Frankly, there is no reason to cook if you spend Thanksgiving in New York: You can have a world-class meal at dozens of incredible restaurants, or eat chef-cooked food in your own apartment. Below, we’ve put together a list of the most coveted Turkey Day reservations, whether you’re looking for a super traditional meal or something a little more off the beaten track, plus tips on where you can pick up turkey, sides, and pies if you’d rather eat at home but still don’t want to cook. Here’s where (and how) to eat this Thanksgiving in New York City.
If you want a traditional Thanksgiving meal …
Covina
How Much: $85/person or $45/child for a family-style meal
At Tim Cushman’s California-inspired restaurant, groups of any size are invited to gather for a classic Thanksgiving meal complete with butternut-squash soup, fennel-sausage stuffing, brussels sprouts, roasted turkey with cranberry sauce and classic gravy, and that stalwart of all things Thanksgiving, the Parker House roll. Small parties can reserve a table here, while parties of 10 or more should shoot an email to events@cushmanconcepts.com.
The Dutch
How Much: $130/person or $60/child under 10
You could spend every holiday eating at the Dutch and Thanksgiving is no exception: This year, the restaurant will play all the hits, from organic roast turkey to sweet-potato casserole to Brussels sprouts with bottarga, but there will also be some more off-center offerings like tuna poke, oysters on the half shell, and Thanksgiving buffalo wings for those who are tired of the same old song and dance.
Fedora, Jeffrey’s Grocery, and Joseph Leonard
How Much: $75/person (Jeffrey’s Grocery and Joseph Leonard) and $95/person (Fedora) for a family-style meal
One neighborhood, three opportunities to eat Thanksgiving dinner. As usual, Happy Cooking Hospitality will be firing on all cylinders at these three adjacent restaurants, where you’ll find family-style meals each with their own twist. Fedora will have ricotta cavatelli and roasted turkey with herbes de Provence on the table, while seafood enthusiasts will want to head to Jeffrey’s Grocery for clam chowder, whole lobster, and a raw bar. Joseph Leonard will have the most classic offerings: Chex Mix by the bowlful, wedge salads, and a most American apple pie.
The Grill and the Pool
How Much: $195/person
This upscale restaurant duo in the Seagram Building is the perfect place for Succession cosplay and a properly over-the-top Thanksgiving meal. As usual, the Grill and the Pool are pulling out all the stops: smoked leg stuffing, turkey with bourbon gravy flambé, and a dessert cart overflowing with pies and tarts. For an additional $79, you can throw that icon of Waspy dining into the mix: prime rib. Grab a spot for you (and up to 19 of your closest friends and family) here.
Holy Ground
How Much: $60/person for a family-style dinner
Blood-red banquets meet barbecue at this downtown steakhouse, which makes it perfect for anyone who wants a meal that evokes memories of Midwestern supper clubs. All night long, the kitchen will be slinging a family-style spread with smoked turkey, mashed sweet potatoes, and a pumpkin pie straight from the kitchen of chef Nathan Lithgow’s grandmother. For another $45 they’ll even throw in a turkey leg, the only part of the turkey that really matters. Lock down a table here.
Le Coq Rico
How Much: $95/person for three-course prix-fixe
The team at Le Coq Rico is so jazzed about Thanksgiving that they’ve been taking reservations since the end of September, but don’t worry, there’s still plenty of space. There’s two options: dine in or take out (see more below). If you opt for the former, the feast will include dishes like Parisian gnocchi with wild mushrooms and caramelized cipollini onions, pecan pie with butterscotch caramel, cranberry compote, and, of course, a heritage turkey from a small farm out in Lindsborg, Kansas, because Le Coq Rico doesn’t mess around when it comes to the bird.
Leonelli Taberna
How Much: $28/person for a plate
Yes, you could eat a meal prepared by a Michelin-starred chef for less than $30 this Thanksgiving. How? Well, this won’t be the kind of gut-busting, multicourse meal that’s popular time of year, but a plate heaping with turkey, Brussels sprouts, focaccia stuffing, cranberry mostarda, and sage gravy. Grab a reservation here.
