The Essential Guide To Ordering Takeout For New Year's Eve

People all over the world enjoy going out on New Year's Eve. For others, though, they prefer the joy of taking it all in from the comfort of their own homes. The prospect of no crowds, no traffic, a warm house, and no long waits can be all too tempting. That's all true, but you still want to make the night special, which is where takeout comes in. We've long been in this category, as ordering takeout on NYE has become a household tradition. The trouble is that many others are going to have the same idea. This makes it one of the busiest nights of the year for any takeout place. 

That means you need to plan ahead. Whether you're having a quiet night in or hosting a group of friends, we're here to help. Here you'll find a long list of useful tips that will not only ensure you get to enjoy delicious food on time, but also without any stress. If you take all of these tips on board, you'll have a big smile on your face when the clock strikes midnight instead of wishing you'd never bothered.

New Year's Eve is generally a highly profitable night for a takeout joint. Because of this, it's likely your favorite spot will be open, but don't take it for granted. For example, you may order from somewhere that doubles up as a sit-in restaurant and has shorter hours on New Year's Eve. There might be others that are usually closed on that day of the week and don't want to change their policy.

Opening hours will often be posted on the company website or socials. If in doubt, it's best to give them a call before the big day to double-check. Even if the restaurant is going to be open, it's good to find out what their plans are. With a hectic night expected, they may decide to run a more simplified menu, meaning your usual order can't be fulfilled. Ordering takeout on NYE is all about pre-planning, and the first step is double-checking you can actually get what you want. 

Check in with your takeout ahead of time to see if you can place an order for NYE. You can either phone them to check or use a delivery app. For example, Uber Eats allows you to order up to a week ahead. This will give them time to pre-plan the order, and they will likely prioritize it ahead of other orders they get on the night. 

You don't want to place an order on NYE after the restaurant has just received a high volume of orders. You may be put at the back of the line or be told they can't take any more orders at that moment. Ordering ahead vastly increases your chances of getting food when you want it.

The importance of this tip depends on where you live. Essentially, the busier the area you live in, the more you should focus on takeout in close proximity. New Year's Eve can be manic for a few different reasons. Streets are often packed with either cars or pedestrians. Depending on how your area is celebrating, there may even be road closures.

Takeout that usually takes 15 minutes to get to you on a quiet night could end up taking over an hour. Not only can this mean you don't get your food when you want, but it also means it won't be hot and fresh when it gets to you.

There's a good chance you have your favorite takeout spots, but there are times you want to try something new. However, New Year's Eve isn't a good time to experiment with new places. If the takeout spot has just opened, they won't have the experience in dealing with the NYE rush. Even if they've been operating for a long time, you won't know how reliable their deliveries are. 

Successfully ordering takeout on NYE is all about reducing the risks of something going wrong. Due to this, you want to order from somewhere you've used before that you can rely on. You can save trying out that other spot for another day.

There are likely two main reasons for delays when it comes to getting takeout to your door. The first is that the kitchen doesn't currently have the capacity to deal with the number of orders coming through. The second is that they don't have the drivers available to deliver orders. While there is nothing you can do about the first problem, the second can be solved by picking it up.

This requires a willing and sober participant to do the duties, but it can reduce the risk of something going wrong as long as you pick it up at the right time. You can also play this by ear. Ask if pickup will reduce the time if you're given a long delivery window when placing your order. This increases the likelihood of you getting your order on time.

For the reasons we've mentioned above, it makes sense to have a few backup options lined up beforehand. This is especially important if you are ordering for a group of people. For example, you may have all decided on pizza only to find out the one you wanted is unavailable. You then either have to scramble to find a pizza joint you perhaps haven't used before, or need to get the group to all agree on a new food choice.

Trying to do either of these can be stressful. However, deciding on backup options beforehand allows you to immediately move on to your other options without any further delays or arguments.

