More Maps

Where to Eat Vegetarian and Vegan Food in Greater Boston

The 25 Best Sushi Restaurants in the Boston Area

Where to Dine Gluten-Free in Boston

champagne stock photo

Where to Eat and Drink on New Year’s Eve in Boston

From kitschy theme parties to casual dive bars, these are the places to usher in 2019

by Terrence Doyle Dec 13, 2018, 9:45am EST

View as Map

by Terrence Doyle Dec 13, 2018, 9:45am EST

ToskanaINC/Shutterstock

No night of the year inspires more anxiety (or more FOMO) than New Year’s Eve. What should be simple arithmetic — Champagne plus friends plus more Champagne equals a hell of a night — usually turns out to be advanced calculus. Don’t let that be the case this year.

If you’re still trying to figure out how to celebrate the new year in Boston, this map should help: From fancy seated dinners to dive bars with floors varnished by 90 years of spilled beer, there’s something here for a variety of tastes.

Here are 16 ways to ring in the new year at Boston-area restaurants and bars.

Visit the Eater Boston Holiday Dining Guide for holiday-related stories, maps, and guides all year long.

Read More

Note: Restaurants on this map are listed geographically.

If you buy something or book a reservation from an Eater link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics policy.

The Smoke Shop

Not all New Year’s Eve parties heat up at midnight. The Smoke Shop’s version of New Year’s Eve — located at its newest location, in Somerville’s Assembly Row — is family-friendly, running from 3 p.m. until 5:30 p.m., with a ball drop at 5 p.m. There will be a kid-friendly buffet featuring hot dogs and chicken fingers, as well as a buffet for the adults in the room, featuring some of the Smoke Shop’s barbecue staples. See more details here.

Cost: $0 to $22.50, depending on age, before fees and tax

Open in Google Maps

325 Assembly Row, Somerville, MA 02145

Visit Website

Smoke Shop BBQ Assembly — Ring in the new year with the kids (and with meat sweats)

Fat Hen

At Fat Hen, the Italian sibling and neighbor to La Brasa in East Somerville, there’s a four-course prix fixe menu available on New Year’s Eve, featuring options like hamachi crudo, lumache with braised lamb, a ribeye, and blood orange sorbetto.

Cost: $85, with optional $35 wine pairing

Open in Google Maps

126 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02145

Visit Website

Interior of a small restaurant with dark teal walls and light wooden accents. — Fat Hen

Also featured in:

Aeronaut Brewing Company

The beloved Somerville brewery and purveyor of heady IPAs is hosting a world’s fair-themed party, set simultaneously in 1940 and 3040. Dress like a character in a Raymond Chandler novel, or like whatever you think someone in 3040 might wear. It will all be backdropped by jazz and “futuristic sounds.” See more details here.

Cost: $85, before fees (includes photobooth prints, live music, snacks (including vegetarian options), a five-ounce pour of a special-edition beer, a midnight balloon drop, and more; additional beer available for purchase, including limited-edition selections)

14 Tyler St, Somerville, MA 02143

Visit Website

Aeronaut Brewing Company — One of Aeronaut’s tasty beverages

Also featured in:

Juliet

On the early side of the evening, Juliet is wrapping up the final day of its Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner menu. From 10:30 p.m. to 1 a.m., Juliet turns into the Lichee Club — named for one of co-owner Katrina Jazayeri’s favorite movies, After the Thin Man, which will be projected on the wall — for an intimate party with light snacks provided and drinks available for purchase. See more details here.

Cost: $75 for the four-course Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner, with optional add-on courses and drinks; $25 for the Lichee Club party

257 Washington St, Somerville, MA 02143

Visit Website

Seafood at Juliet

Also featured in:

Alden & Harlow

Alden & Harlow is serving dinner a la carte on New Year’s Eve, with some special additions, including king crab salad with caviar and Carolina gold rice; porchetta with creamed cauliflower and truffles; and more. See more details here.

Cost: Varies (a la carte)

40 Brattle St, Cambridge, MA 02138

Visit Website

A burger sits on a blue plate, piled high with shredded lettuce, sauce, and a crispy disc of cheese — The burger at Alden & Harlow

Also featured in:

Momi Nonmi

Momi Nonmi’s New Year’s Eve prix fixe menu offers duck confit, sushi, and wagyu beef tartare (along with other treats). Book your spot here; reservations required.

