasted grapes, pumpkin ravioli, and more.
215 Charles St., Beacon Hill, Boston, 617-536-2100, scampoboston.com.
Yvonne’s lobster Savannah from the 2023 holiday lunch menu. / Photo by Joe St. Pierre, styling by Madison Trapkin
Yvonne’s
WHEN: December 6, 13, 14, 19, 20| Reserve
Swanky downtown hot spot Yvonne’s carries on the very long legacy of its predecessor at 2 Winter Pl., Locke-Ober, with an annual holiday lunch full of glamour, nostalgia, and modern interpretations of the historical restaurant’s classics. You’ll want to dress up for this white-tablecloth feast, as servers in timeless white dinner jackets will be making martinis and torching baked Alaska tableside, bringing around the caviar cart, and serving elegant dishes such as coquilles St.-Jacques, lobster Thermidor, and black truffle roast chicken. Just be sure to make reservations ASAP (required!) if you want to partake in this highly popular annual tradition.
2 Winter Place, Downtown Crossing, Boston, 617-267-0047, yvonnesboston.com.
A version of this guide appeared in the print edition of the December 2023/January 2024 issue with the headline “It’s the Most Wonderful Lunch of the Year.”
