Eateries offer festive holiday dining

Greer Wylder

These restaurants offer special Christmas Eve menus:

HAWAIIAN HOLIDAY CUISINE

At Roy Yamaguchi’s Roy’s of Newport Beach, there’s a holiday prix

fixe menu for $30. Yamaguchi is noted for introducing “Hawaiian

Fusion Cuisine” to Honolulu in 1988, and now Roy’s Restaurants have

spread from Hawaii to Florida. Roy’s makes the most of fresh local

ingredients, combined with European sauces and pungent Asian spices.

Fresh seafood is his focus -- four fresh Hawaiian fish are served

daily -- along with a range of appetizers, entrees and tantalizing

desserts. Roy’s three-course dinner includes an appetizer sample

plate with baby-back ribs, a shrimp stick and crispy lobster pot

stickers. Meat and fish entree choices include slow-braised and

charbroiled short ribs of beef, tender-braised, new-fashioned

misoyaki-glazed pork pot roast, Roy’s original blackened island ahi

tuna and macadamia-nut-crusted mahi-mahi with a lobster essence

sauce. Dessert is Roy’s melting hot chocolate souffle. Roy’s of

Newport Beach, at 453 Newport Center Drive in Newport Beach, is open

on Christmas Eve from 5 to 11 p.m. Call (949) 640-7697.

RITZY SEAFOOD

The Ritz, Newport’s five-star restaurant, offers a flawless

Christmas Eve menu. Dinner starts with a classic seafood martini with

Maine lobster, Dungeness crab legs and cocktail shrimp. Then there

are six appetizer choices, five entrees and a Christmas Eve dessert

sampler. Appetizers include Maine lobster bisque laced with Armagnac,

wild mushroom “cappuccino” with morel foam and “the famous Ritz

salad,” with Canadian bay shrimp and Belgian endive. The most

traditional entree is the roast Christmas goose with lingonberry

sauce, served with sweet and sour cabbage, warm gala apples and

celery root mashed potatoes. The rest of the dishes are also seasonal

favorites: carved Chateaubriand of filet mignon with Bearnaise sauce;

North Atlantic lobster tails with sweet drawn butter and French

fries; Piero’s Osso Bucu; and whole imported Dover sole saute with

capers and lemon, served boneless with dill potatoes, haricots verts

and noisette butter. Dinner is $85. The Ritz is at 880 Newport Center

Drive in Newport Beach. Call (949) 720-1800.

ON THE OCEANFRONT

Twenty-one Oceanfront in Newport Beach serves a traditional

Christmas Eve menu along with its regular menu, which features

award-winning seafood and prime beef. The set menu is $42 per person.

Call (949) 673-2100 or visit https://www.21oceanfront.com.

*

Local restaurants open for Christmas dinner:

CONTINENTAL CHRISTMAS

The Arches Restaurant at 3334 W. Coast Highway in Newport Beach

serves a holiday menu, with most of its continental cuisine dishes

available. It’s open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Call (949) 645-7077.

NORDIC NOEL

Gustaf Anders offers a traditional Swedish Christmas Day

smorgasbord. It’s even served daily (except Mondays) through Dec. 30.

Gustaf Anders also offers a set menu. Delicacies of the smorgasbord

includes mustard, lemon, matjes, lime and curry herring, smoked

salmon with creme fraiche, chopped onions and golden caviar. They

also have a shrimp salad, curried crab salad, smoked-herring mousse,

pickled Baltic herring, scallop with pickled seaweed. And if that’s

not enough, there’s also whole poached salmon with herb sauce,

hard-boiled eggs stuffed with Swedish shrimp or herring, smoked ham,

roasted leg of lamb, Swedish meatballs, sausages, cheese, pate and

pickled beets. Unusual dishes include smoked reindeer and lutefisk.

Traditional Swedish akvavits are available for the perfect

smorgasbord beverage. Akvavit is a strong Scandinavian liqueur

flavored with caraway, orange or anise and served ice cold. Lunch is

served from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; dinner starts at 5:30 p.m. Gustaf

Anders Restaurant is at 3851 S. Bear St. at South Coast Village, and

is closed Mondays. Call (714) 668-1737.

*

Local restaurants open for New Year’s Eve:

STEAKS AT SCOTT’S

Scott’s Seafood Bar & Grill celebrates the holidays -- Christmas

Eve and New Year’s Eve are two big nights. Its annual New Year’s Eve

tradition is to offer dancing. Starting at 9 p.m., Scott’s clears out

tables in the dining room to make a dance floor, and there’s a live

band. The restaurant normally offers three dinner seatings on New

Year’s Eve: the early theater crowd; the people who dine and then

leave for parties; and the crowd that stays. Scott’s, at 3300 Bristol

St. in Costa Mesa, provides free party favors and Champagne. Call

(714) 979-2400 or visit https://www.scottseafood.com.

