Traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner 2022

Shrimp cocktails, crab dip, grilled oysters, prosciutto-wrapped scallops, traditional baccala made of salted cod — these appetizing snacks are so yummy and easy to cook that many Italian women and restaurants’ chefs always have them on the menu on any holiday occasion. Besides, they look festive and go incredibly well with a glass of welcoming champagne and a friendly small talk.

If you celebrate your holiday in magnificent Rome, stop at the charming Il Marchese restaurant with the famous museums, delis and sightseeing spots nearby and have your dose of the year’s main holiday. For a Christmas and New Year’s Eve dinner they’ve prepared a special menu which includes fritto misto romano — deep-fried medley of fresh seafood and vegetables, puntarelle alla romana — crunchy shoots from chicory seasoned with garlic, anchovies and vinegar, lasagna, and other traditional Italian meat and fish dishes — €80 with a bottle of wine included.

Seafood salads with common Italian greens like endives, arugula, and radicchio go as a side dish and add some lightness to a hearty Christmas Eve dinner. It's a reasonable idea to have a portion of vegetables between two heavier dishes, besides grilled scallops or squid add a festive touch together with Xmassy green and red colors on the plate.

This December, the Sky Blu rooftop restaurant at Aleph hotel invites everyone to join their festive Wonderland program with an entirely seafood-based menu, featuring homemade bottoni pasta stuffed with seafood and seaweed foam, sweet doughnuts with lobster, and codfish steak, beautifully enhanced by vegetables and various sauces and spices (€120 per person, drinks excluded). December 25 starts with the special “Once upon a time” breakfast, with the presence of Santa Claus and screening of the film Alice in Wonderland, and will continue with tea, aperitif, and sweets till the end of the month.

Italian cuisine features plenty of filling soups full of earthy flavors, frequently served as primo piatto — a dish between antipasti and a main course. The local soups mainly consist of seasonal vegetables and beans, occasionally matched by cereals and bread. More hearty soups with meat or fish tend to be enjoyed during winter months, from north to south of the country.

The Terrazza Les Etoiles, a panoramic rooftop restaurant near the Vatican, offers new masterpieces of Chef Anzidei for the Christmas Eve Dinner and lunch, in addition to their everyday menu. You’ll be treated to amberjack carpaccio marinated with pomegranate and sour mini navettes along with homemade fusillone, oyster, and caviar — all in a brightly illuminated interior with Xmas decor and favorite songs. Add to this sashi beef, crispy parmesan and quail egg along with traditional cappelletti with fine black truffle and your Christmas Eve dinner will be the tastiest day of the year. The festive menus start from €99 per person.

Most Feast of the Seven Fishes dinners have one thing in common: a ubiquitous pasta dish. There are so many different traditional Italian sorts of pasta throughout the country that you’ll never be at a loss for variety. The pairing combinations of the forms of pasta and sauces seem infinite, and the higher the quality of ingredients, the more delicious your final dish will be.

At Terrazza Gallia, a 3-star Michelin restaurant, located on the seventh floor of the Excelsior Hotel Gallia, you’ll be able to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve with a panoramic view over the city of Milan. For Xmas Eve dinner the chefs, the Lebano brothers with the advice of the three-starred Cerea brothers of Da Vittorio, offer Casoncelli (kind of pasta with filling) stuffed with taleggio, spinach, corn and black truffle, a beef rib poached with white polenta mousse and roasted black cabbage, and Christmas dessert ball with vanilla, mandarin, chestnut, and rum — all for €180 per person.

Bringing a whole baked fish to the table in Italy is like bringing out the turkey on Thanksgiving Day — hard to imagine a home or restaurant’s menu without this central dish on the table. The most typical fish to bake in Italy is salmon or a piece of halibut, and Italian women love to cook it due to speedy and simple recipes. Season it with spices, squeeze a bit of lemon juice and serve it with a piece of polenta or risotto — and lots of oohs and aahs are sure to fill in a room.

Il Giardino Ristorante, located on the Pincian Hill, with panoramic windows providing a mesmerizing view on Rome, invites you to celebrate Xmas in style. On Christmas Eve, the restaurant features ravioli filled with ventresca and tuna bottarga together with Courgette-crusted turbot with zucchini blossoms filled with lobster mousse. The whole Xmas menu costs €150 per person, excluding drinks, with a live piano and vocal duo from 7 to 11 pm. On Christmas Day, enjoy smoked lobster and classic cappelletti in broth with lamb chops, accompanied by a glazed artichoke and jazz piano with double bass duo from 12.30 – 2.30 pm — all for €145 per person.

If you want to impress your guests with your serious culinary and organizational approach to the Christmas feast, serve a small palate cleanser between your dinner and dessert courses. This type of neutral-flavored food or drink helps refresh taste buds and marks the end of serving rich dishes. It can be a mild sorbet made of lemon or cucumber with ananas, served in small spoons, or frozen lime bars or ice cream with different flavors, or just a fruit or unsalted crackers.

For Christmas dinner, at 1-star Michelin Ristorante Berton, the chefs serve dragon fruit or citrus & carrot fruit during a break after main courses. First, you’ll be treated to prawns salad, duck tortelli, red mullet, cheese fondue with white Alba truffle and after a palate cleanser meet a final touch — tiramisu with panettone in a glass. The menu’s cost varies from €160 to €340 depending on chosen dishes. Located in the futuristic district of Porta Nuova Varesine, this modern restaurant serves elegant and minimalist cuisine throughout the year and is sure to surprise you on Christmas Eve too!

Traditional Italian Xmas desserts include Panettone — a sweet bread containing a mix of raisins, candied orange, citron and lemon zest, tordilli — delicious sweet fritters, mostaccioli — cocoa candies with nuts and honey, zeppoles — sweet doughnuts and many others. Though the Feast of the Seven Fish menu focuses on dishes with seafood only, the desserts remain classically sweet, and are awaited by everyone at the table.

Just steps away from the Pantheon, there’s an elegant restaurant, Casa Coppelle, where you’re sure to find more than 5 variants of desserts for a Christmas Eve dinner. Montblanc and black currant; pears, mulled wine and gianduia; noisette and bayles; nougat soup, panettone in consistencies and sanded dried fruit; kanuga and citrus fruits — this is what is waiting for you after a 4-course festive menu (from €85 per person). This elegant restaurant with dimmed lights, brick walls with giant portraits, velvet chairs, plush seats and background music will give you the romantic atmosphere everyone is looking for during Christmas time.

Share great moments of Christmas 2022 with your loved ones here in Italy and your upcoming year will be filled with joy and tasty memories!