One of the things that I appreciate about the past 20 difficult months is that we got the opportunity to reevaluate our traditions. We assessed the customs that we really missed, that we wanted to revisit, resurrect or re-create as soon as possible. And we also got to decide if there were things we were doing only because they were routine, but not truly meaningful.
Thanksgiving — with its misrepresented history, its ritual food, family dynamics and the pressure to make a perfect meal with dishes that taste like nostalgia — is particularly fraught when it comes to tradition. Fortunately, Nashville chefs are thoughtful, creative and resourceful. Whether you want to take the in-laws out to a lavish buffet in a luxury hotel restaurant, or you want to ease your cooking burden by picking up the whole meal to go, or you are looking for that one dish to supplement your grandmother's recipes, there’s a Nashville Thanksgiving restaurant menu for you.
Here’s a not-at-all comprehensive list of some Turkey Day eating options. Some takeout purveyors require advance ordering, and most dining rooms recommend reservations, so make your plans soon.
If you know folks who could use a free meal: Start the holiday early by bringing them to the Shugga Hi Annual Harvest Community Meal on Nov. 18. As noted by my colleague Chris Chamberlain, Dickerson Pike’s Shugga Hi Bakery and Cafe hosts the event, which honors the life and legacy of its co-founder Sandra E. Austin. Service starts at 11 a.m. and continues until the food runs out.
If you want to do more for others: Foodsgiving at the Nashville Farmers’ Market on Nov. 19 will teach you how you can donate and lend a hand this holiday season. Talk to groups including The Nashville Food Project, Tennessee Justice Center, Hands on Nashville, Nashville Community Fridge, and TN Local Food Summit. The event takes place during Night Market, where you can shop from local vendors and participate in a Second Harvest Food Bank canned food drive.
If you want to dine at an in-person buffet: All things in moderation, of course, but these places have a bounty from which to choose. Adele's will feature traditional foods, plus specialty cocktails such as Pumpkin White Russian and a Cider and Maple Old Fashioned. The Thanksgiving Day Buffet at The 404 Kitchen includes classics, with a carving station (roasted turkey breast, glazed spiral ham, and a roast New York Strip), plus a dessert bar and specialty cocktails.
If you want a dine-in classic Southern meal: Arnold's Country Kitchen will have two seatings for your dining pleasure. Locations of Monell’s in Germantown and on Murfreesboro Pike will offer first come, first served meals (no reservations needed), including turkey and gravy, baked ham, and fried chicken as well as sweet and savory fixings.
If you want someone else to make the decisions for you: The menu at Saint Stephen is a prix fixe affair with salted beets, sour corn soup and beef tartare (heads-up if you have a vegetarian or vegan in your group, the kitchen asks for 48 hours’ notice for special requests). Reservations are required. The new Church and Union has a three-course set menu and check out the ceiling mural while you dine. The traditional menu at Eddie V’s at Fifth + Broadway includes brioche sage dressing and sliced turkey. You know how I feel about The Continental, Sean Brock’s swanky spot in the Grand Hyatt. Choose from the prix fixe afternoon meal or walk in to grab a seat at the bar.
The Continental
If you want to hang at a hotel: Nashville's hotel scene is considerably swankier than it was a few years ago and many of these places, with their team of talented chefs, have Thanksgiving dinners that can’t be beat (hat-tip to my annual listening to “Alice’s Restaurant.”). You can plan a staycation or just head over for brunch, lunch or dinner. Hotel options include skillet cornbread and deviled eggs at Holston House’s, TENN, where reservations are required. Yolan at The Joseph Nashville will help you start a new tradition with an Italian feast, featuring Gnocchi made with white truffles, Panzanello d’Autunno with local squash three ways, and Tacchino turkey breast, truffled turkey sausage, sweet potatoes and compressed porcini. (If the dinner is sold-out, check back about cancellations.) Noelle Nashville’s Makeready L&L is focusing on brunch, featuring a sourdough vanilla waffle with seasonal poached fruits and a breakfast sandwich with smoked bacon or plant-based sausage. Andrew Carmellini’s The Dutch at the new W Nashville is going family-style with turkey, cranberry orange chutney, mashed potatoes, Brussel sprouts, green beans and chipotle-scallion cornbread stuffing. The Harpeth Hotel’s 1799 Kitchen and Cocktails in Franklin has a prix fixe menu with scallop crudo, butternut fried quail with Johnny Cakes, turkey and a caramel apple tatin with rye whiskey caramel on the menu. The plan at Ellington’s in the Fairlane Hotel is a three-course menu. Reservations are recommended, but walk-ins are welcome, too.
The Dutch
If you have little kids: Both Thanksgiving brunch at Old Hickory Steakhouse at Gaylord Opryland and brunch at Gaylord Springs Golf Links are free for kids ages 5 and younger. The expansive menus include everything from omelette stations to carving stations. Gaylord’s A Country Christmas festivities are already underway, and are designed as a family-friendly fete, so kids can be entertained before or after your meal. The million lights twinkling make for a great backdrop for holiday photos if you want to snap those and send them out next month.
