I am here to tell those that live in Washington D.C. + do not celebrate Christmas but choose to stay in during the holiday-you are doing it wrong.
Christmas Eve is the perfect time of year to set out on a restaurant/bar crawl adventure. The city is empty! All those naive persons who have exited the city for reasons of family or vacation have left us a beautiful gift-the gift of quiet, twinkling bars where you can hear your neighbor speak. The gift of walking into the hottest restaurants in the city, where you are immediately ushered to a table.
Don’t get me wrong, it takes a little bit of research to know where to go. But that is where I come in.
Favorite Restaurants on Xmas Eve:
- St. Anselm (get that punch bowl!)
- Sushi Taro’s Happy Hour Bar (1/2 off amazing sushi!)
- Seven Reasons
- Rasika West End
- ABC Pony
- Hazel
- Boqueria (usually loud and crowded)
- Supra
Favorite Bars to Hit Up on Xmas Eve:
- The Line – Brothers & Sisters (grab some dessert!)
- Red Bear – Board games for all 🙂
- Round Robin Bar @ the Willard Hotel
- Bar Bullfrog
- Archipelego
- The Quill @ the Jefferson
Thus far, we have maintained this Xmas Eve tradition for at least four years and we are looking forward to the fifth year as many asian restaurants are opening in 2020-increasing the number of places that are open on Xmas Eve. I was amazed we made it into the first seating for Sushi Taro happy hour (normally an impossible feat as HH is only available at the bar). The drinks and atmosphere at Seven Reasons were, per usual, on point. We made a quick stop at Amsterdam falafel as some friends wanted to load up on some more grub (the service at the Adams Morgan location was extra, as in extra great). Happily, we ended the night at Brothers & Sisters, in the Line hotel, where we indulged in a banana + coffee + chocolate confection and joyously stroked a few of the large dogs lazing in the lobby. In summation, another great Xmas Eve Crawl for the books.
Little Shrub 