Christmas Day is a joyous celebration of friends, family and feasting. If you’ve got the first two in order, why not let San Francisco’s great chefs take care of the third?
Whether you’re looking for fine dining on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, seafood and steak or Italian traditions, these eight eateries are open with special menus and full dining options on one or both nights of the holiday break.
See also: 7 Festive Cocktails for the Holiday Season
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301 Mission Street / Website
Get the celebration started a night early at this popular meat haven from Ayesha Curry and Michael Mina. International Smoke is serving a special Christmas Eve menu, complete with your choice of chopped salad, oyster rockefeller or mac & cheese fritters; followed by smoked prime rib or whole Mediterranean sea bass. Cheesecake and double chocolate chip peppermint cookies are for dessert. It’s all $110 per person with an option $40 beverage pairing.
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1701 Octavia Street / Website
Acclaimed chef Melissa Perello invites you for a Christmas Eve menu served family style. Enjoy monterey calamari fritto and dungeness crab starts, followed by pink chicory salad, guinea hen, chestnut tagliatelle and guinea hen breast. Leave room for the buche do Noel with french coffee buttercream and meringue mushrooms. If someone in your party has dietary restrictions, Octavia asked to be notified at least 72 hours in advance.
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399 Geary Street / Website
If you’re looking for a classic evening, Mastro’s is a great spot for steak and cocktails. Open from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve, and 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Christmas Day, Mastro’s is serving its full dinner menu. Highlights include Alaskan red king crab claws, roasted bone marrow, lobster bisque, wagyu tomahawk chops and Japanese A5 wagyu, plus a full menu of steaks and chops, seafood, sides and more.
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16 Mint Plaza / Website
For some Italian flavor, come to 54 Mint and celebrate with a four-course meal that blends tradition with excellence. For $95 per person, you can savor beef and vegetable stew, traditional lasagna with wild boar ragu, bone-in local pork chop, and warm panettone budin with vanilla gelato. The restaurant also offers a Christmas Eve menu. Availability is limited, so please make reservations soon.
See also: 5 Sweet Recipes to Spice Up Your Holiday Party
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4072 18th Street / Website
This homemade Italian favorite marks the holiday with both a Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menu. Come Christmas, enjoy a $75 prix-fix menu of sliced veal appetizer, followed by tortellini in Brodo with beef tenderloin-prosciutto-mortadella-parmiggiano filling; a second course of agnello grigliato grilled rack of lamb; and a dessert of tiramisu.
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201 3rd Street #100 / Website
This Brazilian steakhouse stays open from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, ensuring you can eat your fill in a fine atmosphere any time of the holiday break. Fogo de Chão offers a fabulous feast to-go, but if you dine in, enjoy a full menu of offerings including tableside signature cuts, seafood and vegetarian-friendly cauliflower steak entrees, Brazilian-inspired beverages and more.
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1521 Hyde Street / Website
This intimate French eatery invites you to join in on a prix-fixe holiday menu both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Start with hors d'oeuvres of duck legs or Maine lobster salad; choose an entree of beef filet mignon wellington, seared day boat scallops, or french lentils ragu; then finish your meal with dessert options of banana creme brulee, panna cotta or chocolate cake. It's $85 per diner, or $125 with the option wine pairing.
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555 California Street / Website
On Christmas Eve, the Vault's Garden dining experience is open for festive happenings. Dine alongside the largest live Christmas tree in the city as it glitters with more than 170,000 lights, all while enjoying a three-course dinner of steak and seasonal sides.
Photography by: Jed Owen / Unsplash
