Christmas Dining in Dallas

The best restaurants in Dallas to dine out on Christmas Day

Where oh where to eat in Dallas on Christmas Day?

If cooking a Christmas meal is more than you can handle, these local restaurants have come to the rescue with dining options that run from brunch to dinner. Some events are on their way to selling out, so be sure to call and check for availability.

Boots & Brix
Champagne brunch at the Hyatt Regency in North Dallas/Richardson offers a traditional feast, carving stations, seafood, sushi, and breakfast. Call 972-231-9600.

Buca di Beppo
The Italian restaurant does its regular family-style menu from 11 am-10 pm. Call 214-361-8462.

Canary By Gorji
A three-course meal with mixed green or Caesar salad, turkey or pork chop, and choice of sorbet or flourless chocolate cake. $45. Call 972-503-7080.

CBD Provisions
The regular menu plus specials including oyster-potato stew, bone marrow pie, fudge tart with cran-raspberry compote and spiced marshmallow, and boozy eggnog. 7 am-10 pm. Call 214-261-4500.

Cook Hall
W Hotel restaurant serves pomegranate-glazed ham, bacon Brussels sprouts, and cinnamon sweet potato cake. 11 am–10 pm. $29. Call 214-397-4111.

Four Seasons
Cafe on the Green offers a variety of dining options, beginning with regular breakfast from 6:30–9:30 am. Holiday brunch runs from 10:30 am–2:30 pm for $79, or $39 for those 12 and under. Dinner is a la carte, from 6-9 pm. Call 972-717-2420.

Front Room
Brunch buffet is available from 9 am-3 pm. $55, $20 for those 12 and under. Call 214-219-8282.

Grand Met
The Grand Hyatt DFW restaurant has duck breast with mustard greens and butternut squash. $36. Call 972-973-1244.

Henry's Tavern
Plano pub has a special holiday menu, served 2 pm-midnight. Call 972-473-7252.

Howard Wang's
Upscale Chinese restaurant is open from 5-10 pm with a regular menu. Uptown: 214-954-9558. Preston Hollow: 214-366-1606.

Jeng Chi
Open regular hours, 10 am-10 pm. Call 972-669-9094.

Kirin Court
The Richardson Chinese restaurant offers dim sum service from 10 am-10 pm. Call 214-575-8888.

Knife Dallas
Brunch is sold out, but a la carte dinner from 5-9 pm still has some open seats. Call 214-443-9339.

Landmark at the Melrose Hotel
Brunch buffet includes turkey, seafood ice display, and a dessert station. 11 am-2:30 pm. $60 per person, $24 for those 12 and under. Call 214-224-3152.

Lark on the Park
Three-course meal featuring salmon, tagliatelle with truffles, beef cheeks, and black barley with cavolo nero and squash. Seatings at 5, 7, and 9 pm. $65, $18 for those 12 and under. Call 214-855-5275.

Meddlesome Moth
Special holiday dinners feature turkey with brandied sweet potatoes and prime rib with rosemary marbled potatoes. 5-10 pm. Call 214-628-7900.

Mignon
Plano steakhouse has a three-course meal for $69.95. 11 am-10 pm. Call 972-943-3372.

Morton's The Steakhouse
Uptown steakhouse is open with a regular menu from 2-9 pm. Call 214-741-2277.

Naan Sushi
Sushi spot at Shops at Legacy in Plano offers a special menu from the bar between 5 pm-2 am. Call 972-943-9288.

Oceanaire Seafood Room
Seafood restaurant at Galleria Dallas has a regular menu, 2-9 pm. Call 972-759-2277.

Pyramid
Brunch with omelets and crepes, gingerbread French toast, carved meats, and mimosas. $69, or $35 for those 12 and under. For parties of six or more, the Gold Room will be available upon request. Seating times are 11 am, 11:30 am, 1:30 pm, and 2 pm. Call 214-720-5249.

RA Sushi
Full menu plus extended happy hour specials, from 4-11 pm. Addison: 972-581-2905. Plano: 469-467-7400.

RJ Mexican
Regular menu plus specials featuring steak, lobster, and enchiladas. 10 am-4 pm. Call 214-744-1420.

Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek
Duck confit, smoked salmon, green lentil soup, scallops, tenderloin, pheasant, lamb, and sunchoke ravioli. Desserts include chocolate pecan yule log, quince cinnamon crème brûlée and coffee chocolate crème brûlée. 11 am-8 pm. $125, $55 for those 12 and under. Call 214-443-4747.

The Rustic
Tamales in three options: pork, chicken, or vegetarian, plus a special margarita. 6 pm-midnight. Call 214-730-0596.

Ruth's Chris Steak House
Regular menu of steak and seafood from 12-8 pm. Call 214-922-7062.

