L.A. Restaurant Choices for Holiday Cheer

While yesterday we brought you our Haute 5 choices of some of the best that the City of Angels has to offer on New Years Eve, there are still a plethora of feasting options for this holiday week that deserve some love. Our insiders tell us that these are a few worth checking out:

Patina
This Christmas Eve, the Michelin-star winner and James Beard nominee, Patina will be offering a special four-course prix fixe with a sampling of everything from Maine lobster salad, to a fall glazed vegetable mosaic, to foie gras ravioli and a choice of Pennsylvania roasted duck in huckleberry jus or Colorado rack of lamb with baby artichokes. Dessert consists of a chestnut Mont Blanc with French meringue or macerated raspberries with chocolate gratin and milk emulsion.

Price: $95 adults, $25 for additional artisanal cheeses, a la carte menu also available

Reservations: 213.972.3331

Address: 141 S. Grand Ave.

Morels French Steakhouse & Bistro
This Christmas Day, Morels at the Grove is offering up special tasting menus in both their bistro and upstairs steakhouse. For $35 per person the bistro menu features seasonal soup or salad, choice of Chilean sea bass or filet mignon, and the choice of a flourless chocolate cake or black-and-white chocolate mousse. In the upstairs steakhouse, a choice of lobster bisque or spiced butternut squash soup will start the meal followed by a choice of seared jumbo scallops or a beet and goat cheese napoleon, with main courses of filet mignon and Maine lobster tail or roasted duck. The meal ends on a sweet note of molten chocolate cake or Mont Blanc sundaes for $65.

Price: $35 in the bistro, $65 in the upstairs steakhouse

Reservations: 323.965.9595

Address: 189 The Grove Dr.

Pinot Bistro
At Pinot Bistro, diners will have the choice of enjoying a three- or four-course prix fixe dinner on Christmas Eve. Highlights include Carlsbad black mussel soup with saffron and Pernod, pressed duck confit terrine with foie gras and mache salad, and a selection of main courses that range from a filet mignon with a dauphinoise galette, braised petit ossobuco, roasted monkfish loin with fennel and duck magret with whipped butternut squash.  A special chef’s dessert will be on hand as well as festive holiday cocktails.

Price: $50 for three courses, $60 for four courses

Reservations: 818.990.0500, first serving starts at 5 p.m.

Address: 12969 Ventura Blvd.

Café Pinot
Celebrate Christmas Eve in the warm and stylish ambiance of Café Pinot. Festive dishes include forest chestnut potage, duo of foie gras, gingerbread-crusted duck breast, black truffle and oxtail ravioli, rotisserie prime rib, caramelized monkfish tail, and selection of seasonal holiday desserts.

Price: $55 for three courses, $68 for four courses

Reservations: 213.239.6500

Address: 700 W. Fifth St.

If the holidays find you in Las Vegas, Pinot Brasserie at The Venetian is open and also offering diners a choice of three or four courses set to dazzle your taste buds on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Treats include creamy lobster bisque, seared foie gras, sea scallops, rack of lamb Nicoise or a pave of New York strip.

Price: $55 for three courses, $65 for four courses

Reservations: 702.414.8888

Address: The Venetian, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas

In Orange County, Catal Restaurant and Uva Bar, Leatherby’s Café Rouge and Pinot Provence will also be hosting special holiday meals.