Where Are You Dining Christmas Eve?

Christmas Eve can be one of the best evenings to enjoy a specially prepared meal at one of your favorite restaurants or even the perfect opportunity to try out someplace new you have been meaning to get to for so long.  The area chefs really shine when creating a one night only holiday menu and it truly is a special treat to indulge on such a festive night whether you celebrate Christmas or not. Here are some local menu Christmas Eve offerings worth checking out:

Grotto & Marliave

If you grew up in a family where Christmas Eve meant the Feast of the Seven Fishes, it is certainly a wonderful culinary treat to give up.  On the other hand, it is a ton of work to put together in an already hectic time of the year.  Enjoy the feast once again at Grotto or at Marliave with courses that include oysters, fra diavolo shellfish and pesce spade swordfish.

Grotto is located at 37 Bowdoin St., Beacon Hill, Boston 617.227.3434

Marliave is located at 10 Bosworth St., Downtown Crossing, Boston 617.422.0004

Upstairs on the Square

You’ve probably sung (or at least hummed) about chestnuts roasting on an open fire throughout your life, but you may not have had many experiences to try tasting these Christmas cherubs. Luckily Upstairs on the Square is offering a Christmas Eve menu as eclectic as is their décor. Crispy chestnuts are offered alongside fluffy potato gnocchi. Other tempting offerings include lobster and baby Maine shrimp raviolis for starters and a peppermint stick ice cream sundae for dessert.

Upstairs on the Square is located at 91 Winthrop St., Harvard Square, Cambridge 617. 864.1933

Clink. at The Liberty Hotel

No one wants to spend the holidays in the slammer, unless of course it is the remnants of an old jailhouse remade into a fabulous hotel restaurant. Head behind the cell bar doors at Clink. for a special Christmas Eve menu that includes such not often seen offerings like venison civet, Vermont pheasant and elk chop.

Clink. is located at The Liberty Hotel, 215 Charles St., Boston 617.224.4000

The Fireplace Restaurant

Christmas is coming. The goose is getting fat. And it’s soon to be on the Christmas Eve menu at The Fireplace in Brookline. Or if goose isn’t your holiday favorite, try their “Treat Yourself” Tower featuring fresh local shellfish or their proper lobster mac n cheese. Besides, who doesn’t love Christmas Eve by the fireplace, particularly when you are served a delicious meal and don’t have to worry about the dishes.

The Fireplace Restaurant is located at 1634 Beacon St., Brookline, 617.975.1900