If you don’t want to cook and clean up for a crowd on Thanksgiving, head out to one of the national restaurant chains open and serving traditional turkey and fixings on Thanksgiving Day.
Be sure to call your local restaurant in advance to confirm participation and pricing, and to find out if they are requiring reservations during this year of social distancing.
At chains which allow tips, be sure to tip generously, since the kitchen staff and wait staff is giving up their holiday to serve you. Or, throw a generous tip into the Tip Jar.
Also choose dinner
from one of these locally-owned NYC options
NYC restaurants open for Thanksgiving dinner
Thanksgiving-to-go from NYC restaurants & caterers
National Chains
Thanksgiving Dinner Dine-in and Take-out
Note that we are including national chains with no locations in New York City, for our followers who travel and for our followers who don’t live in the greatest city on the planet.
Some chains are offering both dine-in and holiday dinners to go, so it’s up to you how you feel it’s safe to celebrate in 2020.
Note that prices, hours and participation may vary by location, and beverages are extra at most venues with fixed-price meals.
Our list is in alphabetical order, because that’s the only fair way.
Bob Evans:
Open Thanksgiving Day with their usual menu plus Thanksgiving specials.
Bob Evans is also offering take-home Farmhouse Feast meals that include your choice of entrée (slow-roasted turkey, ham, or both), Bread & Celery Dressing, corn, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans with ham, cranberry relish, rolls, and a pie for dessert.
Boston Market:
Restaurants will be open on Thanksgiving Day (hours vary by location) and offer a traditional plated meal.
They’ll also have a la carte items available for order, and complete heat & serve meals for parties of 4-6 and 12. Pick from turkey meals, turkey and ham meals, prime rib meals, and ham meals. All feature assorted sides, including stuffing, mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, and pie. Prices start at $79.99.
Buca di Beppo:
Open on Thanksgiving and serving a dinner with all the trimmings.
You can also order their Thanksgiving Feast to go, which includes sliced white meat turkey, homestyle gravy, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, spicy Italian sausage stuffing, green beans, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie, plus the option to add on any of your favorite Italian dishes. A small, which serves 3, is $68.99, and a large, which serves 6, is $138.
Available for pick-up hot or cold.
Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.:
Open on Thanksgiving Day and offering turkey and ham meals. Restaurant hours may be shorter than usual, so call ahead.
Charlie Brown’s Fresh Grill:
This restaurant is found in New York and New Jersey.
Enjoy an All You Can Eat Turkey Dinner (3 courses) for $21.99 (children 12 and under $9.99). Includes all the fixings such as garlic mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, sweet potatoes, apple cornbread stuffing, baby beans almandine, candied carrots, and cranberry sauce.
Claim Jumper Restaurants:
Check out the Thanksgiving Menu, available at most locations on Thanksgiving Day.
Entrée choices are Roasted Turkey ($24.99), Ham Dinner ($24.99), Roasted Tri-Tip ($25.99), Ham & Turkey Supper ($26.99), and The Feast ($29.99). Claim Jumper Restaurants will also have non-traditional entrée options featuring seafood and prime rib. Call your local restaurant for details.
Cracker Barrel:
This national chain has just opened its first NYC location, in the Bronx.
They’ll be open regular business hours Thanksgiving Day serving a traditional Thanksgiving meal beginning at 11 a.m. Cracker Barrel is offering 2 to-go meal options.
The Thanksgiving Heat N’ Serve Feast serves 8-10 for $139.99. The Family Dinner package serves 4-6 for $69.99. Each comes with turkey and dressing, gravy, a sampling of sugar cured ham, cranberry relish, country green beans, macaroni n’ cheese, choice of mashed potatoes or sweet potato casserole, and dinner rolls.
Meals are available for pickup November 21 through November 29. If you schedule your pickup on November 23 or 24, you’ll get a free $10 bonus card (valid in January and February 2021). 24-hour notice is required for orders.
Denny’s:
Enjoy their turkey and dressing dinner for $10.49, which includes carved turkey breast, savory stuffing, turkey gravy, cranberry sauce, dinner bread, and your choice of two sides.
Eddie V’s:
Eddie V’s will be open serving a traditional Thanksgiving meal, alongside the full regular menu, for $43 per person for adults and $15 per person for children.
