The Best Restaurants Open For Thanksgiving In Washington, DC
Washington, DC offers a variety of exceptional dining options throughout the year with a restaurant to please every palate. The city's restaurant scene has grown extensively in recent years, so much that Bon Appétit named it the restaurant city of the year in 2016. Whether you're jonesing for the best steakhouses, ice cream shops, or the best restaurants to enjoy springtime in the city, there's a DC restaurant waiting to meet your needs. The holiday season is no exception as many of the area's stellar establishments are serving Thanksgiving dinner in addition to their standard menus.
This holiday season DC diners have a variety of options to choose from. From upscale dining rooms offering elegant multi-course feasts to cozy spots putting a delicious spin on Thanksgiving classics, the city has a restaurant for every celebration style. I've lived in the DC area and have written about the city's vibrant food scene for years. This list highlights 12 restaurants that are among the city's best, based on reviews and my personal and professional culinary experience. They're open for business on Thanksgiving Day and waiting to offer diners a hassle-free, festive meal.
1. Art and Soul
Art and Soul is an award-winning restaurant known for its modern regional cuisine with delicious Southern influences and its passionate support of local producers. The extensive menu features mouth-watering breakfast, lunch, and dinner options, in addition to a noteworthy brunch where items like house-made cinnamon raisin bread, biscuits and gravy, and braised short rib hash take center plate.
For its Thanksgiving menu, Art and Soul pays homage to tradition with dishes like a roasted heritage turkey served with cranberry relish, wild mushroom stuffing, a potato purée, sage gravy and pumpkin pie with crème fraîche ice cream. An alternative choice of duck confit with toasted farro, caramelized apples, and Hakurei turnips is available for those who want to try something less traditional. The 3-course price fix dinner will set diners back $95 per person, and is available from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
(202) 393-7777
415 New Jersey Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001
2. Barca Pier & Wine Bar
Just across the Potomac River from downtown DC, Barca Pier and Wine Bar serves up Catalonian-inspired plates that include a variety of tapas, fresh seafood, and wood-fired dishes reflecting the bold, creative flavors that are the hallmark of Mediterranean cuisine. Known for its scenic locale on the edge of the Potomac and delectable, shareable plates, Barca offers both indoor and heated, open-air seating options. It's a popular destination for those in search of dinner with a water view.
The regular menu at Barca showcases nearly 20 tapas. They range from Catalan-style mussels made with sofrito, sweet peppers, white wine, and Aleppo pepper to traditional patatas bravas: crispy potatoes with mojo rojo, a Canary Islands red sauce, and a lemon-garlic aïoli. You can pair your plates with Barca's two sangria options, stone fruit and pomelo, one of the creative cocktails, or a refreshing mocktail.
In addition to the standard menu, turkey köfte with mint, cinnamon, cranberry chutney, and garlic yogurt headline a Thanksgiving dinner. For sides, think crispy Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes with Aleppo-cinnamon honey and whipped feta. Wash it down with something festive, such as mulled wine or Catoctin Creek hot cider. Barca's holiday additions are available Thanksgiving Day from 11am to 8pm.
(703) 638-1100
2 Pioneer Mill Way, Alexandria, VA 22314
3. Bresca
Nestled amidst the hustle and bustle of DC's vibrant 14th Street corridor lies Bresca, a Michelin-starred restaurant celebrated for its playful, modern twist on inventive French-inspired cuisine. The menu focuses on seasonal ingredients, imaginative flavor pairings, and artful presentations that are just as delicious as they are beautiful. If a high end holiday dinner is what you've been dreaming of, book a table at Bresca immediately.
On Thanksgiving day, diners can treat themselves to a special tasting menu for $195 per person from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.. Bresca is reimagining Thanksgiving offerings to include neo-classics like brioche-stuffed turkey with turkey sausage, jus gras gravy and endive, and cornbread with maple butter. The holiday menu offers a host of less traditional items, as well like a Wagyu Denver-cut steak with black garlic, beef jus and romaine, and smoked mussels with a saffron emulsion and basil. For dessert, don't miss the sweet potato semifreddo with bay leaf, black walnuts, and butterscotch.
