Looking to dine out this Thanksgiving? Our menu guide has everything you need, with ideas for big splurges, traditional feasts, turkey-hater alternatives, budget spreads, and meals with an international accent.
BIG SPLURGES
Blue Duck Tavern
An appetizer buffet kicks off a daytime meal of Eberly Farm turkey—or seared tuna with clams.
Menu: The appetizer spread includes salads, cheeses, breads, meats, and smoked fish.
The main course is a choice of cider-glazed roast turkey breast and braised turkey leg with Riesling gravy; rib eye au jus; seared tuna in clam broth; duck breast and duck-leg ragout with huckleberries.Side dishes include fennel-sausage-and-croissant stuffing; baked sweet potato with homemade marshmallows; and cranberry-and-dried-cherry relish.For dessert, choose between pumpkin tart; butternut-squash crème brûlée; and chocolate-pudding cake with candied ginger.
Price: Three-course menu is $90 for adults, $45 for children ages six to 12.
Serving times: 10:30 to 3:30.
Bourbon Steak
Chef David Varley offers a dinner with luxe twists—foie gras, lobster, truffles—at this Michael Mina restaurant in the Four Seasons.
Menu: Appetizers include marinated Nantucket bay scallops with grapefruit and fennel; oysters with bacon-and-leek fondue; chestnut soup with spiced marshmallows and foie gras; sweetbreads with beets and pistachio; and endive-and-Asian-pear salad with blue cheese.
The main course is a choice of brown-butter-basted lobster with risotto and black truffles; striped bass with roast pumpkin and hazelnuts; roast Bourbon Red turkey with chestnut stuffing, turkey sausage, and cranberry confit; garlic-glazed prime rib with horseradish cream; and pork chop with cider jus.
Finish with a choice of kabocha-squash sticky toffee pudding with butter-pecan ice cream; pumpkin pie; apple pie with vanilla ice cream; chocolate panna cotta; or red velvet cake with cocoa-nib ice cream.
Price: Three-course menu is $90 per person, not including tax and tip.
Serving times: 1 to 9 PM.
Citronelle
Michel Richard puts on a grand buffet with both traditional and French-inspired offerings.
Menu: The buffet includes chestnut soup, poached shrimp, crab coleslaw, caesar salad, potato salad, turkey, glazed ham, rack of lamb au jus, salmon en croute with celery sauce, halibut with saffron sauce, sweet potato gratin, candied yams, mixed vegetables, baked beans, redskin mashed potatoes, mushroom stuffing, cranberry sauce, gratin dauphinois, three chocolae mousse, hazelnut chocolate cake, chocolate bar, Michel's napoleon, raspberry vanilla eclair, pumpkin pie, apple and pear tarts, fruit salad, chocolate "truffles" and cookies.
Price: Buffet is $80, $37 for children under 12.
Serving times: 2 to 7:30
Fahrenheit
A four-course menu for grown ups is paired with a child-friendly buffet.
Menu: The first course is a choice of crab salad with red-pepper vinaigrette or pan-seared foie gras with lentil pancake.
Next is corn-and-lobster chowder or endive salad with goat cheese and hazelnut dressing.
The main course is roast turkey with chestnut stuffing; pan-seared sea bass with Champagne/caviar essence; or grilled beef tenderloin with lobster risotto and asparagus.
Desserts are a selection of holiday sweets.
Price: Four-course menu is $95 for adults, $40 for children 12 and under.
Serving times: Noon to 8.
The Inn at Little Washington
Patrick O’Connell’s luxe destination restaurant serves a few imaginative specials in addition to the regular menu.
Menu: The specials are Ayrshire Farms turkey with cornbread-apple-sausage-and-pecan stuffing; corn pudding; ginger-rum sweet potatoes; cranberry-orange salsa; warm pumpkin soufflé with vanilla ice cream; and a trio of classic miniature American pies.
Price: Four-course menu is $178 per person, not including tax and tip.
Serving times: Seatings are from 1 to 2, 4 to 5, and 7 to 8.
>> Next page: Traditional Feasts
1789
A prix fixe turkey dinner from chef Daniel Giusti is served alongside an à la carte menu.
Menu: The three-course prix fixe menu begins with pumpkin soup with poached quail egg or green salad with pear and blue cheese. Next is roast turkey with cornbread-and-sausage-stuffed leg, smashed red potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and giblet gravy. Dessert is a choice off the regular menu.
À la carte appetizers include pumpkin soup; green salad with pear and blue cheese; oyster-and-bacon gratin; Nantucket bay scallops with butter-braised cabbage; and wild-mushroom strudel.
