Updated

We're supposed to relax during the holidays, but there's so much work involved! There's shopping through crowded malls, sometimes fighting for a parking spot, while trying to buy the latest toys for the kids before they sell out. There's the wrapping of gifts, as well as the ordeal of designing, writing, and mailing holiday cards. There's finding and cleaning holiday decorations and lights. There's hours spent in the kitchen cooking turkeys and hams and baking pies, cookies and other holiday treats, with all-too-frequent jaunts to the grocery for last-minute ingredients. Then there's driving through holiday traffic and even the elements to visit relatives. Why not take a well-deserved break? At these ten restaurants across the United States, families and friends can gather in style, and dine in a relaxed, holiday atmosphere, taking in the sights and sounds of our favorite time of the year. Start a new holiday tradition at one of these top holiday dining spots, which are serving special meals for Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's Eve, or in some cases, all of the above!

701 Restaurant
701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20004
202-393-0701
701 Restaurant, one of DC’s must-go fine dining destinations, presents a three-course prix-fixe menu for Thanksgiving. Among the options are spiced pumpkin soup; “eco-friendly” suckling pig with sage, sausage stuffing, celery root, Savoy cabbage and cider; and miniature carrot cakes with cardamom ice cream.

Clio
Eliot Hotel
370 Commonwealth Ave.
Boston, MA 02215
617-536-7200
Clio in the Eliot Hotel continues to perch at the top of Boston’s best restaurants, thanks to the wizardry of chef-owner Ken Oringer. For Thanksgiving, he will create a four-course menu.

Fearing’s
The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas
2121 McKinney Ave.
Dallas, TX 75201
214-922-4848
After a three-course dinner on Christmas Eve, guests at Fearing's in Dallas are given homemade cookies to take home and leave out for Santa — or to enjoy as a naughty midnight snack.

Fountain Restaurant
Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia
One Logan Sq.
Philadelphia, PA 19103
215-963-1500
Get your fill of holiday ham at the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day buffets at Fountain Restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia — that is, if you can pull yourself away from gazing at the Christmas trees decorated throughout the hotel.

More On This...

Georgian Room
The Cloister at Sea Island
100 Cloister Dr.
Sea Island, GA 31561
800-732-4752; 912-638-3611
The festive events at The Cloister at Sea Island in Georgia include a five-course Thanksgiving dinner with wine pairings in the Georgian Room, Christmas Eve dinner in the Club Room complete with strolling carolers, and a Christmas Day brunch buffet in the Cloister Ballroom.

Jean Georges
Trump International Hotel & Tower
1 Central Park West
New York, NY 10023
212-299-3900
Jean Georges, the centerpiece of chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's culinary empire, will feature a four-course prix-fixe menu for Thanksgiving with luxe options such as free range turkey with foie gras stuffing, verjus and autumn vegetables.

Madera
Rosewood Sand Hill
2825 Sand Hill Rd.
Menlo Park, CA 94025
650-561-1540
Madera presents a three-course Thanksgiving dinner with options like slow-roasted turkey with sausage and corn bread pudding. The holiday season continues at Rosewood Sand Hill with the annual lighting of the 18-foot holiday tree on November 28th, and a gingerbread village on display throughout December.

Melisse
1104 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310-395-0881
Mélisse has distinguished itself as the sole top-end French gastronomic experience in Los Angeles. For Thanksgiving dinner, chef Josiah Citrin has created a special menu including his mother’s favorite side dishes, such as creamed spinach, Yukon potato purée, Szechwan green beans, braised Brussels sprouts and fresh cranberry sauce.

NoMI Kitchen
Park Hyatt Chicago
800 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611
312-239-4030
NoMI Kitchen’s Thanksgiving feast features a dessert table with temptations like chai spice cheesecake, cranberry tarts, pumpkin pie and apple cider doughnuts. The Chicago restaurant’s floor-to-ceiling glass windows also offer views of Michigan Avenue and the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival.

Picasso
Bellagio
3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
Las Vegas, NV 89109
702-693-8105
At this Las Vegas temple of gastronomy (and veritable Picasso museum), Julian Serrano and his solid team deliver a culinary extravaganza. The holidays present additional opportunities to experience it as the restaurant offers special menus for Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve.

MORE ON GAYOT.com

Photos and Full Reviews of the Top 10 Holiday Dining Restaurants

Best Thanksgiving Restaurants Near You

Top 10 Thanksgiving Wines

Best Places to Dine Out for New Year's Eve Near You

Top 10 New Year's Eve Travel Destinations