Gourmet meals, private fireworks and dancing till dawn
If you want to splurge for New Year’s Eve, many of the big top-rated hotels are having gourmet meals followed by elaborate parties. One of the most elaborate evenings will be at Hilton Prague, which is using a New York City theme. Other players hoping to attract end-of-the-year crowds include Kempinski, The Augustine and the Four Seasons.
Hilton Prague’s elaborate New York City–themed year-end party offers a choice of one of four gala dinners. Festivities start at 7 p.m., with entertainment in the lobby. The climax is a Times Square–style ball drop at midnight.
The Downtown gala dinner at the Atrium restaurant features an international buffet for 4,699 Kč per person. Another option is the Empire Lounge gala dinner at the Café Bistro, with a view of the stage. It also offers a buffet of international delicacies. The price is 4,999 Kč, or 5,999 Kč for gallery seating.
The Wall Street gala dinner at CzecHouse Grill has a six-course gourmet menu with unlimited Taittinger Champagne and drinks, for 6,499 Kč per person. The main course is veal tournedos with walnut crust, truffle potato and cognac sauce.
The final gala dinner is at Cloud 9, the Hilton’s rooftop bar. The 5th Avenue gala dinner includes a gourmet buffet, live broadcast of the multimedia spectacle downstairs in the hotel, a fireworks show, open bar, unlimited Champagne, ice bar and some surprises. The buffet menu is too extensive to list in detail, but it includes everything from sushi to beef Wellington, with lots of seafood and delicacies like leg of lamb, ribs with mango and Armagnac marinated foie gras terrine. The price for this party is 9,999 Kč per person. Guests can also drink at other bars throughout the hotel.
For those wishing to skip the meals and just go to the parties, the Times Square party is 1,999 Kč starting at 10 p.m. and the 5th Avenue party is 3,999 Kč from 11 p.m., although tickets for the latter are limited.
The evening at Hilton Prague Old Town is a bit less elaborate. It has an option of a six-course gourmet menu starting at 7 p.m. at the Zinc Restaurant or a three-course meal at 9 p.m. at the Zinc Lounge and Bar. Both menus include a New Year’s Eve party with drinks, a midnight toast and music.
The gourmet menu is highlighted by seared turbot fillet with seafood risotto, lobster tail and bisque emulsion, followed by Wagyu beef sirloin, seared foie gras, braised cheek and puree of Jerusalem artichoke. This menu also includes a starter of spicy tuna tartare, wild mushrooms, duck consommé and dessert. The price is 4,870 Kč.
The three-course option is a bit cheaper, at 3,090 Kč per person. The menu has an Asian theme, with main course options including beef ribs in rendang sauce, Sri Lankan baked jumbo cod, or prawn sambal with biryani rice. There is also a choice of starters and a plate of mini desserts.
The menu at the Kempinski Hotel Hybernská Prague is the work of executive chef Marek Fichter, who has been with the hotel since it opened in 2008. He was recently named one of the five top Czech chefs by the Czech Television show All About Cooking (Vše o Vaření).
The New Year’s Eve seven-course gala dinner leads into an evening of live music, with a caricaturist, a bubble show, private fireworks in the garden and a champagne toast at midnight. Highlights from the menu include langoustine with green pea velouté, pheasant breast with juniper berry sauce, lamb loin from a local farm, and baby pear marinated in port wine. The dinner and accompanying program costs 6,700 Kč, with an additional 1,500 for the wine pairing.
Staying at the hotel for its three-night holiday package, which includes the New Year’s Eve dinner and a bottle of sparkling wine in the room, starts at 1,448 euros, excluding VAT.
At the Four Seasons, the New Year’s Eve celebration starts at 7 p.m. with a cocktail reception and continues with a five course degustation menu that starts with black tiger prawns and yellow fin tuna tartare with Osetra caviar and white tomato mousse; terrine of duck foie gras with torcolato jelly, persimmon marmalade and candied fruit baba. The main course is milk-fed veal fillet with dauphinoise potatoes, Piedmont black truffles and barolo wine sauce.
That is followed by pecorino zafferano and Buccia di Rospo artisanal cheeses, cranberry and mint chutney; sfera al mascarpone with raspberries and Amedei Nut Brown Toscano chocolate truffles; and pralines with coffee or tea.
A live DJ session will take place after dinner for dancing the night away and celebrating the start of 2014.The menu including the Champagne reception but without other wines is 7,750 Kč per person, or 9,950 Kč per person including the wine pairing.
The Augustine in Malá Stana has an elegant seven-course meal by Executive Chef Robert Loos in its Elegantes restaurant starting at 8 p.m. The evening includes music by Elena Sonenshine Jazz Quartet and a fire show, plus an opportunity for a photograph in a sleigh. After midnight, there is a party in the 1887 bar with original cocktails and a Champagne and oyster bar.
The menu is highlighted by pan fried halibut with squid ink risotto, date purée and oyster velouté, and Angus beef fillet with foie gras, sweet potato fries, green asparagus and aged balsamic reduction. A bottle of Billecart-Salmon Champagne is included per couple, as is a glass of champagne and three oysters at the afterparty.
The price is 7,500 Kč per person, with an optional wine pairing for the dinner costing an additional 2,000 Kč.
Hilton Prague
CzecHouse, Atrium, Café Bistro Cloud 9
Pobřežní 311/1, Prague 8
Tel: 224 842 014
Hilton Prague Old Town
Zinc restaurant
V Celnici 7, Prague 1
Tel: 221 822 100
Kempinski Hotel Hybernská Prague
Le Grill restaurant
Hybernská 12, Prague 1
Tel: 226 226 126
E-mail: restaurant.prague@kempinski.com
Four Seasons
CottoCrudo restaurant
Veleslavínova 1098/2A
Tel: 221 426 880
E-mail rezervace@cottocrudo.cz
The Augustine
Elegantes restaurant
Letenská 12/33
Tel: 266 122 280
E-mail: restaurant@elegantes.cz