À la carte main courses are roast turkey with cornbread-and-sausage-stuffed leg, smashed red potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and giblet gravy; maple-syrup-glazed ham with roasted pineapple and cheddar casserole; braised beef short ribs with parsnip purée, baby carrots, and horseradish jus; rack of lamb with turnip-and-potato gratin and lamb jus; and salmon with black lentils, country ham, and red-wine gastrique.
Price: Three-course menu is $50 per person, without tax and tip. A la carte appetizers are $11 to $15; main courses are $30 to $45.
Serving times: Noon to 9.
Art and Soul
A Southern-style Thanksgiving at chef Art Smith’s Capitol Hill restaurant includes sharable appetizers and a “leftover” roast turkey sandwich with sides of cranberry and gravy for guests to take home.
Menu: Appetizers to share are buttermilk biscuits, corn bread, and deviled eggs.
The main course is a choice of roast turkey with gravy and cranberry sauce; bourbon-glazed ham with mustard and bourbon-maple sauce; or prime rib with horseradish and beef jus ($10 supplement).
Side dishes are mashed potatoes; chicken-apple sausage stuffing; spaghetti squash; green-bean casserole, and spicy collard greens.
Dessert is a choice of apple, pecan, or pumpkin pie; or chocolate cake.
Price: Three-course menu is $65 per person, $25 for children ages six to 12.
Serving times: 11 to 9.
The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm
Nearly everything at this greenhouse-style restaurant comes from the farm it sits on.
Menu: The menu starts with family-style pickles, cheese, and crackers. Appetizer choices are watergate or mixed-green salads; pear soup with celery cream and button mushrooms; turkey gumbo with oysters.
The main course is turkey breast, stuffing, sausage gravy; or roast beef, horseradish, scalloped-potato tart; or a medley of autumn vegetables.
Dessert is a choice of pumpkin pie or cheesecake.
Price: Three-course prix fixe menu is $75, not including tax and gratuity.
Serving times: 1 to 7
Redwood
A daytime and early-evening menu keeps it simple with turkey, ham, and traditional sides.
Menu: Start with shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, or butternut-squash soup.
The main course is herb-roasted turkey and baked ham with mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet-potato gratin, leek-and-brioche stuffing, roasted vegetables, and gravy.
For dessert, there’s pumpkin or pecan pie.
Price: Three-course menu is $59 per person, $29 for children under 12.
Serving times: Noon to 6.
Trummers on Main
Oyster stew and apple-sauce sorbet are on the fall-friendly menu at this Clifton restaurant.
Menu: Start with butternut-squash soup with crabcake; potato salad with smoked salmon; or oyster stew with rock shrimp and vermouth cream.
For the main course, there’s turkey breast and leg with toasted cornbread, cranberry stuffing, and whipped potatoes; braised beef short ribs with roasted chestnuts; or pan-roasted salmon with red-wine reduction.
Desserts are pumpkin-pudding cake; pecan pie with brown-sugar sherbet; and apple-sauce sorbet with crumbled sugar cookies.
Price: Three-course menu is $64 per person, not including tax and tip.
Serving times: 12:30 to 5:30.
Wildfire
Wildfire at Tysons Galleria puts on a family-friendly feast, and donates part of the proceeds to Food for Others, which distributes food to Northern Virginian persons in need. A food drive Thanksgiving through Sunday, November 28th will also benefit the charity.
Menu: The family-style meal includes assorted fresh vegetables and spinach dip, deviled eggs; Appetizer choice of: Two salads including Caesar, wildorf and Wildfire chopped salad with roasted chicken and citrus lime vinaigrette; Entree choice of: Two items including spit roasted turkey with mushroom herb stuffing, parmesan crusted rockfish with tomato jam and lemon butter sauce and New York strip roast with shallot balsamic sauce; Side dish choice of: Two sides, including redskin mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, wood roasted vegetables, asparagus, green bean amandine, broccoli with lemon herb butter; Dessert choice of: Two desserts, including chocolate cake and pumpkin, pecan, key lime and apple streusel pies.
Price: $36.95 per person, $14.95 for children under 12.
Serving times: 11 to 8
>> Next page: Alternatives for Turkery Haters
ALTERNATIVES FOR TURKEY HATERS
2941
Chef Bertrand Chemel serves refined dishes such as lobster chowder and chestnut raviolini in addition to Maryland-raised turkey.
Menu: Appetizers include lobster chowder with cornbread; mushroom mille feuille with poached egg; tuna tartare with crispy potato and fried capers; crabcake with fennel salad; green salad with shaved black truffle ($15 supplement); butternut-squash velouté with cinnamon marshmallow.