Second Floor
Five-course menu with shrimp and chorizo soup, gnocchi, pork loin, smoked salmon, and tenderloin. 2-8 pm. $55 per person. Call 972-450-2978.

Ser Steakhouse
Four-course brunch menu with porcetta, chicken and waffles, cioppino with black cod, mussels, calamari, bacon-wrapped tenderloin, salads, and pastrami-potato hash. 11 am-6 pm. $75, $35 for those 12 and under. Call 214-761-7470.

South Fork Texas Steak and Crab
Specials include prime rib with salad, chicken, and chicken-fried steak. 12-10 pm. Call 972-423-7235.

St. Martin's Wine Bistro
Three-course meal for $45, $20 for those 12 and under. Call 214-826-0940.

Steel Restaurant
Prix-fixe meal features tom yum soup, scallops, lamb shank, roast duck, chocolate ganache cake, sticky toffee pudding. 5-9 pm. $55. Call 214-219-9908.

Texas Spice
Brunch at Omni Dallas features turkey, ham, Gulf seafood, biscuits, gingerbread cookies, apple pie, banana pudding trifle, and chocolate mousse shots. 6 am-10 pm. $25, $10 for those under 12. Call 214-652-4810.

Toulouse
Special menu with smoked trout, creamy onion soup, scallops with celery root, quail, and more. 10 am-8 pm. Call 214-520-8999.

holidays lunch dinner brunch

Losing some spice

Beloved neighborhood taqueria to close after 37 years in Dallas' Oak Cliff

Facebook/El Padrink

Cafeteria y Loncheria El Padrino will close its doors at the end of 2026, following 37 years serving the neighborhood.

An Oak Cliff taqueria will close its doors at the end of 2026, ending nearly 37 years serving the neighborhood. Cafeteria y Loncheria El Padrino, the brightly painted-brick gem at 408 W. Jefferson Blvd., will lose its lease at the end of December, according to Juan Contreras, son of the restaurant's owner.

Contreras confirmed to CultureMap that property managers will not renew his father's lease and have given the restaurant less than three months to vacate.

“Honestly it’s not a surprise,” Contreras says in an Instagram post. “With Bishop Arts and all the development interest around it, something was bound to happen eventually.”

The little restaurant sits at the end of a row of thrift and quinceañera dress shops, a few blocks from Bishop Avenue and the evolving Bishop Arts District.

Contreras, who shares his father's name, says the little Oak Cliff El Padrino was his dad’s first restaurant. “His dream," Contreras notes. "He’s been feeding this neighborhood since 1989.”

The family later opened a second location in Pleasant Grove.

Both restaurants are beloved for their welcoming atmosphere and unfussy, authentic Mexican fare.

"As a small business in Oak Cliff, we know what it means to be part of a community. Our neighbors are not just customers .. they are family," notes a Facebook post from the taqueria.

While handmade tortillas and tacos are staples, customers also come for antojitos — or "little cravings" — such as guacamole, menudo, pan dulce, queso, French fries, and chips. Heartier options include machacado (shredded meat) and eggs with bacon strips and cheese in the beans.

Regulars know, love, and fear the camarones a la diabla — shrimp that made a deal with the devil — with shellfish "swimming in salsa roja so picante, it’ll make your abuela say '¡Ay, Dios mío!'," says El Padrio's Facebook page. They recommend ordering a cold agua fresca de piña bien before taking a bite: "That sweet pineapple coolness is your lifesaver."

The younger Contreras, who is involved in local advocacy and community organizing, says the history of Oak Cliff — particularly the area around his father’s restaurant — illustrates the less welcome side of neighborhood revitalization.

“This has been building for years. Elected officials and interest groups sell you a beautiful picture of what a neighborhood can become," he says in his social media post. "What they leave out is that the people who stayed and kept these neighborhoods alive when nobody else wanted them are usually the ones priced out or pushed aside for ‘better’ tenants.”

The elder Contreras came to the U.S. "with nothing but his hands and the hope that his kids would have it easier than he did," says the son, "the way so many of our fathers did."

Unless something changes before the end of the year, the Oak Cliff location will continue operating throughout 2026, Contreras says. The Pleasant Grove location will remain open and unaffected, he adds.

“If you’re one of the Oak Cliff regulars or you’ve been meaning to stop by, now’s the time,” he says. “Come eat, order out, and tell your friends. Every visit means a lot to my dad right now.”

Hope is not entirely lost for the owner and local fans of his restaurant, Contreras says. The Contreras family has weathered its share of challenges and does not intend to give up on Oak Cliff easily. They just need to find an appropriate and affordable space from which to operate.

“This isn’t our first rodeo. If you know of a move-in-ready space in Oak Cliff where my dad can plug in and cook, send me a message," he says.

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