Thanksgiving Dinner in NYC, Handled: Twenty-Seven Restaurants Worth Booking

The best Thanksgiving upgrade is not cooking it. Whether your oven is the size of a shoebox or you would simply rather spend the day out of the kitchen, New York restaurants have turned the holiday into one of the best reservations of the year. This year's options run from an under-thirty-dollars diner plate to family-style feasts and a rooftop seatings-at-sunset situation, plus a Friendsgiving brunch the weekend before for anyone who celebrates twice. Book early: Thursday, November 26 is closer than it feels.

Altair

The family-style move in the Garment District. Altair (351 West 38th Street) serves a shared feast at $75 per person, opening with caramelized onion and Gruyère rolls with truffle honey before the juniper and rosemary turkey breast, wild rice and brioche sausage stuffing and heirloom squash arrive. Pumpkin pie with whipped mascarpone closes it out, and a wine or cocktail pairing can be added for another $75. Reservations are on OpenTable.

Carnegie Diner & Cafe

The most democratic Thanksgiving in the city. Carnegie Diner & Cafe plates the full classic spread, turkey, cornbread, whipped sweet potato, stuffing, caramelized Brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce and gravy, for $29.95, served at regular hours on Thanksgiving Day across its locations, including West 57th Street near Central Park, the Times Square District and the Martinique New York on Broadway. No prix fixe anxiety, just dinner.

Gotham Burger Social Club

The whole dinner, in burger form. Gotham Burger Social Club brings back the Muther Clucker from November 22 to 25: a smashed turkey patty with melted Muenster, stuffing, cranberry sauce, arugula, mayo and a pour of gravy. It is served at both the Lower East Side and Williamsburg shops while supplies last, and both close on Thanksgiving Day itself, so this one is a pre-game move.

Lindens

SoHo's feast mode. Lindens at the Arlo SoHo (2 Renwick Street) goes big at $95 per person: Parker House rolls with squash butter, baked figs and brie, bacon-wrapped green beans with mushroom gravy and a long parade of sides ahead of the shared roasted turkey breast. Dessert is house pumpkin pie with whipped cream and crispy quinoa. Reservations are on OpenTable.

The Alderman

A tavern hideaway above the Theater District rush. The Alderman (154 West 48th Street) serves its upscale take at $95 per person, with chicories, apple, walnuts and gorgonzola to start, then light and dark roasted turkey with black truffle sourdough stuffing and sage roasted Brussels sprouts. Pumpkin pie finishes, and a wine pairing is $50 more. Reservations are on OpenTable.

Park Rose

Family style, dressed up. Park Rose (444 Park Avenue South) runs a $95 per person feast that opens with charcuterie, giardiniera and crispy deviled eggs, then moves to roasted turkey breast, pumpkin ravioli and brioche and sausage stuffing. The finale is pumpkin cheesecake with Chantilly cream. Reservations are on OpenTable.

Lulla

Thanksgiving, translated into Italian. Lulla (113 West 24th Street) gives the classics a Chelsea accent: ciabatta stuffing, green bean caponata, sweet potato parmesan and pumpkin panna cotta alongside the roasted turkey and cranberry sauce. A good pick for the table that has done the traditional version every year and wants a variation. Reservations are on OpenTable.

Miriam

The plate that tastes like home, with a twist. Miriam, Rafael Hasid's Mediterranean restaurant named for his mother, serves a $37 Thanksgiving Plate: roasted turkey breast, spiced pumpkin purée, challah stuffing, green beans and a Middle Eastern-inspired cranberry sauce. It runs at all four locations, service from 3 PM on the Upper West Side and in Brooklyn and 4 PM on the Upper East Side and in the West Village, with the regular à la carte menu alongside.

Evelyn Bar & Kitchen

The flexible FiDi option. Evelyn Bar & Kitchen serves a three course prix fixe from noon to 10 PM at $75 for adults and $45 for children. Start with beet salad or butternut squash soup, then choose between the full roast heritage turkey dinner, steak frites or grilled salmon, and finish with sticky toffee pudding or an apple pie with crème fraîche ice cream. Non-turkey people, this is your place.

Lola's Rooftop

Thanksgiving above Midtown. Lola's Rooftop, atop the Sanctuary Hotel (132 West 47th Street), serves a $95 per person prix fixe with seatings at 4, 6 and 8 PM. Lobster bisque or tuna crudo to start, then roasted turkey, butternut squash gnocchi or red snapper, with an 8 ounce filet mignon available for $26 more. Dessert is pumpkin cheesecake, dulce de leche rice pudding or crème brûlée. Reservations are on OpenTable.

Elsie Rooftop

For celebrating early and with friends. Elsie Rooftop hosts a Friendsgiving brunch on Saturday, November 21 and Sunday, November 22, from 11 AM to 2:30 PM. The 21 and over seating includes an entrée and 90 minutes of bottomless mimosas and bellinis, with the Midtown skyline doing the decorating. Tickets are at tickets.elsierooftop.com.

Somewhere Nowhere

For the night before, 39 floors up. Somewhere Nowhere, the two-level lounge and nightclub atop the Renaissance New York Chelsea Hotel, throws its annual Thanksgiving Eve Party on Wednesday, November 25, from 10 PM to 4 AM, with a six-DJ lineup and the skyline doing the decorating. One of the biggest going-out nights of the year, taken literally higher.

