Here’s a gift for you: Our favorite Christmas restaurant specials to make your holiday delish

Christmas brings enough pressure already. You don’t need to add meal preparation on top of everything else.

C’mon, this is SoFlo — a legit dining destination with restaurants at every price point imaginable. So let “Gourmand Santa” and his gourmet elves get rid of your gastronomy Grinch this yuletide season.

Here’s a roundup, in no particular order, of restaurant holiday specials and offers we think are festive enough to make even the most ardent home cook want to skip kitchen duties this time around. Please note: Prices do not include taxes and gratuities.

PALM BEACH COUNTY

Josie’s Ristorante
650 E. Woolbright Road, Boynton Beach; 561-364-9601; josiesristorante.com

On Christmas Eve, Josie’s will have a Seven Fishes Feast that serves two people ($80). The dinner will include clams, mussels, calamari, shrimp, octopus, scallops and king crab in a Calabrian chili marinara sauce, served over housemade linguini.

Josie’s will be open regular hours on Christmas Eve and closed Christmas Day.

Leila Restaurant
120 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach; 561-659-7373; leilawpb.com

Owners Akram “Alex” and Mireille Awad say that this eatery specializing in Middle Eastern food will serve a special menu for dine-in or takeout on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, from 5 to 8:30 p.m.

• The Australian Leg of Lamb (serves four people, $175) is infused with garlic and olive oil, seared on a hot grill, finished in the oven, and served with roasted vegetables and rice, as well as a Greek salad, hummus, cucumber yogurt and baklava.
• The Leila Grill combination (two people, $150) is served family-style with one skewer each of Shish Tawook, Shish Kebab, Lamb Kebab and Kraidis (shrimp). The meal comes with rice, hummus and vegetables.

Leila will also serve its regular menu on Christmas Eve.

Chez Marie French Bistro
5030 Champion Blvd., Unit D3, Boca Raton; 561-997-0027; chezmariefrenchbistro.com

This restaurant at the Polo Club Shoppes will offer a three-course, prix-fixe menu for $85 a person. There will also be a kids’ menu for age 10 and younger ($25). Guests may choose one dish from each course.

• Starter options: French Onion Soup, Holiday Citrus Salad, Salmon Gravlax, Escargots or Foie Gras Terrine
• Entrees: Salmon au Caviar, Sea Scallops au Champagne, Truffled Chicken Breast, Roasted Duck a l’Orange, Veal Marsala, Filet Mignon au Poivre or Rack of Lamb
• Dessert: Grand Marnier Chocolate Mousse, Apple Tatin Crumble, Lemon Tartelette or Grand Marnier & Orange Zest Crème Brûlée

Chez Marie will be open 5 to 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Lefkes Estiatorio
33 SE Third Ave., Delray Beach; 561-908-2331; lefkesgroup.com/del-ray-beach

This modern Mediterranean restaurant will offer Christmas Day dinner specials.

• Three new appetizer specials: Jumbo Lump Crab Cake with Maryland lump crab meat ($32); smoked Salmon rillettes ($26); Celery Root Soup topped with shaved black truffle ($22)
• Main course offerings: Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb with roasted eggplant, caramelized garlic, mint pistou, hazelnuts and crispy lemon potatoes ($49); Ora King Salmon with roasted baby leeks, crispy shiitake, beluga lentils, black garlic, shoyu glaze and dashi broth ($47); Half Duckling with a sautéed breast and leg confit, parsnip puree, glazed baby asparagus and juniper berry sauce ($43)
• Dessert: Ginger Bread Pudding with caramelized apples, eggnog sabayon, and ginger-pecan tuiles ($16)

Lefkes Estiatorio will be open from 4 to 10 p.m. on Christmas Day.

Red Pine Restaurant & Bar
1 Town Center Road, Boca Raton; 561-826-7595; redpineboca.com

Under the auspices of culinary director Michael Schenk and executive chef Chi Chan, Red Pine will serve these specials:

• Hainanese Chicken — half semi-boneless chicken with bok choy, cucumbers, white BBQ sauce and sweet chili ($35)
• Wagyu Beef Cheung Fun — Wagyu beef roll with sweet sesame soy ($20)
• Seafood Crispy Noodle — shrimp, scallop, calamari, bok choy, carrots, snow Peas and XO sauce ($40)
• Ube Butter Mochi — Ube creme Anglaise, honey sago, vanilla ice cream and fried mint ($15)

Service on Christmas Eve will be: Happy Hour 3 to 6 p.m., dinner 4 to 8 p.m., and takeout noon to 8 p.m. Service on Christmas Day will be: Happy Hour 3 to 6 p.m.; dinner 4 to 9 p.m., and takeout noon to 9 p.m.