Cost: $65 (five-course meal)

Open in Google Maps

1128 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02139

Visit Website

Preview of some of the New Year’s Eve menu items at Momi Nonmi

Also featured in:

Casa Caña

This Allston spot, with food and drink inspired by Latin America, is ringing in the New Year Havana-style. Tickets are on the affordable side as far as New Year’s Eve goes. Attendees can expect passed apps and a Champagne toast.

Cost: $25 (plus fees and tax) until December 15, and then $35

Open in Google Maps

1234 Soldiers Field Rd, Boston, MA 02135

Visit Website

Casa Caña’s grilled street corn with cotija, chilies, and aioli

Also featured in:

Pagu

First, there’s dinner service at Pagu between 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., featuring a five-course tasting menu with a focus on seafood and a sneak peek at some dishes that will be served in the new year. (Gluten-free and vegetarian options available.)

Then, starting at 9 p.m., there’s a party. A ticket to Pagu’s New Year’s Eve event gets party-goers all-you-can-eat food (which will include suckling pig, seafood paella, wagyu brisket nachos, waffle churros, and more), a cocktail, some bubbly, and a raffle ticket.

Cost: $70 for dinner, with a complimentary glass of bubbles if you reserve before December 15; $80 for the party ($75 per person if you buy four or more tickets at the same time), with bonus drink and raffle tickets if you buy before December 15

Open in Google Maps

310 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139

Visit Website

Pig at Pagu

Also featured in:

No. 9 Park

Barbara Lynch’s No. 9 Park is offering two dinner seatings on New Year’s Eve, and the menu will include dishes like bluefin tuna crudo and poached branzino. Book your table here.

Cost: $175 for the first seating (five-course menu) with optional $115 wine pairing; $225 for the second seating (seven-course menu) with optional $155 wine pairing

Open in Google Maps

9 Park St, Boston, MA 02108

Visit Website

A previous branzino dish at No. 9 Park

Also featured in:

Model Cafe

This will be significantly cheaper than a dinner at No. 9 Park (unless you drink, like, 50 High Lifes). There will be music (probably of the 1980s and 1990s variety), and there will be cheap domestic beer. If a dive bar is more appealing than a seated dinner, this is the spot.

Cost: Depends how much beer you drink

Open in Google Maps

7 N Beacon St, Boston, MA 02134

Bar exterior at night, featuring an elaborate stone facade lit red by the neon signage, which reads Model Cafe in a Medieval-looking font — It’s never a bad idea to celebrate at the Model

Also featured in:

Drink

More from Barbara Lynch, this time cheaper. Starting at 4 p.m., Drink is throwing a Studio-54-inspired party for New Year’s Eve. There’s no cover, but there may be a line.

Cost: Purchase drinks a la carte

348 Congress St, Boston, MA 02210

Visit Website

A cocktail at Drink — Drink a drink at Drink

Also featured in:

Sportello

If a disco party isn’t your idea of a good time, Lynch’s Sportello is throwing a 1960s, red-sauce-Italian-inspired dinner party. Tickets are a bit less expensive than at No. 9 Park, and dinner will be accompanied by the stylings of Frank Sinatra.

Cost: $95 for a family-style, four-course menu

348 Congress St, Boston, MA 02210

Visit Website

A spread of Italian dishes — including salumi, olives, and more — on a bright white surface — A spread of dishes at Sportello

Also featured in:

Summer Shack

Attend a Tiki-themed New Year’s Eve party at Summer Shack’s Back Bay location — Hawaiian shirts and beach attire encouraged. Tickets include unlimited raw bar from 9 p.m. until 11 p.m., passed apps, and a Champagne toast.

Cost: $50

50 Dalton St, Boston, MA 02115

Visit Website

summer shack — Decadence at Summer Shack

Also featured in:

Darryl's Corner Bar & Kitchen

Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen is known for its soul food and its live music. Its New Year’s Eve party will include all that and more. Party-goers will get to see a live performance from American Idol star Troy Durden and a DJ set from DJ Dru Nyce. A ticket (get one here) also gets you a welcome cocktail, a sweet and savory buffet, and a Champagne toast.

