'Tis the Season: Christmas Dinner Menus

We couldn't resist passing up the holiday season without sharing some menus from the San Francisco History Center Ephemera Collection. Here are a few 20th century Christmas Dinner menus from about town. As you can see, San Francisco has been into it's food for over a century! If we tickled your taste buds and you want to explore more, check out San Francisco: A Food Biography by Erica Peters. Also, come visit the San Francisco History Center to view the hundreds of menus in the Ephemera Collection.

California Hotel

Oliver Wendell Holmes Society Christmas Dinner menu, 1903
The Oliver Wendell Holmes Society, a late 19th - early 20th century literary society of San Francisco, held their annual Christmas Dinner at The California Hotel. The California Hotel was on Bush Street between Kearny and Grant Avenue.


Oliver Wendell Holmes Society Christmas Dinner menu, 1903
Cecil Hotel Christmas Dinner menu, 1914



Cecil Hotel

It seems like all menus start with oysters! This menu was fun to open with the addition of the gelatin silver photograph of the charming, season fireplace scene.

The Cecil Hotel was located at 545 Post Street and was built in 1913. The structure (now Hotel Zeppelin) is a contributing building to the California Register of Historic Districts: Kearny-Market-Sutter Conservation District.







Cecil Hotel Christmas Dinner menu, 1914


Closer view of the planned menu --

Cecil Hotel Christmas Dinner menu, 1914


The Wine and Food Society of San Francisco

The San Francisco Wine and Food Society, which began in 1935, is a charter member of the International Wine and Food Society.

Wine & Food Society Christmas menu, 1967


Wine & Food Society Christmas menu, 1967



Comments