Where to feast on seven fishes (or seven other things) this holiday season

The feast of the seven fishes, or festa dei sette pesci, has its roots in post-World War II immigration to America, when Southern Italians imported the tradition of La Vigilia — a Christmas Eve feast with no meat. La Vigilia, with its traditional consumption of baccalà, spaghetti alle vongole, and vegetables, has adapted to what we know here as an hours-long dinner with seven (more or less) fish dishes, a number that may refer to the seven sacraments.

But the feast of the seven fishes has undergone another evolution. It is now readily embraced by chefs who specialize in other cuisines, and who sometimes take the emphasis off fish. Like Christmas itself, the feast of the seven fishes has in many cases been shifted away from its religious origins, and they now also frequently occur several days prior to Christmas Eve.

Reservations have been going quickly for these elaborate holiday meals, and some are already sold out, like the feast at Fiorella (you can add yourself to the waitlist). Here are 12 restaurants in Philly serving special menus, celebrating the feast of seven whatevers (mostly fishes). This list isn’t comprehensive, so if you miss out on one of these reservations, keep your eye out on Philly restaurants’ Instagram pages for other feasting opportunities.

Chef Tyler Akin will be serving a Sardinian-inflected feast of the seven fishes at Bastia on Dec. 21 and 22 for $185 per person, with an optional $85 beverage pairing. “We are really excited about the dishes, especially the malloreddus with pesto Genovese, swordfish, and gremolata; these are tiny Sardinian gnocchi that is a mainstay of the holidays.” Akin also promises squid ink risotto with blue crab, Calabrian chili butter, and bottarga — a dish “which truly tastes like the sea,” he said — as well as oysters with house sun-dried gooseberry mignonette. Reservations are available on OpenTable.

1401 E. Susquehanna Ave., 267-651-0269, bastiafishtown.com

Bistro Romano is offering two seven fishes set menu options: one for people who want all the fish (“seven fishes tasting menu”), and others who may want to partake in the festivities but are fish-averse (“pasta & turf tasting menu”). For those who are all about the fish, the dinner commences with frutti di mare, leads into pastas like lobster ravioli and fettuccine with bay scallops and baby shrimp, crescendoes with swordfish and branzino, and ends on a tiramisu finale. For those who are anti-fish, expect veal, New York strip steak, sausage rigatoni, and bucatini with duck ragu. Both menus are $89 per person and do not include tax or gratuity. They are only offered on Christmas Eve, when Bistro Romano’s a la carte menu is otherwise not available. Reservations are available on OpenTable.

120 Lombard St., 215-925-8880, bistroromano.com

This is the first year that Cicala will be serving a seven fishes dinner. “Angela and I believe Christmas Eve is more fun and exciting compared to Christmas Day so we usually close in order to give our staff (and ourselves) the ability to spend it with our families,” said chef Joe Cicala. “However, this year we completely forgot to turn off the reservations and when we went to do so, it turned out that we were almost fully booked. So it looks like we are staying open this year.” Cicala’s entire a la carte menu will be available on Christmas Eve, along with a “menu fisso” of five courses utilizing seven different fish (price TBD). They are still working out the full details, but reservations can be made on Resy.

699 N. Broad St., 267-886-9334, cicalarestaurant.com

South Philly’s Heavy Metal Sausage leans hard into seven fishes, so much so that for years they’ve been hosting feasts of “more than seven fishes.” This year, there are five nights of such extravagant dinners, featuring “more than 12 dishes, more than seven fishes,” from Dec. 18 to 22, with two seatings per night (6 and 8:30 p.m.). A seat at this bonanza goes for $150 per person; gluten and seafood allergies cannot be accommodated, and tickets cannot be refunded or rescheduled. Bookings can be made on Square.

1527 W. Porter St., no phone, heavymetalsausage.com

This holiday season, Bolo chef Yun Fuentes is welcoming chef R.J. Smith of Ocho Supper Club for a one-night-only Siete Mares, a Caribbean interpretation of the feast of the seven fishes. It will be 7 p.m. on Dec. 16 for $150 per person. Expect hamachi ceviche with scotch bonnet-passion fruit salsa and uni, lobster curry rellenos, red snapper escovitch, and an island-inspired version of surf and turf, or mar y montaña: roasted suckling pig and seafood rice with clams, calamari, and squid ink sofrito. There will also be an Ocho Happy Hour in Bolo’s first-floor rum bar from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Reservations can be made on OpenTable.

