Christmas Dinner in Europe 2026: Where to Eat and What's Open

A table set for a Christmas meal with white candles, a green centerpiece, gingerbread and a plate of dumplings, with a lit Christmas tree behind it

The short answer: almost everywhere in Europe, as long as you match the meal to the country and book early. In France, the restaurant meal is dinner on December 24. In the UK and Italy, it's lunch on December 25. In Germany and Austria, the evening of December 24 is the hard one, and in Portugal it's December 25, so hotel restaurants are your safest bet there. Expect a set menu nearly everywhere, from about €50 to several hundred. December 24, 2026 is a Thursday and December 25 a Friday.

Many restaurants hadn't published 2026 menus when we checked in early November 2026, so we label every price as 2026 or as last year's pattern. Treat 2025 prices as a guide only, and confirm with the restaurant before you book.

What's open on December 24 and 25 in Europe?

Short answer: it changes by country, and sometimes by city. This is the general pattern, not a rule for every restaurant.

CountryDecember 24December 25Best meal to book
UKRestaurants open, transport winds down earlyMostly set menus, little or no public transportDecember 25 lunch
FranceSet menus (réveillon) in the eveningFewer open, lunch is easiestDecember 24 dinner
ItalyMany eat fish at home (la Vigilia), some restaurants serveThe big restaurant meal, at lunchDecember 25 lunch
SpainFamily night, many small places closeLunch set menus, dinner less commonDecember 25 lunch
GermanyMany close earlyPublic holiday, a mix of open and closedDecember 25 or 26 goose
AustriaMany close early or skip the eveningQuiet, fewer choicesA hotel, either day
PortugalMostly hotelsHard to find outside hotelsA hotel, or December 25 lunch
NetherlandsPlenty openMany open, and December 26 is a holiday tooDecember 25 or 26
Czech RepublicLimited hours, most places book outCheck each placeDecember 24, booked early

Where can you eat Christmas dinner in London?

Short answer: lunch on December 25 is a London institution, with prices from about £90. Time Out published its 2026 list on November 5, 2026, and these come from it unless noted.

  • The Wolseley, Piccadilly. The approachable grand choice: a festive lunch of smoked salmon, turkey and Christmas pudding, £90 (£70 vegetarian), from 11:30am to 5pm.
  • Rails, King's Cross. Three courses with turkey, beef sirloin or black cod, £115, with seatings at 12pm and 3pm.
  • The Cinnamon Club, Westminster. If turkey bores you, four courses of Indian cooking with a garam masala Christmas pudding, £150.
  • The Guinea Grill, Mayfair. Three courses, mince pies and a glass of Champagne, £175, from 12pm to 4pm.
  • The Ritz Restaurant, Piccadilly. A six-course black-tie lunch with a live band, £670 per adult.
  • Tayyabs, Whitechapel. Its regular Punjabi menu, no set price and no turkey. Good if you just want a great meal.

For December 24, Clos Maggiore in Covent Garden lists three courses and a glass of bubbles at £85, per DesignMyNight.

One thing to plan around: in 2025, London's Tube, buses and trains all stopped on December 25, and TfL hadn't published its 2026 plan when we checked. Choose somewhere you can walk to, or book a taxi. Our guide to London's Christmas lights and markets covers the rest of the week.

Where can you eat Christmas dinner in Paris?

Short answer: book the evening of December 24. All of these are 2026 listings. Our Christmas in Paris guide covers what else is open.

  • Café de la Paix, 5 Place de l'Opéra. Two choices on December 24: a Christmas menu on the indoor terrace at €95, or an Escoffier dinner in the main dining room at €210, with a glass of Champagne.
  • Terminus Nord, opposite Gare du Nord. A classic brasserie réveillon from €75, with early and late seatings. It wasn't on sale yet when we checked.
  • La Crémaillère 1900, Montmartre. A réveillon listed at €109.
  • Au Bœuf Couronné, 188 avenue Jean-Jaurès. If you love beef, this old-style brasserie serves its usual menu for dinner on December 24 and lunch on December 25, at about €55 before drinks. It's one of the few simple answers for the 25th.
  • Madame Brasserie, Eiffel Tower first floor. Lunch on December 24 and 25, with a Thierry Marx menu, drinks and tower access. One listing shows prices from €171.80, but also a lower "from" price, so confirm before you pay.

Where can you eat Christmas dinner in Italy?

Short answer: go for lunch on December 25, the meal Italians go out for. The trade group FIPE expected over 93,000 restaurants to open for it in 2025, at an average of €82 with drinks. Just over 5% of those diners are foreigners, so you'll be eating among locals.

These are 2025 prices from Scatti di Gusto. Its list was still being updated on December 18, 2025, so 2026 menus may come late. Our Christmas in Italy guide explains the traditions.

  • Rome: Hosteria Grappolo d'Oro, Piazza della Cancelleria 80. €80 on December 24, €70 on December 25.
  • Rome: Café Romano, Hotel d'Inghilterra. Near the Spanish Steps, €70 on December 24, €60 at lunch on the 25th, drinks extra.
  • Venice: Club del Doge, The Gritti Palace. The splurge, €175 on December 24 and €165 at lunch on the 25th.
  • Florence: Caffè dell'Oro, Portrait Firenze. On the Lungarno, €140 for either meal, with wine pairing.
  • Milan: Trattoria Masuelli San Marco. A classic trattoria lunch at €90, wine extra.

Where can you eat Christmas dinner in Spain?

Short answer: in Barcelona, lunch on December 25 or 26. In Madrid, a hotel on December 24 or lunch on the 25th. Our Christmas in Madrid guide has the local calendar.

