Restaurants Open Christmas Day in Paris 2026
Published · Updated
The reliable Christmas-Day pick in Paris for 2026 is Au Pied de Cochon, the Les Halles brasserie open every day of the year. Also serving on the 25th: Fouquet's, Brasserie Bofinger, La Coupole and Bouillon Chartier.
Most of Paris shuts on the 25th, which is the whole problem. The rooms that stay open are the ones built never to close — the round-the-clock brasserie, the grand hotel dining room, the Belle Epoque halls that have served Christmas dinner for a century. Six tables confirmed or scheduled to serve on Christmas Day, ranked by how sure the bet is.
Six Tables Serving on the 25th
The surest table in Paris on Christmas Day, because it has not closed since 1947 — the first Paris restaurant licensed to serve round the clock, open every day of the year and taking reservations on the 25th. Order the stuffed pig's trotter Perigourdine, the dish it was named for, around 26 euros, or the gratineed onion soup near 10. It is not the grandest room on this list, but it is the one you can count on at any hour when everything else is dark.
The most upscale room serving on the 25th, because it is the restaurant of a five-star hotel and the menu carries Pierre Gagnaire's name. Open since 1899 and protected as a monument, Fouquet's runs a festive four-course holiday menu around 310 euros; the beef tartare Terre and Mer and the sole meuniere are the order. The hotel keeps the dining room open across Christmas, so this is the Champs-Elysees grandeur play — book directly through Hotel Barriere and confirm your seating for the 25th.
The 1864 Alsatian brasserie near Bastille confirms service on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which is rarer than it sounds. Eat the choucroute alsacienne or a seafood platter under the Art Nouveau cupola from 1919 — the room is a listed monument and one of the prettiest places to spend the 25th. A three-course brasserie menu runs roughly 45 to 60 euros. It pairs the reliability of a holiday-open brasserie with a dining room worth the trip on its own; reserve online ahead of the day.
The grand Montparnasse hall opens on Christmas Day with a special holiday menu, and it has the most theatrical room of any reliable option — thirty-two painted columns under a 1927 Art Deco ceiling. Order the lamb curry a l'indienne, wheeled to the table from a cart and served here since the year it opened, or a seafood platter; a la carte mains run roughly 25 to 45 euros. For a Christmas dinner that feels like an event without a hotel price, this is the room.
The budget certainty. The Belle Epoque bouillon on the Grands Boulevards has run since 1896 and is open 365 days a year, 11:30 to midnight, with no holiday closures — so it serves on the 25th when far fancier rooms go dark. Eat the oeuf mayonnaise, the escargots and the pot-au-feu for under 25 euros all in. There is no festive surcharge and often a queue, but for a no-fuss, genuinely Parisian Christmas lunch that won't cancel on you, nothing else competes on value.
The splurge, with one caveat. Epicure holds three Michelin stars in the 2026 guide under chef Arnaud Faye, who took over from Eric Frechon in 2024; the tasting runs around 380 euros and the Norman scallops with caviar are the signature. Le Bristol publishes a festive-season program every December, but the dining room pins its exact Christmas-Day covers late — so this is the room to want, then call the hotel directly to confirm the 25th before you build the day around it. Do not assume; verify.
How to Book on Christmas Day
Reliability matters more than ambition on the 25th, so rank your bets accordingly. Au Pied de Cochon and Bouillon Chartier are open by default — no special booking needed, though Au Pied de Cochon takes reservations and Chartier runs walk-in queues. Brasserie Bofinger and La Coupole confirm holiday service but run festive menus, so reserve online a week or more ahead. Fouquet's books through Hotel Barriere; Epicure books directly through Le Bristol, and you must confirm Christmas-Day service when you call.
The pattern to know: hotel dining rooms and the always-open brasseries are the safe bets, while standalone fine-dining rooms mostly close for Christmas. Confirm the specific date when you book, not just the week — a festive menu listed for the season does not guarantee the 25th itself. If a confirmation is at all vague, treat it as a no and fall back to Au Pied de Cochon, the one room on this list that has not closed in nearly eighty years.
Frequently Asked Questions
Au Pied de Cochon in Les Halles is the most reliable, open every day of the year since 1947, and Bouillon Chartier on the Grands Boulevards runs 365 days a year with no holiday closures. Brasserie Bofinger and La Coupole both confirm Christmas-Day service with festive menus, and Fouquet's, the restaurant of a five-star hotel on the Champs-Elysees, serves a holiday menu on the 25th.
Fouquet's is the most upscale reliably open room, serving a roughly 310-euro festive menu carrying Pierre Gagnaire's name as the restaurant of Hotel Barriere on the Champs-Elysees. Three-star Epicure at Le Bristol publishes a festive-season program, but its exact Christmas-Day covers are confirmed late, so you must call the hotel directly to confirm the 25th. Most standalone fine-dining rooms, including La Tour d'Argent, close for Christmas.
For most of these, yes. Brasserie Bofinger, La Coupole and Fouquet's run festive menus on the 25th and should be booked a week or more ahead. Epicure must be confirmed directly with Le Bristol. The two exceptions are Au Pied de Cochon, which takes reservations but is always open, and Bouillon Chartier, which runs walk-in queues with no booking — though arriving early on Christmas Day is wise.
It ranges enormously. Bouillon Chartier serves a full meal for under 25 euros, and the brasseries — Au Pied de Cochon, Bofinger and La Coupole — run roughly 25 to 60 euros a head a la carte or on a festive menu. Fouquet's festive menu is around 310 euros, and the three-star tasting at Epicure is about 380. Festive set menus at the grander rooms often replace the regular card on the day.
Christmas in France is a family holiday centered on Christmas Eve dinner, the reveillon, so most independent restaurants close on the 24th evening or the 25th to give staff the day. The rooms that stay open are the ones structurally built not to: round-the-clock brasseries like Au Pied de Cochon, daily-open bouillons like Chartier, and hotel dining rooms that serve their guests through the holidays. That is why this list leans on those three types.