What are you doing on News Year’s Eve? Here are some prime dining options
New Year’s Eve is a couple of weeks away, but don’t let it sneak up on you: Make plans now for dinner. There are lots of options in Lexington:
▪ Azur, 3070 Lakecrest Circle, will have a special menu Sunday, with three seatings on New Year’s Eve. The prix fixe menu, available Friday and Saturday too, offers four courses for $75 ($55 if you do the early-bird seating at 5 p.m. on Dec. 31) with a choice of appetizers, salads, entree and desserts. Entrees include sea scallops, pork tenderloin, line-caught wild grouper, petit filet mignon, or cavatappi a la vodka. Call 859-296-1007 for reservations.
▪ Palmers Fresh Grill, 161 Lexington Green Circle, will host a New Year’s Eve masquerade pre-party at the indoor community area of Lakeside Live, featuring music by Ben Lacy and Corey Cross from 7 to 10 p.m. Call 859-273-0103 for information.
▪ Corto Lima, 101 West Short Street, will celebrate with a Jonathan’s Events champagne dinner on New Year’s Eve. It features a four-course dinner and bottomless Veuve Cliquot. Reservations are $100 a perrson, plus tax and tip. For an extra $25, you can get extra special bites that pair with chef Jonathan Lundy’s supper. Cocktails, beer and wine. Seats are limited; reserve a spot through CortoLima.com. There will be two seatings, beginning at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
▪ Woodford Reserve Distillery, 7855 McCracken Pike in Versailles, is offering an exclusive evening with distillery tours, live music, food, and, of course, Woodford Reserve bourbon. A cash bar will be available along with a special gift for guests. Reservations are limited and guests must be at least 21 to attend. It begins with cocktails and appetizers at 6 p.m., and dinner and live music at 8 p.m. It’s $100; make reservations at Woodfordreserve.com/events.
▪ Alfalfa, 141 East Main Street, is giving back to the community with special charity brunches. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 30, 15 percent of all proceeds will benefit the Catholic Action Center. On New Year’s Eve, brunch will benefit the Hope Center.
▪ Winchell’s Restaurant and Bar, 348 Southland Drive, is finishing the year with a lobster boil, 4 to 11 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. The three-course meal includes New England clam chowder, whole lobster with corn and a fresh vegetable, seasonal fruit cobbler and a glass of champagne for $45.99. Call 859-278-9424 for reservations.
▪ Honeywood, 110 Summit at Fritz Farm, will celebrate New Year’s Eve with special entrees and a $35 three-course menu from executive chef Josh Smouse, including traditional good-luck foods. Reservations, not normally available at Honeywood, will be taken for dinner. The specials include a chilled seafood platter with shrimp, lobster, mussels and crab salad; 8-ounce beef tenderloin topped with crab and bearnaise; and the prix fixe features local greens salad with grapes, pomegranate seeds and sardine tartine; slow-roasted pork with lentil and black-eyed pea stew and collard greens; and a French choux pastry ring dessert filled with praline cream, topped with almonds and chocolate. It’s open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. New Year’s Eve; call 859-469-8234 for reservations.
▪ Middle Fork Kitchen Bar, 1224 Manchester Street, will have two seatings on New Year’s Eve with a special five-course menu featuring your choice of entrees, including wood-grilled duck breast, scallops, dry-aged beef fillet with bone marrow dumplings, pork belly or roasted root vegetable tarte. It’s $85, $115 with one wine pairing, and $135 with two wine pairings. Call 859-309-9854 to make reservations.
▪ Holly Hill Inn, 426 North Winter Street in Midway, will feature a seven-course gourmet dinner for $75 from chefs Ouita Michel and Tyler McNabb, featuring foods for good luck. Reservations are available 6 to 10 p.m.; aspecial wine flight also is available. Call 859-846-4732 for reservations.
▪ Lockbox and the 21c Museum Hotel, 167 West Main Street, is hosting a New Year’s Eve art bash beginning at 9 p.m. There will be circus acts by Sora Aerial Arts, art performances and entertainment by Mecca Studios, hors d’oeurves from Lockbox, and a premium bar. It’s $35 for general admission and $95 for open-bar admission. Everybody gets a bubbly toast at midnight. Call 859-899-6800 for reservations or book online. You also can reserve a room at the hotel.
Lockbox will be open for dinner from 5:30 to 11 p.m. with some special menu items available, including butter-roasted lobster, and beef tenderloin with truffle jus. Call 859-899-6800 for reservations.
▪ Dudley’s on Short, 259 West Short Street, will have a four-course plus amuse bouche dinner for New Year’s Eve. Guests can choose among several options in each course; entrees include hand-made tagliatelle pasta with chicken confit ragout, seared verlasso salmon, loup de mer, sweet-tea brined heritage pork chop, dry-aged duck or herb-roasted tenderloin. It’s $75; call 859-252-1010 for reservations.
