Your 2014 Christmas Day dining guide: brunch, caviar, candy-cane martinis

Your Christmas Day meals, whether they be brunch, lunch or a full-scale dinner, should be a special time with family and friends. But if you hate to cook, or find yourself too often just stopping after you make a pitcher of eggnog, you might consider the option of dining out. Fortunately, although many L.A. restaurants close on Christmas Day, there are still some that are here to help you out, staying open and offering special holiday menus. Choose from pig’s head in a blanket and roast goose at an English-style pub, a caviar station at the Four Seasons, or maybe a swank brunch by Jose Andres.

Cast at Viceroy Santa Monica

If your Christmas Day plans include the beach, Cast in Santa Monica has a holiday brunch on offer. This will include a ham and prime-rib carving station and a huge buffet selection including chilled shrimp cocktail, duck confit salad, Italian artisan cheese, rigatoni Bolognese, roasted beet salad, smoked salmon salad, roasted Brussels sprouts with pancetta, and butternut squash and apple salad. There will also be a dessert buffet featuring pies, cakes and puddings, and specialty cocktails, including candy-cane martinis. Brunch is $65 per person, $25 for kids 10 and under. 1819 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica, (310) 260-7511, viceroyhotelsandresorts.com.

Culina, Modern Italian

This Italian restaurant at the Four Seasons hotel is offering a Christmas Day brunch buffet with various stations including a carving station, a seafood and sushi station, an artisanal cheese station, a caviar and tartare station, a salad station and a special children’s buffet. There will also be omelets made to order, Belgian waffles, grilled salmon with white asparagus, truffle potato gratin, and desserts including house-made gelato and warm doughnuts. Pricing is $98 per person and $49 for kids 12 and under. 300 S. Doheny Dr., Los Angeles, (310) 860-4000, culinarestaurant.com.

Delphine Eatery + Bar

This Hollywood Boulevard restaurant will be offering a $67 menu for Christmas Day with dishes to choose from including blood orange, persimmon and burrata salad, apple and fennel soup with black truffles and crab beignets, Dungeness crab ravioli, egg custard with uni, grilled prime sirloin cap, tagliatelle with Brussels sprouts, and pan-roasted white bass with roasted squash and pork belly. There will also be a special dessert course. 6250 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 798-1355, innovativedining.com/restaurants/delphine.

Fig

The restaurant is doing an all-day brunch to help you celebrate Christmas, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. New chef Yousef Ghalaini is serving an a la carte menu including huevos rancheros, lobster Benedict, kegs and eggs (which includes a bottomless draft beer), chorizo and corned beef hash, shrimp and grits, and the restaurant’s bloody marys. 101 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, (310) 319-3111, figsantamonica.com.

Fuego

Fuego at Hotel Maya in Long Beach is cooking up a three-course, prix-fixe Christmas dinner with dishes including ginger lobster bisque, butternut squash with candied pepitas, braised prime short rib with mascarpone basil polenta and braised root vegetables, salmon with cranberry and kale salad, and potato lasagna with red pepper and coriander coulis. Among the desserts is an apple pecan caramel cheesecake. Also: a live solo guitarist. 700 Queensway Dr., Long Beach, (562) 481-3910, facebook.com/fuegolongbeach.

Longitude Bar & Restaurant

At Le Meridien Delfina Santa Monica Hotel, the Longitude is serving a three-course prix-fixe Christmas dinner. Courses include butternut squash soup with chestnut cream, roast goose with black truffle sauce and wild mushrooms, and Martha Washington’s liqueur-soaked fruitcake. 530 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, (310) 399-9344, lemeridiendelfina.com.

Park Grill

Christmas Day dinner here is a four-course holiday menu featuring candied yam bisque, prime rib with sauteed escarole and Yukon Gold potato and roasted garlic mash, candy-cane mousse with peppermint schnapps. There are two seatings, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Dinner is $68 per person, with children under 12 for $34. 2151 Avenue of the Stars, Century City, (310) 284-6536, intercontinentallosangeles.com.

The Pikey

The Hollywood English pub is all decked out for the holidays (stockings on the mantel, elves in hats), and will be serving specials on Christmas Day as well. Dishes include pig’s head in a blanket, scallops wrapped in bacon and dates, gooseneck ragu with tagliatelle, roast goose with chestnut bread sauce, minced pie ice cream and Christmas pudding with custard. The regular menu will also be available, as well as a menu of holiday cocktails. 7617 W Sunset Blvd., (323) 850-5400, thepikeyla.com.

Tanzy

The Westwood restaurant is serving a special holiday menu with dishes including: parsnip and apple soup, endive and arugula salad, ham with spiced maple glaze with braised cabbage, Brussels sprouts, pull-apart rolls and zuppa inglese for dessert. Dinner is $35 per person, with $20 for kids. And with 12-hour notice, you can get take-out. 10840 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood, (310) 307-7004, tanzyrestaurant.com/westwood.

Terranea Resort

The Ballroom at Terranea is offering a special Christmas Day buffet, available at 9, 9:30 and 10 a.m. Among the specialties: holiday morning pastries, a hot food selection, an omelet and egg station, a waffle station, a cheese and fruit station, items from a carving board and a seafood station. There will also be a holiday dessert display. The buffet is $90 for adults, $45 for kids 5 to 10 years old and free for children under 5. 100 Terranea Way, Rancho Palos Verdes, (310) 265-2800, terranea.com.

Tres by Jose Andres
This one of Jose Andres’ several restaurants at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills is offering Christmas Day specials including an open brunch table for $65 per person. Brunch dishes include: a holiday carving display, caviar and smoked salmon displays, Greek yogurt parfaits and fresh fruit. There will also be a selection of pastries and desserts. Christmas Day dinner includes the regular Tres menu, with additional holiday specials. 465 South La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Hills, (310) 246-5551, slshotels.com/beverlyhills/dining/tres.

Wolfgang Puck at Hotel Bel-Air

Puck’s restaurant at the elegant Hotel Bel-Air will be open for brunch and dinner on Christmas Day. Brunch is a three-course prix-fixe menu that includes a “dessert feast,” grilled barbecued Japanese salmon salad, and Dover sole for $125 and $65 for kids 12 and under. Dinner is a four-course prix-fixe menu with house-smoked salmon blini, veal chops and dessert at $160 and $65 for kids 12 and under. 701 Stone Canyon Road, Los Angeles, (310) 909-1644, dorchestercollection.com/en/los-angeles/hotel-bel-air/restaurant-bars.

Fun pictures of other people’s food on Instagram @ascattergood.