New Year's Eve Dinners in and Around Seattle

Make the final night of the year special with celebratory New Year's Eve menus at these Seattle-area eateries. Sure, most restaurants will be open, but our shortlist below includes ones with special flair.
Charlotte Restaurant and Lounge
Downtown
The restaurant on the 16th floor of the Lotte Hotel will serve a four-course $140 dinner from 5–9pm that begins the evening with pan-seared scallops, smoked salmon salad and a crab bisque, then continues to three choices of entrée, with a 24k gold chocolate pop rock cake for dessert. Live music—jazz and soul—fill the view-filled dining room, and an optional wine pairing features classy champagne.
Joule
Wallingford
Joule's five courses ($150) begin with a flurry of snacks, then move on to soba chicory salad, black trumpet and scallop mandoo, beef paleron, and finally, ice cream cake by Paper Cake chef Gabby Park. The elevated yet casual Korean-Asian fusion spot offers a vegetarian menu as well.
Ivar's Salmon House
wallingford
The seafood emporium offers a uniquely Seattle take on New Year's Eve parties with a $100 buffet dinner, dancing, and view of the Space Needle fireworks. Midnight brings a champagne toast in the cedar interiors.
Copperleaf Restaurant and Bar
SeaTac
Six courses of mostly local ingredients—some from Copperleaf's own on-site chef's garden—hit high notes like a dungeness crab crespelle and risotto with lobster and black truffles, all served beside a roaring fire.

Image: Courtesy Mezzanotte
Mezzanotte
Georgetown
Cedar and Elm
Kenmore
Chef Luke Kolpin’s five-course, $175 tasting menu will be served in one of the region’s loveliest dining rooms. If you really want to splash out, you can add on tickets to Saint Edward Lodge’s NYE party, complete with a swing orchestra in the hotel's ballroom.
Goldfinch Tavern
Downtown
Chef Jeffrey Hunter and pastry chef Danielle Grogan join forces for a $185 four-course dinner that goes big. Choices include yellowfin tuna ribbons, king salmon carpaccio, lobster, and venison smothered in mountain huckleberries. It’s all served before a midnight toast, with live music. Wine pairings are available.
Altura
Capitol Hill
Nathan Lockwood’s $295 menu embraces the seasons, high-end technique, Northwest-Italian traditions, and most dietary restrictions, provided you give them advance notice. Reserve a table, or spots at the chef’s counter.
Carrello
Capitol Hill
A five-course, $125 dinner at Nathan Lockwood’s more casual spot combines Northwest ingredients with Italian holiday traditions to craft black truffle roasted tenderloin and a lobster and scallop risotto. Why yes, wine pairings are also available, and a '90s themed rager follows a midnight toast. Reserve here.

Ramie
capitol hill
Sibling chefs Trinh and Thai Nguyen pull out all the stops for a $125, four-course menu to ring in the new year. The Vietnamese spot also offers wine and champagne pairings as an add-on.
Eden Hill
Queen Anne
Maximillian Petty’s end-of-year $215 tasting menu drops at the tiny 24-seat Queen Anne outpost. The menu is yet to be announced, but last year featured stars like cured kampachi tostadas and scallop and crab lasagna.
Le Coin
Fremont
Fremont’s neighborly French bistro gives you multiple options (egg toast with caviar, truffle fusilli, lamb chop) for its four-course $125 dinner. Reserve in the dining room or on the heated patio.
Ethan Stowell Restaurants
Various
Ascend Prime Steak and Sushi
Bellevue

Image: Courtesy Evan Sung/Hamdi
Hamdi
Fremont
In a sea of multicourse dinners, Frelard Turkish spot Hamdi stands out with a whole lamb feast. The meal begins with a mezze spread that includes local mussels cooked over an open fire and a carrot dip with smoked yogurt. But the main course and star is, obviously, the lamb, roasted over wood fire for eight hours. The whole thing, dessert included, runs $145 per person, and reservations (here) run throughout the evening.