Looking past Christmas, it’s time to plan our partying for New Year’s Eve. There are plenty of North Fork venues hosting bashes and offering specials. Here is a list of some of the best to ring in 2014. Check back as the big day approaches and we’ll add more events as they are announced. (Venues, email your event info to [email protected].)
Hang out fireside for a New Year’s Eve dinner at Southold seafood restaurant ALure. In addition to the regular menu, the eatery will feature two prix-fixe menus. The first round of seating will be from 4:30 p.m. 6 p.m. at $35 per person. The second round of seating will be from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. and costs $55 per person. Reservations are required.
The All Star bowling alley will feature a prix-fixe menu to get 2014 rolling. For $49.95 per person, the four-course dinner will feature soup or salad, hors d’oeuvres, entrée and dessert. The meal will come with access to a non-alcoholic open bar, party favors and a midnight champagne toast. And if you want to bowl after you dine, you’re in luck. Book a lane for up to six people for $150. There is a 25 percent deposit required to reserve a lane and full payment is required three days before (Dec. 28) in order to hold the reservation.
Mattituck Italian restaurant aMano will offer two prix-fixe menus in addition to its regular menu to celebrate the start of 2014. First seating will be from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. for $35 per person. Second seating will be from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. for $55 per person. Reservations are required.
Blackwell’s Pub at the Great Rock Golf Course in Wading River will host a New Year’s Eve party featuring live music from The A List along with a special three-course prix-fix menu (appetizer, entrée and dessert) with seating from 9:15 p.m. to 12 a.m. (normal menu available at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. seatings). The cost will be $50 per person (plus tax and gratuity) with an optional $25 wristband for an inclusive open bar for three hours. Reservations are required.
Custer Institute & Observatory
1115 Main Bayview Rd, Southold
Is there a better way to celebrate the passing of the old and welcome in the new than a night under the stars? Starting at 8 p.m., the Custer Observatory will welcome in the New Year with a buffet, midnight champagne toast, dancing and music by Ahmad Ali and Friends. There is a suggested donation of $30 for members and their guests, $40 for non-members, $20 for students with ID and $10 for children. To reserve, email [email protected] or call 631-765-2626.
Celebrate “New Year’s in Rome” at Diliberto Winery. From 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. the vineyard will offer a catered dinner, wine, live music and Italian-inspired trivia games. There will also be a special champagne toast at 6 p.m. (midnight in Rome). Reservations are recommended.
5720 New York 25A, Wading River
Welcome 2014 in EastWind’s Grand Ballroom. The party is expected to be five amazing hours of food, music, dancing and drinking. For $115 per person, guests will enjoy an open bar and live entertainment, and also dine buffet style at the venue’s Tuscan pizzetta station, Italian carving station and international dessert station. And when the night is over, you can take advantage of the EastWind’s luxury accommodations just an elevator ride away from the party. An overnight stay for two is $495, which includes admission to the party. The New Year’s Eve celebration starts at 8 p.m. Tickets and reservations may be purchased in advanced by calling the catering hall.
The Harborfront Inn at Greenport
The Harborfront will offer a holiday package to ring in the New Year for $199 per night for a superior room and $209 per night for a deluxe room. The package is available for check in on Monday, Dec. 30 and check out on Wednesday, Jan. 1, and includes accommodations for two nights, accesses to the New Year’s Eve cocktail party hosted by the hotel manager in the lobby, including appetizers and champagne and complimentary continental breakfast. If you want to get into town a day earlier, you can add Sunday, Dec. 29 for 50 percent off the regular rate.
Ring in the New Year at Hotel Indigo East End. The luxury hotel is hosting its 3rd annual Champagne and Chandeliers Party in its stylish ballroom. It promises a big-city vibe, but with the convenience of staying on Long Island. For $150 per person, partygoers will enjoy a premium open bar, tapas-style dinner service and the sounds of a NYC DJ in the Indigo Ballroom. You don’t have to worry about getting home either; there are rooms available at the lush hotel. For $495 per couple, an overnight stay includes admission for two to the party and breakfast for two the following morning. Champagne and Chandeliers starts at 9 p.m. on Dec. 31. Reservations may be made in advanced by calling the hotel.
400 S Jamesport Ave, Jamesport
Jedediah Hawkins Inn is teaming up with Paumanok Vineyards to co-host a New Year’s Eve party complete with food, music and dancing. There are two seating options available for the featured five-course menu with optional wine pairings. The first wave of seating is from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for $75 per person. The late seating starts at 9 p.m. for $125 per person. The pairing during both rounds of seating is an additional $30 per person. There will also be live music from local band and crowd favorite Who are Those Guys? Reservations are recommended.
Long Island Aquarium & Exhibition Center
The aquarium will ring in 2014 with its annual Fishes & (Butterfly) Wishes New Year’s event. You can take your pick of two celebrations—in the Aquarium or in the Sea Star Ballroom. From 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. bring the kids down to their very own Winter Wonderland, which includes animal encounters and crafts. Adults can choose between two events—the Aquarium’s Splash Bash or the Butterfly Ball Drop where you’ll ring in the New Year in spectacular fashion with an evening that includes champagne and sparkling cider, live music, cocktail house, dinner buffet that includes beer, wine and dessert.
The Splash Bash tickets for children ages 3 to 12 and seniors 62 plus cost $55, members pay $50. Adult tickets are $90, adult members pay $80. Children 2 and under are free. For the Butterfly Ball Drop, children ages 3 to 12 and Seniors 62 plus cost $45, members pay $40. Adult tickets are $75, adult members pay $70. Children 2 and under are free. Reservations are required, book now by calling 631-208-9200 ext. 426. If you don’t want the party to end, don’t forget to ask about the Rockin’ & Ringin’ in Riverhead hotel package at the adjacent Hyatt Place East End & Resort Marina.
300 East Main Street, Riverhead
Ring in the New Year with The Riverhead Project’s holiday celebration co-hosted by Sparkling Pointe. Starting at 6 p.m., guests will enter the vault, which will become “The Bubble Lounge” for the night, to enjoy a five-course private dinner featuring Sparkling Pointe bubbly. The main dining room will also serve a holiday a la carte menu and a DJ will keep things lively on the dance floor in the lounge. The cost is $55 per person. Room packages are available at the Hyatt Place East End in Riverhead. The party continues on New Year’s Day with a beer dinner at The Riverhead Project starting at noon for $40 per person.
Suffolk Theater [UPDATE: CANCELLED)
The Suffolk Theater is hosting a night of glamor and glitz to kick off the New Year. For $165 per person, guests will enjoy a wide variety of gourmet hors d’oeuvres and buffet style food stations, an open bar, midnight champagne toast, valet parking and live music from a 17-piece big band and DJ. The party starts at 8 p.m. on Dec. 31. Seating is limited and it is recommended to call the box office to make reservations. Holiday Inn Express packages are available for overnight stays.
