These are the best San Francisco restaurants open on Christmas Day

What is it? A buffet presentation with unlimited bubbly, live piano music and incredible city views. The Top of the Mark is the historic Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel’s 19th floor penthouse restaurant, and executive chef Christian Luxton’s buffet sprawl includes a carving station, dim sum, signature mains, caviar and roe, a raw bar and an array of salads, sides, breads and desserts. No one will go hungry! Allow time for a photo opp with Santa in the lobby.

Address: 999 California St.

Christmas hours: This year there are four seatings: 10:30am, 11am, 3:30pm and 4pm.

Expect to pay: $225 per person, $85 per child aged 4-12.

What is it? A festive four-course prix fixe at The Cavalier, a British-inspired brasserie inside SoMa’s Hotel Zetta helmed by executive chef Jennifer Puccio. You can add on oysters or Tsar Nicolai paddlefish or Oesetra caviar for an upcharge. Watch an English Christmas movie (Love Actually or The Holiday?) and slide into a booth in this inspirational interior designed by San Francisco’s beloved Ken Fulk with beautiful museum-lit paintings, curios in niches and wallpaper featuring proper British gentleman on horses.

Address: 360 Jessie St.

Christmas hours: 11am–3pm lunch; 3:30pm–7:15pm dinner.

Expect to pay: $150 per person. Children aged 12 and under receive a special two-course children’s menu for $50.

What is it? A holiday buffet in a space which reads as old world Italy with domed ceilings, marble columns and Tuscan-style frescoes. The Laurel Court is inside the famed Fairmont San Francisco, and your dining is accompanied by live music, sparkling wine and a celebratory atmosphere. Add-ons include a Fairmont Teddy bear in pajamas, or splashes of 2015 Dom Perignon Brut. Possible bucket list upgrade? You can dine inside the private gingerbread cottage with up to 10 guests for a memorable meal.

Address: 950 Mason St.

Christmas hours: Noon–5pm

Expect to pay: $118-222 per person

What is it? A family-style, shareable feast infused with Mediterranean flavors. You’ll dine in the elegant Post Room at the top of the grand staircase in the historic Beacon Grand Hotel. The menu includes dishes like golden gougères, duck confit, prime rib, maple-glazed ham, sole meunière, seared branzino with citrus chimichurri, ending with a yule log or Cotillion Christmas Chocolate Cake… heaven! At both meals, you’ll have piano accompaniment. Brunch includes an omelette station and carving station.

Address: 450 Powell St.

Christmas hours: 11am–3pm brunch, 6–9pm dinner, reservations required

Expect to pay: $95 per person, $45 per child for brunch; $105 per person, $75 per child for dinner.

What is it? A fun, wacky Jewish comedy show with dim sum held in a Chinese restaurant on Christmas (and online). The venue is the Imperial Palace, and this year’s headliner is a name you’ll recognize: Elayne Boosler, along with Orion Levine, Amanda Marks and Lisa Geduldig. Before the show, indulge in a six-course Chinese dinner served “lazy Susan style” with kung pao chicken, sweet and sour flounder, eggplant in black bean sauce, kosher walnut prawns and several other options, closing with (what else?) fortune cookies filled with Yiddish proverbs. It’s a San Francisco tradition celebrating 33 years in 2025.

Address: 818 Washington St.

Christmas hours: In-person dining is at 5pm (show at 6pm). There’s also a cocktail show at 8:30pm with dim sum offerings.

Expect to pay: $95 per person.

What is it? You know that the Ritz-Carlton will pull out the stops for incredible holiday décor, and the three-course Christmas Day menu served in The Lounge offers decadent takes on traditional dishes and seasonal inspirations.

Address: 600 Stockton St.

Christmas hours: Seatings at noon, 2:30pm, 5pm and 7:30pm.

Expect to pay: $185 per person, $100 per child.

What is it? A four-course steak and pasta menu which includes several substantial (not just token) gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options for every course. Zingari’s a family-owned Italian restaurant with a calming, understated interior in Union Square. The Christmas meal includes herbed sausage rigatoni and grilled dry-aged ribeye, or choose from osso buco, pan seared salmon, grilled lamb chops—and on the vegetarian side, pasta primavera, pesto gnocchi, crostini fichi and other delicious options. You can opt to enjoy live jazz with Tony Martinez (a $50 upcharge) in the Artist Room during the last three seatings. After dinner, head to the Aperitivo Bar for a negroni afterparty. The sister restaurant Ula, also owned by Krishan Miglan, is open for Christmas Day as well.

Address: 501 Post St.

Christmas hours: Seatings at noon, 3pm, 6pm and 9pm.

Expect to pay: $120 per person, $50 for children with a “small children menu.”

What is it? Have a French-inspired Christmas meal at an authentic French Restaurant with a Provençal feel. Chou Chou has been around for more than 20 years in Forest Hill near Twin Peaks, and their intimate dining space is decorated with pointsettias and a stylized Christmas tree. The offerings may include holiday favorites like cassoulet with sausages and duck confit, Boeuf Bourguignon and salmon en croute.

Address: 400 Dewey Boulevard

Christmas hours: 11am–9pm

Expect to pay: Details have not yet been released, but the Thanksgiving three-course prix fixe was $75 and Christmas should be similar.