Dining Agenda: New Restaurants and Food News December 2017

At the end of November, Chef Michael Oliver (Locanda Verde, Lafayette) opened his newest spot, a seasonally-inspired American restaurant at 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge. The restaurant is named after one of the birds that calls the urban oasis of Brooklyn Bridge Park home—and the restaurant's lush, airy space highlights the park’s natural beauty. The menu does too, featuring vegetable-forward dishes like Tokyo turnips with quinoa and burnt honey, and regionally-sourced mains like PEI Mussels with white wine and creme fraîche. 60 Furman St; 347-696-2500; 1hotels.com.

Starting December 1, Charleston's vegetable and seafood-centric restaurant Sorgum & Salt will launch a chef’s tasting menu featuring dishes that follow the shifting seasons. Expect dishes like soy-cured steelhead trout and housemade sausage with popped sorghum and fennel. 186 Coming St.; 843-872-6393; sorghumandsalt.com.

On December 3, Joe and Katy Kindred (of Davidson, N.C.'s Kindred restaurant) are opening a modern seafood spot just outside of Charlotte, with Charleston chef Craig Deihl overseeing the food. The vibe will be relaxed and the menu a mix of classic and innovative dishes: clam rolls, Crab Louie salad, and tuna poke, with fruit-filled hand pies and soft serve to round out the sweets selection. The restaurant's dockside dining will be matched by 20 boat parking slips for easy waterfront parking. 20210 Henderson Rd.; hellosailornc.com.

On December 4, Scotland's 5-star hotel The Balmoral will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Number One, its Michelin-starred restaurant. For one night, executive chef Jeff Brand will join the restaurant’s former chefs to create a commemorative, four-course meal featuring dishes like roe deer with pumpkin and chorizo, and The Balmoral’s beloved smoked salmon. 1 Princes St.; 44-13/1556-2414; roccofortehotels.com.

From December 6–9 (during the week of Art Basel), James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Schwartz will host an onsite pop-up at Miami's Paraiso Bay complex in Edgewater. Diners will get a sneak peek at his menu for the soon-to-open Amara at Paraiso—a mix of Latin American flavors and regional South Florida produce. Think: short rib empanadas with chimichurri, and cobia wrapped in banana leaf with mashed yuca and coconut chutney. 3101 NE 7th Ave.; 305-576-7874; amaraatparaiso.com.

The two Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant will host a sake pairing dinner on December 8, celebrating the U.S. release of Manzairaku sakes. The omakase menu will be shaped around whatever is freshest at Tokyo’s famed Tsukiji market, but will likely include delicacies like Hadate uni and baby snow crab. 461 5th Ave.; onodera-group.com.

On December 8, the ultra-luxe Chinese restaurant Shuang-Ba will open at Grand Hyatt Baha Mar. The space is filled with hand-woven silk tapestries, ornate statues, and a multi-ton marble pillar of two intertwined dragons, which serves as the room’s focal point. The menu will feature dishes like wagyu beef with jade turnip and black truffle rice, and black-gold abalone with oyster sauce. Dim sum offerings include baked honey pork buns and crispy cod spring rolls. 1 Baha Mar Blvd; 242-788-1234; bahamar.com.

On December 10 and 11, Jikoni’s chef, Ravinder Bhogal, will host an intimate, holiday-inspired dinner and culinary class. Guests will learn to make pomegranate Negronis, then sit down to a four-course feast of pumpkin and brassica panzanella, salmon tartare-style with tahini and sumac, and quail with chestnut and cranberry maftoul. 19-21 Blandford St.; 020/7034-1988; jikonilondon.com.

Brooklyn will soon be home to a 12,000-square foot cidery, bar, and restaurant. On tap: more than 100 different ciders from around the world, including a selection fermented from apples grown at the cidery’s partner farm, Twin Star Orchard. To complement the sweet, dry, and mulled ciders, Spanish-inspired small plates will be available, including chorizo braised in cider, salted cod, and nibbles from jamón to olives and marcona almonds. Expect a mid-December opening. 1100 Flushing Ave.; brooklynciderhouse.com.