The main course is a choice of Maple Lawn Farms turkey breast with chestnut stuffing, gravy, sweet potato, and cranberry jam; bouillabaisse with halibut, mussels, and garlic sausage; chestnut raviolini with pancetta; and duo of beef with salsify and puréed potatoes ($10 supplement).
Desserts are apple pie; baked Alaska with pumpkin sorbet; and warm chocolate soufflé tart with pecan ice cream.
Price: Three-course menu is $65, not including tax and tip. A children’s menu is $25.
Serving times: Noon to 8.
Charlie Palmer Steak
There are plenty of options at this steakhouse for those hungry for something besides turkey.
Menu: Appetizers are Ahi-tuna-and-foie-gras terrine with pickled-ginger sorbet; braised-short-rib ravioli with chanterelles; celery-root soup with lobster dumpling and chicken wing; red-oak-lettuce-and-pear salad with blue cheese and walnuts; oysters on the half shell; grilled quail with braised bacon and sweet potatoes; pan-roasted scallops with polenta and smoked pork belly; haricots verts with almonds.
Main courses include turkey with giblet gravy and traditional trimmings; filet mignon with roasted shallots; Kansas City rib eye with onion confit; herb-crusted striped bass with artichoke and fennel; venison with sweet-potato gratin; braised lamb shank with cauliflower and preserved lemon.
Side-dish choices are cranberry-pear relish; potato purée; cornbread-and-sausage stuffing; gouda-and-pancetta orecchiette; and bourbon sweet potatoes.
For dessert, there’s pumpkin cheesecake; a trio of crème brûlées; pear cobbler with ginger ice cream; peanut-butter/chocolate terrine; clementine financier.
Price: Three-course menu is $70 for adults, $25 for children ages 12 and under.
Availability: Noon to 8.
Corduroy
This elegant Mount Vernon Square dining room’s menu goes beyond turkey.
Menu: Appetizers are kabocha-squash soup; hearts of romaine lettuce with cured salmon and crème fraîche; lobster carpaccio with drawn butter; beet-carrot-and-goat-cheese salad; baby greens with sherry vinaigrette; seared scallops with red-pepper sauce.
Main courses include crispy striped bass with crab fettuccine; roast turkey with sausage stuffing, giblet gravy, cranberry sauce, bok choy, and root-vegetable mash; lamb loin with garlic crepenette and creamed spinach; peppered big-eye tuna with sushi rice and hijiki; beef striploin with rutabaga gratin.
For dessert, choose between pumpkin tart; apple/raisin bread pudding; apple tarte tatin; chocolate/hazelnut bar; sorbet; and ice creams.
Price: Three-course menu is $55 per person.
Serving times: 1 to 10:30.
Equinox
An oyster roast on this downtown DC restaurant’s patio kicks off chef/owner Todd Gray’s Chesapeake-influenced meal.
Menu: Appetizers include apple/chestnut soup with duck tortellini; squash soup with pickled pears and candied pumpkin seeds; endive-and-mizuna salad with quail egg; duck/pheasant sausage with lentils and port-wine cabbage; mushroom-crusted scallop with roast spaghetti squash.
The main course is a choice of Ayrshire Farms turkey with chestnut/sage stuffing, haricot verts, and cider-cranberry gravy; ricotta agnolotti with swiss chard and white-truffle butter; bronzino with littleneck clams, shrimp, and bouillabaisse jus; rack of lamb with sweet potatoes and mustard greens; crabcakes with grits, spiced popped corn, and mustard butter.
Desserts are apple confit with muscovado-sugar cake and ice cream; pumpkin-seed cake with mascarpone ice cream; pear with pine-nut panna cotta; chocolate tart with salted caramel.
Price: Three-course menu is $55 per person.
Serving times: 3 to 7.
The Oval Room
Playful takes on autumn fare such as foie-gras brûlée accompany more classic Thanksgiving preparations.
Menu: Appetizers include burrata with crystallized wasabi; foie-gras brûlée with smoked balsamic and spiced cookie crumbs; raw autumn salad with smoked-bacon dressing; butternut-squash soup with salted maple.
For the main course, there is roasted turkey with chestnut stuffing and cranberry sauce; pork rack with squash ravioli and fried Brussels sprouts; seared salmon with truffle vinaigrette; roasted beef striploin with maitake mushrooms and soy caramel; crispy chicken with jalapeño spaetzel and ginger/honey jus; whole-wheat fettuccine with cauliflower and bread crumbs.
Desserts are pecan tart with chocolate/bourbon ice cream; apple/cranberry cobbler with date ice cream; pumpkin cheesecake with pomegranate sorbet; brioche with brown-sugar swirl and pecan brittle; sweet-potato cheesecake with cranberry ice cream.