It's great to have options, but having this choice can become complex when trying to order takeout, especially if you start making menu modifications. For example, if a group of 10 orders five things each, then this would lead to your takeout trying to deliver 50 different items. This not only vastly increases the chances of delays but also orders being wrong. Instead, you need to keep your order simple.

Ordering multiple of the same items (such as the same curry) or large sharing items (like pizza) is usually the best way to go. Not only is a complex order risky for delivery, but it will also make your life harder when it comes to dishing it out. If it's just takeout for one or two of you, then you can be a little more flexible. Even then, it's wise to appreciate that the takeout place you order from will be dealing with a lot of stress and pressure.

You may face a scenario where you take quite a bit of time going through a complex order, only to be given an unbearable waiting time once you've paid. To be fair, most takeout places are good at pre-warning you about long waiting times, but it's always a good idea to ask.

Before you even ask this question, you should have a waiting time you'll accept and what would be too long. That means you won't be scrambling around asking guests if a delay would be okay. Remember, the time they give you will only be an estimate, so ensure you take that into account as well.

It's possible your takeout place could make menu changes on New Year's Eve. This can be partly to make their life easier, as they can either simplify the menu or promote deals that will be easier for them to prepare. It's important to look for these specials, as you may be able to get a good deal.

These may be detailed on food apps, but also on their social media accounts or website. It can even be a good idea to ask them if they have any specials when you call to order. By taking advantage of these specials, not only could you be saving yourself some money, but also increasing your chances of getting your food on time.

Whether it's shortly before that film is about to start or just after the kids have fallen asleep, it's a relief when your takeout comes exactly when you want it to. On NYE, it's best to presume that's not going to happen. Even if your takeout place isn't incredibly busy, they may still need to negotiate heavy traffic if they're delivering. 

Even if you're picking it up, it's likely that travel times are going to be longer than usual. Due to this, order earlier than you think you'll need to. For many reasons, it's better for your takeout to arrive earlier than later. If it's too early, there are steps you can take — we have a few tips coming next, so you'll know what to do. But when it's too late, it could ruin your night. 

If the restaurant is busy or you have a large order, food arriving early or having leftovers becomes a greater possibility. It's for this reason that you want to choose foods that reheat well. This mainly comes down to texture. Foods that reheat well often keep their consistency and will taste the same, or at least similar, to how they were delivered. Prime candidates here are pizza, fried food, most saucy Asian dishes, and hot wrapped food.

For anything that has a lot of moisture (such as noodles and curry), reheating in a pan gets the best results, but you get similar results from the more convenient option of a microwave. Bread, burgers, fish, and anything with fresh greens usually don't reheat well and should be avoided. This is because they will either go soggy, limp, or be affected by flavors bleeding together, such as a burger bun becoming saturated by a sauce. Choosing the right foods also means you can store leftovers away and enjoy perfectly reheated food the day after.

If your food comes early, you have two options. You can either let it go cold and reheat it later, or you can keep it warm until it's time to eat. The best option depends on when you plan to eat. For food safety, refrigerate food within two hours after it has been cooked. Since it will start to go cold, we'd recommend refrigerating it unless you plan on eating it pretty soon after arrival (within 20 minutes). If you'll be eating soon, keep it warm in the oven.

Keeping it in the 200–250 F range will keep it safe and warm without further cooking or drying it out. The microwave can also be a good alternative, as many of them have a 'keep warm' function for this very reason. For food where this wouldn't work, such as burgers, wrapping them in foil and a towel is usually the best way to keep the heat in.

There are many ways to reheat food if you're refrigerating your food until ready to serve. If you have anything that should be crispy, use your air fryer. It does a magnificent job of restoring it to how it came from the restaurant. Usually, you only need 3-12 minutes before it gets back to its delicious best. Pastries and bread usually reheat quickly, whereas thicker meats and vegetables will be at the longer end of the scale.

Breaded foods are fantastic when reheated in an air fryer. Other foods can be tasty too, such as fried chicken, fries, and pastries. While you are unlikely to get a whole pizza in an air fryer, this method is also excellent for smaller slices. 

