Christmas Day falls on a Friday this year and New Year’s Eve on a Thursday. Both nights can be the busiest or the most expensive of your year. Guests book them early, but they also cancel late, and a half-empty dining room on 31 December costs more than a quiet Tuesday. Searches for “new year’s eve restaurant” run at about 210 a month in the UK, so guests are already looking.
This guide covers the decisions that matter: whether to open, how to build and price a set menu, how to take payment, and how to promote it from now until the night. For party bookings, menus and gift vouchers, see our Christmas marketing playbook for restaurants and pubs.
Quick answer
Open only on nights where a set menu earns a clear contribution after staff and supplier costs. Sell a fixed menu in sittings, take prepayment or a deposit per head, and show the total price including any compulsory charge. Publish the page this week, email past guests first, and keep a waiting list for cancellations.
1. What the booking data says
Dojo Bookings data for UK restaurants and pubs, reported by the Morning Advertiser in December 2025, gives a useful picture of last year’s festive nights.
How to decide whether to open, price a set menu, take payment and promote Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve so your tables fill. |
| Finding (year on year, Dojo venues) | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Christmas Day bookings made before December: up 4%. Strongest in Manchester (+36%), Worcester (+35%), Glasgow (+26%) and Bolton (+22%). London: down 8% | Demand for Christmas Day out was healthy outside London, and guests booked early |
| New Year’s Eve: up 1% overall, but down in Edinburgh (-46%), Birmingham (-23%) and London (-7%) | New Year’s Eve demand varies sharply by city, so check your local market before committing |
| Christmas party bookings (made in December): down 1%. The week starting 8 December took 34% of festive bookings | The busiest booking weeks are close to the date, so keep selling through December |
| 7pm bookings up 14%, 1pm bookings up 20% | Lunch and early-evening sittings are in demand |
Two limits apply. The data covers last year and venues that use Dojo, not every restaurant. Treat it as a guide to what happened, not a forecast (Morning Advertiser, 11 December 2025).
2. Should you open on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Eve?
Do not open by habit. Decide night by night.
| Night | Open if | Think twice if |
|---|---|---|
| Christmas Day (Fri 25 Dec) | You can staff it well, sell a fixed menu and make a clear contribution after premium pay | Staff would be stretched, or suppliers and deliveries are a problem |
| Boxing Day (Sat 26 Dec) | Locals want a meal out after Christmas and your kitchen can run a shorter menu | Your usual Saturday already fills without extra effort |
| New Year’s Eve (Thu 31 Dec) | You can sell a ticketed menu in sittings and your local market is active | Your city has seen weaker demand, or late hours need a licence change |
Check your premises licence hours and any licence conditions well before you advertise a late night.
3. Build and price a set menu that makes money
A fixed menu is easier to cost, buy for, and cook than a full carte on a packed night. Offer two or three courses, a vegetarian option, and a clear note on dietary needs. Work out your floor price first. The example is an illustration, not a benchmark.
| Step | What to work out | Illustration only |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Food cost per cover | Cost of the dishes on the menu, with waste | £22 |
| 2. Staff cost per cover | Extra shifts and premium pay for the night, divided by covers | £14 |
| 3. Extras per cover | Welcome drink, party item or entertainment, divided by covers | £6 |
| 4. Floor price | Add steps 1 to 3 | £22 + £14 + £6 = £42 |
| 5. Menu price | Check what similar local restaurants charge, then price to the value you offer | Your own figure |
- Do not price below your floor to fill a table.
- Offer sittings, for example, 6 pm and 8.30 pm, so tables turn and the kitchen keeps pace.
- Keep the menu short. Fewer choices means faster service and less waste.
- Add easy upsells: a drinks package, sharing starters or a dessert wine.
- Show one total price per person, including any compulsory service charge.
4. Take payment before the night
No-shows on 25 or 31 December hurt more than on any other night. Protect yourself, and be fair to guests.
- Take a prepaid ticket for a fixed menu, or a per-head deposit for a shorter booking.
- State the amount, what is included, and the last date for a refund before the guest pays.
- Send a confirmation with the menu, sitting time and dietary options, then a reminder a few days before.
- Use a waiting list, so a cancellation is filled quickly.
- Show the total price from the first price you display. Since 6 April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act bans adding unexpected compulsory charges late in the process, and the CMA can fine up to £300,000 or 10% of global turnover (Taylor Wessing summary). This is general information, not legal advice.
