Christmas dinners in L.A. and O.C.
Steak at Morels
What, you still don’t know what you’re going to eat for Christmas? Well, don’t worry — check out some of these Christmas Eve and Christmas Day meals in Los Angeles and Orange County. (Note: I have not checked if these places still have available reservations, but I’m sure there will be last-minute cancellations in any case.)
Los Angeles
Christmas Eve
Marino Ristorante: This Hollywood eatery is offering a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner, a common custom in southern Italy. This 10-course feast will be offered during both lunch and dinner. The menu features traditional dishes such as Insalata di Rinforzo, a pickled cauliflower and vegetable salad that is typically eaten on Christmas Eve; Baccala Fritto and Baccala in Umido, two preparations of salt cod; and Italian dessert Souffle di Panettone.
Price: $59 per person
Address: 6001 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90038
Reservations: (323) 466-8812 or online
Patina: This downtown mainstay will be offering a special four-course prix fixe menu featuring Maine lobster salad, a fall glazed-vegetable mosaic, foie gras ravioli, and a choice of Pennsylvania roasted duck in huckleberry jus or Colorado rack of lamb with baby artichokes. Dessert options are a chestnut Mont Blanc with French meringue or macerated raspberries with chocolate gratin and milk emulsion. Menu here.
Price: $95 per person; $25 for additional artisanal cheeses; a la carte menu also available
Address: 141 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Reservations: (213) 972-3331
More Patina Group restaurants, including Café Pinot, Pinot Bistro, Zucca Ristorante, Nick & Stef’s Steakhouse and Kendall’s, will be having special dinners for Christmas Eve, too.
Christmas Day
Morels French Steakhouse & Bistro: This fancy-but-not restaurant at The Grove is offering two different meals, one at the more casual bistro with a seasonal soup or salad, choice of Chilean sea bass or filet mignon, and choice of a flourless chocolate cake or black & white chocolate mousse. The other meal will be served in the upstairs steakhouse with choice of lobster bisque or spiced butternut squash soup, choice of seared jumbo scallops or a beet and goat cheese napoleon, main courses of filet mignon and Maine lobster tail or roasted duck, and dessert of either molten chocolate cake or Mont Blanc sundaes.
Price: $35 in the bistro; $65 in the steakhouse
Address: 189 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Reservations: (323) 965-9595
Orange County
Christmas Eve
Leatherby’s Café Rouge: This eatery at the Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall will be serving a three- or four-course prix fixe featuring everything from mushroom feuillete to seared foie gras to oven-roasted goose. Full menu here.
Price: $54 for three courses; $64 for four courses; $15.95 for children under 12
Address: 615 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Reservations: (714) 429-7640
Pinot Provence: This hotel restaurant is offering the choice of a three- or four-course menu, with dishes including Dungeness crab salad, maple leaf duck breast with chestnut fondue, and rotisserie chicken with parmesan polenta. Full menu here.
Price: $55 for 3 courses; $65 for 4 courses; $15.95 for children under 12
Address: Westin South Coast Plaza, 686 Anton Blvd, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Reservations: (714) 444-5900
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
Catal Restaurant and Uva Bar: This Downtown Disney eatery will be having a special three-course menu with items such as oxtail soup, butternut squash risotto, prime rib and slow-roasted duck breast. Full menu here.
Price: $45 for adults; $15.95 for children
Address: 1580 Disneyland Drive, Anaheim, CA 92802
Reservations: (714) 774-4442