Little Park
How Much: $95/person or $140 with beverage pairings
If you love vegetables more than anything else, spend Thanksgiving at this Andrew Caramellini joint. As usual, greens will take center stage in the form of celery root soup, kohlrabi with garlic and hazelnut, braised Swiss chard, and roasted carrots that refuse to play second fiddle to the slow-roasted turkey. Get a reservation here.
The NoMad
How Much: $170/person for three-course prix-fixe
In circles it might be considered sad to have Thanksgiving in a hotel restaurant, but not every hotel restaurant is the NoMad. This year, the Daniel Humm-run restaurant will offer a prix-fixe dinner with all the fixings and then some like seared foie gras, tagliatelle and shaved white truffles, bone marrow-crusted beef, and chestnut stuffing plus a dessert cart to end all dessert carts. Grab a table online or by calling 347-427-5660.
The Polo Bar
How Much: À la carte
Take your typical Thanksgiving dinner, send it to culinary school, and you’ll get what they’re offering at the Polo Bar this year: maple-bacon roasted Brussels sprouts, roast turkey with cranberry-apple chutney and calvados gravy, and a pumpkin sundae with gingersnap crisps and cinnamon-caramel sauce. It’s all à la carte, so you can pick and choose, but we say go for broke in this case. Call 212-207-8562 to make a reservation.
Tiny’s and the Bar Upstairs
How Much: $70/person for a five-course prix-fixe meal ($90 with a wine pairing) and $25/child
If intimacy is at the top of your list this Thanksgiving, the aptly named Tiny’s is the place to go. The little Tribeca restaurant will be pouring wine and serving up all the staples — heritage turkey, crispy Brussels sprouts, pumpkin pie, crusted pork tenderloin — for a price that’ll be downright easy on the wallet. Find reservations here.
If you want Thanksgiving with a twist …
Antica Pesa
How Much: À la carte
This Brooklyn restaurant is making the brave decision to go turkey-less on Thanksgiving. Instead, diners are invited to order cacio e pepe, pumpkin gnocchi with prawns, baked monkfish, and sweet potatoes drizzled with gorgonzola fondue. Grab a reservation here.
Benoit
How Much: $85/person for a three-course prix-fixe meal
Alain Ducasse’s old-school French bistro will have an equally French three-course dinner on offer this Turkey Day. Enjoy duck foie gras terrine or Maine-lobster salad; turkey stuffed with foie gras and chestnuts or filet mignon; and then finish the whole thing with your choice of dessert, including cornbread and caramelized pineapple. Grab a reservation here.
Cote
How Much: $85/person
Unsurprisingly, meat will be the star of the show at Cote on Thanksgiving Day, where the meal will start with turkey-stuffed Korean dumplings before transitioning to a so-called butcher’s block of steak cuts, including hanger, 45-day ribeye, flatiron, and galbi. There’ll also be galbi jjim, kimchi jiggae, egg soufflé, and glass noodles to drive the beauty of Korean cooking home.
Dante
How Much: $90/person for a four-course prix-fixe meal
So, you just want to drink yourself silly this Thanksgiving, but you need a cover. Let Dante, the celebrated Greenwich Village bar, be that cover. This Turkey Day, the restaurant and bar will be serving burrata with roasted beets, fazzoletti with pesto Genovese, and other Italian-leaning delights alongside, you know, the world’s finest cocktails, including a pear brandy- and calvados-based number that sounds downright autumnal. Reserve a table here.
Dirty French
How Much: $98/person for three-course prix-fixe
There are levels to Dirty French’s Thanksgiving offerings. At the most basic level, you can pay $98 and get mille-feuille with king mushrooms and butternut squash, a roast turkey breast and braised turkey leg, and pumpkin pie for dessert. But there are so many opportunities to level up through the evening: $100 for a “grand plateau” of lobster, oysters, clams, and more; $150 for a côte de boeuf with brown-butter béarnaise, and $110 for the addition of dover sole spiced with berbere. Do the right thing and level up. Grab a reservation here.
