Christmas, like Thanksgiving, is a family holiday, a time for friends and relations to gather around a festive table to eat and drink and celebrate. While Thanksgiving dinner is usually a reasonably casual affair, prepared at home, Christmas dinner doesn’t have to be.

Whether a nighttime feast on Christmas Eve or a leisurely afternoon or evening repast on the day itself, Christmas dinner is a good excuse to let somebody else do the cooking. Christmas season is a busy one, with all the shopping and wrapping, all the parties and preparations leading up to the day itself. If you eat Christmas dinner out, you won’t have to spend the day, or even part of it, prepping and cooking — and you won’t have to clean up afterwards.

24/7 Wall St. has identified the best restaurant in every state that’s open for dinner Christmas Eve or Christmas Day or both. We reviewed for each state user reviews on Google, Yelp, and other restaurant rating sites.

A number of these are hotel restaurants or Asian eateries; some are upscale and others are very casual. Note that hours may be limited, especially on Christmas Day; that some restaurants offer only fixed-price holiday menus for the occasion; and that reservations are usually essential and should be made as soon as possible.

Click here to see the best restaurants for Christmas dinner in every state.
Click here to see our detailed findings.

1. Alabama: Bellini’s Ristorante & Bar
> Location: Birmingham

Stylish spot for steaks, homemade pastas, and Tuscan fare.

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2. Alaska: Simon & Seafort’s Saloon & Grill
> Location: Anchorage

Surf ‘n’ turf go-to with panoramic views.

3. Arizona: The Turquoise Room & Martini Lounge at La Posada
> Location: Winslow

Creative Southwestern fare with Arizona-inspired decor.

4. Arkansas: Fantastic China
> Location: Little Rock

Longtime favorite for Chinese staples.

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5. California: Le Vallauris Restaurant
> Location: Palm Springs

Elevated French-Mediterranean dining.

6. Colorado: Relish
> Location: Breckenridge

Innovative American and wild-game dining experience.

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7. Connecticut: The Mill on the River
> Location: South Windsor

Continental cuisine in a rustic old mill.

8. Delaware: The Cafe on 26
> Location: Ocean View

Quaint bistro serving farm-to-fork fare.

9. Florida: The Pearl Restaurant
> Location: Treasure Island

Upscale seafood with some Moroccan specialties.

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10. Georgia: The Olde Pink House
> Location: Savannah

Lowcountry cuisine in an 18th-century mansion.

11. Hawaii: Azure
> Location: Honolulu

Fine seafood dining on the beach.

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12. Idaho: Barbacoa Grill
> Location: Boise

Open-fire Spanish and Mexican fare.

13. Illinois: Booth One
> Location: Chicago

New American fare in a reborn Chicago classic.

14. Indiana: The Capital Grille
> Location: Indianapolis

Upscale chophouse chain with clubby look.

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15. Iowa: Angry Goldfish Pub & Eatery
> Location: Des Moines

Sandwiches and pub fare in a lively setting.

16. Kansas: Newport Grill
> Location: Wichita

Seafood-focused grill overlooking a small lake.

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17. Kentucky: RIVUE Restaurant & Lounge
> Location: Louisville

Rotating views and American-French fare.

18. Louisiana: Tujague’s
> Location: New Orleans

Traditional Creole cooking in a historic restaurant founded in 1856.

19. Maine: Clay Hill Farm
> Location: Cape Neddick

Upscale, leafy destination dining.

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20. Maryland: Old Angler’s Inn
> Location: Potomac

Neighborhood staple with modern American fare.

21. Massachusetts: Bar Boulud
> Location: Boston

Handsome French bistro from celebrity chef Daniel Boulud.

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22. Michigan: The Apparatus Room
> Location: Detroit

Craft cocktails and New American food in industrial-chic surroundings.

23. Minnesota: Lela
> Location: Minneapolis

Steaks and pasta in a sleek environment.

24. Mississippi: Chancellor’s Grill & Lounge Restaurant
> Location: Oxford

White-tablecloth hotel steakhouse.

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25. Missouri: Stock Hill
> Location: Kansas City

Contemporary steakhouse in a fashionable setting.

26. Montana: Café Kandahar
> Location: Whitefish

Creative fine dining and an extensive wine list.

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27. Nebraska: Railcar Modern American Kitchen
> Location: Omaha

Rustic-chic New American bar and grill.

