A Holiday Dinner With a Difference: The St. Nicholas Day Feast

What makes this holiday dinner different

A usual holiday dinner out means a restaurant table, a menu and your own conversation. The St. Nicholas Day Feast is closer to a dinner show: a set five-course meal in the setting of an English Christmas in 1420, presided over by King Henry V and St. Nicholas of Myra, with entertainment between courses. It is part of the Yuletide Medieval Festival at El Monte County Park in Lakeside, East County San Diego.

It suits groups who want the evening itself to be the event: families with children who like costumes and characters, friends who enjoy history or Renaissance faires, and anyone who wants a December celebration that feels different from another restaurant booking.

The feast at a glance

• Course one: a mini charcuterie.
• Course two: a seasonal soup.
• Course three: a garden salad.
• Course four: roasted game hen with a bangor, mash, traditional stuffing and cranberry relish.
• Course five: apple cobbler.
• To drink: ale or wine, or a festive drink for guests under 21.
• Times: Saturdays at 6 pm (December 5 and 12) and Sundays at noon (December 6 and 13).
• Entertainment between courses, with King Henry V and St. Nicholas presiding.

Feast versus a usual holiday dinner out

• Menu: the feast is a fixed five-course meal; a restaurant lets each person order.
• Entertainment: built into the feast between courses; at most restaurants, you bring your own.
• Setting: a medieval English Christmas with costumed hosts, rather than a dining room.
• Timing: set seatings at 6 pm Saturday or noon Sunday, rather than a reservation time you choose.
• Availability: only 100 seats a day, on four days, so it can sell out; restaurants usually have more flexibility.
• Dietary flexibility: a restaurant can usually adapt dishes. Gluten-free and other special meals at the feast aren’t published, so call or email before booking.
• The day around it: the feast sits inside a full festival day of jousting, encampments and a marketplace.

Tickets and prices

Feast tickets are sold online per day at the festival’s events page, and your confirmation arrives by email. There is no cell coverage at the park, so print it or save a screenshot.

• St. Nicholas Feast: $85.
• General Admission with the Feast: $110.
• Kids Feast (under 10): $65, with 20 kids’ seats per day.
• Parking is an add-on: General Shuttle & Parking $10, or limited Fairgrounds Premium Parking $35.

Saturday evening or Sunday lunch?

The Saturday 6 pm feast comes after dark: sunset is around 4:40 pm in early December, so you’ll spend the afternoon at the festival and sit down as the evening turns cool. It feels most like a holiday dinner out. Bring a warm layer.

The Sunday noon feast works well for families with younger children, leaves the afternoon free for the festival, and gets everyone home earlier. In 2026, Sunday, December 6, is St. Nicholas Day itself, the saint’s traditional feast day, which makes the noon feast that day a fitting choice.

A little history on the table

Feasting was central to a medieval English Christmas. English Heritage notes that wealthy households made special efforts at Christmas, serving showpiece dishes such as a decorated boar’s head and elaborate pies, while most people drank ale and the wealthy drank imported French wine, sometimes spiced as hippocras. The St. Nicholas Day Feast nods to that tradition with game hen, stuffing and ale, served in a form modern diners will recognize.

St. Nicholas, a fourth-century bishop of Myra, is remembered on December 6. The legend that he secretly left gold for a poor family is the root of gift-giving on his feast day.

Who the feast suits best

The feast is a good fit for families who want a holiday meal the children will remember, for groups of friends marking the season together, and for anyone who enjoys history, theater or Renaissance faires. It is less suited to diners who want to order à la carte, linger over a quiet conversation, or choose their own time. If that’s you, a usual dinner out may be the better plan, and you can still spend the day at the festival.

Because the feast sits inside the festival, it also solves a practical problem: there’s no need to drive somewhere else for dinner after a long day outdoors.

Before you book

• Book early: 100 seats a day goes quickly across a festival day.
• Check which ticket covers what, and call (858) 864-0020 if you’re unsure whether you also need admission.
• Ask about dietary needs before you buy; vegetarian, gluten-free and allergy options for the feast aren’t published.
• Bring cash for the rest of the festival; vendors may not take cards if the festival Wi-Fi goes down.

Questions