Floret
How Much: $68/person for a family-style meal or $98 with wine pairings
This Thanksgiving chef Joe Ogrodnek (formerly of Battersby and Dover) will be slinging a feast at his hotel restaurant, where a meal featuring grilled carrots with white sesame and honey, glazed short ribs, chocolate budino with coffee ice cream, and fried potato skins will served family style in the stylish Sister City. Grab a seat here.
The Fulton
How Much: $128/person for three-course prix-fixe
Like every other day of the year, seafood will be the star of the show at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s latest restaurant. Yes, you’ll find turkey and apple pie, but chef Noah Poses will also be preparing lobster with longevity noodles, crusted salmon, tuna tartare with yuzu-mustard sauce, and barely fried shrimp topped with grated bottarga roe. Call it Thanksgiving by the seaport. Reserve tables here.
Gotham
How Much: $150/person for a four-course prix-fixe meal
Yes, this is one of the more pricey options, but what you get for it — fluke crudo, glazed Berkshire ham, turkey roulade with mustard greens, housemade cavatelli, prime rib (for another $20), bourbon-pecan tart, and more — may truly justify that price tag. Reserve a table by calling 212-620-4020.
Gran Tivoli
How Much: $49/person for a three-course prix-fixe meal
Starting at noon, you can post up at this newish Italian spot for a day of live music and a menu full of Thanksgiving food with a twist. For instance pumpkin pies with an assist from fennel fronds, eggnog in custard form, porchetta belly instead of your grandma’s pork chops, and a handful of vegan options. In other words, fun for the whole family regardless of dietary restrictions. Find reservations here.
Lamalo
How Much: $55/person for a family-style meal
When this restaurant opened over the summer, the promise was that family-style meals would always be at the center of a meal and Thanksgiving is no exception. On the last Thursday of the month, Lamalo will serve Turkey Day faves with a Middle Eastern spin, like sweet potato with ras el hanout, pumpkin tershi (savory mashed pumpkin), roasted Moroccan carrots, and grilled turkey skewers. Make your reservation here.
Legacy Records
How Much: $98/person or $173/person with a wine pairing for a four-course meal
Over on the far west side, Legacy Records is putting together a wine-fueled feast based around small plates shared family-style (hamachi with yuzu, autumn chicories with candied pecans, tortelli with smoked ricotta, etc.) and solo mains, including dry-aged rib eye, honey-lacquered duck, and, of course, turkey. Grab a table here.
Leuca
How Much: $95/person and $40/child under 10 for a family-style meal
It’s not a sad Thanksgiving at a hotel if that hotel is the William Vale and the restaurant serving the meal is Leuca. As usual, Leuca will serve a Southern Italian spin on the holiday with a smoked-beet salad with Cara Cara oranges, a misticanza salad with sesame vinaigrette and grana Padano cheese, roasted turkey with smoked acorn squash, and a pumpkin crostata to close out the family-style meal. Book reservations here.
Miss Lily’s
How Much: $54/person for three-course prix-fixe
This Thanksgiving, Caribbean-leaning restaurant Miss Lily’s will add some island flair to the traditional spread with jerk turkey, baked mac and cheese, Jamaican greens, and cranberry chutney, plus pumpkin pie and banana pudding. Find reservations here.
Narcissa
How Much: $75/person or $120/person with beverage pairings
Slow cooked turkey breast with an herb crust, cornbread stuffing, cranberry-orange ginger jam and gravy are the star of the show with the sides to match. For those steering clear of the turkey this year, there’s roasted delicata squash with stracciatella, aleppo pepper, fried sage and pumpkin seeds or pan seared sea bass with a lemon fennel puree and brown butter brussels sprouts. For dessert, they’re offering a chocolate-pecan pie with whipped cream or a spiced-pumpkin cheesecake with gingersnap crust for a sweet end to the meal. The menu is attached.
Rosemary’s
How Much: $65/person for a family-style meal or $110 with wine pairings
You’d be hard-pressed to come up with a more cozy spot for holiday eating than this West Village restaurant. As usual, the team will serve up Thanksgiving with an Italian twist, meaning salumi and formaggi to start, gemelli with butternut squash, smoked turkey thigh and breast with cranberry mostarda, and pumpkin tiramisu and salted-caramel gelato for dessert. Reserve your table here.
