7 restaurants in Columbia SC open on Christmas Day 2022

The Christmas holiday is already stressful enough with shopping and wrapping gifts for family and friends, not to mention travel planning.

So, why add the load of preparing a big Christmas Day meal on top of all that, especially when professionals can do it for you?

We’re a little more than two weeks away from Christmas Day and while the meal isn’t quite as big of a deal as Thanksgiving, people do tend to enjoy a nice feast for the holiday.

With that in mind, some Columbia restaurants have decided to keep their doors open on Christmas and provide plenty of food for families that don’t feel like preparing meals themselves this year.

Here are seven Columbia restaurants that will be open serving sit-down customers and or offering pickup orders on Christmas Day.

Smoked

Check out Smoked if you’re interested in a Christmas Day dinner downtown this year. While the restaurant will have regular hours on Christmas Eve, it won’t open until 5 p.m. on Christmas Day.

The bar menu will include a shrimp cocktail, seafood dip, raw oysters, the prime smoked burger and a meat and cheese board.

The dinner menu will include options like Bison Bolognese on Fettucini, prime rib with truffled whipped potatoes, asparagus and horseradish crema, smoked turkey with candied carrots, brussels with bacon, and sweet potato casserole, grilled swordfish on winter succotash and sherry mustard buerre blanc or a 6 oz Japanese A5 Wagyu. Desserts include cheesecake with cranberry compote, Eggnog creme brulee and chocolate mousse pie.

Smoked is located at 1643 Main St.

Ruth’s Chris Steak House

Ruth’s Chris Steak House will be offering special holiday menus on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The three-course meal will include your choice of salad or lobster bisque, a 6-ounce steak and shrimp or 6-ounce-filet with lobster, sides of garlic mashed potatoes or creamed spinach and a dessert.

Make a reservation here or view the restaurant’s Christmas takeout options here.

Ruth’s in Columbia is located at 924-A Senate Street.

The Grand

Columbia downtown staple The Grand will be open for customers on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The restaurant will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Christmas Eve and from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Christmas Day.

Along with a bowling alley, The Grand offers plenty of tasty menu options, from chicken and waffles during brunch hours, to smoked pork chops, goat cheese basil salmon and seafood pasta Alfredo during dinner hours.

The Grand is located at 1621 Main St.

California Dreaming

According to its website, California Dreaming in Columbia will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve. The restaurant will also be offering a prime rib feast for pickup only from Dec. 23 through Christmas Day.

The pickup feast will include slow-roasted, seasoned prime rib with Au Jus, roasted Brussels sprouts, corn souffle, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with pralines, cranberry sauce and pecan pie.

California Dreaming in Columbia is located at 401 Main Street.

Hanabi Hibachi and Sushi

How about trying something a little different this Christmas with a meal from the recently opened Hanabi Hibachi? The downtown restaurant, which first opened earlier this fall, will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve and from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Christmas Day.

Pick from traditional Japanese-style hibachi meals with steak, shrimp, chicken, lobster, pork or any combination. There’s also a variety of sushi rolls on the menu or you can order a sampler if you can’t decide on what to try.

Hanabi Hibachi and Sushi is located at 1626 Main St.

Cracker Barrel

The national chain Cracker Barrel will be offering special holiday meals for pickup from Dec. 21 through Dec. 28. Those include the holiday ham family dinner, which serves four to six people, or the larger holiday ham feast, which serves eight to 10 people and along with the main dishes, includes extra sides and desserts. If ham isn’t your favorite, you could instead choose the prime rib family dinner instead.

To pre-order and customize a holiday meal and to schedule for pickup at one of Columbia’s Cracker Barrel locations, click here.

The Venue

The Venue in downtown Columbia already has a holiday pop-up bar every day until Dec. 31 and Santa visits every Saturday during the Soda City Market. However, it will also be open from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Christmas Eve and from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Christmas Day.

Have a Philly cheesesteak sandwich or club sandwich for lunch. Or for dinner, try out the bourbon honey glazed salmon or the shrimp and grits étouffée.

The Venue is located at 1626 Main St.