Café Boulud
301 Australian Ave., Palm Beach; 561-655-6060; cafeboulud.com/palmbeach

The first restaurant famous French chef Daniel Boulud ever opened outside of New York City will host the 18th Annual Black & White Truffle Celebration at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19. Tickets for the six-course dinner are $650.

The “style isle” eatery at the historic Brazilian Court Hotel will also have a Christmas Eve three-course menu priced at $235 per adult and $80 for children younger than age 10. On Christmas Day, there will be a three-course brunch for $125 per adult and $50 for children, followed by a three-course dinner with the same pricing as on Christmas Eve.

Café Boulud will serve the three-course menu from 5:30 to 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve. The brunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the dinner from 5:30 to 10 p.m. on Christmas Day.

The House
7301 Georgia Ave., West Palm Beach; 561-530-3791; thehousewestpalm.com

This restaurant overlooking the public golf course called The Park will have a brunch and photo meet-and-greet with Santa on Sunday, Dec. 22. There will also be crafts, cookie decorating and gingerbread house building for children. The holiday-inspired menu will include Eggnog French Toast Bake ($18) and Green Eggs & Ham ($21). For kids, there will be a Red Velvet Waffle ($12) and Chicken Apple Sausage Corndog ($12). Holiday cocktails are $14 each and will include the Santa Clausmopolitan (Kettle Citron, Cointreau, St-Germain and white cranberry) and the Merrygarita (Corazon Blanco tequila, spiced hibiscus and agave).

The House will have their Christmas brunch/meet-and-greet from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 22

AlleyCat Boca
297 E. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton; 561-353-5888; alleycatboca.com

Chef Eric Baker is debuting new dishes for the holidays: First there will be Wagyu Hot Rock ($30), which is beef served on a volcanic rock that remains at 500 degrees for guests to “cook” their Wagyu to their liking directly at the table. The dish is served with Ginger Sesame Sauce.

He is also introducing three Omakase Platters:

• Sashimi Set — six exotic fish with unique garnishes ($75)
• Premium Set — eight-piece nigiri set, eight pieces of sashimi, two maki rolls and two handroll tacos ($85)
• Deluxe Set — 12-piece nigiri set, eight pieces of sashimi, two maki rolls and four handroll tacos ($160)

Service on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will include: Happy Hour from 4 to 6 p.m. and dinner from 5 to 10 p.m.

BROWARD COUNTY

Casa Sensei
1200 E. Las Olas Blvd., No. 101, Fort Lauderdale; 954-530-4176; casasensei.com

Sitting alongside the Himmarshee Canal (an offshoot of the New River), this restaurant will offer a winter wonderland cocktail throughout the season with the White Cosmo ($15). The drink is made with vodka, St-Germain, white cranberry juice, lemon juice and cranberry garnish.

Casa Sensei will be open regular hours on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Anthony’s Runway 84
330 W. State Road 84, Fort Lauderdale; 954-467-8484; runway84.com

This iconic Italian restaurant will celebrate Christmas Eve with a traditional Feast of Seven Fishes family-style special. The two-course menu is $95 per person (minimum of four people), with choices such as Stuffed Sicilian Peppers, Seafood Salad, Baked Clams Oreganata, and Zuppa Di Pesce Fra Diavolo (linguine with lobster, shrimp, clams, mussels and calamari).

Throughout the month, order Christmas craft cocktails such as the Gingerbread Old Fashioned ($20), Candy Cane Lane Martini ($20) and Winter Wonderland with Redemption bourbon, Rumchata, Frangelico, Kahlua and eggnog liqueur ($18). There are also two “mocktails”: an Apple Cider Mule and the Santa Claus Spritz (fresh blood orange juice, honey/vanilla syrup, lemon juice and sparkling water) for $16 each.

Runway 84 will be open during regular hours on Christmas Eve.