Wayan
How Much: À la carte
Chef Cedric Vongerichten will go all-in on Thanksgiving albeit with a special plate that’s influenced by French and Indonesian cooking. Starting until 11 a.m. and until 5 p.m., Vongerichten and his wife, Ochi, will sling Indonesian roast turkey with Brussels sprout urap (a grated salad served with shaved coconut), potato fritter, or perkedel, stuffing, and long pepper gravy in addition to the usual menu of Franco-Indonesian delights. Find reservations here.
If you want to get Thanksgiving dinner to-go …
Bklyn Larder
Order By: November 9 (Orders based on availability after that)
This Park Slope spot is getting in on the catering game with an extensive menu of Thanksgiving bites that you can mix and match. Brined and roasted turkey is going for $150 while sides and platters like giblet gravy, herb stuffing, mac and cheese, crudités platters, chicories and citrus salad, and more can be added on and bought in small or large serving sizes. There’s also bread from local bakeries like Amy’s and Bien Cuit and pumpkin babka. Place an order by calling 718-783-1250 or emailing catering@bklynlarder.com.
Dickson’s Farmstand Meats
Order By: November 16
This year, the folks at Dickson’s in Chelsea Market are offering turkeys either fresh or pre-cooked (roasted or smoked) plus ham, giblet gravy, cranberry-apple sauce, glazed sweet potatoes. There are also kits available for stuffing, brining, and aromatics if you want to do the cooking and assembly, but don’t want to risk messing up. You can order online piecemeal or fill out the shop’s quick order form and get all your ordering done in a few minutes tops.
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que
Order By: November 22
This popular barbecue spot is dishing Thanksgiving dinners to go in both Brooklyn and Manhattan (Harlem to be specific). For $160, folks can grab the Turkey Deluxe dinner (perfect for 8-12 guests) with pit-roasted turkey, turkey giblet gravy, cornbread stuffing, whipped sweet potatoes, and two homemade pies, or just get the bird and the gravy for $85. Either way, it’s better than slaving over the oven all day.
Eli Zabar
Order By: November 27
If you really want to push it, this shop from the globally minded Zabar brother, Eli, is accepting Thanksgiving orders right until the day before the holiday. The shop’s Thanksgiving catalogue runs the gamut, offering turkey, chicken, capon, smoked ham, and spiral cut ham as well as canapés, corn chowder, butternut squash and pumpkin soup, dinner rolls, cranberry bread pudding, sausage stuffing, and more than we can possibly list here. Order by calling 212-717-8100, extension 9.
Fleishers
Order By: November 21
Every year like clockwork, Fleishers and its four locations runs out of Thanksgiving turkeys and 2019 is sure to be no exception. As usual, the butcher won’t cook the turkey for you, but they’ll make sure you’re getting one of the best birds you can (broad breasted, heritage breed, or Kelly Bronze heritage) and then provide you with the know-how for making the perfect bird. (They’ll even spatchcock your turkey for an additional $15!) Order your turkey and other accoutrements here.
The Gumbo Bros.
Order By: November 22
Southerners, or anyone who just loves Southern food, will want to make sure they order all their Thanksgiving catering from the experts at Gumbo Bros., where not only is Cajun-style turkey with all the classic fixings available, but you can also throw in some gumbo — seafood, chicken, and andouille sausage, or z’herbes — cornbread, buttermilk biscuits, and bourbon-pecan pie. Place your order here.
Katz’s Delicatessen
Order by: November 25
Okay, the truth is Katz’s will accept orders right up until the day before Thanksgiving, but according to an insider, you should really put in or order three days before and isn’t that the nice thing to do anyway? While this legendary deli will be slinging turkey and cranberry sauce and gravy and apple pie (all of which can be ordered for $275), this is also your opportunity to nosh your way through Thanksgiving on latkes, pastrami, knishes, rugalach, matzoh ball soup, and all manner of Jewish delights. Put in your order by calling 212-254-2246.
