Holiday Dining and New Year's Events

With the holidays upon us, families again turn their thoughts to enjoying fun get-togethers, Christmas shopping, office parties, and of course great food!

And during the holiday season, many of our favorite restaurants around Chicagoland will be open Christmas Eve, serving special holiday menus along with regular menu items.

Many restaurants and banquet halls will also be open New Year's Eve with cheerful celebrations featuring great food, drink and merriment.

Special holiday celebrations at Chicago area restaurants and banquet facilities:

Jimmy's Charhouse in Libertyville will be open Christmas Eve 11am-8pm, serving their regular menu along with an assortment of holiday specials. Manager John Kokkinos says Christmas Eve is a popular night for patrons as families look forward to enjoying a relaxed meal with loved ones..."We'll be serving a wide variety of specials including burgers, steaks, barbecued ribs, chops, rotisserie chicken and much more..and many people have told us over the years how much they enjoy Christmas Eve dining in our warm and comfortable dining rooms." Jimmy's will also be open New Year's Eve with live entertainment featuring the band "Tore Down," appearing live in the lounge with great food and drink specials available all night. Visit the Jimmy's Charhouse Libertyville website.

Mykonos Greek Restaurant in Niles will be open Christmas Eve until 9:30pm serving a very special holiday menu plus traditional Greek favorites including moussaka, dolmades, fresh fish, pastitsio and more (closed Christmas Day). Mykonos will be open New Year's Eve with a very special dinner and dancing package 9pm-4am (see Mykonos event article on Opa). Visit the Mykonos Restaurant website.

Jameson's Charhouse in Arlington Heights will be open Christmas Eve 11am-10pm and Christmas Day 12pm-9pm, serving an enhanced holiday version of their regular menu. Known for outstanding steaks, chops, chicken and seafood dishes, Jameson's will also be open all day New Year's Eve, starting at 11am until well past the midnight hour. Learn more about these events at the Jameson's Charhouse Arlington Heights website.

Palm Court in Arlington Heights will be open Christmas Eve 3pm-8pm serving a very special holiday menu featuring their famous seafood selections, prime steaks, chops, rack of lamb, roast duck and more. Owner John Sellis says, "Excellence is a way of life at Palm Court but Christmas Eve is a special time of reflection and celebration where our guests can enjoy the very best of everything we have to offer." Palm Court will be open New Year's Eve 4pm-1am serving a special menu and featuring the vocals and piano stylings of Ed Warble live in the lounge beginning at 6:30pm. Palm Court will be open on New Year's Day from 2pm-10pm. Visit the Palm Court Restaurant website.

Basil's Greek Restaurant in Aurora is known for its warm and romantic appeal and will be open both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, featuring a full selection of traditional Greek specialties plus a few chef surprises created just for the holidays. Come and enjoy authentic Greek dishes like pastitsio. moussaka, roast lamb, fresh seafood and more inside Basil's beautiful and contemporary dining room. Don't miss Basil's baklava, loukoumades chips, galaktobouriko and other tantalizing desserts. Call for reservations: (630) 692-1300. Learn more about Basil's holiday events by visiting Basil's Greek Dining website.

D'Andrea Banquets in Crystal Lake continues its annual New Year's celebration with a tantalizing filet mignon and lobster dinner package. This party includes hors d'oeuvres, 5 hours of premium open bar, a complete dinner with wine, a European pastry table, a live DJ with dancing, party hats and favors, and of courses, a champagne toast and balloon drop to ring in the new year! Reservations are suggested, call (815) 459-7234. Learn more at D'Andrea Banquets New Year's page.

Concorde Banquets in the northwest suburb of Kildeer offers two special New Year's packages — their regular New Year's Eve Gala, as well as their Greek New Year's Eve Gala. Both include lavish dinners featuring broiled filet mignon, périgueux and lobster tail, beurre blanc. The packages also include luscious European pastries, gourmet coffee services, top shelf open bar, unlimited chardonnay and merlot wine with dinner, continuous entertainment, champagne toast, party favors, and a balloon drop at midnight. Reservations are required, call (847) 438-0025. (see Concorde Banquets event article on Opa) Learn more at Concorde Banquets' New Year's Eve Gala page (see also the "Greek New Year's Eve Gala" link on the same page).