LAGuide
Where To Have Christmas Dinner In LA
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Just when you've gotten over the residual stress from cooking at Thanksgiving, here comes Christmas dinner. But fear not, many restaurants in LA are open on December 25th and will do it all for you: curate the holiday aesthetic, pass the hors d'oeuvres, and pour enough wine to keep your Grinch brother-in-law happy. Assume you're not the only person in town trying to get out of cooking this year, so formulate a game plan and make that reservation ASAP. From steakhouses to Chinese restaurants to hotels with Kardashian-sized decor budgets, here's where to have Christmas dinner in Los Angeles.
THE SPOTS
Redbird is in an old cathedral, so it’s huge, beautiful, and a good cop-out when grandma asks if you went to church on Christmas. The American restaurant in DTLA is serving a three-course, prix fixe dinner on Christmas Eve for $135 per person ($65 for children). There’s an optional $75 wine pairing, and courses include chestnut porcini-stuffed quail, girella pasta tossed with chicken liver and brandy molasses, and a bourbon panna cotta.
The upscale Korean-American restaurant in the Arts District is serving Christmas Eve dinner for $95 per person. This includes a three-course prix fixe menu, plus an additional “bite” and amuse bouche. The menu includes courses like tea leaf salad, prawn toast, and black cod.
Even if you did all your shopping at the Americana on Brand and don’t want to step foot into the mall again until next year, here’s a reasonable excuse to come back. Bourbon Steak is serving Christmas Eve dinner, with four specials meant to feed two people. Choose between a Maine lobster pot pie, dover sole with crispy capers, an Iberian pork chop, and a tallow-aged 45-ounce côte du boeuf. These shareable entrees cost between $119 and $299.
The Belvedere at The Peninsula Hotel Beverly Hills is offering a four-course Christmas Eve dinner from 5-9pm. For $180 per person ($80 for children), you'll get winter truffle risotto, sea bass with miso beurre blanc, and a gingerbread bûche for dessert. The Christmas Day menu ($190 per person or $90 for children) runs from 11:00am to 8pm and offers a slightly different menu, with braised wagyu beef cheek, cider-glazed turkey, and a three-chocolate Christmas log. Also, the Peninsula is known to go all out on Christmas decorations, so prepare to feel like Kevin McCallister at the Plaza.
Boxwood at West Hollywood's The London is open for Christmas Day service. Available from 12:30 to 8:30pm for $110 per person ($55 for children), the three-course meal features dishes like lobster risotto, baked sea bass, and filet mignon with black truffle and turnips. The option to tack on a seafood tower (for two) is also available for an extra $75.
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Rodeo Drive is one of the most Christmas-y corners of LA this time of year, and you can soak up all the tinsel, glitter, and capitalist excess while dining at The Blvd. The all-day spot in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel will serve a three-course menu on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, both for $145 per person ($65 for children). Christmas Eve service runs 5-9:15pm, while Christmas Day is set for 11:30am-9:30pm. Courses include pan-seared scallops braised in a pine nut ragu, wagyu short rib wellington, and a dessert buffet to finish.
Yes, Fogo de Chao is a chain, but the Brazilian steakhouse is a great option for group AYCE BBQ for $70 per person. It's upscale enough to wear your Christmas best, and you can feed a group for half the price you would at a hotel restaurant. It's open for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
This old-school steakhouse chain in DTLA is open on Christmas Day and Christmas Eve and is offering its usual a la carte menu, plus a few holiday specials. These include a 16-ounce Queen-cut prime rib, stuffed lobster tail, and the option to do a surf and turf situation and get both on the same plate.
photo credit: Genghis Cohen
The red lantern Fairfax spot is doing a New York-style Chinese food banquet on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, featuring its signature Crackerjack Shrimp, orange peel chicken, and No Name duck with steamed buns. You can also sip on Genghis Cohen's selection of "Foo Foo" drinks, like the Hebrew School Mai Tais with Manischewitz wine.
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photo credit: Stan Lee
This upscale DTLA restaurant is known for its 360-degree views of Los Angeles, which might be the main reason to come here during the holidays. They're serving a $95 three-course prix fixe dinner on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, with details on the menu yet to come. Note: a credit card deposit is required for reservations, and a business casual dress code is enforced.
photo credit: Tower Bar
Tower Bar is a must-visit for tourists and anyone wanting to see celebrities drinking martinis, but it can also be the venue for your Christmas Eve and Day festivities. The iconic West Hollywood spot is offering a prix fixe menu for $175 per person ($65 for children), which includes everything from pigs in a blanket and shrimp cocktail to filet mignon and a rack of lamb with mint jelly.
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Gwen in Hollywood is open on Christmas Eve serving a four-course dinner that runs $160 per person. Available from 4:30-8:45pm, the steakhouse's holiday menu features a parsnip soup with creme fraiche, Maine lobster coated in curry butter, and a 20-day aged prime ribeye.
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Ardor, the lush restaurant on the ground floor of the West Hollywood Edition hotel, is open Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Some dishes to expect on the holiday menu include a warm panzanella salad with quince vinaigrette, roasted chestnut ravioli in a brown butter au poivre, and a 14-ounce Kurobuta pork chop. Plus, the usual dinner menu will be available as well.
If you want to taunt your East Coast friends with photos of an ocean sunset for Christmas, book dinner at Terraza inside Santa Monica's Hotel Casa Del Mar. A $125 set menu is available on Christmas Day that includes dry-aged kanpachi crudo, grilled prawns, and roasted scallops. Brunch is also available for $115 per person and features chocolate chip buttermilk pancakes, a lobster bisque, and pistachio-crusted lamb racks.
Sugar Palm at the Viceroy Santa Monica is offering dinner on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with a three-course menu. Fish and meat eaters pay $145 per person and can choose from cornish game hen marinated in harissa, crab cake chowder, and mole-coated osso bucco. A plant-based menu is also available for $100 per person and features things like winter quinoa salad in pumpkin seed vinaigrette and mushroom al pastor tamales.
DTLA's Caldo Verde is serving its usual a la carte menu for Christmas Day dinner, plus a few holiday specials, like veal cutlets in mustard cream with cornbread stuffing and suckling pig punched up with pickled golden raisins and slow-cooked cavalo. There's also a "festive assortment" of Christmas desserts on the menu, too, like chestnut praline mousse, marzipan fruitcake, and a pear cranberry pop tart.
If set menus aren't your style, opt for a Christmas buffet at The Front Yard. Located inside the Garland Hotel in North Hollywood, this spot is serving its Christmas Day buffet for $85 per person from noon to 7:45pm. Expect options like chipotle pineapple-glazed ham, birria-marinated leg of lamb, and a build-your-own roasted tomato soup station.
The Terrace at the Maybourne Hotel in Beverly Hills is throwing what it calls a "Christmas Day Experience," which consists of an all-day brunch that runs from 11am to 9pm and costs $195 per person ($65 for children). The meal includes various shareable starters and family-style sides, plus your choice of courses like sunchoke soup, grilled octopus with scallion chimichurri, and classic beef wellington.