MULTICOUNTY

Casa D’ Angelo
171 E. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton
1201 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale
2906 NE 207th St., Aventura
casa-d-angelo.com

Chef Angelo Elia is offering an Agnello Scottadito special for the Christmas holiday: Grilled Colorado Rack of Lamb Chops, with sautéed broccoli rabe, roasted potato and an amarone reduction ($68). There will also be a Pappardelle Gamberi & Pesto special, with housemade pappardelle, basil pesto, Florida rock shrimp, stracciatella and bottarga ($42).

On Christmas Eve, the Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton locations will be open from 4 to 10 p.m., while the Aventura location will be open 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Christmas Day hours for all locations will be 4 to 10 p.m.

Big Time Restaurant Group
Elisabetta’s Ristorante, Bar & Pizzeria, 185 Banyan Blvd., West Palm Beach; and 32 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach; elisabettas.com
Louie Bossi’s Ristorante, Bar & Pizzeria, 100 E. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton; and 1032 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; louiebossi.com

Both of these concepts are under the same restaurant operator’s umbrella and will serve the same specials. On Christmas Eve, the featured appetizer will be Coccoli Fritto, little pieces of bread filled with ricotta and prosciutto ($13), and the featured dessert will be Budino Cioccolata, pudding with hazelnuts, caramel and fiore di sale ($10).

Both restaurants will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve and closed on Christmas Day.

Carrabba’s Italian Grill
Multiple locations; carrabbas.com

Through Monday, Jan.13, all the restaurants in this chain will offer new holiday options per course, with prices varying depending on the location.

• Appetizer: Arancini, risotto blended with fennel sausage (starting at $10.29)
• Entrees: Rigatoni Al Forno (starting at $19.99) and Short Rib Marsala (starting at $29.99)
• Side dish: Zucchini Stefano (starting at $5.79)
• Dessert: Triple Chocolate Bread Pudding, with chocolate ganache, vanilla ice cream, chocolate shavings, roasted cinnamon rum pecans and drizzled with chocolate and sea salted caramel sauce (starting at $9.99)
• Christmas cocktails: Merry Berry Martini, made with Grey Goose vodka, Classic Red Sangria, blood orange and raspberry garnished with cranberries and a rosemary sprig, (starting at $11.29); and a Wood-Fire Old Fashioned, with Maker’s Mark bourbon, Angostura bitters and Bordeaux cherry, smoked with oak (starting at $11.49)

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse
Multiple locations; bjsrestaurants.com

The limited-time Holiday Menu includes:

• Surf & Turf Stack — an 8-ounce filet mignon with Cajun-spiced shrimp sautéed in BJ’s Brewhouse Blonde garlic butter and served over white cheddar mashed potatoes along with asparagus ($34.29)
• Chili Crunch Pot Stickers — pan-seared, chicken-filled dumplings with slaw, rice sticks, sesame seeds and green onions ($15.99)
• Garlic Shrimp with Parmesan Toast — garlic butter shrimp with diced tomatoes and parsley, served with crispy parmesan-crusted bread for dipping ($15.99)

The Seasonal Holiday Cocktails include:

• Frosty Lucky Ducky — made with Altos Plata Tequila, Malibu Coconut Rum, Absolut Mandarin Vodka, Bols Peach Schnapps and Starry ($14.95)
• BJ’s Tipsy Snowman — Baileys Irish Cream, Disaronno Amaretto, Frangelico and Bols Butterscotch Schnapps, topped with whipped cream and a snowman marshmallow ($13.29)
• New Winter Paradise Pomegranate Margarita — Milagro Silver Tequila, Monin Pomegranate, pineapple juice and lime juice ($11.95)

BJ’s will be open on Christmas Eve until 9 p.m. and closed Christmas Day.

Jeremiah’s Italian Ice
Multiple locations; jeremiahsice.com

Throughout December, Jeremiah’s is offering new winter-inspired Gelati “Flavorites” with peppermint candy topping.

• Peppermint Sugar Cookie: cake batter and cookie butter ice, crushed peppermints, vanilla ice cream
• Peppermint Bark: cookies and cream ice, crushed peppermints, vanilla ice cream
• Peppermint Mocha: cafe latte ice, crushed peppermints, chocolate ice cream

The prices are $4.49 for a tadpole mini, $4.89 for a small, $5.89 for a medium, and $6.49 for a bullfrog. You can also get a free treat with the purchase of a $25 gift card.

All locations will be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Originally Published: December 18, 2024 at 9:19 AM EST