Savor Scout › What to eat › Where to eat on Thanksgiving
Where to eat on Thanksgiving
Eating out on Thanksgiving is more common than people think — for small households, people working, people travelling and anyone who would rather not spend two days cooking. The choice is between a traditional turkey dinner and simply a good meal.
Search “open on Thanksgiving, turkey dinner, reservations” →
What restaurants are open on Thanksgiving?
Many hotel restaurants, steakhouses, diners and some chain restaurants open on Thanksgiving, often with a set turkey menu. Chinese, Indian, and other restaurants run by families who do not observe the holiday are frequently open with their normal menu. Hours vary widely, so check or call the same week.
Restaurants that open on Thanksgiving usually do one of two things. Traditional American restaurants, hotels and steakhouses serve a fixed turkey dinner, often with a reservation-only set seating. Many other restaurants — Chinese, Indian, Middle Eastern, Mexican — stay open with their normal menu because it is a normal working day for them.
Both are good options. A turkey dinner out gives you the tradition without the cooking. A great regular meal somewhere else gives you a relaxed day with no expectations, which for many people is the real gift.
Booking matters more than on almost any other day. Thanksgiving turkey dinners usually sell out, and hours change at short notice. Confirm the week of.
What to look for on Thanksgiving:
- Confirmed holiday hours — Check the week of; don't rely on standard listings.
- A turkey dinner, if that's the point — With the sides you care about.
- Takeout as an option — Many restaurants sell full Thanksgiving dinners to take home.
- Room for your group — Especially for a family.
- Normal menus elsewhere — If you'd rather skip the tradition.
Try this search
Savor Scout takes a sentence rather than a category, so the criteria above can go straight into the box. For this, something like “open on Thanksgiving, turkey dinner, reservations” works — it reads menus and reviews for those specific things and comes back with one place and the reasons it picked it.
Search “open on Thanksgiving, turkey dinner, reservations” →
What usually goes wrong
Assuming a restaurant is open because its regular hours say so, booking late, and very large set menus at high prices when a smaller meal would make you happier. If travelling, avoid relying on airport and highway options alone.
What to eat
Worth considering here: American food, Southern food, Prime rib, Chinese food, Indian food.