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Celebrate Thanksgiving with these Boston-area restaurants
You'll be thankful for these spots open for holiday dining and offering festive meals to-go.
Thanksgiving is coming up on Thursday, Nov. 24, and Boston’s best restaurants and hotels are ready to host you and yours. Whether your autumn celebration calls for brunch or dinner — with or without live jazz — or even a feast at home, there’s surely a holiday dining option to fit your fancy.
And it’s time to make your plans: Locations listed here for dining in currently have reservations open, but bookings are filling up fast. Many takeout offerings have ordering deadlines a week before Thanksgiving.
Check out the Boston area’s best Thanksgiving dining options for dine-in and takeout, and have a very happy holiday season.
Thanksgiving dine-in
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Spend time on Thanksgiving strolling the Harborwalk, then settle in for a meal at Alcove (or pick it up to-go; see below). The West End restaurant is open on Thanksgiving from noon until 8 p.m. Along with the full menu of farm-coast-to-table cuisine, acclaimed chef Charles Draghi is preparing some holiday-worthy additions, including roast turkey and all the trimmings. Reservations are recommended and available all day.
Visit The Ritz Carlton’s award-winning restaurant, Artisan Bistro, and celebrate in style this Thanksgiving holiday. The menu features a first course of roasted butternut bisque, served with cinnamon creme fraiche and crispy sage. Then, choose between the Tuscan kale with grilled acorn squash or the hearts of romaine with parmesan crisps and kalamata dust. Artisan is offering a range of main courses, like the heritage turkey with maple sausage dressing, the Guinness-braised short rib, the roasted Atlantic halibut with spiced pumpkin risotto, and pan-seared tofu filet. Top it off with the pecan pie with apple creme fraiche panna cotta and cherry bourbon sauce, or the pumpkin tiramisu. Prices range from $58-68 per person. Make a reservation at 617-574-7100.
Open for lunch and dinner on Thanksgiving, The Banks Fish House will offer its seafood-focused menu along with several seasonal specials. Chef Robert Sisca is preparing roast turkey breast and leg confit with Island Creek Oysters and cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy; and is also planning a festive local charcuterie and cheese board. A pie cart with a selection of desserts will also be roaming the Back Bay place. Reservations are encouraged and available between 11:30 a.m. and 8 p.m.
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It’s pretty much business as usual at Baramor in Newton on Thanksgiving. The neighborhood restaurant is open from 3 p.m. until 1 a.m. on the holiday. Bring the family for casual, shareable plates like piles of poutine, arancini, and sweet-and-spicy cauliflower, or sneak in solo to get away from all the commotion. Baramor will also be open ‘til 1 a.m. the eve of Thanksgiving. Reservations are available until 10:45 p.m.
If watching the parade of advertising on TV doesn’t cut it for your Thanksgiving Day entertainment, consider visiting The Beehive in the South End. Live music will fill the space all day along, while executive chef Ryan Skeen serves up a traditional, three-course menu. For $85 per person and $25 for kids 10 and under, expect dishes like roasted free-range turkey with sage and rosemary gravy, sourdough stuffing, whipped potatoes, wild mushroom risotto, slices of pie, and more. Reservations are available between 11 a.m. and 9:45 p.m.
Before or after a Thanksgiving meal at Bistro du Midi, you and the fam can take a stroll around the Public Garden. The park-adjacent restaurant is open all day, serving up a three-course menu for $90 per person with optional luxury add-ons. You’ll start with a choice of dishes like heirloom pumpkin soup, arugula and endive salad, or tuna tartare. Entrées include beet gnocchi with pink lady apple, brown butter seeds, feta, and basil; sourdough-crusted halibut with hen-of-the-wood mushrooms and a lemongrass emulsion; and the requisite roasted turkey breast and leg confit, this one served with a foie gras-mushroom brioche stuffing, fall vegetables, and thyme gravy. Desserts include salted pumpkin pie with bourbon mousse, among other options. Supplement the experience with a wine pairing, raw bar, caviar, foie gras, and other side dishes. Reservations are available between 11 a.m. and 8:30 p.m.
