where to eat on Thanksgiving

More than 20 Houston restaurants serving lunch and dinner on Thanksgiving 2023

Don’t look now, Thanksgiving is only two weeks away. If the thought of trying to get your house ready to host guests in that amount of time gives you hives, an alternative exists.

Instead of making dinner at home, make reservations. More and more Houston restaurants are open on Thanksgiving Day with an array of tempting options that offer an easy alternative to the endless debates about the best way to roast a turkey. Sure, you might not have leftover turkey sandwiches — unless you go to Rainbow Lodge (see below) — but going out also means someone else does the dishes.

This list focuses on restaurants serving some sort of traditional, American-style Thanksgiving — think turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. Those looking for an alternative will find it in places such as Bellaire Blvd’s Chinatown or Katy Asian Town. After all, dumplings and roast pork are always a good idea.

Amrina
This Indian fine dining restaurant in The Woodlands Waterway will serve a five-course, $85 prix-fixe feast that also includes family-style sides. The meal includes dishes such as roasted pumpkin soup, sweet potato dumplings, roast turkey breast, braised short ribs, and brownie bottom pumpkin cheesecake.

Amore
The Upper Kirby-area Italian restaurant will serve a four-course, $80 menu (kids menu $25) from 11 am-4 pm. Start with a choice of corn soup, roasted pumpkin salad, or seafood cocktail. Add an extra primi course of tagliolini with black or white truffles ($25 or $50). Entree choices include turkey, halibut, or lamb chops — all of which are paired with Thanksgiving-style sides such as sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and whipped potatoes. Finish with choice of dessert.

The Audrey
This Woodlands restaurant’s three-course, $55 prix-fixe meal ($18 for kids) includes choice of lobster bisque or pumpkin and burrata salad, turkey with trimmings, and pumpkin pie.

Berg Hospitality
Five of the company’s restaurants will be open on Thanksgiving Day. They are:

The Annie Cafe & Bar: three courses, $90 per adult, $35 per child
B&B Butchers: three courses, $90 per adult, $35 per child
B.B. Italia: four courses, $58 per adult, $25 per child
Trattoria Sofia: four courses, $68 per adult, $25 per child
Turner’s: three courses, $250 per person

Follow the links above for menus and reservations information.

Blossom Hotel
The Medical Center hotel will serve a Thanksgiving buffet ($79.95 per adult and $29.95 per child) that features a turkey carving station, salad bar, made-to-order omelets, cold seafood, entrees, and more. Reserve via OpenTable or by calling 713-902-6968.

Cleburne Cafeteria
For those looking for a more affordable option, this Houston favorite will be open for both dine-in and to-go from from 11 am-8 pm with a full range of starters, sides, entrees, and desserts.

Etoile Cuisine et Bar
The Uptown Park French restaurant will be open from 11 am-8 pm with a three-course, $78 menu ($28 per child). Begin with one of four appetizers, including leek and mushroom soup, blue cheese crostini, or foie gras torchon. Entree choices include turkey with trimmings, braised short ribs, roasted salmon, and vegetable risotto.

Eunice
This Creole restaurant in Greenway Plaza will supplement its regular menu with Thanksgiving specials such as pumpkin bisque, Cajun-stuffed turkey, and pumpkin pie tart. It will be open from 11 am-4 pm.

Gold Tooth Tony's
Anthony Calleo's new Detroit-style pizzeria will be open its regular hours of 4-10 pm — just in case a pizza topped with Spam and roasted pineapple sounds better than turkey and stuffing.

Himalaya
On Thanksgiving, chef-owner Kaiser Lashkari adds masala-spiced turkey and dressing to his extensive menu of Indo-Pak fare. Remember, the restaurant is BYOB, so plan accordingly.

Jonathan’s the Rub
The Memorial Green location of this eclectic comfort food restaurant will be open on Thanksgiving Day from 11 am-8 pm. Chef-owner Jonathan Levine will serve menu built around entree choices that include herb-roasted turkey ($53), beef tenderloin ($65), and halibut ($57) — all of which are paired with family-style sides such as candied yams, garlic mashed potatoes, green bean almondine, and traditional stuffing. Add soup, salad, or dessert for an additional fee.

Le Jardinier
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s French fine dining restaurant will serve a four-course, $165 prix fixe menu. Starters include burrata with apple compote and figs, chicory salad, and cured hiramasa with avocado mousse. Entree choices include heritage turducken ballotine, scallops with sunchoke puree, and braised short ribs — all of which come with sides for the tables. Add a touch of luxury with optional Royal Kaluga caviar ($100 for one ounce or $190 for two ounces).

Pappas Bar-B-Q
Get a Thanksgiving plate with turkey, ham, and sides for $19.95. Served from 9 am-6 pm, it’s the only meal on this list that can be picked up at a drive-thru. The restaurant will also be serving its full menu, which means people can pick up brisket, ribs, or pecan pie to supplement their Thanksgiving table.

Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille
This restaurant with locations all over the Houston area will serve a $49, two-course menu with choice of Honeycrisp apple salad or butternut squash soup and sliced turkey bread with all the trimmings. Add a slice of pumpkin cheesecake for $9.

The Post Oak Hotel
The luxurious hotel's Thanksgiving Fall Harvest will take diners on a journey throughout the property. Priced at $165 for adults and $75 for children ages 5-12, the buffet feast includes a range of stations including cold seafood, salads, cheeses, sushi, charcuterie, and a carving station that will offer turkey, ham, prime rib, salmon, and more. Finish at Bouchée Patisserie for for seasonal pies and other treats. Reservations required, 11 am - 5 pm.

PS-21
Join chef Philippe Schmit at his Upper Kirby bistro for Thanksgiving dinner. Open from 11:30 am - 8 pm, the restaurant will supplement its regular menu with specials that include pumpkin soup, mushroom tart, and roast turkey with trimmings (sweet potato creme caramel, broccoli rabe, chestnut and mushroom stuffing, cranberry relish, gravy, and cornbread). Add a slice of pecan pie for $12.

Rainbow Lodge
The restaurant’s three-course, $75 meal includes duck gumbo, roast turkey, and smoked nilgai. Add a late-night snack pack with all the ingredients for a turkey sandwich for $6.

Red Lion Pub
This River Oaks-adjacent pub offers an affordable, $38 Thanksgiving turkey plate that comes with stuffing, yams, Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, green beans, carrots, cranberry sauce, and gravy. It will be open from 11 am-12 am. Walk-ins welcome.

Roma An Italian Eatery
Priced at $45 for adults and $23 for children, this Rice Village restaurant’s Thanksgiving menu includes choice of soup or salad, turkey with trimmings, and choice of pumpkin or pecan pie. Add wine pairings for $35.

Rudyards
If too much family time has you feeling like a burger and a pint, the classic Montrose pub will be open on Thanksgiving and serving its regular menu.

Steak 48
This modern steakhouse will supplement its regular menu with a Thanksgiving dinner ($74) that includes turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. Add a slice of pumpkin pie to complete the experience.

Toro Toro at the Four Seasons Houston
Downtown’s pan-Latin steakhouse will feature a decadent brunch for $145 per person and $65 per child. Selections include roast turkey, rosemary-crusted prime rib, roast lamb, cornbread stuffing, and a Texas cheese display. Other choices include a cold seafood tower, sushi rolls, and plenty of desserts.

Truluck’s
The seafood restaurant will supplement its regular offerings with a three-course, $59 Thanksgiving dinner ($29 kids 12 and under). It includes choice of soup or salad, turkey and trimmings, and carrot cake or pumpkin cheesecake. Enhance the meal with some of the restaurant’s signature Florida stone crab claws.

The Warwick
The Galleria-area restaurant will supplement its regular menu with Thanksgiving specials such as deep-fried turkey, sweet potato pie, and Hawaiian-glazed ham. Finish with a slice of carrot cake that uses a recipe from co-owner Rob Wright’s mother.

Photo by Kirsten Gilliam

Head to The Annie for a full Thanksgiving feast.

holidays houston restaurants news-you-can-eat thanksgiving day sponsored section2240962764

inside long weekend

How a Houston couple's Santa Fe ranch inspired their family-friendly hotspot

Photo by Marco Wang

Buildings on the family's ranch inspired the custom bar canopy.

In just under three months, Long Weekend — the new family-friendly, breakfast-to-dinner hotspot — has settled in to its home in Lazybrook/Timbergrove, just a smidge west of the Heights. The 20,000-square-foot property manages to house a quaint cafe, full-scale restaurant and bar, private dining space, and a menagerie of outdoor spaces for cocktails, dining, lounging, concerts, plus dedicated kid’s zones like the arts-and-crafts-focused “Creative Canyon,” offering a calm, creative retreat for younger guests, and the “Rowdy Roundabout,” which provides an outdoor adventure playground through the trees that encourages exploration and imagination.

The concept and design for Long Weekend was born when Houston couple Paige and Andrew Alvis longed for a space for growing families like theirs to kick back and relax, the way they do at their family ranch outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico. “People are desperate for a nice place to go with their kids,” Paige tells CultureMap. “You hardly see a child on a screen here.”

The Alvises enlisted global architecture, design, and brand strategy firm Harrison to carry their vision through to the finish line. The result is an elegantly-executed space that combines high-end finishes with a uniquely-casual ethos for the neighborhood.

“The concept altogether was about cowboy ranch life, just life on the ranch. A lot of times that’s centered around family, and we didn’t want it to be too upscale,” Paige explains. “We still wanted a neighborhood-casual place where kids could be entertained. Part of that is also going to be different families later in life. People who come in and want to have a nice meal can sit inside and kids aren’t in their way — it’s just part of being a neighborhood restaurant and knowing what our clientele was going to be. We really spent the money to make the decor items nice and good quality because we wanted it to last and we wanted it to feel upscale, but still casual. It’s a casual vibe, while being nice.”