Le Coq Rico
Order By: November 21
If you want to take your bird home, Le Coq Rico is also offering à la carte Thanksgiving catering. For $345 you can get a Thanksgiving turkey served with sauerkraut, crushed sweet potato, homemade honey-butter cornbread, and gravy; or the restaurant’s beloved Brune Landais chicken to-go. There are also sides for sale, including Brussels sprouts, cranberry compote, and quinoa salad plus desserts. Order it all here.
Legacy Records
Order By: November 22–28
In addition to serving dinner at the restaurants, Legacy Records will be selling meals to go via Caviar, featuring honey-roasted turkey, chestnut stuffing with turkey sausage, whipped smoked potatoes and everything else you need to avoid getting off the couch all day. The whole thing will set you back $48 per person for two to six people.
MáLà Project
Order By: November 28
If you’re ordering Thanksgiving dinner for people who don’t care much for Thanksgiving, this Sichuan hot spot will be slinging Thanksgiving-themed to-go dinners featuring MáLà turkey wings, taro, and cheesecake with red bean for $36 before tax and tip. Order online the day of or a few days before here.
Marlow & Daughters
Order By: November 26
The idea at this Andrew Tarlow spot is that you can basically build the Thanksgiving of your dreams. Don’t want a turkey? Order a rib roast or rack of lamb. Do want a turkey? They’ve got you covered on the front. Plus you can order sausage or cornbread stuffing, roasted sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, fresh baked She Wolf Bakery bread, and a Thanksgiving dinner for your dog (really) to go along with it. Order here.
Mekelburg’s
Order By: November 22
Whether you’re picking up in Clinton Hill or Williamsburg, everyone’s favorite beer shop and grocer is doing Thanksgiving right with an extensive catalog of options. But if you just want to set and forget it, $399 will get you a perfect dinner for 8 with a roasted 12 pound turkey, gravy, apple-butternut bisque, sautéed string beans, sweet potato soufflé, and lard bread. Order by calling either location.
Momofuku Ssäm Bar
Order By: November 26
Ditch the entire traditional Thanksgiving feast and order the Bo Ssäm meal from Momofuku instead. Turkey becomes roasted pineapple glazed pork, mashed potatoes become scalloped potatoes with chickpea hozon, Brussels sprouts stay Brussels sprouts, albeit with country ham and xo sauce, and the pecan pie has cognac brown butter. Lockdown your $385 feast here.
Wegmans
Order By: November 27
Wegmaniacs swear by the prepared food at their favorite grocery store, and Thanksgiving is just the day to put that all to the test. The new location in Brooklyn will offer hand-carved turkey meals for groups of 6 or 12 ($135 and $239, respectively) or a more standard, ready to reheat meal for $130 that perfect for ten guests. There’ll also be options for ham dinner and rib roast dinner if the bird isn’t doing it for you. Call 347-694-8535 or go online to lock down your dinner.
If you’re in charge of bringing dessert …
Bien Cuit
Order By: November 24
If you want pies that aren’t typical, Bien Cuit, which recently opened a new location in Crown Heights, will be selling two that might pique your interest and impress guests: A miso-caramel pumpkin pie and topped with gingersnap streusel and a smoked chocolate custard pie featuring espresso caramel and wood-fired marshmallows. Both are going for $42.
Bouchon Bakery
Order By: November 28
Thomas Keller’s bakery is giving Thanksgiving desserts the French treatment with three options — pecan pie, pumpkin custard and ganache, and apple compote — served in 8-inch pie or 3-inch tart form in shortcrust shells. The pies are $32 each or $58 for two while the 3-inch pies are going for $6.25.
Bourke Street Bakery
Order By: November 26
In these bakery-boom times, it can be hard to choose between all the new spots around town, but we say go with this Australian import, where you can order homey but creative takes on fall dessert favorites, including carrot and walnut cake with cream-cheese frosting; a gluten-free chocolate, almond, and date cake; spiced-pumpkin pie; or quince butter cake for $40 to $60.
Breads Bakery
Order By: November 27
There isn’t a holiday Breads Bakery doesn’t deliver on with great baked goods, so have faith that whether you order the pecan pie with vanilla bourbon filling or the babka pie or the cranberry gouda rolls or the pumpkin tarte tatin, everyone at the Thanksgiving table will be thoroughly impressed.