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You’ll be thankful for the stunning location if you opt for Thanksgiving brunch in the Atlantic Room at the Boston Harbor Hotel. Boston’s only five-star and five-diamond, waterfront hotel is planning a festive Grand Brunch buffet, with live entertainment by a jazz ensemble from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Executive chef David Daniels is making the traditional turkey dinner with all the sides, plus a full dessert table and festive additions like sushi and sashimi, white truffle carbonara, beef wellington, and more. The spread is $210 per person ($80 for children 12 and under).
Lock in a reservation at Clink, the restaurant at the Liberty Hotel (aka a former jail near Beacon Hill in Boston). Clink chef Daniel Kenney is planning a three-course menu ($89, $37 for children) including roasted cauliflower and parsnip soup; pasture-raised breast of turkey brined with local honey and apples; herb-roasted Chatham cod loin; and more, plus a decadent holiday dessert buffet. The prix-fixe runs from noon until 4 p.m., while normal dinner services commences at 5:30 p.m. Reservations are available.
If you’re staying in the city for Thanksgiving, why not surround yourself with skyline views? Contessa Trattoria, located at the top of The Newbury, offers sweeping views of the city from the 17th story, as well as a four-course Italian feast for Thanksgiving. Among the dishes will be the signature meatballs aldo with whole grain mustard sauce; squash carpaccio; ricotta gnudi with black truffles; roasted turkey with all the supplements; and for dessert, pumpkin ice cream and “crema de Boston,” a take on Boston cream pie. A porterhouse supplement will also be available. The family-style menu is $195 per person and ticketed via Resy. Views are included. Reservations are available between noon and 7 p.m.
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Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse
Along with Davio’s full menu, a prix-fixe Thanksgiving menu is available at locations of the Northern Italian steakhouse chain, including the Seaport and Back Bay ($85 per adult, $23 per child). Davio’s culinary teams will make roasted Vermont organic turkey, creamy Yukon Gold potatoes, butternut squash, and challah bread-herb stuffing. Desserts such as slices of homemade apple pie with vanilla ice cream and pumpkin pie with whipped crème fraîche, are $15 each. Reservations are recommended and available.
Feeling lucky this Thanksgiving? Between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m., the Encore Boston Harbor casino’s Garden Cafe will be serving up a three-course Thanksgiving meal for $42 per guest, including butternut squash bisque, roasted free-range turkey with sides, and chocolate-cranberry bread pudding. From 1-9 p.m., the Forbes four-star award-winning Rare Steakhouse at the Encore will be treating its guests to an $85, three-course Thanksgiving meal including fall squash soup, stuffed turkey roulade with buttermilk brioche stuffing and all the fixings, and roasted apple-pecan tart. Between noon and midnight, you could head to Fratelli for an Italian-inspired, three-course dinner ($70) of insalata mista, the traditional turkey dinner, and a slice of pie or tiramisu. Reservations are available.
Celebrate Thanksgiving in the luxe trappings of the former great hall of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Grana, the restaurant at the five-star Langham Hotel in Boston’s Financial District, has high ceilings and ornate moldings fit for its past life—and a memorable holiday meal for you and yours. Chef Stephen Bukoff is planning a family-style feast complete with a choice of festive fall soup or salad, roasted, sliced turkey and all of the fixings. The experience ends with a chic dessert buffet featuring pies, cheesecake, cookies, and more. Thanksgiving at Grana is $135 per person and $65 for children ages 5-12. Reserve a seating time of 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m., or 4:30 p.m.
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Choose your own adventure at Grill 23 & Bar, where chef Ryan Marcoux will be offering a la carte options between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. Along with the chef’s take on turkey dinner and all the sides, options include a shellfish sampler, a wedge salad, maple-glazed salmon, prime meatloaf, and plenty of steaks, including 2 ounces of A5 Japanese wagyu. Reservations are available.
