Restaurants open on December 25

There is no simple answer to this question.

December 25th and 26th are public holidays. A lot of restaurants have closed on holidays normally, but they may make an exception for Christmas.

On the other hand, restaurants normally open on holidays may have closed because of Christmas to grant their staff being at home with their families for this event.

You will have to check on an individual basis browsing through the webpages of the restaurants. Most restaurants announce it there if they have special opening times for the holidays.

But I am pretty sure that you will neither starve nor need to plan a picnic. :-)

This is the most comprehensive restaurant guide for Vienna:
https://www.falter.at/lokalfuehrer/wien/
It is in German, only, but it should be easy to navigate (city borough, type of place, type of cuisine, etc.), and giving the link to the restaurants' home pages where you should find the information required.

You'll find something, but do your homework for the 25th and 26th (assuming you are staying over). Make some reservations to be sure.

Note that many of the christmas markets close for the season on the 23rd or 24th.

If you strike out, the trains will be running and I have a long list of excellent restaurants open in Budapest on the 24th, 25th and 26th.

James E. for the win! :-)

My attempt at reputation of the less than positive attitude.

I've spent a number of Christmas holidays in various places in Europe and my impression has been that the majority of "better" restaurants will be open. To demonstrate the point a few years back i checked most every highly rated restaurant in Budapest (Michelin and various Top 10 Lists). Expect the same in Vienna.

Be sure to make reservations in advance. And remember that in many places the 26th, Boxer Day, is a holiday as well.

December 25 is pretty much business as usual as most families celebrate on December 24. You really shouldn't have a problem finding something that is open on that day.

Thank you all so much for your help and advice! It sounds like I will need to make a reservation for the 25th at least. And James, I completely agree about restaurants in Budapest--of all the cities we've visited, Budapest has the best food, imho. (And yes, that includes Paris and Rome.) Thanks again, everyone!

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