MORE FROM THE RITZ

The Ritz offers two dinner seatings, one from 5 to 6 p.m.,

departing at 8 p.m. It costs $85 per person, plus tax and gratuity

(cocktails and wine are extra). The second seating is from 9 p.m. to

1:30 a.m. and includes a caviar bar, music, dancing, party favors and

fun. It costs $175 per person, plus tax and gratuity (cocktails and

wine are additional). The set menu includes caviar and vodka, with a

choice of soup or salad, entree along with a Ritz chocolate dessert

medley and a Champagne toast. Soup or salad choices include Maine

lobster bisque laced with Armagnac; wild mushroom “cappuccino” with

morel foam; and spring mix salad with goat cheese, pears and walnuts.

Entree choices include roast holiday goose with lingonberry sauce;

tournedos Rossini with goose liver and Madeira sauce; Dover sole

Veronique with pink Champagne sauce; and Piero’s special osso buco

with fettuccine. A credit card deposit is required with reservation.

The Ritz is at 880 Newport Center Drive in Newport Beach. Cal (949)

720-1800.

MORE FROM OCEANFRONT

On New Year’s Eve, there are two seating times at 5:30 and 8:30

p.m. at 21 Oceanfront. The first seating costs $85 per person, with a

two-hour time limit. The second seating is $175, with no time limit.

It includes an extra course, live entertainment, dancing, a Moet &

Chandon toast, hats, horns and other party favors. Call (949)

673-2100 or visit https://www.21oceanfront.com.

CHIMAYO’S LAST EVE

Chimayo Grill’s last night of operation is New Year’s Eve. It’s

having an open house from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. with champagne and hors

d’oeuvres to thank guests for their years of support. Its owner,

David Wilhelm, will reopen this location as Rouge, a French bistro,

in mid-April. Samples from Rouge’s upcoming menu will be offered,

along with icy martinis and wine specials. Rouge specials include

Maine lobster bisque with sherry cream and parmesan tuile ($12);

Burgundy-braised short ribs with mashed potatoes and horseradish

cream ($20); seared scallops on mashed potatoes with Chanterelle

mushrooms and lobster sauce ($27); and coq au vin ($17).

*

Bakeries offering Christmas theme items:

FRENCH TREATS

C’est Si Bon prepares beautiful French bakery items to take home

for Christmas. Choose from a traditional Buche de Noel (Christmas

log), available in three flavors: chocolate, chocolate-Grand Marnier

and chocolate-Chambord. It’s made in three sizes: The 7-inch log

(serving seven to 10) for $25; a 10-inch log (serving 10 to 12) for

$35; and a 14-inch log (serving 14 to 18) for $45. Christmas bombe is

a gorgeous pure white Belgian chocolate mousse made with fresh

raspberries inside a chocolate mocha cake, covered with white

chocolate and decorated with holly and berries. They offer one size

only, which serves 10 to 12, for $45. A Belgian chocolate truffle

torte is made with a fine chocolate pastry crust and filled with rich

dark chocolate ganache. A 4- to 5-inch torte (serving two) costs

$5.75; a 7-inch torte (serving six to eight) is $18.75 and a 10-inch

torte (serving 12 to 14) is $29.75. Special Christmas cookies include

white or dark stars, green Christmas trees, red stars or dark

chocolate reindeer ($.85 to $1.25) Trays are available with a

selection of high-quality cheeses and pates served with garnishes.

Trays are based on a pre-person serving size and served with two

baguettes for every 10 people. The minimum order for 10 people is a

quarter-pound per person for $4.25 and 1/3-pound per person for

$4.75. Brie en croute comes in three sizes: for eight to 10 people,

$18; for 20 to 22 people, $35; and for 45 to 50 people, $65. C’est Si

Bon is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; from 6:30

a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; and from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. The

bakery is at 149 Riverside Ave. in Newport Beach. Call (949)

645-0447.

NATURAL DESSERTS

At SunFlour Natural Bakery, find freshly baked Christmas treats

that also make great gifts. A stacking Christmas tree cookie contains

more than two dozen star-shaped cookies, perfectly created as a

Christmas tree. Trees are wrapped in cellophane and tied with holiday

ribbon. There’s even a festive and simple -- no baking required --

Christmas Cookie Decorating Kit for $14.95. Each kit contains 12

tree-shaped cookies, with three tubes of icing and a set of

sprinkles. It’s a fun project for kids and a nice gift for families.

There are two gift baskets to choose from, and a cookie basket. The

holiday baskets include the Sampler for $49.95 and the Deluxe for

$74.95. Each basket has an assortment of coffee cakes, cookies,

pastries and bread. The cookie basket contains one or two dozen

hand-decorated iced cookies. A selection of delicious cakes

beautifully decorated for the holidays start at $29.95; pies --

pumpkin, apple, cherry, cranberry-apple, pecan and sugar-free pumpkin

-- cost from $7.95 to $9.25. The bakery at 427 E. 17th St. in Costa

Mesa is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 7 a.m.

to 5 p.m. Saturday. Call (949) 646-1440. The bakery at 2950 Grace

Lane in Costa Mesa is open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to

Friday. Call (714) 424-0176.