The color story, materials, and finishes were designed by Harrison, with approval from the Alvises, who focused their attention on the art and decor. Antler-adorned lighting fixtures and tapestries were sourced in Round Top, a large elk mount and chopped piñon wood from the family ranch, and a smorgasbord of decorative items from Twisted Arrow Goods in Oak Forest all play harmoniously against more functional pieces, like the custom wood and leather booths by Eagle Chair.

Everything about Long Weekend is authentic to the ranch aesthetic — polypropylene “leathers” be gone. From the first design brief, Harrison’s Keith Anderson understood the assignment.

“It was really important to Paige and Andrew that we keep the finishes as real and authentic as possible,” he explains. “So, we spec'ed real leather from Carroll Leather, Garrett Leather, and Barbarossa Leather and sourced the solid wood tabletops from Old Dominion. It was critical to ensure the true guest touchpoints, as in items the guests would be physically touching the most, upheld the brand values of quality and authenticity.”

These warm leathers and hides join additional textural delights, such as aged corten steel, raw oak, and natural limestone. While appealing to the sensibilities of elevated design, the modernist, double-sided fireplace — central to the interior dining room — is an aqua fire made from water vapor and is completely safe for wandering little hands.

In the foyer, two fully-dressed saddles sit atop swiveling posts, accessible to smaller guests via step stools. The oversized lanterns are vintage Ralph Lauren. Keep a keen eye out for the custom Long Weekend logo branded into the hide backdrop, all custom made for the perfect family photo opportunity. Only three feet away, Austin-based artist Kyle Bunting has created a nearly wall-sized custom art piece inspired by a photo of Indian Head Mountain, taken from the family ranch. Bunting cut and dyed each piece of hide to his exact specifications, the outcome being a stunning collage capturing the expansive vistas in “The Land of Enchantment.”

Beyond the foyer, guests are met by a giant Forno Classico pizza oven to the right, and the kitchen and bar to the left. Aside from a pass through, the kitchen — which cooks menu items over open live oak, hickory, and cherrywood — is hidden behind the large interior bar. The highlight of the bar area is the custom canopy. It draws guests into what becomes a more intimate experience than the main dining room.

“When we first started the project, Andrew shared an album from the annual Indian Head trail ride he and his father have with friends and colleagues,” explains Anderson. “This photography was huge in helping our team tap into the story we wanted to tell. One of the images was taken from the inside of the horse barn. The old, weathered wall planks allowed sunlight to leak in, and there were these slivers of dappled light all around. We wanted the bar canopy to emulate this effect, and it serves as a great example of how brand storytelling doesn't always shout. Much like a written story, it's oftentimes in the smaller details, the pieces that the guest has to interpret and put together themselves, that bring it all together into a rich, layered tale.”

Layered lighting fixtures populate the overhead zones throughout the restaurant. Textured metal pendants accentuated by flattering amber glass sconces at the booth level all either reflect off of high gloss fired tiles or absorb into porous breeze block. Desert Steel is responsible for the cactus sculptures that line the back wall, looking out over the dining room. A side patio runs down one side, complete with tent canvas awnings for shade and climbing five-star jasmine and olive trees that are sure to fill the air with their intoxicating fragrances when matured.

Once outside, a large covered porch extends the width of the restaurant and substantial outdoor bar, bookended by a limestone fireplace, complete with a mount from Green Pastures, and the live music stage that showcases Texas country acts on Friday and Saturday nights.

The remaining outdoor spaces begin with outdoor dining areas shaded by mature trees by day and illuminated by string lighting by night. For all intents and purposes, the line of demarcation for the more fast-and-loose kid’s zones is a limestone-bordered stream that cuts across the property. The bubbling stream and its inhabitants — turtles and small fish — keep little ones who are perhaps too young for the “Rowdy Roundabout” entertained while their families enjoy their meals.

A wooden bridge crosses the stream, allowing guests to access the more casual, umbrella-topped picnic tables and fire pit area before the space concludes into the objectively-impressive “Rowdy Roundabout.”

The towering play structure includes ladders, steps, slides, and agility-course-worthy sky tunnels, all atop a very plush and forgiving turf foundation for those kiddos who may fall victim to the lessons of gravitational pull.

All in all, Long Weekend delivers the goods — there is truly something for everyone. The restaurant is becoming increasingly well known for its family-friendly lineup of seasonal activities and activations. Keep an eye on its events calendar as plans include a s’mores night, a kickoff to summer party, and so much more.

Photo by Marco Wang

Buildings on the family's ranch inspired the custom bar canopy.

long weekend restaurant design

where to eat on Thanksgiving

More than 20 Houston restaurants serving lunch and dinner on Thanksgiving 2023

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