Every year, chefs from around New York City descend on the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s vaulting great hall for a festive latke throw-down. This year's event happens on December 18, and participating restaurants' entries skew toward the unexpected, like the cranberry and juniper latkes topped with smoked duck leg confit and pickled cucumber from Benchmark, whose chefs took home first prize last year. 30 Lafayette Ave.; 718-636-4100; latkefestival.com.

On December 24, two Michelin-starred chef Emma Bengtsson will bring a taste of Swedish Christmas to New York at Aquavit. The julbord brunch will feature a lavish spread of traditional dishes like veal brisket paté, lingonberry-cured cod, and a dozen different types of herring. 65 E 55th St.; 212-307-7311; aquavit.org.

Seaside chateau Ocean House recently welcomed fine dining seafood restaurant COAST, helmed by chef Jennifer Backman. On Christmas Eve she will offer a farm-to-table holiday dinner, featuring Atlantic white fish with beluga lentils, New England goose with cherry and maple smoked mushroom, and Stonington lobster with vanilla bean and winter truffle. Ocean House, meanwhile, will be decked out for the holiday with glinting trees, a roaring fireplace, and festive greenery throughout the grounds. 1 Bluff Ave.; 401-584-7000; oceanhouseri.com.

Flora Bar, the newest collaboration between Thomas Carter and chef Ignacio Mattos (Café Altro Paradiso, Estela) that is housed at the Met Breuer, will host a Chinese-inspired feast on December 24. Dishes will include Szechuan ribs with pickled radish and rose petals, lobster with black pepper sauce, and glistening Peking duck. 945 Madison Ave.; 646-558-5383; florabarnyc.com.

The Bay Area’s three Michelin-starred restaurant will serve an opulent six-course Christmas Eve tasting menu on December 24. Chef Michael Tusk and his team will serve dishes like Périgord truffle carbonara with smoked egg, and roast goose with red cabbage cooked in goose fat. 470 Pacific Ave.; 415-775-8500; quincerestaurant.com.

From December 24–27, guests at this Italianate mansion can celebrate the holidays in royal style. The three-day private house party features relaxed afternoon teas with mince pies and mulled wine; two festive, black-tie dinners featuring local wild venison Wellington and Christmas pudding with burnt butter ice cream; and a champagne reception in the Great Hall followed by dancing. 44-16/2866-8561; clivedenhouse.co.uk.

The beloved NYC bakery will host a wintry Parisian pop-up through December 30, housed at the bright and airy co-working space Mona. The shop’s Nutella brownies, pistachio loaf cakes, and famous “nutty chocolate chip cookies” will be joined by a collection of soothing teas by Pukka Organic Teas. 118 Rue de Turenne; mamannyc.com.

The ultra-luxurious Dubai hotel will host its annual New Year’s Eve soirée on Dec 31. The champagne will flow freely and the menu will feature wagyu beef with salted lemon and beef tea, velouté soup with shiitake chicken boudin and a quail egg, and a smoke tea-infused chocolate dessert with pears and soft caramel. At midnight, a record-breaking firework display will light up the sky all around the hotel. Jumeirah Road Umm Suqeim 3; 971-4301-7777; jumeirah.com.

Japanese hotspot Zuma is serving a special champagne and caviar pairing throughout the month of December to celebrate the holidays. The caviar is sustainability harvested from France, according to executive chef Oliver Lange, and is paired with four different accompaniments. Each item—ranging from truffled egg to matcha crackers—is selected to uniquely alter the taste of the Krug champagne while complementing the caviar’s best qualities. The pairing was designed for service in the restaurant’s lounge area for a more private experience, but it can be ordered tableside as well. 261 Madison Ave; 212-544-9862; zumarestaurant.com —Emily Cappiello