▪ Whiskey Bear, in the Barn at The Summit at Fritz Farm, will ring in the New Year with one-of-a-kind hors d’oeuvres by Dan Wu (Atomic Ramen) and Josiah Correll (Pasture by Marksbury Farm) with live music by Swing ’39. It’s $70 and includes all food, live music, and a champagne toast at midnight. Cash bar. You must be 21 or older. Tickets here.
▪ Carson’s Food & Drink, 362 East Main Street, is hosting a New Year’s Eve/first anniversary party. Tickets are $100 and include a seat for the night with dinner, a choice of filet medallions, salmon Oscar-style, filet creole or shrimp linguini, dessert, champagne at midnight and more. Walk-ins will be accepted starting at 9:30 p.m. for $30, with no food service. Call 859-309-3039.
▪ Crú Food and Wine Bar, 107 Summit at Fritz Farm, is open 5:30 to midnight New Year’s Eve by reservation only. It will have a special three-course meal and roasted rack of lamb, cast iron-seared sea scallops, barolo-braised short ribs, pan-seared bass, and filet mignon. Call 859-971-9463 for reservations and price. Final “gala seating” includes a champagne toast at midnight.
▪ The Grand Reserve, 903 Manchester Street, is hosting a Midnight Masquerade from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. on New Year’s Eve. VIP admission is $75 and includes two signature Jeptha Creed cocktails, a champagne toast at midnight, passed appetizers and a premium table. General admission is $45 and doesn’t include a designated seat. Cocktail attire is required, but costumes are optional. Call 859-608-6221 for information. Tickets are available online at Eventbrite.
▪ West Sixth Brewing is hosting a New Year’s Eve beer party, with specials from Smithtown Seafood available. Tickets are available at Eventbrite.com; it’s $55 for a table for two or $110 for a bench table in the beer garden that could seat as many as 10.
▪ Pivot Brewing, 1400 Delaware Avenue, is hosting a New Year’s Eve party with a three-course cider-paired dinner and a midnight cider cocktail toast. Tickets for the dinner and party, which starts at 7 p.m., are $75 each; for the dance party only, $25. Call 859-285-6778 or make reservations online at Eventbrite.com.
▪ Blue Heron Steakhouse, 185 Jefferson Street, is offering a New Year’s Eve dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. The three-course dinner, featuring a choice of entrees including filet of beef tenderloin, slow-roasted prime rib, Florida grouper, osso buco or roasted poulet rouge, is $75. Call 859-254-2491 for reservations.
▪ Parlay Social is hosting a party with Boogie G and the Titanics; call 859-244-1932 for reservations.
▪ Creaux, 310 West Short Street, is hosting a New Year’s Eve party beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35 and include a reserved seat, light fare and champagne for toasting. Call 859-469-8960 or go to Creauxlex.com for reservations.
▪ Belle’s Cocktail House, 156 Market Street, is hosting a New Year’s Eve, Roaring ’20s style. Costumes — flapper dresses and dapper suits — are encouraged. The party begins at 8 a.m. Tickets are $30 each, $50 for a couple. Order online at Eventbrite.com.
▪ Blue Sushi Sake Grill, 105 Summit at Fritz Farm, will offer a special menu Dec. 29 through Jan. 1. Specials include chicharron short ribs, snow devil featuring spicy hamachi, spicy crab, jalapeño, shiso leaf, ponzu, kobujime hirame, lemon zest (eight pieces for $13), New Year nigiri featuring two pieces each of gindara, and kobujime hirame nigiri, served over rice for $13. Call 859-544-4452 for reservations.
▪ Brasabana, 841 Lane Allen Road, will be open New Year’s Eve with drink and food specials. Call 859-303-5573 for reservations.
▪ Lexington Diner will be open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. New Year’s Eve, closed New Year’s Day. Call 859-303-7308
▪ Minton’s at 760, 780 North Limestone, will be open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. New Year’s Eve.
▪ Airarang Garden Korean BBQ, 109 Mount Tabor Road, is open 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. New Year’s Eve.
▪ Grimaldi’s Pizzeria, 110 Marion at The Summit at Fritz Farm, is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. New Year’s Eve.
▪ Once you make it through New Year’s Eve, head to Good Foods Co-op, 455 Southland Drive, on New Year’s Day for a hangover brunch. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the hot bar will be $9.99 a pound and will include hash brown casserole, wheat-free fried chicken, Swiss chard and black-eyed pea egg bake, sausage links, black-eyed peas, rice, crustless quiche, sausage gravy with biscuits, grits, French toast casserole, scrambled eggs, vegan gravy with biscuits, Gimme Lean sausage, steamed broccoli, vegan scramble and, of course, Good Foods kale. You also can get $1 off draft kombuchas and beers (including a Rhinegeist Bubbles beermosa). The first 100 hot bar customers get free commemorative Hangover Brunch T-shirts.
▪ Merry Christmas and Happy New Year: The LexGo Eat column will return after Jan. 1.
This story was originally published December 20, 2017 at 10:28 AM with the headline "What are you doing on News Year’s Eve? Here are some prime dining options."