6 festive New Year’s Eve food events in North Alabama

Restaurants across north Alabama will party all night on New Year’s Eve, with special menus and midnight toasts.

Sip champagne and watch the fireworks from a tower high above Florence at the 360 Grille. Enjoy music with your meal in Mentone at the Wildflower Café. 

In Huntsville, celebrate birthdays for both 2023 and The Poppy and Parliament. Or if you’re staying at Lake Guntersville State Park for its big New Year’s Celebration, round out your experience by indulging in the multi-course special menu at the nearby Rock House Eatery.

Here are five fun New Year’s Eve food events to attend:

360 Grille (Florence)

Details: The ticketed event ($125 each/$750 for table of six) atop the tower at the Marriott Shoals Hotel and Spa includes music by Thad and Company and a stunning view of the fireworks show. The party starts at 10 p.m. and ends at 1 a.m. The 360 Grille also is open for regular lunch and dinner hours until 9 p.m.

Menu: Smorgasbord of treats include charcuterie, pepper jelly glazed shrimp, peach bruschetta with goat cheese, bacon-wrapped tenderloin with blue cheese and ratatouille-stuffed mushroom caps. 

Wildflower Café (Mentone)

Details: Lunch, from 11 a.m.–3 p.m., is first-come first-served. Dinner, 4 p.m.–9 p.m., is by phone reservation only. Musicians play until the Wildflower Café officially rings in the New Year. 

Menu: Wide selection of salads, beef, chicken, seafood, and vegetarian dishes

Revivalist & Baker & Able (Huntsville)

Details: Ticketed five-course dinner features a prix fixe menu ($80), with included champagne toast. Optional wine pairings available. Reserve seats via the restaurant’s website. After dinner, wander upstairs to the rooftop bar, Baker & Able to toast at midnight.

Menu: The evening starts with a three-way oyster flight, followed by a pear green salad with soft egg and beef tenderloin carpaccio. Fourth course choices are roast pork shoulder, skillet-toasted sweet potato gnocchi, or scallops and caviar with oyster aioli. Dark-chocolate layered mousse with bacon and sweetened bourbon crème ends the meal.

Rock House Eatery (Guntersville)

Details: Prix fixe menu with two seatings, 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Reservations required. $80 plus tax and 20 percent gratuity. Full bar with specialty cocktails is available.

Menu: Champagne cocktail to start, followed by four courses (starter, salad, entrée, and dessert). Starters include butternut and apple bisque with Calvados crème fraiche or lobster corn fritters. Entrees are steakhouse-style filet mignon or sea bass baked in parchment. Steeplechase pie or vanilla bean mousse with raspberries and brandied cherry end the meal.  

The Poppy & Parliament (Huntsville)

Details: The Poppy and Parliament is celebrating a birthday of its own while throwing a party to end 2022. The ticketed event is $50 per person. The party starts at 8 p.m. and keeps popping until 1 a.m. 

Menu: European-style tapas and hors d’ oeuvres. Champagne toast at midnight.

Rhythm on Monroe (Huntsville)

Details: Three-course special dinner is $68-$78, depending on the entrée, which the menu calls the “Main Act.” An additional course also is available for an extra charge. Reserve online.

Menu: The optional “Sound Check” choices are white truffle gnocchi ($12) or fried calamari and peppers ($16). Opening acts are grilled pear salad or seared scallop bisque. The “Main Act” features filet mignon, lobster ravioli, or roasted herbed chicken. A dessert duo, dark chocolate terrine and goat cheesecake timbale, perform for the “Encore” course.

(Courtesy of SoulGrown)