We doff our proverbial caps to all of the delivery drivers and kitchen staff who have to work on New Year's Eve. While everyone else is out celebrating, they will undoubtedly be under a lot of stress and pressure. This no doubt involves dealing with customers who make a big deal out of little mistakes. It's good to appreciate these factors while you wait for your food.

It's always nice to tip restaurants, but it's an even better idea when staff go that extra mile. This doesn't have to be a grand gesture, but simply going a little beyond what you'd usually do. If you are hosting a large group, asking for contributions is a nice idea. It could help put a smile on someone's face in the middle of a hectic shift.

Having the likes of a few pizzas in the freezer can ensure that no one goes hungry, regardless of what happens with your takeout. That's because a lot can go wrong, and therefore it's a good idea to plan for the worst-case scenario. For example, you may go to order from one takeout place, only to find out they are too busy. With no suitable alternatives, you may be left in limbo.

Having backup options is wise for another reason. There are no guarantees you'll get enough food for everyone. Even if you do, people may get hungry later in the evening. Along with pizza, other good ideas are frozen chicken strips, pasta bakes, and burgers. These are easy to cook, can be stored without taking up too much space, and are usually popular with most guests. 

The next few tips are all about making your life as easy as possible once the food arrives. You don't want to hear comments such as, "Where are the plates?" etc. It's best to have everything out that you need. Glasses, plates, bowls, and utensils should all be out on full display.

Even if it's just for one or two people, having everything set out allows you to start eating straight away and enjoy your food when it's warm and crispy. You'll also want to consider napkins and condiments. Finally, ensure everyone knows where to put their rubbish. Having a dedicated bin bag ready that you can instantly throw out is usually the easiest way to deal with this.

To go even further than putting utensils and plates out, you can plan how everything will be dished up. The biggest issue can be portion control. For example, you may have worked out that everyone will be getting two-thirds of a pizza on average. Are you happy for people just to help themselves, or do you want to be more structured about how it gets portioned up?

Whatever food you're ordering, you need to consider how everyone is going to get everything they want fairly. For example, you could have it that everyone initially gets just three slices of pizza or two scoops of food, knowing there will still be leftovers. If people are still hungry, they can go back for seconds. This simplifies it for you by putting some order into the chaos.

That last tip leads us to by far the easiest way to present food to a large group of people. By placing everything on a long surface, such as a dining table, you can put everything in a logical flow that stops everyone from reaching over each other. This is ideal for any foods that are intended to be shared or distributed, even if people have made specific orders.

For example, if everyone has their own curry, the likes of sides, bread, rice, and sauces could be laid out in a buffet style. For the host, this vastly simplifies everything. Lay it all out, grab what you want, and enjoy your food, safe in the knowledge that everyone has been catered for.

Think about how anything shared will be shared. While plates may be the solution for most things, dips and sauces can be different. Sharing these from one source can be awkward, as people can use them continuously throughout the whole meal. Due to this, it's a good idea to add some extra bowls to the table so diners can take the sauces they need without constantly passing them around.

If getting sauces and dips directly from the takeout, it's a wise move to order a little more to avoid the chaos of people constantly asking and passing things around. This also avoids people sharing sauces, which can lead to contamination. With small sauce pots, such as garlic dip, make sure everyone has their own. For communal sauces, such as salsa, provide small bowls or pots so everyone can take what they need.

One of the biggest mistakes when ordering takeout is being impatient and getting frustrated. As we've seen, there are so many things that can go wrong. Even if the restaurant delivers delicious food at the perfect time, you may have under-ordered, a guest could annoy you, or you realize you don't have enough plates. It's best to anticipate that things are unlikely to go 100% to plan. 

Whether you are ordering for one or are in a large group, see the takeout as a bonus to your night rather than fundamental to it. If you follow the tips above, you'll be making life as simple as possible. New Year's Eve can often be a disappointment if you put too much expectation on it. Instead, don't stress, plan ahead, and have a great night.