You can also order Thanksgiving at-home meals, featuring either turkey breast or an oven-roasted tenderloin and several sides. Meals for 2 people are $135-150, and those for 4-6 people are $235-250. You can also order just the trimmings for $125.
Pickup November 24-25.
Fleming Steakhouse:
Fleming Steaking will serve a three-course Thanksgiving dinner, including your choice of herb-roasted turkey or petite filet mignon. Their full menu will also be available, as well as a reduced price children’s menu.
You can order a three-course dinner to be picked up 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Thanksgiving Day.
Golden Corral:
The first NYC outpost of this national chain has opened in the Bronx.
Golden Corral’s Thanksgiving Day buffet will include everyone’s favorites: carved turkey, fried chicken, rotisserie chicken, ham, meatloaf, and much more.
The price is likely to be a little higher on Thanksgiving day than it usually is. Be sure to ask at the location of your choice.
Hard Rock Café:
Open on Thursday, November 26, 2020, the restaurant offers a special menu that includes slow-roasted turkey breast, roasted fresh vegetables, home-style classic stuffing, creamy sweet potato mash, cranberry sauce, and gravy. It’s $29.95 per plate for adults, and $10.95 per plate for children.
They’ll also offer pumpkin pie and an espresso martini.
Luby’s:
They’ll be open for dine-in, serving a meal for $11.99.
Choose a cornbread dressing-stuffed turkey leg with one holiday side dish or classic turkey and cornbread dressing with two holiday sides. Both choices include a dinner roll and a holiday dessert. Luby’s also offers dinner to go for pre-order.
You can choose from several Thanksgiving combos. The cheapest is the Select package, which starts at $69.99 and includes roasted turkey breast or spiral sliced ham, cornbread dressing, cranberry sauce, giblet gravy, dinner rolls, and pumpkin pie. They’ll also have a la carte sides available for order.
Maggiano’s:
Dine in to enjoy a three-course family style meal for $39.99 per person ($17.99 for children 5-12). You can also order Thanksgiving packages from the Maggiano’s carryout menu.
Packages are $179.99, serve 4-5 people, and include turkey with gravy and stuffing, ham with whipped sweet potatoes, spaghetti and meatballs, four-cheese ravioli, Caesar salad, mashed potatoes, freshly baked bread, and cranberry relish. They also have a la carte items available for order.
Thanksgiving orders are available for pickup November 24 – 26. Orders must be placed by 8 p.m. the night prior to pick-up. Meals picked up prior to November 26 will be prepared and packaged cold to warm up at your convenience
Mimi’s Café:
Mimi’s Café will have a traditional dine-in meal available on Thanksgiving Day. You can also order a turkey dinner to go, with roasted turkey, stuffing, cranberry relish, mashed potatoes, gravy, and freshly-baked French bread. Pricing is from $100 – $180. You can order from their catering site.
Romano’s Macaroni Grill:
On Thanksgiving, Romano’s Macaroni Grill will serve a traditional three-course menu for $24.99 per person, with a kid’s meal available for $12.
They’re also offering two take-and-heat Thanksgiving meal options. The smaller package serves 5 and includes turkey, homestyle gravy, assorted sides, and your choice of dessert for $95. The larger option serves up to 10 people. Pickup times are available between November 24 and November 26, with some locations offering delivery.
Ruth’s Chris Steak House:
A three-course Thanksgiving dinner at Ruth’s Chris will cost $41.95 for adults and $14.95 for kids.
They’ll also have take-home feasts that serve 4 available for $165. These include a salad, turkey breast, sausage and herb stuffing, gravy, cranberry relish, a choice of a side item, and 4 personal pumpkin cheesecakes. A la carte sides and salads are also available.
Ted’s Montana Grill:
They will be open and offering Ted’s Thanksgiving Roast Turkey Feast for $29. Guests looking for a nontraditional Thanksgiving meal can choose from St. Phillip’s Island Crab Cakes, Bison Brisket, Bison Meatloaf, Big Sky Grilled Salad, Cedar Plank Salmon, Ted’s Filet, and Delmonico Ribeye. Prices and availability vary by location.
Many of these outlets will take your orders or reservations online, so be sure to click on the links to find the location nearest you.
Other Thanksgiving Dinner options
If you’re looking for additional dine-in options, another excellent resource is OpenTable, which lists many restaurants open on Thanksgiving specific to your city.
Many of these are higher-priced establishments and reservations are required.
What do you think about this? We welcome your comments.