2025 Sansom St., 267-639-2741, bolophl.com

Queen Village sandwich shop Farina Di Vita is running a seven fishes catering menu until Dec. 21 at 4 p.m. or until they sell out of their fried smelts, jumbo lump crab cakes, mussel gravy, salmon piccata, shrimp cocktail, Thai chili salmon, and calamari salad. Get them all or get them a la carte. Orders must be placed over the phone (ask to speak with Jason).

250 Catharine St., 267-639-5185, instagram.com/farinadivita

Vernick Fish will be celebrating the feast of the seven fishes on Dec. 23 and 24 with a five-course, family-style menu for $195 per person. It includes tuna crudo, bay scallop crudo, and the Tuscan flatbread schiacciata, with osetra caviar, to start. Expect octopus skewers, fritto misto, white mussels, squid ink spaghetti, and whole roasted branzino with blue crab. A la carte options will be available at the bar. Reservations can be made on OpenTable.

1 N. 19th St., 215-419-5055, vernickfish.com

Chef Jason Cichonski’s Tulip Pasta and Wine Bar will be serving their seven fishes dinner on Dec. 22 and 23 for $100 per person with an optional $55 wine pairing. The menu includes tuna carpaccio, mussel toast, prawns, baked clams, crab ravioli, squid ink pasta, black bass, and fried chocolate ravioli with gingerbread ice cream for dessert. Reservations can be made on Resy.

2302 E. Norris St., 267-773-8189, tulippasta.com

Semi-private Messina Social Club, also by Jason Cichonski, with chef Eddie Konrad, is offering a six-course seven fishes tasting menu on Dec. 21, 22, and 23 for $135 per person. “There will be plays on traditional dishes, like last year we did an octopus bolognese and a series of ‘snacks.’ We always do more than seven actual fishes,” said Konrad. For dessert, Konrad has been working on a “terrine-a-misu,” consisting of ladyfingers in an “amaro-based soak that I stack, layer, press, and cut like a cake and serve with a whipped mascarpone.” Reservations can be made on Resy.

1533 S. 10th St., 267-928-4152, messinasocialclub.com

Fork’s feast of the seven fishes occurs only on Christmas Eve. It’s $125 per person, not inclusive of tax and a 20% service charge. Courses include brandade toast, crispy Prosecco-battered smelts, two handmade pastas, and a choice of a family-style entree for two, like a whole roasted branzino. There will also be additional starter options for $22 each, such as fluke crudo with a brown butter pear vinaigrette and half a dozen oysters on the half shell. Reservations are available on OpenTable.

306 Market St., 215-625-9425, forkrestaurant.com

Scampi in Queen Village may be named for one of those potential fishes, but chef Liz Grothe’s signature move at the holidays — this is the third year — is to serve a feast of the seven pastas, featuring lots of fishes. The menu is available on Dec. 23 (Dec. 22’s dinner is sold out), with dinner starting at 6:30 p.m. Reservations must be made via Google form, which cautions, “Do not let the lucky number seven fool you, this is at least a nine-course dinner and it takes about 2.5 hours. This is as ritzy as it gets for us.” It’s $150 per person and BYOB. Menu includes Grothe’s Caesar toast, lorighittas (small Sardinian ring-shaped pastas) with calamari and peas, spaghetti gamberi crudo (raw shrimp), smoked trout culurgiones, clam chowder gnocchi, and tiramisu for dessert.

617 S. Third St., no phone, scampiphilly.com

Fishtown Pickles will be hosting its feast of the seven pickles for the fifth year on Dec. 16 with two seatings, at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. It will be held at Kensington restaurant Percy, which recently rebranded as a diner, and thus this will be a “Diner Edition” of the celebration. Tickets are $105 per person, with $10 per ticket going to Sharing Excess. The menu is a collaboration between Percy chef Jack Smith and Fishtown Pickle Project co-founder Mike Sicinski. There will be a Hanukkah nod of a deviled egg and latke with smoked fish and pickle slaw, pumpkin soup with winter squash kimchi, corned pork belly with sweet onion pickle glaze, fermented red cabbage kraut and rye bread gremolata, antipasto made with Fishtown Pickle Dip, and a pickle-brined chicken schnitzel. In Percy’s Sound Lounge, there will be a Pickle Sundae Bar with wet walnuts (made with fermented honey), tea-pickled golden raisins, hot fudge, whipped sour cream, and fermented fruit. If the main event sells out, you can still participate in the Pickle Sundae Bar by purchasing tickets on Fishtown Pickle Project’s website.

Percy Diner and Bar, 1700 N. Front St., 215-975-0020, percyphl.com