Blu on the Hudson

The skyline view escape hatch. Blu on the Hudson sits on the Weehawken waterfront, a five minute ferry ride across the river, and serves a three course prix fixe from 1 to 9 PM at $85 per person. Baked oysters with creamed spinach and truffle, an 8 ounce Wagyu skirt steak au poivre, the classic turkey dinner with wild mushroom brioche stuffing, and pumpkin pie with cranberry compote and maple mascarpone, all of it in front of the Manhattan skyline. Sommelier Adam Greer's Wine Spectator recognized wine program does the rest. Reservations are on OpenTable.

Massara

Thanksgiving, by way of Campania. Massara (913 Broadway) gives the holiday an Italian accent with a prix fixe served from noon to 3 PM at $175 per guest. Barbabietole with pine nuts and buffalo mozzarella, spaghetti bottarga with anchovies and lemon, and a turkey involtino, with purè di patate and grilled vegetables alongside and a squash cheesecake with red wine caramel and meringue for dessert. It is chef Stefano Secchi's Flatiron follow up to Rezdôra, all wood fired and very Southern Italian. Reservations are on DoorDash.

The Noortwyck

The West Village classic, with a British accent. The Noortwyck serves Thanksgiving from noon to 7 PM, dine in only: turkey breast with all the trimmings, mashed potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts, charred green beans and whipped sweet potatoes, then pumpkin pie with Chantilly, bourbon pecan pie or Dutch apple. Chef Andy Quinn also sends out sunchoke and black truffle agnolotti and a slow roasted prime rib au jus, a nod to his British roots.

Café Carmellini

The grand dining room splurge. Café Carmellini, Andrew Carmellini's restaurant inside The Fifth Avenue Hotel, opens on the holiday with a four course prix fixe at $225 per person. All the elegance and warmth of a showstopping Thanksgiving spread, and somebody else does the dishes.

Metro Cinema

Dinner and a movie, privatized. Metro Cinema pairs the feast with your own private movie theater for $125 per person: turkey, cranberries, stuffing, mashed potatoes, fluffy biscuits and pumpkin pie, with Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Elf and a long list of films to choose from. Thanksgiving Day only, and advance reservations are the move.

Mission Ceviche

The Peruvian remix. Mission Ceviche serves its holiday feast on Thanksgiving Day from noon to 9 PM at both Union Square and the Upper East Side: butternut squash and ají amarillo soup, then turkey a la brasa with Peruvian-inspired sides and pastel de choclo to finish. Union Square is $78 per person and $28 for children; the Upper East Side runs $65 and $25, with the regular menu also available there.

Flight Club

The one with darts. Flight Club at 31 Union Square pairs its Social Darts with a seasonal lineup: a Honeycrisp Spritz, Crimson Margarita and Spiced Old Fashioned, plus roasted squash flatbread, apple and burrata salad and pork belly sliders, finishing with mini pecan pies and sticky toffee cakes. From November 16, its Holiday in the Highlands programming adds whiskey tastings and Flight Fridays through the season.

Carnegie Deli

The institution play. Carnegie Deli, back on Seventh Avenue after nearly a decade away, stays open regular hours on Thanksgiving for the full pastrami and matzo ball soup canon, and adds a pumpkin spice cheesecake for the season, its famous New York-style cheesecake with warm pumpkin spice on a cookie dough crust, sold whole or by the slice.

Clay at Wildflower Farms

The get out of town option. Ninety minutes from Manhattan, Clay at Wildflower Farms, Auberge Collection serves a farm driven Thanksgiving in the Hudson Valley, built on ingredients from the property's own farm with the Shawangunk Ridge as the backdrop. Make a day or a weekend of it: fireside cider, s'mores on the Great Porch and walks through the autumn meadows.

Saverne

The brasserie play. Saverne serves a three course menu on Thanksgiving Day from noon to 8 PM, priced at $155 for adults and $65 for children 12 and under. A proper sit down holiday dinner without a big production at home. Reservations are on Resy.

Restaurant Gabriel Kreuther

The fine dining heavyweight. Restaurant Gabriel Kreuther offers a three course menu at $193 or a four course menu at $225, served on Thanksgiving Day from 2 to 8 PM. When the holiday calls for white tablecloth energy, this is the reservation. Reservations are on Resy.

Nebula

Also for the night before, Vegas scale. Nebula, the Midtown nightclub at 135 West 41st Street known for its immersive LED walls, hosts its first in-house Thanksgiving Eve Party on Wednesday, November 25, from 11 PM to 4 AM. A big-room homecoming for every friend back in town for the holiday.

Musaafer

The Indian inspired remix. Musaafer runs a Tandoori Turkey Special at $48: a turkey seekh kebab roulade with baby carrots, makhani sauce, spiced cherry, truffle potatoes and Brussels sprouts. All the holiday notes, in a completely different key. Reservations are on OpenTable.

ZOI Mediterranean NoMad

The Mediterranean remix in NoMad. ZOI Mediterranean NoMad serves a $110 per person Thanksgiving prix fixe that opens family style with a house mezze selection and heirloom Greek salad, then a choice of herb-roasted turkey with gravy, short rib tandir, champagne salmon or truffle fettuccine. Pavé potatoes, herb-roasted cauliflower and maple-glazed baby carrots come family style, and a Dubai gold cheesecake finishes. Reservations are on Resy.

Maison Close

The French escape hatch in SoHo. Maison Close stays open on Thanksgiving serving its regular dinner menu: apéritifs, classic French dishes and indulgent desserts in a sophisticated, low-lit room. For anyone happy to skip the traditional spread entirely, this is the move. Reservations are on Resy.

However you play it, the reservation is the whole strategy. The good seatings at the good places go first, and nobody has ever regretted booking Thanksgiving in October.

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