Toast the New Year: East End Restaurants Roll Out Festive NYE Menus & Celebrations

Pop the bubbly and pass the plate — here’s where to eat, sip, and celebrate as the East End rings in the New Year.

Lunch Lobster Roll in Southampton offers a variety of featured specials you’re going to love! Join them for Wine Down Weekends (Friday through Sunday) and get a $10 glass of wine of your choice with any large appetizer. For lunch, a soup & sandwich combo is available until 4:30 p.m. where you get a choice of soup and one of their pub sandwiches for only $20! Pub sandwiches included in the deal are a black angus burger, fried flounder pub, Dr. Praeger’s veggie burger or a chicken breast pub. Still hungry? For dinner service starting after 4:30 p.m., a soup & entree combo is offered where you choose a soup and an entree of fried clam strips, popcorn shrimp, fish n’ chips or a char-broiled chicken breast. Check out their website for full menus and to make reservations.

End your year on a delicious note and join R.AIRE in Hampton Bays for a NYE celebration on Wednesday, December 31 from 6 to 10 p.m. What you can expect while dining with them that evening will be a special three-course prix fixe menu complete with a champagne toast to help you prepare for the New Year, as well as live music by Eleanor Dubinsky & Dario Acosta Teich from 7 to 10 p.m. A children’s menu will also be offered for little ones under 12 at $45 for each child. The three-course menu will be offered at $150 per person and offers dishes ranging from appetizers of a winter salad, lobster bisque, local red shrimp, Wagyu beef tartare or foie gras, main course options of halibut, Crescent duck, mushroom fideua (which can be made vegetarian), grilled Wagyu filet mignon or a tomahawk paella for two. Finally, end your meal with dessert options of Basque cheesecake, chocolate hazelnut mousse cake, tarta de Santiago or almond cake with fresh berries. For further details and to book your reservations, visit their website.

Nick & Toni’s will ring in 2026 with a special four-course prix fixe menu on Wednesday, December 31 for $165 per person, plus tax and gratuity. The evening will not only offer tasty dishes, but also hats, noise makers, balloons, and all guests will receive a gift from the Nick & Toni’s pastry team! In addition, a special “Bambini Menu” will also be available for children ten-and-under for $50 per child. On the menu for the celebration is a complimentary amuse of golden beet tartare, antipasti selections of Peconic Gold oysters, yellowfin tuna crudo, castelfranco & roasted baby beet salad, lioni latticini burrata or pan seared foie gras. For your main course, a choice of North Fork wild mushroom risotto, pan seared scallops, house made fettuccini, pan seared halibut, porcelet pork chop or wood grilled filet mignon is available, and for dessert, choose from pear tarte tatin, warm pistachio frangipane crostada or milk chocolate amaretto budino. Reservations are highly recommended and can be made by visiting their website or by calling directly at 631-324-3550. Cheers!

Join Calissa in Water Mill for a festive Hamptons NYE celebration from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. The restaurant will be blending elevated Mediterranean dining with music and dancing with two seatings taking place offering a four-course prix fixe menu. The early seating will be from 5 to 7 p.m. at $85 per person and the later seating will be from 9 to 11:30 p.m. at $115 per person. Standout dishes can be found on the menu such as mushroom risotto with black winter truffles, lobster pasta, Cretan-style prime rib, lamb chops and optional caviar service. Beginning at 9 p.m., their Lounge will come alive with a DJ, cocktails and dancing, and bottle service will be available by reservation. An optional beverage package will be offered from 9 p.m. to midnight for $95 per person, making Calissa an effortless all-night destination to welcome in the new year in true coastal style. Reservations can be made on their Open Table.

Did you know?

Hosting a NYE party but don’t feel like cooking? Lulu Kitchen & Bar wants to take the stress off your plate by offering a delicious holiday menu to go! From full dinner menus to platters, canapes and a la carte items, the Sag Harbor restaurant has you covered. A variety of packages of complete meals are available, in addition to platters, canapes by the dozen, caviar service and other add-ons such as Duryea’s Lobster Cobb Salad, rack of lamb and 2lb lobster. The full holiday catering menu can be found on their website. Orders must be placed at least 48 hours in advance by calling 631-725-0900 or emailing info@lulusagharbor.com.

Bits & Bites:

Bistro 72, located inside Hotel Indigo in Riverhead, will offer prix fixe dinner menus for NYE on December 31 featuring a special performance by Matt Mershak & Friends! A three-course menu will be offered from 5 to 7 p.m. for $65, plus tax and gratuity, and a five-course menu will be offered from 7:30 p.m. for $110 plus tax and gratuity. An overnight stay package is also available which includes a five-course dinner for two with the live performance and breakfast the next morning! Visit their website for more information.

Smokey Buns in East Hampton offers Happy Hour from 3 to 6 p.m., Sunday through Thursday! Sip on discounted beer and High Noons for $7 and $10 glasses of wine while you enjoy a meatball parm for $15 or a restorative chicken soup for $9.

Food Quote: “Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.” — Peg Bracken