French Christmas Dessert

Treat your family and friends to one of Maison Richard’s Buche de Noel cakes (Christmas Log).  The light genoise white cake is rolled into the shape of a log with delicious chocolate or coffee butter cream inside and out. It’s topped with delightful Christmas treats.  A small log is $30. Their large logs are $60 and serves up to 12. Maison Richard will happily cater your holiday dinner. 707 N. Stanley Ave., (323)655-7777.

Christmas Cocktails

Stop by the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel & Spa Lobby Bar to celebrate the holidays with their eight different special Grey Goose cocktails.  Order a Ginger Joy, Ginger Snap Martini or Peppermint Froth and take home a Lone Goose or Pear ornament. These cocktails are available every Thursday night from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and at Sunday’s “Renaissance of Sinatra” from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. They are also available at the Champagne Brunch at Twist from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 1755 N. Highland Ave. (323)856-1200.

Christmas at the Beach

The restaurant One Pico at Shutters hotel will be open Christmas Day with a three-course menu available for lunch and dinner for $75 per person. Some of the specials of the day include lobster bisque, foie gras, roasted squab and a John Dory bouillabaisse. This menu is available from 11:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. 1 Pico Blvd. (310)587-1717.

Whist at Viceroy

Start your Christmas meal with a smoked Sturgeon salad, then select two whole roasted meats for your entrée from the following options: Heritage pork rack, Mary’s organic turkey, prime rib of beef, and wild European turbot. Whist is offering an array of side dishes that include black truffle, ricotta and spinach lasagna or sautéed haricots vertes, baby carrots and market onions. For dessert, a grand platter of Sicilian Christmas cookies and truffles. Guests will receive salt roasted chestnuts in a brown bag to take home. 1819 Ocean Ave., (310)260-7500.

Marie Callender’s Christmas Menu

Start with a soup or salad and then chose a turkey, honey glazed ham, pork loin, or mahi mahi dinner with a slice of pumpkin or apple pie for $19.99 for adults and $7.99 for children. Open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Marie Callender’s is also providing a brunch feast for guests to take home on Christmas Eve for their Christmas morning meal. Eight freshly baked muffins, two breakfast quiches, fruit salad, whipped topping, and serving utensils are packaged and ready to take home for $39.99. 5773 Wilshire Blvd, (323)937-7952, 11324 National Blvd., (310)478-0347, 6081 Center Drive #150, (310)417-9980.

JiRaffe Christmas Eve

For the first time, JiRaffe will be open Christmas Eve serving such holiday classics as bouillabaisse with turbot, rock shrimp and Alaskan king crab legs or thick cut prime rib with black kale and twice-baked Yukon Gold potatoes and fennel.  For dessert, try the chocolate pecan pie or cranberry cheesecake. Open from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. 502 Santa Monica Blvd., (310)917-6671

Café del Rey

The harbor-side restaurant is offering a holiday-inspired prix-fixe menu on Christmas Eve for $55 per person. Chef Daniel Roberts’ three-course menu includes Kumanoto oysters with pepper-vodka mignonette, rack of lamb with homemade Basque-inspired chorizo, celery root, yam and three-olive tapenade and flourless hazelnut cake with vanilla yogurt sorbet and crème brulee sauce. 4451 Admiralty Way, (310)823-6395.

Christmas Eve at Nick & Stef’s

Enjoy a three-course meal for $45 with a wild mushroom and mascarpone tortellini, then roasted black cod with sunchoke purée, Swiss chard, and a winter truffle sauce. Finish your holiday mean with a milk chocolate brownie, vanilla brulée, crème chantilly and vanilla ice cream. Servings begin at 5:30 p.m. 330 S. Hope St., (213)680-0330.

Open Christmas Day

SimonLA is one of the few restaurants open this Christmas.  Kerry Simon put together a celebratory menu that features lobster pot pie, chicken curry and Colorado rack of lamb. For dessert his pumpkin buche de noel or holiday junk food platter will appeal to everyone with a sweet tooth. 8555 Beverly Blvd. (310)358-3979.

Free Flowing Champagne

On Christmas Day, the Belvedere at The Peninsula Beverly Hills will serve a three-course menu prepared by James Overbaugh that includes free-flowing Nicolas Feuillatte champagne. Traditional specialties include a truffle-butternut gnocchi with Parmigiano Reggiano, roasted “Willie Bird” free-range turkey or beef Bourguignon. Hours are from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. $105/adult and $39 children under 12. 9882 S. Santa Monica Blvd. (310)975-2736.

European Fare for Christmas

Chef Mirko Paderno is bringing his family’s Italian traditions to Oliverio for Christmas. Some of the items on the menu include a light cauliflower soufflé topped with Parmesan sauce, tonnarelli pasta made with crabmeat broth and a veal cheese and truffle fondue ravioli. The grand finale is the tart cranberry parfait drizzled with decadent dark chocolate sauce. 9400 W. Olympic Blvd. (310)277-5221.

Brooks Restaurant in Ventura

Chef Andy Brooks has created a unique five-course menu for Christmas Eve only. Start with a pure of chestnut soup, then a spinach blue cheese and bacon salad with a butternut squash sweet onion dressing. Black tiger prawns with clove scented polenta and wood grilled beef tenderloin with goat cheese caramelized onion potato gratin complete the entr´es. For dessert a chocolate turtle baby bundt cake is served with blackberry sauce. The holiday meal is $65 per person and $95 with wine pairings. 545 E. Thompson Blvd. (805)652-7070.