On a cobblestone pathway in Harvard Square, find Harvest, an elegant hideaway that offers a peaceful experience away from the bustling life of Cambridge. This Thanksgiving, you can enjoy a three-course meal at $90 per person and an additional $38 per person for a wine pairing. Appetizers include sweetcorn bisque, beetroot salad, oysters on the half shell, and pork and sage crepinettes. For your main course, choose from a selection of dishes, such as a free-range organic turkey, smoked eggplant stuffed ravioli, seared Atlantic salmon, venison round steak, and herb and butter basted beef tenderloin. To top it off, dessert options include apple tatin cheesecake, turtle pie, sweet potato torte, and seasonal sorbet and ice cream. Supplement your dinner with raw bar items including New England oysters or a chilled seafood tower. Reservations are available.
Head to the historic and especially beautiful-in-autumn town of Lexington to celebrate Thanksgiving. Town Meeting Bistro, the restaurant at the Forbes four-star Inn at Hastings Park, is hosting a big buffet all afternoon long. The spread ($125 per person, $60 for children 4-12) includes kale salad with roasted apple and fennel; green beans with shallot vinaigrette, glazed sesame sweet potatoes; pan-seared arctic char; garlic-rosemary roast beef; roasted turkey; and more. Reservations are available from noon until 6 p.m.
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Back Bay neighborhood restaurant Lucie Drink + Dine (located at the Colonnade Hotel) is there for you with its full menu of starters, salads, pizzas, and mains, plus Thanksgiving dinner specials by chef Nick Calias, the Colonnade’s culinary director. Turkey is there in the form of roast breast and turkey leg roulade, served with roasted butternut squash, wild mushroom brioche stuffing, haricot verts, Yukon whipped potatoes, cranberry chutney, and natural gravy ($35). Dinner reservations are available from noon until 5:30 p.m. Additionally, Lucie will be open for breakfast from 7-10 a.m.
Lombardo’s in Randolph will host its 51st annual free Thanksgiving meal for local seniors and homeless individuals. From 10:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m., the Grand Ballroom of the South Shore event venue will serve an estimated 800 people with the help of 100 volunteers. Tickets for the event will be distributed in advance to local senior centers and Salvation Army locations and are required for admission.
Downtown Boston brasserie The Merchant Kitchen & Drinks hosts it annual Thanksgiving prix-fixe from noon until 8 p.m. Begin with an appetizer like roasted butternut squash soup with maple cream and spice pepitas; or chilled jumbo shrimp with cocktail sauce and lemon. Entrees include roast turkey dinner, as well as a harvest grain bowl, grilled swordfish, or steak frites options. End on a high note with a dessert such as cherry and chocolate bread pudding or roasted apple and almond tart. The menu is $75 per person for three courses, and is also available a la carte. Reservations are available.
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In (or around) Burlington, you can enjoy a Thanksgiving meal from a chef who previously worked under the culinary legend Lydia Shire for more than 30 years. Osteria Nino, helmed by Locke-Ober alum Oscar Figueroa, is serving up a dine-in feast for $30 per person ($15 for kids), including turkey, stuffing, green beans, mashed potato, candied sweet potato, cranberry sauce, rolls, and choice of dessert. Reservations are available between 11:30 a.m. and 8:15 p.m.
Fans of the famed television chef Gordon Ramsay can dig into a Thanksgiving dinner from the star’s own restaurant inside the Mandarin Oriental. Dishes on the menu include butternut soup made of maple glazed squash and vadouvan crema, roasted turkey breast served with potato puree, brussels sprouts, cranberry jam, and gravy. Pumpkin pie with candied pecans and chantilly cream will be served for a thoroughly satisfying desert. The three-course dinner is $70 per person, with a $55 wine pairing option. Reservations can be made at 857-289-0771.
Stray a bit from the usual Thanksgiving dishes with specials like grilled sourdough topped with pumpkin, honey, feta, and candied walnuts; wild rice pilaf with braised crabapples; and lobster agnolotti at Rebel’s Guild. You could also stick to what you know via traditional turkey dinner, sweet potato bisque, fall harvest salad, and pumpkin crème brulée. The a la carte menu is available on Thanksgiving from noon until 8 p.m., and reservations are available.
