Mid-to-late December through the New Year is undoubtedly one of the most popular times to visit Park City--and with good reason. Snowcapped mountains, skiing with the family, cozy nights by the fire ... need we go on? Being away from home during the holidays, however, also means you're not in your own kitchen making the idea of slaving away over a Christmas or New Year's feast not that appealing. Following is a guide for festive holiday dining in Park City, from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day. (For a complete rundown of dining options in and around Park City, visit our Restaurant Guide here.)

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day

Apex at Montage Deer Valley

You're invited to enjoy a holiday four-course prix fixe menu at Apex on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The price is $135 per guest, $45 for children ages 5-12, and complimentary for children 4 and under on both days. 

The Brass Tag at Deer Valley

Deer Valley's The Brass Tag is offering three-course prix fixe meals from their menu's seasonal selections. Start dinner off with baby iceberg wedges served with toasted hazelnuts, honey lardons, Port Reyes blue cheese, roasted cherry tomatoes, and buttermilk dressing. Then choose between braised agave glazed short rib with roasted parsnips and carrots or chicken saltimbocca with Creminelli prosciutto cotto. Dessert is pumpkin crème brûlée with berries and caramel tuile. Price per guest is $50, with a $25 optional wine pairing. See the full menu here. 

Deer Valley Grocery-Café

If you'd rather have a private meal with your family back at the condo, the Deer Valley Grocery Café has you covered. The take-away menu of holiday fare includes Niman Ranch braised short ribs or duck confit (which both serve two), the artisan Caesar salad, Deer Valley roasted garlic mashers, and roasted butternut squash. The Grocery Cafe also offers dozens of dessert, breads, and pastry delights to round out dinner, from apple cheddar pie to eggnog cheesecake and tiramisu yule log with meringue mushrooms, chocolate leaves, and candied cranberries. You must place your order before 5 p.m. on Dec. 21st and pick-up before 7 p.m. on Dec. 24th.  

Escala Provisions Company at Hyatt Centric Park City

Come to the Escala Provisions Company for a Christmas Eve Buffet filled with classic selections. Start with chopped Caesar salad, mixed greens with roasted butternut squash and candied pecans, and sweet potato soup with spicy walnuts. Then enjoy main selections like cider-brined pork loin, maple-glazed turkey breast, herb-crusted salmon, cornbread stuffing, roasted vegetables, apples and fingerling potatoes, and Brussels sprouts with chestnuts. A variety of pies, cakes, and brownies are available for dessert. Christmas Eve Buffet, Price is $55 per guest, $19 for children 12 and younger

Grub Steak

Meat lovers need look no further than this beloved steakhouse for a sumptuous three-course holiday dinner. The Christmas menu starts with your choice of hearts of romaine Caesar salad, wild rice and mushroom soup, or Park City’s best salad bar, followed by roasted pork loin with dried cranberry relish, and, for dessert, warm chocolate pecan pie and vanilla bean Haagen Dazs ice cream. Price is $42.75 per guest.

Riverhorse on Main

In addition to their regular award-winning menu, Riverhorse on Main is serving three to-be-determined Christmas specials. The restaurant also offers a vegan and gluten-free menu. 

Waldorf Astoria Park City

Refuel from early morning gift-opening or dawn patrol powder runs with the Waldorf Astoria's Powder Restaurant Christmas Day buffet (served 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.). Stuff yourself with everything from breakfast staples like eggs and potatoes, chorizo hash, turkey sausage, and more; a wide variety of fruits, cheeses, soups, and salads; seafood specialities, including West Coast oysters, Utah trout, smoked salmon, and poached jumbo prawns; and a multitude of sides, ranging from baked pies to candied yams, sautéed vegetables. Don't forget the carving station, where Powder serves up grass-fed prime rib, roasted turkey and rosemary and garlic-crusted leg of lamb, and entrées of Kurobuta pork loin and miso-glazed sea bass. Price is $69 buffet for adults, $25 for children 3-11. 

Tupelo

Tupelo's fare features globally-inspired dishes using artisanal ingredients. Make reservations here on Christmas Eve for a five course gourmet menu starting with sliced cobia topped with blood orange, maple bitters, fennel fronds and pickled chilies, followed by smoked venison carpaccio with pickled beets, blackberry jam, and a bacon fat cracker. Then enjoy roasted bass with Carolina polenta, bread-and-butter squash, and Epselette pepper butter; and whiskey-glazed pork cheeks with parsnip puree, green apple, and rosemary crumbs. Dessert is a delightful apple confit with sour apple sorbet and salted caramel. 

On Christmas Day the menu at Tupelo includes a deviled egg with crème fraiche and osetra caviar, followed by cauliflower soup with shaved winter truffle and duck fat pistachios, then pan-roasted diver scallop with squash caponata, bone broth and smoked soy, and coffee crusted rib steak with baked beans, passion fruit and red eye jus. For dessert enjoy poached pear with salted caramel vanilla ice cream. Price is $75 five-course tasting menu, $55 optional wine pairing on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. A la carte selections from the restaurant’s regular menu are also available

Windy Ridge Bakery

Here's where you'll want to go to find a grab-and-go traditional brunch quiche, cakes and tarts, Buche de Noel, Windy Ridge's famous “Mile-High Apple Pie,” dark chocolate truffle cake, and the apple frangipane tart made with apricots and golden almond cake filling, and baked in a pate sucree shell. For more savory options, choose from the tomato spinach quiche with roasted tomatoes, spinach, caramelized onions, and goat cheese; or the ham and Swiss quiche with black forest ham, caramelized onions, Swiss cheese and scallions. Prices range from $20 to $35. Christmas orders must be placed by Dec. 16. Pick-up Dec. 24. No special orders between Dec. 18 and Jan. 1.

