EDIBLE: Best fireplace lounges for a cocktail in Monterey County.

All I want for Christmas is a great cocktail lounge. So here appear the top spots to find festive adult beverages. Points for character, craft, piano play, comfort food, cushy seating and fireplaces.

Send yours to edible@mcweekly.com; find more fireplace-heated sweet spots on the blog, www.mcweekly.com/edible:

10. Point Pinos Grill

It took them years to win a liquor license, but it now provides additional reason to hang by the fireplace in this undercover star. The comfort food includes biscuits and gravy, chicken-fried steak and chicken and waffles; the new drinks include Italian Margarita, cucumber-mint martini and a low-cal colada. An added plus: the view includes peeks of the ocean.

79 Asilomar Ave., Pacific Grove. 648-5774, www.pointpinosgrill.com

9. C restaurant + bar in the InterContinental

The clean, minimalist and modern design doesn’t scream cozy at first, but that’s what the fire pits on the broad oceanside deck and patio – and the worldly Champagne flights – are for. The large library lounge brings another fireplace and extensive areas to relax. Longtime barkeep Luis Salinas has crafted an inspired Pumpkin Patch holiday cocktail that evokes a light and stylish eggnog with pumpkin liqueur, tequila, amaretto and a touch of cinnamon. And Chef Matt Bolton’s littleneck clam chowder, Monterey Bay abalone and duck croquettes provide pure coastal comfort.

750 Cannery Row, Monterey, 375-4800, www.thecrestaurant-monterey.com

8. 201 Main

Yes, 201 has a lot going on and more on the way. But the patio between Giorgio’s and Ticino and its modern fireplaces are the hottest piece of the puzzle. The Exchange downstairs lounge opens NYE.

201 Main St., Salinas. 800-7573, www.201complex.com

7. Bernardus Lodge & Spa

The slick remodel of the landmark Lucia Restaurant & Bar (formerly Marinus) includes a new deck with a big fire bowl and a new menu with rich chanterelle mushroom risotto, smoked Sonoma duck cassoulet and seared foie gras. For further celebration, the Grappler (Clear Creek apple brandy, Navarro verjus, honey syrup) and Black Pearl (Casterede Armagnac, coffee liqueur, Champagne) go well with the huge outdoor river rock fireplace. The lobby’s couches and fireplace represent another hot toddy spot.

415 W. Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley. 658-3595, www.bernarduslodge.com/wine-cuisine

6. Lobby Lounge at Spanish Bay

The well-appointed lobby proves luxurious with its overstuffed couches and chairs and has a sizeable fireplace, but it’s outside where those-in-the-know go. Out there the bagpiper emerges at dusk and grand stone fire pits offer ample seating to watch the sunset. Cocktails include the wintry Pumpkin Spice (with pumpkin puree, Maker’s Mark, amaretto, apple juice, cinnamon simple syrup and a touch of heavy cream), paired with a little house pretzel and sausage plate, perhaps.

2700 17 Mile Drive, Pebble Beach. 647-7500, www.pebblebeach.com

5. Restaurant 1833

A festive formula – four big patio fire pits, superb craft cocktails and historic ambiance – happens here, which is why 1833 does some of the most brisk holiday business in the region. The “house remedies” include things like the Torrid Affair with Sombra mezcal, rhubarb shrub, agave and lemon; the ambiance includes the comfy “library.” Lots of comforting grub too, like the Buffalo-style sweetbreads and 48-hour short ribs.

500 Hartnell St., Monterey. 643-1833, www.restaurant1833.com.

4. Fireplace Lounge at Hyatt

This underappreciated gem enjoys all the fundamentals for holiday coziness: a big fireplace, comfortable seating, sturdy cocktails (including the Captain Madras), live jazz Fridays and Saturdays and a new menu with items like a flat-iron steak sandwich, arugula-salmon salad and mile-high ice cream pie.

1 Old Golf Course Road, Monterey. 372-1234, www.monterey.hyatt.com

3. Mission Ranch Restaurant

If it isn’t holiday festive enough for you next to the historic bar by the popular piano with the singalong in full force (starting at 8pm), there’s the fireplace-accented dining room or the sumptuous “jazz buffet brunch” with more than 30 offerings including an omelet station and roast prime beef, which feels like a holiday any Sunday you can swing it.

26270 Dolores St., Carmel. 624-6436, www.missionranchcarmel.com

2. Terry’s Lounge at Cypress Inn

The coziness is tip top already, between the classy old-school fireplace, afternoon tea and warming short-rib sliders, curry-lamb meatballs and famous Cypress burger. Then there are the Golden Age of Hollywood drinks like the The Aviation, The Wink and The Vesper. But it’s the dog-friendliness that makes for super cozy cuddliness. Dogs are welcome tableside and in laps and furnished with a map of other local dog-friendly restaurants.

Lincoln and Seventh, Carmel. 624-3871, www.cypress-inn.com

1. Sardine Factory

Still the king of first-class lounges. Signature cocktails (like the Pink Sardine) served at a bar as classic as its barkeep “Big Mike” Kolpazik are key (note: BMK is on IR), as are different nooks bordered by wrought-iron partitions. A double happy hour (5-6:30pm, 9:30-10:30pm) helps, as do small plates to further warm the belly, including stuffed mushrooms and legendary abalone bisque. The final touch: the talented David Conley on piano 7:30-10:30pm Tuesday-Saturday.

701 Wave St., Monterey, 373-3775, www.sardinefactory.com

QUICKBITES

• Lalla Oceanside Grill, from the quiet dynasty behind Ellie’s, Lalla Grill and Lallapalooza, is now open on Cannery Row. Find photos, menu items and more on the blog, www.mcweekly.com/edible.
• Carmel’s Il Tegamino (250-5790) bustled Friday night. The European-style patio is now in action, and is all kinds of adorable. Reservations, contrary to what you heard here, ARE accepted. And thepolpette pickings remain a highlight. Where else can you score a polpette mixto plate ($20) with beef, pork, tuna, crab, cauliflower and mushroom meatballs?
• Less than a block away, Merlot Bistro and PortaBella remain under renovation, awaiting their debut under new leadership, after longtime owners Tony Salameh and Csaba Ajan have given the reins toDametra Café owners Faisal Nimri and Bashar Sneeh.
• Rio Grill (625-5436) welcomes Gruet Winery 5-7pm Thursday, Dec. 3, for a Winemaker Thursday with free tastings and deals on glasses and bottles.
• Local legend Anna Vindiola has moved over from Schooners to Esteban at Casa Munras in Monterey, remaking the cocktail menu as she does, including a Boss Anna margarita to remember.
• Cafe Lumiere has taken over Bright Coffee in funky craft store Lillify on Lighthouse in New Monterey.
• Gold Medal at the World Beer Championships for Peter B’s Catch 24 English Pale Ale, which earned 93 points.
• More than a year into his new post as wine director at landmark Big Sur Bakery, Matt Peterson has sales jumping and customers digging the new list. Meanwhile Exec Chef Jacob Burrell, nee Pilarsky – who changed his name to honor the stepdad who raised him – is constantly introducing new rustic comfort food evoking his Manresa training, like his wood-fired local white sea bass topped with wild fennel butter. He heads to Bali for a rather envy-generating 10-course pop-up dinner Dec. 11.
• Montrio Bistro (648-8880) has debuted new desserts/sweet bites/”inspired” coffees/dessert libations menus. Think sticky toffee pudding, Mexican standoffs, Montrio mudslides and more.
• Lord Herbert: “The shortest answer is doing.”