This Back Bay restaurant is making it easy for city dwellers this Thanksgiving with dine-in options (adjacent to the Prudential Center) as well as takeout (see below). Reservations are available between 11 a.m. and 8:45 p.m. for dining in, with a prix-fixe menu offering a taste of the season. For $75 per person, choose among hors d’oeuvres like acorn squash bisque; butternut squash risotto; burrata with marinated beets and orange-pistachio gremolata; and steak tartare with black truffle aioli. Plates include steak frites, brined and roasted turkey, and more. Dessert could be profiteroles, chocolate cake with salted caramel ice cream, pumpkin tart, or apple tartine.
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Scampo, chef Lydia Shire’s restaurant at The Liberty Hotel, is offering a traditional Thanksgiving feast in four courses for $115 per person ($55 for children under 12), alongside a la carte options. Dishes include the likes of roast heritage turkey with muscat gravy; celery heart, sausage, and golden raisin stuffing; deluxe mashed potatoes; and “My Father’s Cranberry Sauce.” Reservations are available from noon to 7 p.m.
Thanksgiving Takeout
Dinners to-go from Alcove, the Mediterranean-inspired restaurant at Lovejoy Wharf, sell out every year, so you may want to move quickly. A roast turkey dinner ($200) comes with apple and rosemary stuffing, roasted brussels sprouts, potato puree, cranberry and orange relish, turkey and sage gravy, Iggy’s dinner rolls with honey butter, and more. A la carte menu options include shrimp with cocktail sauce and pumpkin cocktail sauce, parsnips and fennel, and roasted butternut squash. To drink, try the harvest punch cocktail, which mixes bourbon, cardamom, lemon, black tea, and cava. Wines and bubbly are also available for pairing. Chocolate hazelnut, pumpkin, and apple pies are on the menu for dessert, as is ice cream. Orders must be placed by Nov. 21 at 2 p.m.
Imagine the surprise on your guests’ faces if you told them your beautiful holiday spread was ordered from the local gas station. You don’t have to tell them—you could just take credit!—but you may be so impressed with the food from Alltown Fresh that you can’t keep the secret. That’s because the mini-chain of service stations—with locations in Marlborough, Ayer, Easton, Hopkinton, and Plymouth—employs incredible chefs to reimagine gas station cuisine in the form of ready-to-eat meal kits. Led by longtime Boston restaurateur chef Joshua Smith (Moody’s Delicatessen), the culinary crew at Alltown Fresh is offering a Thanksgiving meal kit to-go, packaged for 4-6 people ($140) or 8-10 ($260). The package features slow-roasted local turkey breast, classic gravy, caramelized Brussels sprouts with chorizo, wild mushroom stuffing, baked sweet potatoes with bruléed marshmallow, cheesy Yukon Gold potato au gratin, New England-style orange cranberry sauce. Order by November 19 for flexible pickup during the week of Thanksgiving.
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With locations in the South End as well as Chestnut Hill, Aquitaine is well-positioned to do the cooking this Thanksgiving. Chef Dolly Bourommavong and team are offering an all-inclusive Thanksgiving dinner takeout package with a choice of sweets. For $72 per person, the meal includes gougeres, green salad, and butternut squash-apple bisque to start; turkey and accompaniments; and desserts in the form of pumpkin and apple pies. Optional add-ons include a pint of vanilla ice cream, shrimp cocktail, caviar, roasted beef tenderloin, and more. A la carte items are also available.
Tell your guests a star from Bravo’s “Top Chef” prepared your holiday feast if you preorder from Bar Volpe. The South Boston restaurant helmed by chef Karen Akunowicz, a fan favorite from the latest season of “Top Chef All-Stars,” has a few Thanksgiving takeout packages on offer. Each dish has Italian flair; think: truffled rotisserie chicken; stuffing enhanced with the Sicilian-inspired, herbaceous Ferla Spice from Curio; and the chef’s signature Taleggio-stuffed focaccia. It all comes with instructions for reheating. The top chef can also take care of wine and dessert, with add-ons like bottles of KA Sangiovese and pumpkin spice cannoli. Packages start at $120 and feed two people. When you order, you will set a pickup time between 1-4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 23.
