Watch CBS News

5 Best Restaurants For Chanukah Dinner In NYC

If you're looking for a place to take the family to celebrate Chanukah, the five spots listed below offer a range of experiences. As always, the Festival of Lights lasts for eight nights (Dec. 6 through Dec. 14, this year), which means you can try each one once and a few more than once. By Jessica Allen.

Related: Best Holiday Cocktails In New York City

DoughnutPlant
credit: Garrett Ziegler

Related: 5 Best Restaurants Serving Doughnuts In NYC

Fried foods are eaten during Chanukah as a way of commemorating the tiny amount of oil that miraculously lasted the Maccabees for eight days. One of the most delicious ways of honoring this story is by eating sufganiyot, or jelly donuts. The Doughnut Plant makes some of the best donuts in town, including jam-filled squares. If you'd rather have just a small bite, try a "doughseed" in such flavors as wild blueberry and cream and matcha green tea.

ThePrimeGrill
credit: The Prime Grill / Facebook

Related: 5 Best Kosher Restaurants In NYC To Celebrate Chanukah

As a kosher steakhouse, the Prime Grill knows its way around the Jewish holidays. For Chanukah, the Midtown restaurant is serving quinoa latkes, a modern take on the fried potato pancake. In addition, there's a "Chanukah Tini," a vodka cocktail featuring apple and ginger. The regular menu -- which includes sushi, fish tacos, grilled Wagyu ribs, Kobe beef sliders, veal chops, duck breast, and Chilean sea bass -- is also available. Eat up, drink up, be very merry.

2ndAvenueDeli
credit: 2nd Avenue Deli

Related: 5 Best Italian Delis In New York City

In 1954, Abe Lebewohl took over a 10-seat luncheonette in the East Village, and the 2nd Avenue Deli was born. Today the restaurant lives on First Avenue and is run by the original owner's nephews, but it still makes such classic Jewish dishes as pastrami on rye, matzoh ball soup, potato latkes, whitefish salad, chopped liver, potato knishes, mini jelly donuts, and cinnamon raisin rugalech. If you want to host a shindig, check out the catering menu.

telepan
credit: Telepan / Facebook

Related: 5 Best Brunch Spots On The UWS

Amazing, wonderful, stupendous -- these are just a few of the words that have been used to describe Chef Bill Telepan's version of potato pancakes. Beginning on Dec. 6, you can head over to the Upper West Side, grab a chair, and see what all the fuss is about. Two townhouses were combined to create the warm, intimate space, an ideal place to dine with a loved one and contemplate the miracles in your own life.

Toloache
credit: Toloache / Facebook

Related: 7 Best Guacamole Spots In New York City

Two words: Mexican Chanukah. All three of Toloache's NYC locations are featuring a special menu for the holiday: you can begin with guacamole made with house-smoked whitefish, red onions, and avocado, then nosh on potato jalepeno latkes with horseradish crema, halibut poached in olive oil, or brisket tacos. The sufganiyot here come filled with dulce de leche, while the "Hanukkah Margarita" has kumquats, lime, Thai basil, and agave nectar. Happy holidays, indeed.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.