The day and hour each of New York City's hardest restaurants opens Thursday, December 24, worked out from its own release rule, and what to do once a room is full.
Christmas Eve 2026 falls on Thursday, December 24. Each New York City restaurant opens the date on its own release rule, so the morning varies by room. As of November 2, 2026, 3 of the 25 rooms in the table below have released it; the rest follow through Thursday, December 17.
| Restaurant | Reaches Dec 24 | Table for two | Platform | Release rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atomix | Sunday, November 1 | Released | Tock | The 1st of each month, for the next month |
| Eleven Madison Park | Sunday, November 1 at 10 AM ET | Released | Resy | The 1st of each month, for the next month, at 10 AM |
| Per Se | Sunday, November 1 at 10 AM ET | Released | Tock | The 1st of each month, for the next month, at 10 AM |
| Jeju Noodle Bar | Tuesday, November 10 at midnight ET | Not yet | Resy | 44 days ahead at midnight |
| Carbone | Tuesday, November 24 at 10 AM ET | Not yet | Resy | 30 days ahead at 10 AM |
| Cote | Tuesday, November 24 at 10 AM ET | Not yet | Resy | 30 days ahead at 10 AM |
| Minetta Tavern | Tuesday, November 24 at midnight ET | Not yet | Resy | 30 days ahead at midnight |
| Theodora | Tuesday, November 24 at 9 AM ET | Not yet | Resy | 30 days ahead at 9 AM |
| Torrisi | Tuesday, November 24 at 10 AM ET | Not yet | Resy | 30 days ahead at 10 AM |
| Via Carota | Tuesday, November 24 at 10 AM ET | Not yet | Resy | 30 days ahead at 10 AM |
| The Four Horsemen | Wednesday, November 25 | Not yet | Resy | 29 days ahead |
| Lilia | Thursday, November 26 at 10 AM ET | Not yet | Resy | 28 days ahead at 10 AM |
| Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi | Thursday, November 26 at noon ET | Not yet | Resy | 28 days ahead at noon |
| 4 Charles Prime Rib | Thursday, December 3 at 9 AM ET | Not yet | Resy | 21 days ahead at 9 AM |
| Bungalow | Friday, December 4 at 11 AM ET | Not yet | Resy | 20 days ahead at 11 AM |
| Semma | Wednesday, December 9 at 9 AM ET | Not yet | SevenRooms | 15 days ahead at 9 AM |
| Buvette | Thursday, December 10 | Not yet | Resy | 14 days ahead |
| Red Hook Tavern | Thursday, December 10 | Not yet | OpenTable | 14 days ahead |
| The Eighty Six | Thursday, December 10 | Not yet | SevenRooms | 14 days ahead |
| Una Pizza Napoletana | Thursday, December 10 at 9 AM ET | Not yet | OpenTable | 14 days ahead at 9 AM |
| Wild Cherry | Thursday, December 10 at midnight ET | Not yet | SevenRooms | 14 days ahead at midnight |
| I Sodi | Friday, December 11 | Not yet | Resy | 13 days ahead |
| The Corner Store | Friday, December 11 | Not yet | SevenRooms | 13 days ahead |
| Don Angie | Thursday, December 17 | Not yet | OpenTable | 7 days ahead |
| Or'esh | Thursday, December 17 | Not yet | SevenRooms | 7 days ahead |
Dates are worked out from each restaurant's release rule. Open and No tables are what a table for two showed at our last check, as of November 2, 2026. No tables can mean sold out or closed for the holiday. Released means the calendar has reached the date and we hold no reading of it. Every release rule. How we measure.
Room by room, on each restaurant's own schedule. Christmas Eve is Thursday, December 24, 2026. Rooms that book far ahead or release a month at a time get there first; short-window rooms reach it last. Carbone reaches it on Tuesday, November 24 at 10 AM, Lilia reaches it on Thursday, November 26 at 10 AM and 4 Charles Prime Rib reaches it on Thursday, December 3 at 9 AM.
Here are all 69 New York City rooms we hold a release rule for, earliest first. Hours are ET.
Most New York City rooms have not reached the date yet. The next one to release it does so on Tuesday, November 10.
Where a room's calendar has passed the date, the way in now is a cancellation. They cluster in the last two days before a holiday, when people who booked early change plans, and those tables go to whoever hears first.
You find out when the calendar reaches the date. Many restaurants close, some switch to a set menu that books separately, and a few serve lunch only. If the date appears with times, it is bookable. If it appears with none, the room is closed or taking holiday bookings another way, not necessarily sold out.
Find your room in the table above and be on its booking platform at that minute, signed in, with the party size set. Take any time you can get on the day; you can look for a better one later.
The Polo Bar books by phone, one calendar month ahead at 10 AM, so it has no release morning to list.
No. SnagRes watches these calendars across Resy, OpenTable, Tock and SevenRooms and texts or emails you the moment a table appears on the date you asked about. You book it yourself, in your own account, at the restaurant's own price. Nothing is held or resold.
Room by room, on each restaurant's own release rule. Carbone reaches it on Tuesday, November 24 at 10 AM, Lilia reaches it on Thursday, November 26 at 10 AM and 4 Charles Prime Rib reaches it on Thursday, December 3 at 9 AM. The table on this page lists the day and hour for 25 New York City rooms.
Many are, often with a set menu, and some close. When the calendar reaches the date, times mean bookable and no times mean closed or booked another way.
Set an alert on the date. Tables come back in the last two days before the holiday, at any hour, and SnagRes texts you the moment one appears so you can book it yourself.
No. SnagRes alerts you when a table appears, and you book it yourself at the restaurant's price. We never hold or resell tables.
SnagRes checks 288 hard-to-book restaurants across four cities and alerts you when one opens. Watching one is free and no card is needed: watch a table free in New York City, or last-minute tables in NYC tonight, or see the hardest tables right now.