Cost: $65

604 Columbus Ave, Boston, MA 02118

Visit Website

darryl’s corner bar and kitchen — A burger from Darryl’s

Also featured in:

Toro

Toro is taking reservations from 5 p.m. until 11 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, and executive chef Josh Elliot will be creating special menu items for the occasion. There will also be lots of grapes, a Spanish tradition. For those attendees who hang out until midnight, there will be a Champagne toast. Reservations can be made by calling or emailing the restaurant directly (tororestaurant@gmail.com).

Cost: Order a la carte

Open in Google Maps

1704 Washington St, Boston, MA 02118

Visit Website

Mussels, shrimp, and clams sit atop a skillet of rice and vegetables — Paella at Toro

Also featured in:

Capo Restaurant & Supper Club

At Capo in South Boston, you can celebrate in two ways. There’s regular dinner (with some special additions to the menu) in the restaurant, with DJ Steve Miller onsite between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. and projector screens for the midnight ball drop; reservations recommended. Downstairs in the Supper Club, there’s a ticketed party with live music by Vincent King at 9 p.m. and DJ Silent Partner until 2 a.m.

Cost: Dinner prices are a la carte; the Supper Club party is $100 (includes charcuterie, pizza, a photo booth, and more)

Open in Google Maps

443 W Broadway, South Boston, MA 02127

Visit Website

Capo South Boston — Capo

© 2022 Vox Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Link copied to the clipboard.

The Smoke Shop

325 Assembly Row, Somerville, MA 02145

Smoke Shop BBQ Assembly — Ring in the new year with the kids (and with meat sweats)

Not all New Year’s Eve parties heat up at midnight. The Smoke Shop’s version of New Year’s Eve — located at its newest location, in Somerville’s Assembly Row — is family-friendly, running from 3 p.m. until 5:30 p.m., with a ball drop at 5 p.m. There will be a kid-friendly buffet featuring hot dogs and chicken fingers, as well as a buffet for the adults in the room, featuring some of the Smoke Shop’s barbecue staples. See more details here.

Cost: $0 to $22.50, depending on age, before fees and tax

Open in Google Maps

325 Assembly Row, Somerville, MA 02145

Visit Website

Smoke Shop BBQ Assembly — Ring in the new year with the kids (and with meat sweats)

Fat Hen

126 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02145

Interior of a small restaurant with dark teal walls and light wooden accents. — Fat Hen

At Fat Hen, the Italian sibling and neighbor to La Brasa in East Somerville, there’s a four-course prix fixe menu available on New Year’s Eve, featuring options like hamachi crudo, lumache with braised lamb, a ribeye, and blood orange sorbetto.

Cost: $85, with optional $35 wine pairing

Open in Google Maps

126 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02145

Visit Website

Interior of a small restaurant with dark teal walls and light wooden accents. — Fat Hen

Aeronaut Brewing Company

14 Tyler St, Somerville, MA 02143

Aeronaut Brewing Company — One of Aeronaut’s tasty beverages

The beloved Somerville brewery and purveyor of heady IPAs is hosting a world’s fair-themed party, set simultaneously in 1940 and 3040. Dress like a character in a Raymond Chandler novel, or like whatever you think someone in 3040 might wear. It will all be backdropped by jazz and “futuristic sounds.” See more details here.

Cost: $85, before fees (includes photobooth prints, live music, snacks (including vegetarian options), a five-ounce pour of a special-edition beer, a midnight balloon drop, and more; additional beer available for purchase, including limited-edition selections)

14 Tyler St, Somerville, MA 02143

Visit Website

Aeronaut Brewing Company — One of Aeronaut’s tasty beverages

Juliet

257 Washington St, Somerville, MA 02143

Seafood at Juliet

On the early side of the evening, Juliet is wrapping up the final day of its Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner menu. From 10:30 p.m. to 1 a.m., Juliet turns into the Lichee Club — named for one of co-owner Katrina Jazayeri’s favorite movies, After the Thin Man, which will be projected on the wall — for an intimate party with light snacks provided and drinks available for purchase. See more details here.