New Year's Eve

Montage Deer Valley

Ring in the New Year with an exquisite sushi dinner at the Montage's Yama Sushi. Reservations required. New Year’s Eve: Five-course prix fixe, $195 per guest, $65 for children ages 5-12;

Escala Provisions Company at Hyatt Centric Park City

An amuse of duck prosciutto on a rye cracker with fresh-ground mustard and pickled berries sets the tone for this sumptuous New Year’s Eve dinner. Enjoy cauliflower and roasted apple soup with bacon caviar and caramelized cauliflower, followed by arugula-flower salad with strawberries, pistachio and champagne vinaigrette. For dessert, choose between beef tenderloin with wild mushroom ravioli, carrot puree and foie gras with hazelnut sauce, or pan-seared salmon with spätzle, house bacon, Brussels sprouts, and lemon-butter sauce. Dessert rounds out the evening with warm chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream and pecan caramel sauce. Price is $75 per guest.

Grub Steak

For New Year’s Eve, enjoy salad, soup or the salad bar, followed by surf-and-turf featuring slow-roasted strip loin certified Angus beef topped with béarnaise and Maine lobster tail. Dessert is a delicious chocolate lava cake with Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream and fresh berries. Price is $75.75 per guest.

The Mariposa

New Year's Eve at The Mariposa, one of Deer Valleys top fine-dining destinations, features a savory four-course prix fixe menu. Choose from a selection of beluga lentil and smoked halibut stew, nori and sesame seared ahi, Yarmony Ranch Wagyu beef, or aged gruyère and chive soufflé. Entrées include roasted sea scallops, seared bison fillet, or lamb shops, and the menu finishes with luminaria with passion fruit crémeux, Amano chocolate torte, and passion fruit caramel sauce for dessert. Price is $125 per guest, $50 optional wine pairing. Vegetarian and vegan options available. See the full menu here. 

Riverhorse on Main

On New Year's Eve, Riverhorse on Main is throwing an exclusive first-come, first-serve private dinner party. The evening will feature a five-course gourmet dinner, a live band, dancing, and, of course, a midnight champagne toast to ring in the new year. The restaurant will start taking reservations at 6 p.m. that night. 

Tupelo

Tupelo is pulling out all the stops for New Year’s Eve. The sliced cobia with blood orange, maple bitters, fennel and Snake River caviar – which opens the Christmas Eve tasting menu – makes a return, followed by a new twist on that menu’s smoked venison carpaccio, which will be served with pecorino, poached farm egg and shaved black truffles. For the third course, indulge in butter-poached Maine lobster, served with Carolina polenta, foie gras an madeira, then enjoy roasted Wagyu beef with born marrow brulee, creamed kale and black trumpet mushrooms. The apple confit with sour apple sorbet and salted caramel makes a resounding return for dessert. Price is $125 per guest, $65 optional wine pairing.

Waldorf Astoria Park City

Powder’s special New Year’s Eve dinner starts with a West Coast oyster with hogwash, followed by apple rutabaga bisque with Utah goat cheese, fennel and maple sherry gastrique. Then enjoy a choice of garlic chicken with black garlic, spinach, potato puree and leeks; king salmon with sunchokes, dill, fennel and Brussels sprouts; or braised beef short rib with mushroom ragu, carrots, kale and horseradish potatoes. Dessert is a brown butter cheesecake with apricot, graham cracker and peach. Price is $85 per guest, $105 with wine pairing.

Even if you're not in Park City, you can still get a little bit of holiday cooking from one of our top chefs on Christmas Eve. Chef Zane Holmquist, V.P. of Food & Beverage and Corporate Chef at the Stein Eriksen Lodge, will be appearing on the "TODAY Show's" Christmas Eve program. Marking his fifth year as a guest, Holmquist's segment will showcase two of his festive, signature dishes from Stein Eriksen Lodge's award-winning Glitretind Restaurant: a Pimento Cheese Ball recipe served with Herb Crackers and a Cast Iron S’mores recipe. It's your chance to collect these amazing recipes for use at home.

New Year's Day Brunch 

Of course, no holiday dining guide would be complete without our favorite places to grab brunch the day after counting down till midnight. 

Skier's Buffet at the Stein Eriksen Lodge 

Served from 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the Glitretind Restaurant, this buffet is worthy of any day of the week, but it's especially good after a late night full of festivities. You couldn't ask for a more extravagant spread of choices. In addition to traditional breakfast items, there's also an array of salads, shrimp, salmon, crab claws, fresh fruit, crêpes, omelets and house-made pastries.

The Bridge Café

No matter what time you wake up, you can enjoy a sumptuous breakfast (without breaking the bank) on New Year's Day on Main Street at the Bridge Café. Located on the deck by the iconic Park City bridge (hence the name) and the Town Lift, this is a perfectly picturesque location to have a bite before getting in your first runs of the new year. They serve American food with a Brazilian twist so don't forget to grab yourself a caipirinha with your meal! 

Squatters

Squatters is one of the go-to places for breakfast in Park City. On the breakfast menu you'll find a range of omelets, biscuits and gravy, and hearty sides. If you're not in the mood for breakfast, take a gander through the regular menu, which includes everything from pizza and sandwiches to thai curry and chimichangas. 

Harvest

Harvest is one of the newer eateries in Park City, but we're sure they'll fit right in. Located on Park Ave., their menu of locally-sourced dishes looks heavenly. 

Loco Lizard Cantina 

Brunch will be served from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. on New Years Day at the Loco Lizard Cantina. If Mexican is what you crave the night after partying, then this is your place to grab huevos rancheros, burritos, quesadillas, and chilaquiles.  

Don't worry about eating too much, there's plenty of more snow to burn all those calories off before bathing suit season! Here's to a very merry Christmas and the happiest of New Year's!