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An overhead shot of a table filled with platters of turkey, steak, vegetables, pasta, and gravy boats and glasses of wine.
A Thanksgiving spread at Contessa.
Contessa

Where to Dine Out for Thanksgiving 2023

10 festive options for the holiday

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A Thanksgiving spread at Contessa.
| Contessa

If gathering around the kitchen and figuring out how to roast a 20-pound bird is not your thing, a number of Boston-area restaurants are open and taking reservations for Thanksgiving dinner. It’s a holiday tradition that has origins in an uneasy, temporary alliance between 17th-century English settlers and members of the Wampanoag Confederacy.

This year the holiday falls on Thursday, November 23. From turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie to fancy steaks, here’s a sampling of 10 Thanksgiving 2023 dining options in and around Boston. The city sits on the unceded land of several Indigenous tribes, including the Massachusett, Pawtucket, Wampanoag, and Nipmuc peoples.

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The West End waterfront makes a beautiful backdrop for Thanksgiving dinner at Alcove, a cozy neighborhood spot located on Lovejoy Wharf. There will be holiday cocktails and turkey aplenty, or if that’s not your thing, newly instated chef Mark Cina promises that plenty of other options from Alcove’s menu will be available on the holiday. Reservations are available here.

Sumiao Hunan Kitchen

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Kendall Square’s Sumiao Hunan Kitchen specializes in Hunan cuisine (not to mention the Chinese liquor baijiu). Celebrate the holiday with pumpkin cakes, five spice-braised beef, and chili chicken dressed up with house-made chili oil.

Contessa

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How about Thanksgiving on a rooftop? Major Food Group’s decadent Italian hotspot, Contessa, will be open on the holiday serving a pre-set, four-course family-style menu for $195 per person from 12 to 8 p.m. There’s ricotta-stuffed pasta with black truffles, roasted turkey, and squash carpaccio, among other plates, and the meal finishes out with Boston cream pie and pumpkin ice cream. Reservations are available here.

Grill 23 & Bar

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Swanky Boston steakhouse Grill 23 will be serving an a la carte menu — complete with a turkey entree special for $42 — on Thanksgiving from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Atlantic Fish Co.

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Atlantic Fish Co. is open every day year-round, and the Back Bay standby has a few open reservations left for Thanksgiving. The special holiday menu includes roasted turkey with apple-sage stuffing and pumpkin cheesecake topped with a dollop of vanilla whipped cream.

Oak Long Bar + Kitchen

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Oak Long Bar + Kitchen, located inside the Fairmont Hotel across from Copley Plaza, will be serving its regular menu plus four specials on the holiday: hearth-roasted Brussels sprouts; honey-glazed turkey; pecan pie with a nutmeg cream; and a pulled turkey French dip sandwich only available at the bar. There are a few late table reservations still up for grabs, and the bar will be walk-in only throughout the day.

Enjoy a Thanksgiving feast overlooking Back Bay at one of the hottest new restaurants in town this fall. Portuguese fine dining spot Amar is offering a four-course prix fixe menu for $150, or $75 for children 12 and under. Snag the last handful of reservations here.

Eastern Standard

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Here’s something we’re thankful for this year: The city’s most-talked-about restaurant revival opened its doors just in time for the holiday season. Celebrate Thanksgiving at Eastern Standard with a big ol’ turkey dinner or many other options, from ribeye to lamb to confited duck ravioli. There’s a couple more reservations available in the early evening, or grab a seat in the more casual bistro section of the restaurant — or head straight for the bar, which will be open on a first come, first served basis all day.

Lucie Drink + Dine

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Located inside the Colonnade Hotel in Back Bay, Lucie Drink + Dine is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Thanksgiving. There’s a full menu on deck plus a special $35 Thanksgiving meal including roasted turkey breast and turkey leg roulade, roasted butternut squash, wild mushroom brioche stuffing, and more of the usual suspects. Lunch and dinner reservations have already been swept up, but there’s still a couple openings for breakfast.

Wei Shu Wu Hot Pot

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Grab your group and head to this beautifully decorated Quincy spot for some Thanksgiving Day hot pot, where the bubbling cauldrons of broth are sure to thaw even the chilliest of conversations. The restaurant is open from 12 to 9 p.m. on the holiday.

Alcove

The West End waterfront makes a beautiful backdrop for Thanksgiving dinner at Alcove, a cozy neighborhood spot located on Lovejoy Wharf. There will be holiday cocktails and turkey aplenty, or if that’s not your thing, newly instated chef Mark Cina promises that plenty of other options from Alcove’s menu will be available on the holiday. Reservations are available here.

Sumiao Hunan Kitchen

Kendall Square’s Sumiao Hunan Kitchen specializes in Hunan cuisine (not to mention the Chinese liquor baijiu). Celebrate the holiday with pumpkin cakes, five spice-braised beef, and chili chicken dressed up with house-made chili oil.

Contessa

How about Thanksgiving on a rooftop? Major Food Group’s decadent Italian hotspot, Contessa, will be open on the holiday serving a pre-set, four-course family-style menu for $195 per person from 12 to 8 p.m. There’s ricotta-stuffed pasta with black truffles, roasted turkey, and squash carpaccio, among other plates, and the meal finishes out with Boston cream pie and pumpkin ice cream. Reservations are available here.

Grill 23 & Bar

Swanky Boston steakhouse Grill 23 will be serving an a la carte menu — complete with a turkey entree special for $42 — on Thanksgiving from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Atlantic Fish Co.

Atlantic Fish Co. is open every day year-round, and the Back Bay standby has a few open reservations left for Thanksgiving. The special holiday menu includes roasted turkey with apple-sage stuffing and pumpkin cheesecake topped with a dollop of vanilla whipped cream.

Oak Long Bar + Kitchen

Oak Long Bar + Kitchen, located inside the Fairmont Hotel across from Copley Plaza, will be serving its regular menu plus four specials on the holiday: hearth-roasted Brussels sprouts; honey-glazed turkey; pecan pie with a nutmeg cream; and a pulled turkey French dip sandwich only available at the bar. There are a few late table reservations still up for grabs, and the bar will be walk-in only throughout the day.

Amar

Enjoy a Thanksgiving feast overlooking Back Bay at one of the hottest new restaurants in town this fall. Portuguese fine dining spot Amar is offering a four-course prix fixe menu for $150, or $75 for children 12 and under. Snag the last handful of reservations here.

Eastern Standard

Here’s something we’re thankful for this year: The city’s most-talked-about restaurant revival opened its doors just in time for the holiday season. Celebrate Thanksgiving at Eastern Standard with a big ol’ turkey dinner or many other options, from ribeye to lamb to confited duck ravioli. There’s a couple more reservations available in the early evening, or grab a seat in the more casual bistro section of the restaurant — or head straight for the bar, which will be open on a first come, first served basis all day.

Lucie Drink + Dine

Located inside the Colonnade Hotel in Back Bay, Lucie Drink + Dine is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Thanksgiving. There’s a full menu on deck plus a special $35 Thanksgiving meal including roasted turkey breast and turkey leg roulade, roasted butternut squash, wild mushroom brioche stuffing, and more of the usual suspects. Lunch and dinner reservations have already been swept up, but there’s still a couple openings for breakfast.

Wei Shu Wu Hot Pot

Grab your group and head to this beautifully decorated Quincy spot for some Thanksgiving Day hot pot, where the bubbling cauldrons of broth are sure to thaw even the chilliest of conversations. The restaurant is open from 12 to 9 p.m. on the holiday.

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