Ate Days of NYE Dining

If fine dining sounds better than fast living this NYE, North Texas has its share of special food events to ring in the New Year with style.

1.) In addition to its regular full menu, Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine (4259 Bryant Irvin Rd, Fort Worth, 817-738-5489) has special features for Wed, Dec 31, including she-crab soup, an appetizer of NOLA shrimp with garlic bread, and an entrée of 5-oz filet and 4-oz chicken-fried lobster tail served with a Cowboy Beurre Blanc butter sauce. A few seating times are still available, but you can also join the waitlist at OpenTable.com. Also, consider ordering a take-away feast via BonnellsOnline.com/curbside-family-meals-to-go.

2.) At Farena at Loews Arlington Hotel (888 Nolan Ryan Exp, 682-318-2810), Chef Tony is presenting a special à la carte menu that includes Akaushi beef tartare with potato pave, confit egg yolk, and cream fraiche. Then head to The | Bar on-site 7pm-1am for the live TV countdown to the New Year with a Champagne toast at midnight. Dinnertime seatings are available every 15 minutes from 5pm to 9:30pm at Resy.com.

3.) Mercury Chophouse (2221 E Lamar Blvd, Ste 910, Arlington, 817-381-1157) is offering a four-course meal and Champagne toast for $150 per person. The first course is a shrimp bisque, followed by a second course of an arugula salad with baby beets and a five-spice plum sorbet. For the third course, choose a petite filet and lobster-tail duo; the Lobster Tail Imperial with crab meat, shrimp, and risotto; a braised Colorado lamb shank; or a grilled veal chop. Each is served with pomegranate Champagne sorbet. The dessert is your choice: bananas foster crème brûlée or cranberry-orange bread pudding. Reservations are available every half hour from noon to 11:30pm at MercuryChophouse.com.

4.) At Rex’s Bar & Grill (1501 S University Dr, Fort Worth, 817-968-7397), Rex’s Red Carpet NYE Bash will include an elevated dinner of filet mignon for two and a shared dessert, live music from Taylor Young & The Party Crowd 9:30pm-12:30am, and Champagne at midnight. Dinner + Concert packages are $99 per couple at loom.ly/G00-VyQ. Show-only tickets are also available at $10 per person.

5.) Restaurant506 at The Sandford House (506 N Center St, Arlington, 817-801-5541) is offering a three-course prix fixe menu for $124 per person from 5pm to 9pm on Wed, Dec 31. The first course includes short-rib pozole, pomegranate-pear salad, and chipotle tempura shrimp. For the second course, choose from a pecan-smoked prime rib, pistachio-encrusted halibut, or confit of duck leg. For dessert, you have your choice of a Bailey’s dark chocolate panna cotta, a strawberry tiramisu, or white chocolate cherry bread pudding. Make your reservation at TheSanfordHouse.com.

6.) The Statler Hotel (1914 Commerce St, Dallas, 214-459-3930) is hosting its ninth annual NYE event with a ball and a rooftop party. From 9pm to 2am, a casino floor will offer $10K in casino chips to attendees of the Royal Masquerade Ball. DJs will play Top 40 hits and hip-hop mashups in the ballroom. Masquerade masks are encouraged but not required. The open bar will serve premium cocktails and Champagne from 10pm to 1:30am. Individual tickets start at $150 on Eventbrite.com. As for food, Scout Restaurant, located below the ballroom, will have late-night snacks for purchase thru 2am, including chopped brisket sliders, chicken wings, grilled fajita quesadillas, fried pickle chips, sourdough pretzels, smothered Texas fries, and queso blanco. Meanwhile, there is also the Midnight in Miami Party at the hotel’s poolside rooftop bar with DJ music by Grant Fisher, the touring DJ for country star Dustin Lynch. There are still a limited number of $100 advance purchase GA tickets that include an open bar from 8pm to 10pm. The price will be $125 on the day of the event. Reserve tickets at TheStatlerDallas.com.

7.) Ring in the New Year with authentic Italian flavor at Stellini Trattoria (400 E Dallas Rd, Ste 100, Grapevine, 817-410-1010), where Executive Chef Vittorio di Buglione has curated a special four-course menu of dishes paired with Italian wines from 3pm to 9pm. It starts with an appetizer of short rib arancini with cheese, arborio rice, and rosetella sauce with caviar. The pasta course is a lobster bucatini in a three-tomato sauce topped with sliced lobster tail. For the main course, there’s New Zealand rack of lamb with mashed potatoes, Barolo reduction, carrot frites, and winter black truffles. Then for dessert, there will be a pandoro with bacio al cioccolato gelato. The cost is $129 per couple or $64.50 per person. Reservations are recommended at OpenTable.com.

8.) Winslow’s Wine Cafe (4101 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, 817-546-6843) is hosting a New Year’s Eve Dinner with reservations available between 5pm and 9pm. The multi-course meal will include an appetizer of prosciutto with Parmesan mozzarella arancini; a spring salad with grapes, goat cheese, olives, and nuts with a basil-mustard vinaigrette; and your choice of soup: English clam chowder or tomato bisque. Entree selections include a Texas redfish, cavatappi pasta, or short ribs. For dessert, Winslow’s will serve a red wine-poached pear with vanilla ice cream and port red wine syrup. Each guest will also receive complimentary chocolate-covered strawberries and Champagne. The cost is $85 per person. Call the restaurant for reservations.

Once you get through Wednesday night, hungover or not, we can all use a little good luck for 2026. If you are on the hunt for black-eyed peas, Tom Jones at Tom’s Burgers & Grill (1530 N Cooper St, Arlington, 817-459-9000) has you covered. As he’s done annually since 2008, he’s serving up complimentary black-eyed peas, greens, and cornbread on New Year’s Day. “It’s kind of a Southern thang, y’all,” Tom’s says. The place is open 7am to 9pm on Thursdays. Happy New Year!