Ciao, Gloria
Order By: November 25
Unsurprisingly, Prospect Heights’ hottest new café is getting in on the Thanksgiving pie game. This year, the shop will serve a limited number of three different pies — pecan pignoli, apple cranberry, and pumpkin — from $38 to $40. Preorder your pie by calling 716-666-CIAO (2426).
Daily Provisions
Order By: November 25
Twice the locations now means twice the opportunities to pick up a pie from Danny Meyer’s super-popular café. For Thanksgiving, the Flatiron and Upper West Side locations will be selling a pumpkin pie with vanilla whipped cream and salted pepitas as well as a black-and-white pie with a chocolate cookie crust, chocolate custard, cheesecake mousse, and cocoa nibs. Your family definitely won’t see that second one coming. Order here.
The Dutch
Order By: November 27
In addition to serving an all-day feast, the Dutch will also be selling three different pies to-go: a black-bottom pecan pie with dark-chocolate ganache, pear and ginger crumble pie, and malted banana-cream pie. To place your order (with 24 hours notice) go here.
Four & Twenty Blackbirds
Order By: November 27
Every year Four & Twenty Blackbirds offers the same classic pies does to absolute perfection — bittersweet chocolate pecan, salty honey, brown butter pumpkin, and salted caramel apple — and every year, we must encourage you to one or all four of these pies ($42 each) for your Thanksgiving table. You will not regret it.
Four Winters
Order By: November 22
Earlier this year, London-born dessert shop Four Winters brought its liquid nitrogen ice-cream talents to New York City, but they’re also getting into the Thanksgiving pie game. The shop will offer six pies for pickup or delivery: apple-cranberry crumb, pumpkin, pecan, baklava ice cream, sweet-potato ice cream or chocolate cream ice cream with the added option of also ordering chocolate or vanilla ice cream if you want to go à la mode. Order here.
High Street on Hudson
Order By: November 25
For her first Thanksgiving at the helm of High Street on Hudson, Melissa Funk Weller isn’t pulling out any of the stops. In addition to the expected pies — browned-butter pumpkin and apple crumble — the shop will be selling pumpkin sticky buns ($30 for six) and Parker House rolls ($9 for six), the latter of which you will definitely want to double or triple up on. Place orders here.
Leonelli Focacceria e Pasticceria
Order By: November 28
Jonathan Benno’s bakery will have some Italian-inspired Thanksgiving desserts available to take home this fall, including a $25 apple crostata with almond frangipani and vanilla glaze and a $30 cranberry-ricotta cheesecake with marbled cranberry jam on a graham cracker crust. Grab them in-store, shoot an email to cakeorders@leonellirestauarants.com, or call 212-451-9495 ext. 2005.
Morgenstern’s
Order By: November 25
Nick Morgenstern sells over-the-top desserts year-round, but his Thanksgiving offerings, many of them the size of our heads, are a whole other deal. This year, you can put in an order for six different pies: peanut-butter chocolate ice-cream pie, lemon-meringue pie, pumpkin pie with sweet-butter crust, pecan pie with sweet-butter crust, burnt sage ice-cream pie, or pork-lard apple pie. Place your order here.
Palais by Perfect Pie
Order By: November 27
Unfortunately, we can’t all have Thanksgiving with Barack Obama, but we can get pretty damn close by ordering a pie from his former pastry chef! At the recently opened Palais by Perfect Pie, former White House pastry chef Bill Yosses will be slinging pumpkin, pecan, apple salted caramel ($25 each), and a huckleberry pie ($40) if you’re looking to put a well-connected pie on the table. Order by calling 917-406-0347.
Petee’s Pie
Order By: November 24
We here at Grub believe the folks at Petee’s Pie (with locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn) serve the absolute best pie in the city. Let that information guide you as you browse the 16 pies available for Thanksgiving, including maple-whiskey walnut, brown-butter honey pecan, salty-chocolate chess, coconut custard, as well as more standard offerings and all priced between $35 and $40. Order yours here.