28. Nevada: STK Las Vegas
> Location: Las Vegas

Hip, contemporary hotel steakhouse.

29. New Hampshire: Hanover Street Chophouse
> Location: Manchester

High-end steak and seafood place with a clubby bar.

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30. New Jersey: Lambertville Station
> Location: Lambertville

Locally sourced American fare in a restored 19th-century train station.

31. New Mexico: Anasazi Restaurant
> Location: Santa Fe

Upscale Southwestern fare in a historic hotel.

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32. New York: Marea
> Location: New York City

Elegant Italian seafood restaurant with homemade pastas.

33. North Carolina: Talullas
> Location: Chapel Hill

Turkish specialties in cozy quarters.

34. North Dakota: Izumi Sushi & Hibachi
> Location: Fargo

Casual all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant.

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35. Ohio: The Barn at Rocky Fork Creek
> Location: Gahanna

Country-chic steakhouse plus seafood.

36. Oklahoma: Kitchen No. 324
> Location: Oklahoma City

Elevated comfort food in an industrial-style café and bakery setting.

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37. Oregon: Urban Farmer Portland
> Location: Portland

Country-chic modern Northwestern steakhouse.

38. Pennsylvania: Paramour
> Location: Wayne

Modern American food in sophisticated surroundings.

39. Rhode Island: Mill’s Tavern
> Location: Providence

Upscale steak and seafood house in a historic building.

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40. South Carolina: Magnolias
> Location: Charleston

Traditional Southern cooking in a refined environment.

41. South Dakota: Vertex Sky Bar
> Location: Rapid City

Comfort food and craft cocktails in a rooftop club.

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42. Tennessee: Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant
> Location: Sevierville

Casual landmark restaurant serving Southern comfort food.

43. Texas: Wu Chow
> Location: Austin

Sichuan cuisine in a contemporary space.

44. Utah: Lucky H Bar & Grille
> Location: Salt Lake City

Casual venue for seafood and steaks.

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45. Vermont: Copper Grouse
> Location: Manchester

Swanky tavern serving pub fare.

46. Virginia: Peter Chang
> Location: Glen Allen (Richmond)

Sichuan specialties in a family-friendly strip mall location.

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47. Washington: Ray’s Boathouse
> Location: Seattle

Dockside institution serving local seafood.

48. West Virginia: Bavarian Inn
> Location: Shepherdstown

German and American dishes in Alpine decor overlooking the Potomac.

49. Wisconsin: Mader’s
> Location: Milwaukee

Classic German cuisine and Bavarian decor.

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50. Wyoming: The Kitchen
> Location: Jackson Hole

Seasonal meat and seafood specialties in a warm setting.

Detailed Findings

Many restaurants offer a “traditional” Christmas menu. But what does that mean? Christmas traditions, culinary and otherwise, vary from place to place. In the American South, collard greens, biscuits, and pimento cheese might well be on the table (black-eyed peas, too, though those are more traditional for New Year’s).

In some southern Italian and Italian-American households, the traditional meal is the Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes, or La Vigilia (The Vigil), involving seven kinds of seafood. (In observant Catholic households, adherents used to avoid meat until after midnight on December 24th, so this was a way to have a festive meal without animal flesh.)

Christmas fare in other countries varies widely. In the predominantly Christian Philippines, Christmas Eve, or Noche Buena, means hamón (honey-cured ham), rellenong manok (deboned chicken stuffed with meats, eggs, and other ingredients), and, for reasons nobody seems to remember, queso (or keso) de bola — a red-wax-covered ball of Edam cheese from the Netherlands.

In Central and Eastern Europe, the holiday meal often includes fried or roast carp. It’s roast duck, pork, or goose with red cabbage in Denmark, baked ham in Finland, roast pork belly in Norway, roast capon or some other large bird and the elaborate cake called bûche de Noel (Yule log) in France, tamales in Mexico and Central America.

If you visit restaurants in the U.S. featuring the cuisines of any of these places on or around Christmas, you’ll likely encounter foods like these. In restaurants serving American food, however, tradition is often defined as including luxury ingredients (foie gras, truffles, lobster), roast turkey or goose (Americans eat about 22 million turkeys on Christmas every year, about half as many as on Thanksgiving), and elaborate holiday-themed desserts.

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