Where to Dine and Celebrate New Year’s Eve in Los Angeles

Lindsey Styrwoll

There comes a time in life when elbowing through a crowded bar loses a bit of its shine. Take all the chaos, the bottle service and multiply it tenfold: welcome to New Year’s Eve. Celebrate one of the biggest nights out of the year by ditching the vodka and raising a glass of Veuve: this year indulge with these elegant dining options.

71 Above
The Billecart-Salmon Champagne will be flowing in this downtown perch come New Year’s Eve. Panoramic views of our fine city will compliment chef Vartan Abgaryan’s cuisine as the restaurant hosts its first New Year’s bash. The black-tie affair is pricey at $250 but that includes cold stations replete with stone crab, foie gras macaroons and black truffle tarts as well as hot stations serving Prime New York with truffle onion marmalade, lobster with celery root and tarragon cream and crispy pork fritters.  

Baltaire
Enjoy elevated steakhouse fare at the restaurant’s “Midnight in Paris” fête. The chic Brentwood eatery will be featuring live jazz and caviar carts rolling throughout the dining room. The first seating will be served à la carte and the second will offer a four-course French-inspired menu at $250. Nosh on roasted bone marrow Bordelaise before tucking into a nice cut of filet au poivre; finish with a chocolate ganache tart.  

The Bazaar by José Andrés
Celebrate New Year’s the José Andrés way with an over-the-top 16-course tasting menu highlighting cotton candy foie gras, oxtail steamed buns and barbecued eel Japanese tacos. Craving an even more exclusive experience?  Dine in the chef’s “inner sanctum,” Saam.  The decadent offerings will include caviar and truffles, but both progressions will culminate in the Spanish tradition of consuming twelve grapes at midnight to ensure good luck for 2017.

Ceconni’s
The swanky spot is offering a special four-course prix fixe menu with two seatings. Stay for late night DJ sets and immortalize the occasion in the photo booth – make it the night for a serious fashion moment!

E.P. & L.P.
Guests can celebrate with an 8-course prix fixe dinner at E.P. Restaurant which includes wood-grilled baby abalone, snapped sashimi, rock lobster salad, wood-grilled Australian wagyu short loin, and more. The dinner is $95 per person before 7:30 pm and $125 per person after. After dinner, guests can also head upstairs to L.P. Rooftop for their L.A. Chalet Sky Party on the Roof. The space will be transformed into a rustic apres-ski lodge with birch trees, antler chandeliers, and more. The party costs $125 per person and there will be passed appetizers and an open bar from 8-11pm.

Faith & Flower
Opulence is the key word when describing Faith & Flower’s gilded dining space. Enjoy a special tasting menu with two available seatings ($95/five-course, $125/six-course) including handmade garganelli pasta, Dungeness crab and smoked salmon roe, and filet mignon wrapped in puff pastry with hen of the wood mushrooms. Finish off the evening by heading upstairs to the Watermarke Tower’s after-party.

Hinoki and the Bird
New Year’s will taste like tamarind and turmeric at Hinoki and the Bird. The Vietnamese-themed event will feature live music and entertainment to complement the exotic menu. The two seatings ($65/$95) will have a four-course menu with available supplemental dishes. Dine on American wagyu, grilled quail and smoked Kurobuta pork, all among the offerings this New Year’s Eve.

The Little Door
Ring in the new year with a roar! This Jazz Age soirée will be an excellent complement to your Art Deco adornments so make sure to dress the part! The lavish feast will be served at an early and late seating ($90/$165) with a complimentary midnight toast.

Lucques
With an Andalusian-flavored menu created by Chef de Cuisine Javier Espinoza, this “Night in Sevilla” will be a night to remember! Start with the traditional tapas including jamón serrano and red wine-poached octopus; other offerings include diver scallops with patatas panadera and wood-fired beef with sizzling garlic prawns. The first seating is $110, but for $150, the second seating includes live music and flamenco dancing.

Otium
Still in its first year, this downtown spot was designed to encourage sociability and a holiday meal served family-style will certainly help the cause ($175/person). New restaurant, new year. Retire to the Dom Pérignon Champagne Lounge after enjoying chef Timothy Hollingsworth’s multicourse tasting menu.

Paley Hollywood
You may have noticed this stylish glass boîte while tooling down Sunset Boulevard. On New Year’s Eve, a set menu will feature mirin-braised short ribs and pan-seared halibut with caviar. The four-course feast will set you back $65 with wine pairings available for an additional $35. A curated cocktail list has also been created to usher in the new year.  Enjoy a five-piece jazz ensemble playing until 11 p.m. with DJs spinning until the early morn.

Providence
Though the seafood superstar hasn’t yet finalized the menu for the upcoming holiday, don’t count it out! The annual dinner event has been superb in recent years and, odds are, will be memorable no matter what chef Michael Cimarusti ends up serving.

Spago
Wolfgang Puck’s disciples will be serving a three-course prix fixe dinner with an early and late seating ($98/$280) at his flagship Beverly Hills location. Book a table for the second seating and enjoy caviar and a Champagne toast – stay for the 1 a.m. breakfast buffet.

WP24 by Wolfgang Puck
Take in one of downtown’s more arresting views on New Year’s Eve as you sip a glass of champagne in a rounded booth. Three and six-course menus of Puck’s Asian-fusion are available throughout the night but the caviar tasting will make it an evening to remember.