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5. How to promote Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve
- Create one page for each night with the menu, price, seating, and a booking button. Keep the address the same all season.
- Email past guests first. They are your easiest bookings, and the first week matters most.
- Update your Google Business Profile with the offer, photos, and opening hours for 24, 25, 26, and 31 December, and 1 January.
- Post the menu and the remaining sittings on social channels. Show real dishes and the dining room.
- Ask local hotels, offices and residents’ groups to share the offer. Many guests choose a restaurant near where they are staying.
- Add the offer to your menu page in plain text, not just a PDF, so search engines and AI tools can read it.
For more on channels, search, and menus, see our guides to restaurant SEO, menu fixes that grow sales online, and GEO for restaurants. For email, see our hospitality email marketing guide.
6. Protect the experience on the night
- Pre-order wherever possible, so the kitchen knows its numbers.
- Brief staff on the menu, allergens, and the evening’s order.
- Cap covers at what the kitchen and floor can handle, even if bookings keep arriving.
- Plan stock and deliveries around bank holidays.
- Ask for reviews the following day. Our guide to online reputation management for hospitality shows how.
7. A week-by-week plan
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Week of 26 October | Decide which nights to open. Cost the menu and set the price. Build the booking pages and the deposit rules. |
| Week of 2 November | Email past guests. Update your Google Business Profile. Publish the menus. |
| Week of 16 November | Post photos and the remaining sittings. Ask local hotels and offices to share the offer. |
| Week of 7 December | Review the numbers. Fill gaps with a late offer or an extra sitting. Send reminders for confirmed bookings. |
| 24 to 31 December | Confirm covers, brief staff and keep a waiting list. Ask guests for reviews the day after. |
| January | Count covers, spend and no-shows. Note what to repeat next year. |
8. Common mistakes to avoid
- Opening on Christmas Day without costing it.
- Selling a full menu with no limit on covers.
- Taking no deposit on the busiest night.
- Adding a service charge that guests only see at the end.
- Leaving the booking page as a PDF with no way to pay.
- Forgetting to update Google Business Profile hours.
Key takeaways
- Decide night by night whether to open, based on the contribution after staff and supplier costs.
- Last year’s Dojo data showed healthy Christmas Day demand outside London and weaker New Year’s Eve demand in some cities.
- Sell a short fixed menu in sittings and price from your floor cost.
- Take prepayment or a per-head deposit, and show the total price including any compulsory charge.
- Publish the booking page this week and email past guests first.
- Count covers, spend and no-shows to learn for next year.
Sources: Dojo Bookings data in Morning Advertiser (11 December 2025); Taylor Wessing on drip pricing under the DMCC Act; keyword volumes from SE Ranking (UK, 20 October 2026).
Turn festive nights into full tables
Your booking pages, emails and Google Business Profile can work together to fill the last tables. ThisRapt can help you plan and run it.
9. Frequently asked questions
Only if the numbers and the team support it. Work out the cost per cover, including premium pay and supplier costs, then compare it with the price guests will pay for a set menu. If the contribution is thin or you cannot staff it properly, a Christmas Eve or Boxing Day offer may earn more with less risk.
Start from your floor price per cover: food cost, a share of staff cost and any extras such as a welcome drink or entertainment. Price above it for the evening, check what similar local restaurants charge, and show one total price including any compulsory service charge.
For a fixed menu with limited capacity, yes in most cases. A prepaid ticket or a deposit per head protects you against no-shows on your busiest night. State the amount, what happens if the guest cancels and the date after which it is not refundable, before the guest pays.
Now. Searches for “new year’s eve restaurant” are about 210 a month in the UK, and guests are already looking. Publish the menu, price and booking page this week, then keep promoting until the last tables are gone.
Email past guests first, post the remaining times on social channels and update your Google Business Profile. Offer an earlier or later sitting, and keep a waiting list so cancellations are filled quickly. Be honest about availability.
A compulsory charge is part of the price, so show it from the first price you display. Since 6 April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act bans adding unexpected compulsory charges late in the booking process. This is general information, not legal advice.
Yes. Guests with allergies need accurate information for every dish, and staff need to be able to answer questions on the night. Put dietary information on the menu itself and in the booking confirmation, and check each dish before you publish.
Count covers, average spend per head, no-shows and the cost of staff and promotion for each night. Use a separate booking link for each channel to see where bookings came from, and compare with the same dates last year.