Price: Three-course menu is $50, not including tax and tip. A wine pairing is $25 more.
Serving times: Noon to 8.
Willow
Fried chicken and deviled eggs show up on this Ballston dining room’s spread.
Menu: For the table, there’s a holiday relish tray with deviled eggs, pimiento-cheese-stuffed celery, and marinated olives.
Appetizers include chestnut soup with black-truffle crème fraîche; pumpkin soup with nutmeg crème fraîche and bacon; onion-soup gratin; mixed greens with oranges and hearts of palm; blue-cheese-stuffed apple salad; pear-and-endive salad.
For the main course, there’s turkey with mashed potatoes, sage-sausage-and-cornbread stuffing, green beans, cranberry sauce, and gravy; seared salmon with potato gratin, broccolini, and mushroom-truffle sauce; sage-and-sausage-crusted rack of pork with creamed-spinach tart and ham-hock jus; foie-gras-mousse-stuffed fried chicken with mashed potatoes and chicken jus; and barley risotto in a miniature pumpkin.
A dessert buffet includes pumpkin pie; chocolate-cream pie; pecan pie; apple crisp; and cranberry-almond tart.
Price: Three-course menu is $55 per person.
Serving times: 1 to 6.
>> Next page: Easy on the Wallet
EASY ON THE WALLET
701
Live jazz accompanies chef Ed Witt’s innovative cooking.
Menu: Appetizers include venison-stuffed sage leaves with quince purée; gnocchi with shrimp and Benton’s pork; spiced pumpkin soup with rosemary beignets; escarole-and-beet salad with blue cheese; smoked rainbow trout with lentils and horseradish; duck-confit-and-frisée salad with dates and persimmon.
For the main course, there is roasted Eco-Friendly Farms turkey breast and leg ballotine with mashed potatoes, stuffing, and giblet gravy; suckling pig with sausage stuffing and savoy cabbage; bronzino with chestnut purée; salmon with parsnip purée; ricotta ravioli with sage brown butter; strip steak with sweet-potato gratin.
Dessert is a choice of vanilla/thyme crème brûlée; carrot-cake roulade; chocolate/hazelnut terrine; apple pie; and pumpkin/sweet-potato tart.
Price: Three course menu is $45 per person, $20 for children under ten.
Serving times: 11 to 8.
Ardeo/Bardeo
The newly joined restaurant and wine bar in Cleveland Park is putting on a dinner with lots of alternatives to turkey.
Menu: Appetizers include corn-and-lobster pudding; white-sweet-potato soup; smoked tea-crusted lamb carpaccio with shell-bean salad; a salad with trout, fingerling potatoes, and artichokes; chopped salad.
Main courses are roast turkey with chestnut-and-sage stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberry gravy; braised pork with apple purée and savoy cabbage; roast salmon with sunchoke-and-butternut-squash hash; seared duck breast with celery-root gratin and pear purée; roasted-onion-and-ricotta ravioli.
Dessert choices are caramel pôt de crème; pecan/white-chocolate bread pudding; chocolate-date cake; quince crumble.
Price: Three-course menu is $45 per person, $23 for children 12 and under.
Serving times: Noon to 8.
Carmine’s
The New York import steps away from its usual Italian-American cooking to serve family-style portions of Thanksgiving favorites.
Menu: The family-style meal includes an 18-pound roast turkey with giblet gravy and sausage/sage stuffing; Brussels sprouts with smoked bacon; string beans with toasted hazelnuts and red peppers; baby carrots with dill; marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes; mashed potatoes; cranberry sauce and a choice of pumpkin, apple, or pecan pie.
Price: $195 for a meal that serves eight to ten people.
Availability: 11:30 to 11.
CommonWealth
Columbia Heights’ British-style gastropub offers a relaxed budget-friendly meal in addition to its regular menu.
Menu: The appetizer is a choice between a mug of soup or an arugula salad.
For the main course, choose roast turkey with cranberry sauce or roast beef with shallot/port jus.
Sides are mashed potatoes; squash gratin; collard greens; creamed spinach; and two kinds of stuffing.
For dessert there’s a selection of pies.
Price: Three-course menu is $35 per person, not including tax and tip.
Serving times: Thanksgiving menu is served from 1 to 8; the regular menu will be offered until 11.
3 Bar & Grill
A three-course daytime menu is easy on the wallet.
Menu: Start with a choice of butternut-squash soup or green salad.
The main course is turkey dinner with stuffing, mashed potatoes, vegetables, cranberry sauce, and gravy; maple-glazed salmon with rice and vegetables; roast pork loin with sweet-potato mash and green beans; or squash risotto.
