ATXGuide
15 Great Austin Restaurants Open On Christmas Day
photo credit: Richard Casteel
Just when you finally found a few minutes to breathe after Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, Friendsmas, and any other holiday dinners you may have had to attend, in rolls Christmas. If you don’t feel like getting the kitchen messy again, plenty of Austin bars and restaurants are open on the 25th. These are a few of our favorite spots to get a bite—some are even offering special, holiday-themed menus.
Also see our guide to the best holiday pop-up bars in Austin.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Nicolai McCrary
The popular Campus-area pub is open 365 days a year, consistently serving up one of the best burgers in town. And every day, Crown & Anchor puts a different brewery or region from the tap list on sale, and knocks the price down to less than $5 a pint. It’s one of the cheapest places in town to sample some great craft beer in a fun, laid-back environment. And it’s a pretty fun way to spend the holidays.
photo credit: Richard Casteel
If you want to keep up your tradition (or start a new one) of eating dim sum on Christmas Day, head to Qi in Downtown Austin. It’s home to some of our favorite soup dumplings in the whole city, and the interior—decorated with hanging umbrella lights and red velvet chairs—feels pretty festive, year-round. This is also from the same team behind Lin Asian Bar, another great spot that’s also open on Christmas Day.
photo credit: Holly Dirks
For most of the year, The Little Darlin’ in South Austin is home to one of our favorite fried chicken sandwiches in town. But on Christmas Day, the place rolls out a special menu. Past menus have included things like stuffed squash, duck cassoulet, and steamed mussels with confit fennel. It’s a little fancier than the day-to-day menu, but somehow still falls into pretty affordable neighborhood-bar prices.
photo credit: Richard Casteel
Home to one of the most affordable burgers worth going out of your way for, and always-cheap drinks, Frazier’s Long & Low in the Lakeshore area is open every day of the year. That means you can celebrate Christmas with a Coors Banquet and a cheeseburger for less than $10. Then, use the money you saved to buy your cousin that gift you forgot to get.
photo credit: Lin Asian Bar + Dim Sum Restaurant
A little more casual than its swanky downtown sibling, Qi, Lin Asian Bar in Clarksville is where you should head for an upscale Chinese dinner on Christmas Day, but don’t want to deal with downtown parking. It’s also the only place we know of where you can get a jumbo, baseball-sized soup dumpling that makes a pretty good last-minute gift for whoever you’re out dining with.
photo credit: Nicolai McCrary
Located on Manor Road in Cherrywood, Haymaker is a sports bar with a large food menu of wings, burgers, and sandwiches. It’s also one of the few spots in Austin serving poutine, in case you’d rather pretend you were somewhere much colder than Austin to get into the holiday spirit.
photo credit: Nicolai McCrary
If you’re not already sick of turkey from Thanksgiving, you can pop into the Mueller Irish pub, B.D. Riley’s on Christmas day for a turkey dinner with classic sides. Additionally, there’s also a full menu of Irish pub staples, like fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, and corned beef with cabbage. And, of course, Guinness.
It feels like it’s always a party at Wu Chow, the buzzy Chinese restaurant in Downtown. The food here leans Sichuan, but mostly made with premium farm-to-table ingredients that attract a blazer-wearing, dressed-up crowd on most nights. And it’s open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so you, too, could be a fancy dressed-up diner eating soup dumplings for dinner on the 25th. There’s also a second location in Rosedale with a similar menu (also open on the same dates).
On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Downtown Austin’s The Peacock will offer its full menu of fairly classic Mediterranean plates, plus a special Christmas menu with prime rib and frangipane tarts. It’ll be open for lunch and dinner on both dates.
photo credit: Raphael Brion
Black Sheep Lodge in South Austin is from the same team behind Haymaker, serving nearly the same menu with great wings, burgers, and a massive draft beer list. It’s also open 365 days a year, including Christmas Day.
photo credit: Holly Dirks
The Cavalier in East Austin feels a little like you’ve just walked into the bar from a sitcom where a group of friends meet up after work, everybody’s a regular, and an hour always feels like fifteen minutes. With a full menu of New Orleans-inspired pub food, it’s a very cozy place to spend the holidays, where you’ll likely be greeted by a friendly bartender.
photo credit: Richard Casteel
During the holidays, Yellow Jacket in Austin plays host to a variety of marketplaces and drink specials. It’s also open 365 days a year, which means you can celebrate Christmas with some of the best soups and sandwiches in town.
The rooftop Tex-Mex restaurant La Piscina, located on top of the Austin Proper Hotel, will have its full menu available on Christmas Day. But in addition to fajitas, baja oysters, and lobster quesadillas, there will also be a small menu of holiday specials, including duck carnitas and eggnog flan.
POWERED BY
Located at the bottom of the Westin Hotel in Downtown Austin, Stella San Jac is an upscale Southern restaurant with mostly fancy riffs on Southern classics. On Christmas, you can expect to find that same menu, and normal operating hours, plus a handful of holiday food specials.
