Thanksgiving in the D.C. area offers a cornucopia of dining options for those looking to celebrate the holiday without the hours of prep and cleanup.
Whether you’re craving a traditional turkey feast with all the trimmings or something a bit more inventive, D.C.’s top restaurants are serving up festive meals with their unique flair.
From cozy neighborhood bistros to upscale eateries, these spots offer everything from dine-in feasts to take-home holiday spreads, making it easy to enjoy Thanksgiving your way. Here’s a roundup of the best places in the D.C. area to gather around the table or bring a gourmet spread home to enjoy with family and friends.
Enjoy luxe dishes like truffle choux with taleggio mornay, smoked mussels with a saffron emulsion and basil, and a wagyu zabuton steak with black garlic this Thanksgiving at Bresca. The tasting menu costs $195 per person, though there’s an extra $35 charge for those who prefer the wagyu over the brioche-stuffed turkey with turkey sausage.
For $135 per person and $35 per child (reserved for those ages 8 and younger), Gravitas has a four-course prix fixe menu ready this holiday season to showcase the best the mid-Atlantic has to offer.
Sababa in Cleveland Park has à la carte seasonal specials like honey-glazed sweet potato, fried Brussels sprouts, roasted lamb loin with mint tabbouleh and pickled kumquat, and turkey mansaf with a yogurt sauce and toasted almonds.
Guests at The Bombay Club can enjoy flavorful turkey hariyali tikka with cilantro, mint, garlic, chilies and yogurt, plus a sweet potato chaat with a date tamarind chutney and desserts like a pumpkin crème brûlée.
Art and Soul in Capitol Hill is offering a prix fixe holiday menu for $95 per person with bites like crispy delicata squash rings, a roasted heritage turkey with cranberry relish and wild mushroom stuffing, a duck confit with caramelized apples and hakurei turnips, plus desserts like a chocolate terrine with blackberries.
In Alexandria, Virginia, French restaurant Josephine is hosting a classic Thanksgiving feast for $65 per person. Enjoy turkey breast with gravy, cranberry sauce, pomme puree, brioche stuffing and more.
Where to order Thanksgiving takeout in the DC area
Chef Kevin Tien of Moon Rabbit is bringing his Vietnamese twist to the Thanksgiving table with offerings like turkey breast with duck andouille sausage and pho-spiced turkey gravy, miso creamed spinach, Sichuan green beans and pastry chef Susan Bae’s miso sweet potato pie with whipped white chocolate and caramel-curry pecans, among others.
This take-home box can feed up to four people and is priced at $295.
Enjoy Thanksgiving without the hassle or any meaty dishes with MITA. This restaurant’s vegetarian feast for two ($245) or four ($385) has highlights like a vegetable wellington with maitake mushrooms and celery root gravy and sides like potato puree gratin with sunchokes and Brussels sprouts casserole with kabocha squash and figs, among others.
From Nov. 25 through Jan. 1, Spanish kaiseki restaurant Cranes is stepping up holiday takeout with exquisite dishes from chef Pepe Moncayo like a two-pound braised veal shank for four ($225) with double-buttered mashed potatoes and other sides or a crispy, roasted suckling pig for two ($250) with accompaniments that include squash and brown butter puree and roasted apple with fennel and pear puree.
Orders must be placed at least 24 hours in advance.
Enjoy a Michelin-starred experience at home with Jônt. Chef Ryan Ratino’s curated meal kit this year is portioned for two or four guests with prices at $395 or $695, respectively. Each kit includes miso-marinated turkey, side dishes and apple tarts with ice cream.
Peter Chang’s restaurant, Chang Chang, has a special menu for Thanksgiving with Peking duck with 10 lotus buns, dry-fried Brussels sprouts, green beans with ya cai and dry pot baby potatoes with pork belly and garlic shoots.
This four-person package is available for $148.
The takeout arm of Rose’s Luxury, called Rose’s at Home, has two Thanksgiving feasts to offer: one that can feed up to four guests for $260 and one that feeds up to eight guests for $500.
For those ready to feast, the two packages include a lemon-pepper brined and roasted turkey breast with confit leg and thigh, smoked turkey gravy, mashed yukon gold potatoes, wild mushroom and sage stuffing and much, much more.
There is also a Thanksgiving sides-only package for up to four guests, priced at $135.
The West End restaurant, Nobu, is going all out for the holidays with both dine-in and to-go specials. For those who’d prefer their feast to-go, Nobu has three packages to consider.
The “Deluxe for 2” package is $220 with specials like salmon wasabi pepper, tenderloin teriyaki and assorted maki selections like spicy tuna, salmon avocado, shrimp tempura and yellowtail jalapeño. The “Signature for 2” package costs $280 with highlights like black cod miso and chicken anticucho.
Finally, the $360 package, called “Premium for 2,” has specials like Chilean sea bass with wasabi miso and mirai beef truffle teriyaki. Pickup is available from Nov. 27 through 30.
For something more traditional, consider the contemporary all-day restaurant in Mount Pleasant, Ellē. Through Nov. 22, this restaurant is accepting preorders for à la carte dishes like herb-crusted turkey, baked mac and cheese, sourdough stuffing and desserts like honey goat cheesecake, chocolate bourbon pecan pie and pumpkin pie.
Centrolina has an à la carte to-go menu comprised of antipasti platters, whole roasted chicken and turkey, and sides like spiced cranberry jam, roasted Brussels sprouts and mashed potato Parmigiano, among other choices.
Michelin-starred chef Matt Baker has a takeout Thanksgiving meal that is available for pickup or delivery from Nov. 25 through 28. The à la carte packages include roast turkey, autumn soups and decadent pumpkin pies.
If you’re in search of deep-fried turkey, All Set Restaurant & Bar, Money Muscle BBQ and Fryer’s Roadside are taking orders for that and other à la carte takeout choices like a smoked turkey, seared salmon with a dill cream sauce and smoked rib-eye with horseradish cream. Each option can serve up to four people.
For those in search of the perfect pie, Colada Shop is readying their Caribbean-inspired concoctions for the Thanksgiving table. For $25 each, consider preordering a pumpkin dulce de leche pie or an apple guava pie, both 10 inches and able to serve up to eight people.
Elsewhere in the D.C. area, Alexandria Restaurant Partners is offering a no-hassle Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings. For $279, this feast includes a 20- to 22-pound apple-cider-glazed roasted turkey with sage gravy, six sides and a choice of either a pumpkin or pecan pie.
In Vienna, Virginia, Persian restaurant Joon has a Thanksgiving dinner with highlights like roasted turkey with a chutney of barberry, cranberry and apricot, plus sides like sabzi polow or baghali polow, stuffing, cardamom-spiced sweet potato casserole with a brown butter streusel and more. This order serves up to six people for $280.
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