Cost: $75 for the four-course Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner, with optional add-on courses and drinks; $25 for the Lichee Club party

257 Washington St, Somerville, MA 02143

Visit Website

Seafood at Juliet

Alden & Harlow

40 Brattle St, Cambridge, MA 02138

A burger sits on a blue plate, piled high with shredded lettuce, sauce, and a crispy disc of cheese — The burger at Alden & Harlow

Alden & Harlow is serving dinner a la carte on New Year’s Eve, with some special additions, including king crab salad with caviar and Carolina gold rice; porchetta with creamed cauliflower and truffles; and more. See more details here.

Cost: Varies (a la carte)

40 Brattle St, Cambridge, MA 02138

Visit Website

A burger sits on a blue plate, piled high with shredded lettuce, sauce, and a crispy disc of cheese — The burger at Alden & Harlow

Momi Nonmi

1128 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02139

Preview of some of the New Year’s Eve menu items at Momi Nonmi

Momi Nonmi’s New Year’s Eve prix fixe menu offers duck confit, sushi, and wagyu beef tartare (along with other treats). Book your spot here; reservations required.

Cost: $65 (five-course meal)

Open in Google Maps

1128 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02139

Visit Website

Preview of some of the New Year’s Eve menu items at Momi Nonmi

Casa Caña

1234 Soldiers Field Rd, Boston, MA 02135

Casa Caña’s grilled street corn with cotija, chilies, and aioli

This Allston spot, with food and drink inspired by Latin America, is ringing in the New Year Havana-style. Tickets are on the affordable side as far as New Year’s Eve goes. Attendees can expect passed apps and a Champagne toast.

Cost: $25 (plus fees and tax) until December 15, and then $35

Open in Google Maps

1234 Soldiers Field Rd, Boston, MA 02135

Visit Website

Casa Caña’s grilled street corn with cotija, chilies, and aioli

Pagu

310 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139

Pig at Pagu

First, there’s dinner service at Pagu between 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., featuring a five-course tasting menu with a focus on seafood and a sneak peek at some dishes that will be served in the new year. (Gluten-free and vegetarian options available.)

Then, starting at 9 p.m., there’s a party. A ticket to Pagu’s New Year’s Eve event gets party-goers all-you-can-eat food (which will include suckling pig, seafood paella, wagyu brisket nachos, waffle churros, and more), a cocktail, some bubbly, and a raffle ticket.

Cost: $70 for dinner, with a complimentary glass of bubbles if you reserve before December 15; $80 for the party ($75 per person if you buy four or more tickets at the same time), with bonus drink and raffle tickets if you buy before December 15

Open in Google Maps

310 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139

Visit Website

Pig at Pagu

No. 9 Park

9 Park St, Boston, MA 02108

A previous branzino dish at No. 9 Park

Barbara Lynch’s No. 9 Park is offering two dinner seatings on New Year’s Eve, and the menu will include dishes like bluefin tuna crudo and poached branzino. Book your table here.

Cost: $175 for the first seating (five-course menu) with optional $115 wine pairing; $225 for the second seating (seven-course menu) with optional $155 wine pairing

Open in Google Maps

9 Park St, Boston, MA 02108

Visit Website

A previous branzino dish at No. 9 Park

Model Cafe

7 N Beacon St, Boston, MA 02134

Bar exterior at night, featuring an elaborate stone facade lit red by the neon signage, which reads Model Cafe in a Medieval-looking font — It’s never a bad idea to celebrate at the Model

This will be significantly cheaper than a dinner at No. 9 Park (unless you drink, like, 50 High Lifes). There will be music (probably of the 1980s and 1990s variety), and there will be cheap domestic beer. If a dive bar is more appealing than a seated dinner, this is the spot.

Cost: Depends how much beer you drink

Open in Google Maps

7 N Beacon St, Boston, MA 02134

Bar exterior at night, featuring an elaborate stone facade lit red by the neon signage, which reads Model Cafe in a Medieval-looking font — It’s never a bad idea to celebrate at the Model

Drink

348 Congress St, Boston, MA 02210