Urbanist Guide


Urban Dish: Where to Eat on Christmas

Dayna Crozier by Dayna Crozier | 12.20.2011

This Urban Dish deserves to be prefaced with the acknowledgment that you haven’t seen Urban Dish in a while. In October, over lunch at Hash House a Go Go, Urban Dish columnist Morgan deBoer hit us with the bittersweet news that she will be moving to Japan in the new year. Since then, we’ve continued to write about food outside of the column. But I am now bringing our highly missed Urban Dish back and using this podium to say that we wish Morgan all the very best in what is sure to be an amazing set of new experiences in a country most of us are dying to visit.

Now, on to stuffing our faces with holiday fare! For many people, it doesn’t feel like a holiday unless we’re dirtying up our kitchens and clothes to cook with friends or family. But for others, the excitement of dining out not only trumps tradition, it is tradition.


The U.S. Grant

For those of you foregoing Christmas and mid-Hanukkah meals at home, we checked around town to see which restaurants will be open. (These are only the ones we confirmed. There are bound to be more!) Most restaurants in the Urbanist guide are closed on the 25th, so if a place is open make your reservations ASAP, or else you may be settling later on.

Christmas Eve:
Christmas Eve specials:
Jayne's Gastropub will be serving up Sarah Ellis' Tiki Christmas cocktails and British Steak & Mushroom Pie (5 to 10pm, kitchen closes at 9). Also: Guinness 20 oz imperial pints are $3 until 2012. 
Grant Grill, Holiday Happy Hour, with 1/2 price Signature Cocktails and Small Bites from the Lounge Menu (5 to 8pm).
Bleu Boheme, 3-course prix fixe menu ($45 per person, 4 to 9pm). 
• Vagabond, 3-course prix fixe menu ($39.50, regular hours).

Restaurants open normal hours on Christmas Eve:

Special hours on Christmas Eve:
• Café Chloe (brunch 8:30am to 3:30pm), R Gang (brunch 9am to 3pm), Blind Lady Ale House (kitchen closes at 9pm) Tractor Room (dinner starting 5pm), Regal Beagle (until 5pm), Tiger!Tiger! (kitchen closes at 9pm). Craft & Commerce, Neighborhood and UnderBelly will close by 10pm.

Christmas Day:
 Breakfast:
• Grant Grill, $29 Breakfast Buffet w/$6 bottomless mimosas (8am to 1pm)

Dinner:
• Lotus Thai (both locations open 5 to 9pm)
• The Prado at Balboa Park, 3-course prix fixe menu ($49.95 adults, $12.95 kids, 1 to 7pm).
• Island Prime/C-Level, 3-course prix fixe menu ($49.95 adults, $12.95 kids, 1 to 7pm).
• Bo Beau, 3-course prix fixe menu ($39.95 adults, $12.95 kids, 3 to 8pm).

Christmas Night Cocktails:
• El Dorado will open at 9pm to take in those who want to celebrate with a cocktail, surrounded by friends and friendly neighbors.
Blind Lady Ale House's bar (bar only!) will be open 5pm to close. Sounds like the best beer run I could think of.
• Whistle Stop, Records with Roger with eggnog and mulled wine.

Stay tuned for our future Urban Dish adventures. Until then, we’d love to hear you dish on your own gastronomic holiday plans! How will you be celebrating this weekend?


Tags: Urban Dish, dining, holidays

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