There’ll be a dessert spread with cookies, apple cobbler, and pumpkin pie.
Price: Three-course prix fixe menu is $33 per person, $15 for children 12 and under.
Serving times: 1 to 6.
>> Next page: With an International Twist
WITH AN INTERNATIONAL TWIST
Bastille
This Old Town spot is doing Thanksgiving with a Parisian twist.
Menu: Start with a choice of potato-bacon-and-crème-fraîche chowder; beet-and-mâche salad with blue cheese; or country pâté with house condiments.
The main course is Muscovy duck two ways with cranberry gastrique, sweet potatoes, and kale; beef “pot roast” with shallot/porcini sauce and cheddar mashed potatoes; or striped bass with cider-mustard beurre blanc and fall succotash.
Desserts include pear-and-walnut cake with mascarpone; apple beignet with Calvados sabayon; and chocolate marquise with Grand Marnier sabayon.
Price: Three-course menu is $49, not including tax and tip.
Serving times: 5 to 9:30.
Bibiana
Chef Nicholas Stefanelli does turkey the Italian way.
Menu: Appetizers include buffalo mozzarella with matsutaki mushrooms; chestnut soup with sausage and grappa cream; Roman tripe stew; prosciutto with red-wine-poached figs and ricotta salata; cheese fonduta with poached egg and black truffle; grilled radicchio salad with walnuts and cranberries; sheep’s-milk-ricotta agnolotti with lemon and spinach.
For the main course, there’s heritage turkey cooked two ways (juniper-crusted breast and braised leg); blade steak with foie gras and truffle sauce ($10 supplement); risotto with chanterelle mushrooms and Parmesan; study of fall vegetables; monkfish poached in beet juice with salt-baked beets; whole bronzino with eggplant and citrus emulsion.
A selection of desserts.
Price: Three-course menu is $45 per person, without tax and tip.
Availability: 11 to 4.
Bond 45
A five-course Italian-American dinner—flute of Champagne included—is on offer at this National Harbor dining room.
Menu: The first course is a choice of butternut-squash soup with amaretto crumble; Chesapeake-oyster chowder; or green salad with cranberries and candied pecans.
Next is lobster risotto with shrimp, clams, and mussels.
The main course, which includes Parmesan-corn pudding for the table, is a choice of herb-roasted heritage turkey with chestnut/black-truffle stuffing, candied yams or mashed potatoes, string beans with almonds, and cranberry relish; roast baby pig with caramelized pear and creamed broccoli rabe; red-snapper livornese with string beans and toasted almonds; filet mignon with creamed broccoli rabe and mashed potatoes ($20 supplement); veal-chop parmigiana with buffalo mozzarella ($20 supplement); grilled veal chop with roasted potatoes ($20 supplement); lamb-shank ossobuco with couscous.
Dessert is a choice of pumpkin pie, pecan pie, or chocolate mousse. The dinner ends with pineapple carpaccio and strawberries.
Price: Five-course menu is $65 for adults, not including tax and tip; $35 for children under 12.
Serving times: 1 to 8.
The Bombay Club
A tandoori-turkey special is available alongside the regular à la carte Indian menu.
Price: Appetizers are $7 to $12; main courses, $17 to $32.
Serving times: 11:30 to 2:30 and 5:30 to 10.
La Ferme
French-influenced offerings such as turkey au jus and cinnamon/apple crème brûlée set this menu apart.
Menu: Appetizers include snail-and-mushroom fricassée with herb-cream sauce and puff pastry; venison terrine with red-cabbage/apple slaw; smoked-chicken-and-corn chowder; pumpkin soup with sage; spinach-and-endive salad with beets, apples, and Roquefort dressing; and smoked salmon with onion, capers, and egg.
For the main course, there’s turkey au jus with chestnut stuffing and cranberry compote; beef strip loin with red-wine/porcini sauce; pecan-crusted pork loin with Calvados cream; seared scallops with pumpkin ravioli; poached rainbow trout; or salmon en croute with mustard sauce.
Desserts are cinnamon-and-apple crème brûlée; pumpkin cheesecake; pecan tart; warm brioche pudding; poached pear filled with white-chocolate mousse.
Price: Three course menu is $45. A children’s menu is $23.
Serving times: 11 to 7.
Rasika
Chef Vikram Sunderam offers cranberry turkey tikka ($16) in addition to the regular modern-Indian menu.
Price: Appetizers, $8 to $12; main courses, $17 to $26; desserts, $8 to $9.
Serving times: 11:30 to 2:30 and 5:30 to 10.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
