Hanukkah — the Jewish holiday of lights — is coming up soon, taking place from Thursday, December 7 through Friday, December 15. There are a few Austin restaurants and bars offering Hanukkah meals, dishes, pop-ups, and dinners. Relatedly, Eater explored the city’s best Jewish foods.
Drinks & Pop-Ups
Kitty Cohen’s
2211 Webberville Road, East Austin
The patio-friendly bar brought back its multi-week Hanukkah cocktail pop-up again this holiday season. The Get Lit bar features themed cocktails such as the latke punch. For food, pop-up Zee’s Winer System will be serving up a latke beef hot dog on Fridays. The bar will have jelly doughnuts on the weekends. Co-owner Josh Brownfield, who is Jewish himself, consulted his rabbi brother-in-law for the pop-up. A percent of the pop-up bar’s proceeds will be donated to the JCC of Austin.
Dates: Friday, December 1 through Friday, December 30; there are indoor and outdoor dine-in areas.
Sweets & Meals
Bread & Zest
The bakery service is offering several Hanukkah specials, including latkes and a Hanukkah tray with challah, dolmas, and more.
How to Book: Online
Ezov
2708 East Cesar Chavez Street, Holly
The Tel Aviv restaurant will be offering latkes and sufganiyah during Hannukah.
Dates: Thursday, December 7 through Friday, December 15; there are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.
Local Foods
454 West Second Street, Downtown
The Austin location of the Houston restaurant is offering preorder latkes for the holiday. On deck are a dozen or two dozen latkes served with sour cream and apple compote. Then there are hot smoked salmon, truffled egg salads, jams, and labneh.
How to Book: Email austincatering@localfoodstexas.com with a 48-hour advanced notice for pickups from Thursday, December 7 through Thursday, December 14.
Rosen’s Bagel Co.
11101 Burnet Road, North Burnet
The Austin bagel shop is making latkes, miniature babkas, and black-and-white cookies for the holiday. This is alongside its bagel, schmear, and fish-ish array.
How to Book: Online or in person, it’s available through Friday, December 15.
Latin Bakery Austin
5610 North I-35, North Loop
The bakery service has boxes of Star of David-shaped alfajores available as part of its holiday offerings.
How to Book: Online with a 48-hour advanced notice for pickups and deliveries
Aba
1011 South Congress Avenue, Travis Heights
The Chicago-based Mediterranean restaurant will offer dine-in Hanukkah specials this holiday. This includes Parmesan-potato-Brussels-sprout latkes and shawarma-spiced confit brisket.
How to Book: Online or over the phone at (737) 273-0199
The Salty Donut
2000 South Congress Avenue, Bouldin Creek
The Austin location of the doughnut chain is offering sufganiyah for the holiday.
How to Book: Online; orders for more than three dozen doughnuts can be placed via email at orders@saltydonut.com
Dinners & Parties & Events
Midnight in the Garden
To be disclosed after buying tickets
The lauded pop-up series is hosting chefs Jo Chan and Amanda Rockman for a two-night Hanukkah meal. The Hanukkah Heritage Feast will feature dishes like matzo ball soup, latkes, smoked fish, and rugelach, with wine and drink pairings. The location will be disclosed after booking.
Dates: Saturday and Sunday, December 9 and 10 with seatings at 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
How to Book: Online
Update, December 8: This guide, originally published on November 27, has been updated to include additional Hanukkah specials.