Bring a Thanksgiving feast home with help from the folks at Clink at the Liberty Hotel. The Boston restaurant is preparing take-and-bake packages to feed 6-8 people — and/or proactively create leftover turkey sandwiches for your immediate family. Each meal comes with a 10- to 12-pound, stuffed whole turkey, marinated and in an oven-ready roasting pan, complete with the chef’s cooking directions and access to a Turkey Hotline to call for any last-minute tips. It also includes quarts of gravy, whipped potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans, stuffing, rolls, and more. Packages start at $525 and the cutoff to order is 3 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 21. Packages must be picked up between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 23.
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If wild mushroom-brioche stuffing and butternut squash bisque sound like delicious additions to your Thanksgiving table, order a la carte options from the Colonnade Hotel restaurant. Lucie Drink + Dine has a takeout menu of roast turkey and sides fit to feed a group. All orders must be placed by Friday, Nov. 18 and picked up cold on Wednesday, Nov. 23 or hot on Nov. 24.
Around Burlington, you can enjoy a Thanksgiving meal from a chef who previously worked under the culinary legend Lydia Shire for more than 30 years. Osteria Nino, helmed by Locke-Ober alum Oscar Figueroa, is offering takeout packages in two sizes, featuring turkey, stuffing, green beans, mashed potato, candied sweet potato, cranberry sauce, rolls, and choice of dessert. Thanksgiving catering is available to pick up cold on Wednesday, Nov. 23 with reheating instructions, or hot or cold on Thanksgiving day between 11:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Chef Will Gilson’s talented team Cambridge culinary team — including award-winning pastry chef Brian Mercury — are preparing pies and sides to feed four people to-go from their flagship restaurant, Puritan & Co. Pre-order before November 17 for pickup on November 23 in Inman Square. Choose your preferred pickup time, then select among a la carte options ($7-$40) like a half-dozen Parker House rolls, mushroom and sage stuffing, bacon-wrapped scallops, green bean casserole, with or without lobster; and more. Mercury’s pies include Dutch apple, pumpkin, and pecan.
Swing by the Pru to pick up Thanksgiving dishes from Rochambeau. The Back Bay bistro is preparing family-style offerings to-go, from charcuterie and cheese boards to brined and roasted turkey. Each option is meant to feed four people and everything is ordered a la carte ($18-$78). Preorder to pick up between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
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Cambridge catering company and restaurant Season to Taste is in the process of relocating to a new Massachusetts Ave. address. That isn’t stopping founder and chef Robert Harris from helping you celebrate Thanksgiving: Season to Taste is cooking up high-end holiday offerings to-go. Select a package for four people ($250), including half a free-range, organic turkey plus sides and Iggy’s rolls, or a la carte options ($6-$130). Orders close at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17 and pickup happens between noon and 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 23.
Invite a Southern-fried turkey to your Thanksgiving table this year with an order from Summer Shack. Jasper White’s restaurants in Cambridge and Back Bay have a variety of Thanksgiving offerings to-go, including a crunchy fried version of the bird (oven-roasted is also an option). Order the complete package ($205) or go a la carte on sides, pies, and poultry. Pick up from either location on Wednesday, Nov. 23, between noon and 6 p.m.
When you want to enjoy cooking from celebrated chef Tiffani Faison at home, look to order a to-go package from Sweet Cheeks Q, her Southern-inspired restaurant in the Fenway. You can order meat dishes such as a brined and smoked, whole, all natural turkey, a Thanksgiving brisket, or a smoked pork shoulder. Sides include biscuit stuffing, buttery mashed potatoes, Cita’s broccoli cheese casserole, baked mac ‘n’ cheese with buttery and garlicky Ritz crumbs, and farm salad with roasted brussels sprouts and hazelnuts. Don’t forget to take home a holiday dessert, with a choice of pumpkin or turtle pie. A variety of wines are also available. Orders must be placed by Nov. 16 at 3 p.m.
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Order in from Thistle & Leek for creative, comforting Thanksgiving dishes prepared by chefs inspired by family recipes, travel, and the local bounty. Chefs Kate and Trevor Smith of the Newton Centre restaurant are making twice-baked potatoes with aged cheddar and scallions; red wine-sausage stuffing with rye bread; their signature clam dip; spice orange cranberry sauce; and more. Among the a la carte options for Thanksgiving is a Green Circle turkey ready-to-cook at home ($150). Order by November 19 for pickup on November 23.
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