If you prefer to have someone else do the cooking, but you want to eat it in the comfort of your own home: Silver Sands Cafe has the full-on Thanksgiving feast available for takeout, with ham, turkey, chicken, and all the sides and all the pies. A nonrefundable deposit is required when you place your order. Get dinner for four (including roasted turkey breast and confit turkey legs plus Asian-inspired side dishes like shishito mashed potatoes) and instructions on how to reheat it all to perfection at Sunda. Orders for cajun fried or herb crusted turkeys, maple stone ground mustard glazed ham and other dishes from Chef’s Market in Goodlettsville should be placed by Friday, Nov. 19. Puckett’s Gro. & Restaurant has takeout available from both its downtown Nashville and Franklin spots. Order by Saturday, Nov. 20, and choose your pick up time. There are even some limited pickup slots on Thanksgiving Day, which is great if you don’t have room in the fridge for all the turkey, yeast rolls, sides and pies. Anzie Blue has menus for four people. Choose from pork loin, sugar ham, fried chicken or smoked turkey. Order by Friday, Nov, 19. The Gumbo Bros has Cajun-fried turkey, turkey and andouille sausage gumbo, Nanny’s Seafood Gumbo, and Gumbo Z’herbes (which I’ve told you about before), all available to take home and spice up your holiday. Von Elrod’s has a white cheddar baked macaroni-and-cheese with pretzel crumb topping on the menu. You could just order that or get a full meal with rosemary sage roast turkey breast, cornbread stuffing and whipped sweet potatoes. Place orders by Friday, Nov. 19.
Chef's Market
If you need to up your own game: Order charcuterie board accompaniments, flavored cultured butters, focaccia, and, of course, cheese from, Culture + Co by Monday, Nov. 22. Conveyor belt not included.
If you fancy barbecue: There are more smoked meats than you can imagine. Martin’s Bar-B-Que has two sizes of packages: One for a small gathering (4-6 guests) and one for the extended fam (12-15 guests). The packages include special family recipes from Pat Martin’s mom. Order online by Thursday, Nov. 18. Martin’s will donate $5 from every small gathering meal to benefit Nashville Food Project. The Peg Leg Porker meals include smoked whole turkey, two half pans of sides, a dozen yeast rolls, and one pie, or choose an a la carte whole turkey on its own. Order by Wednesday, Nov. 17 by emailing catering@peglegporker.com. Dickey’s Barbecue Pit has meals that will feed up to 12 people, including garlic peppercorn prime rib, bourbon pecan pie and mac ‘n’ cheese. Edley’s Bar-B-Que will make it even easier by delivering your barbecue meats straight to your house on Tuesday, Nov. 23. The deadline for ordering from Inglewood’s Shotgun Willie’s is Sunday, Nov. 21.
If you’re in it just for the leftovers: Graduate Nashville’s lobby café Poindexter has a takeout meal of a “Leftovers Sandwich” with turkey, cranberry relish, kale salad and gravy on the side. Or pick the turkey pot pie that will serve you well all weekend. (And no, you can’t take the fam to dine in front of the giant chicken-wire bust of Dolly. White Limozeen Rooftop Bar will be closed on Thanksgiving.)
If you want a view of Broadway: Merchants, a longtime Nashville tradition, gives you a choice of a Thanksgiving plate or the complete regular menu on the first floor or special, three-course Thanksgiving menu from the second-floor steakhouse, both of which have windows looking out on the Lower Broad action.
Feeding a small crowd? You can order just one or two sides or starters from Miel’s takeout menu and add them to your at-home favorites (or eat them on their own).
If you can’t decide: Gray & Dudley in the 21c Museum Hotel will be offering dine in and takeout options, as will Henley at the Kimpton Aertson. You have until Sunday, Nov. 21, to place your takeout orders of herb-roasted turkey, apple and andouille stuffing and apple cinnamon loaf.
If you are a procrastinator: You don’t have to place your takeout order at STK Nashville until Wednesday, Nov. 24. The menu includes a roasted free range turkey, cornbread and sage stuffing, shallot and thyme confit thighs, parmesan crust classic gravy, cranberry orange chutney.
If you’re all about dessert: Margot Cafe and Bar is doing pies, cake, breads and cookies. Order on the website. Deadline to order is Saturday, Nov. 20. Marsh House, the Gulf Coast-focused eatery, has a four-course prix-fixe menu available. Executive Chef Vu Vo’s dishes combine Southern and Creole cuisine. The meal is available in the light-filled dining room in the Thompson hotel or available to go, but the item that jumped out at me was the chocolate bacon cake. It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving in Nashville without one of Miss Linda’s pies from Elliston Place Soda Shop. (They have full meals to go, too.) Order by Friday, Nov. 19. Germantown’s Rolled4EverIceCream has their Thai-inspired portable treats ready for you to take home. Place orders by Sunday, Nov. 21. Pick your favorite ice cream and have Hattie Jane’s Creamery make it into an ice cream pie. Order by Sunday, Nov. 21, via email at contact@hattiejanescreamery.com.
If you want something different: Get just a taste of the traditional meal, but not the whole whole turkey, from Hillsboro Village’s Hopdoddy Burger Bar. The burger spot’s Thanksgiving fries feature their classic sweet potato fries topped with candied pecans, marshmallows, fried rosemary and drizzled with a maple glaze. Pinewood’s a la carte menu features a special Hot Brown sandwich, the famous open-faced turkey sandwich with mornay, bacon, and tomato. The Gentle Barn launched a new Turkey Guardian Campaign, allowing anyone to become sponsors or “guardians” of one of five turkeys for a one time donation of $35. You’ll get a certificate commemorating your commitment to saving turkeys. If you want, you can even head to bucolic Christiana, Tennessee (about an hour south of Nashville) and visit the turkeys.