  • Madrid: Pórtico at The Madrid EDITION. A 2026 menu for December 24 at €89, plus €35 for wine pairing.
  • Madrid: El Café de la Ópera. Its waiters are also singers, which makes for an unusual night out. It charged €100 for Christmas Eve in 2024, the last price we could find.
  • Barcelona: 7 Portes. Lunch on December 25 and 26 with wine and cava included. In 2025 it charged €72, €92 or €120 per person, depending on the menu.
  • Barcelona: Virens at Almanac Barcelona. In 2025, €110 for dinner on December 24 and €95 for lunch on the 25th or 26th. It took a 50% deposit when you booked.

Barcelona's 2026 menus were due in November. December 26 (Sant Esteve) is also a holiday in Catalonia, and Barcelona Urbana says public transport stops at 11pm on December 24, so plan your way home.

Where can you eat Christmas dinner in Germany and Austria?

Short answer: avoid relying on a casual restaurant on the evening of December 24. On the 25th and 26th, look for goose.

Christmas Eve isn't an official holiday in Germany, but much of the country closes by 2pm, and Christmas is one of the holidays that shuts more restaurants than usual. December 25 and 26 are public holidays. The Local says many restaurants stay open on them and advises booking early.

Berlin (2025 listings from Top10 Berlin):

  • Carl & Sophie, Alt-Moabit 99. The goose option at a fair price: braised goose breast, red cabbage and dumplings. Three courses at €69 at midday on December 25 and 26, four courses at €79 in the evenings of December 24 to 26.
  • beef45, Hotel Palace. Open all three days, with three courses from €129.
  • VOX, Potsdamer Platz. A five-course menu at €199 on December 24 to 26.

Vienna (2026 listings from the local guide Vienna Unwrapped, which warns that some hotels keep Christmas Eve dinner for overnight guests, so ask):

  • Wiener Wirtschaft, Wiedner Hauptstraße 27 to 29. Four courses at €75, on December 24 from 5:30pm (last admission 7:30pm).
  • Brasserie Sophie, Anantara Palais Hansen. A Champagne and oysters brunch on December 25, €169.
  • Hotel Sacher. Four courses with wine pairing on December 25, €325.

Where can you eat Christmas dinner in Lisbon, Amsterdam and Prague?

Short answer: Lisbon needs the most planning, and Amsterdam the least.

Lisbon (2025 prices). Devour Tours warns that finding a non-hotel restaurant open on Christmas Day can be a challenge. Portugal.com listed these:

  • Flor-de-Lis, Hotel Epic Sana. A Christmas Day brunch at €160, with live music and kids' entertainment.
  • Varanda de Lisboa, Praça Martim Moniz. Lunch at €90, with reservations required.
  • Novo Mundo, DUO Hotel Lisbon. A €50 tasting menu of traditional and modern Portuguese cooking.
  • Rua do Benformoso, Martim Moniz. Not a set meal, but a street of Indian, Bangladeshi, Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants, a useful fallback per Devour.

Amsterdam. Local guides publish long lists of restaurants open over Christmas, and Your Little Black Book counts 46. Restaurant Amstelle at the Van der Valk Hotel Amsterdam-Amstel lists five courses at €75 on December 24, 25 and 26, from 5:30pm. Its menu file is labeled 2026, though the page doesn't state the year. The Grand Hotel Amrâth lists a Christmas dinner on the same three nights, from 6pm to 9pm, without a published price.

Prague. Prague Experience says that on December 24, 2026 not all restaurants will open, those that do keep limited hours, and most book out. The traditional meal is fish soup and fried carp with potato salad. Café Imperial at Na Poříčí 15, in a historic setting with a menu overseen by chef Zdeněk Pohlreich, lists both a Christmas Eve menu and a December 25 to 27 menu for 2026. See our Prague and Budapest Christmas markets guide for the rest of the trip.

When should you book Christmas dinner in Europe?

Short answer: now for London and Paris, and as soon as menus appear everywhere else.

  • London and Paris: many 2026 menus are already out, so popular tables are on sale.
  • Barcelona: menus were due in November.
  • Italy: some lists don't settle until mid December, but book as soon as a restaurant confirms.
  • Prague and Vienna: book as early as you can, and read the cancellation terms before you pay.

Before you confirm, check four things: which day and which meal, whether it's a set menu only, whether drinks are included, and how you'll get back to your hotel.

FAQ

Are restaurants in Europe open on Christmas Day?

Many are, especially in the UK, Italy and the Netherlands, but usually with set menus and at lunch. It's harder in Portugal and Austria, where hotel restaurants are the safest choice.

Do I need to book Christmas dinner in Europe?

Yes, in nearly every city. Most places that open run a limited number of seatings, and sources in Prague, Germany and Vienna all advise booking early.

How much does Christmas dinner cost in Europe?

It varies widely. In the listings above, a set meal starts around €50 to €75 at simple places, while grand hotels run from €165 to well over €300. In London, prices run from £90 to £670.

Where can I eat Christmas dinner without paying for a set menu?

Try Au Bœuf Couronné in Paris, which serves its regular menu, or Tayyabs in London. Neighborhoods with Indian or Chinese restaurants, like Rua do Benformoso in Lisbon, are also good fallbacks.

What do people eat for Christmas dinner in Europe?

It depends where you are: turkey in the UK, goose in Germany, fish on December 24 in Italy and carp in the Czech Republic. In Catalonia, the dish on December 26 is canelons.

Sources

Cover photo: Michal Osmenda, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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