Coastal Views
A meal at The Marine Room checks off a few boxes: ocean view, elegant atmosphere, elevated food. The La Jolla institution is open from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and is cooking up an à la carte menu with dishes like apple-cider-basted turkey breast and a casserole with mushrooms and truffle duck confit.
The fact that winter temps are in the high 60s, and not the high 30s, is enough of a reason to celebrate. Book a seaside table at Jrdn in Pacific Beach and watch the sunset with a three-course prix fixe menu that will be served from 4 to 8 p.m.
Gaze at the sea from the 11th floor of the Hotel La Jolla at Cusp Dining & Drinks, where chef Ingrid Funes is serving the regular menu, along with some holiday specials, until 8 p.m.
Tuckered out from turkey? Spanish octopus, Korean lobster tacos, and mustard catfish are on the menu at Pacifica Del Mar. Grab a table and soak up the sun on the second-floor terrace.
Jrdn
Paula Watts
Bring on the Buffet
Get your fill of bottomless house wine or Champagne along with a festive spread at Le Fontainebleau at The Westgate Hotel. If you have small children in tow, the brunch destination offers a complimentary seat for kids three and under.
The Med at La Valencia has a decadent buffet spread from 1 to 7 p.m. with all the holiday fixings: a carving station with free-range turkey, winter risotto, roasted butternut squash soup, and a large dessert station.
You’re encouraged to take the kids to the Christmas Day brunch buffet at the Aragon Ballroom at Rancho Bernardo Inn from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (just leave the sweatpants at home). There’s a petting zoo, pony rides, and live music.
Zinqué
No Christmas Ham Here
If charcuterie plates, steak frites, and a nice glass of red wine is more your speed, Zinqué—a French bistro that recently opened in Little Italy—will be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on December 25.
Jasmine Seafood Restaurant is always busy, and the dim sum palace gets packed on Christmas Day. Go early for steamed xiao long bao (soup dumplings), pork siu mai, and char siu bao served on rolling carts, or order roasted Peking duck from the à la carte menu.
Dig into fettucine carbonara, penne with wild boar sausage, or osso buco at Giardino Neighborhood Cucina in Lemon Grove. They also have platters of lasagna, chicken piccata, ravioli, and other Italian entrées available for takeout on Christmas Day that will feed up to 20 people.
Rancho Bernardo Inn