(202) 518-7926
1906 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009
4. Café Riggs
Café Riggs combines the charm of a contemporary American brasserie with a classic European café in DC's Penn Quarter neighborhood. Located on the ground floor of the Riggs Hotel, a luxury 5-star hotel, in one of the city's few surviving Romanesque Revival buildings, Café Riggs is known for creating refined, modern dining experiences. The all-day menu highlights seasonal, locally-sourced ingredients with an international flair. It's a go-to spot for leisurely meals and special occasions, like Thanksgiving.
For $75 per person diners can start their meal with roasted butternut squash soup with burnt marshmallow and chive oil or a spiced broccolini salad with pomegranate and pumpkin. Only one entrée graces the Thanksgiving menu and it's a winner: herb and mustard roasted turkey features a braised thigh. It's served with brioche and foie gras stuffing, root vegetables, and a ginger cranberry compote. You can finish the meal with a heavenly slice of either pumpkin or apple pie. Café Riggs will serve dinner from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving day.
(202) 788-2800
900 F St NW, Washington, DC 20004
5. Gravitas
You can enjoy a Michelin-starred Thanksgiving dinner at Gravitas in DC's Ivy City neighborhood. Here, the commitment to sustainability and seasonality drives a modern American menu that consists of innovative dishes crafted with ingredients thoughtfully sourced from the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The tasting menu features three, four and six course options served with the option of a selection of craft cocktails and an extensive, carefully curated wine list. Menu items like chestnut soup with crispy pork belly, spiced crème fraîche, and ginger marinated mushrooms and yellowfin tuna sashimi with a soy vinaigrette, shaved jalapeño, black vinegar aioli, and crispy shallots reflect the diversity of flavors diners at Gravitas enjoy.
Diners can expect an equally inspired four-course prix fixe Thanksgiving menu that showcases the best the Mid-Atlantic region has to offer. It will be served on Thanksgiving day from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. for $135 per person or $35 per child eight and younger.
(202) 763-7942
1401 Okie St NE, Washington, DC 20002
6. Josephine
If you want to experience a classic French brasserie without boarding a plane head to Josephine in Old Town Alexandria. The restaurant offers a refined French dining experience; elegant and thoughtful, with a menu heavily focused on making the most of local, seasonal ingredients and reflecting the timeless charm and culinary excellence that is the cuisine. The menu includes traditional French dishes like steak tartare, escargot, and steak frites, as well as daily specials like lobster risotto and bouillabaisse.
Josephine will be serving its first-ever Thanksgiving dinner this year from 11am to 6pm. You'll find servings of a classic feast with all the fixings for $65 per person. Along with a regular menu, turkey breast with gravy, cranberry sauce, brioche stuffing, and glazed carrots are just a few of the savory dishes to choose from. For dessert, treat yourself to a heavenly slice of pie.
(703) 683-1776
109 S St Asaph St, Alexandria, VA 22314
7. L'ardente
L'ardente is the definition of glamorous. This chic Italian spot is known for it's stylish dining room and show stopping dishes like a 40-Layer Lasagna, made with a dizzyingly delicious short rib tomato sauce, truffle mornay sauce, and Sottocenere cheese. The rest of the menu is equally stellar, featuring everything from house made pasta to pizzas cooked to perfection in the restaurant's gold-plated wood-fired pizza oven.
Though the menu at L'ardente highlights contemporary approaches to classic Italian dishes, it also offers three a la carte menu options on Thanksgiving day from noon to 8pm. In addition to the regular menu, diners will be able to select a roasted koginut squash with gorgonzola, toasted almonds and pickled cherries, or a full Thanksgiving feast, which includes agrodolce turkey under marsala gravy, mushroom-sage stuffing, and more. Complete the holiday meal with a crème fraîche mousse of sweet potato, cranberries, and candied pecans.
(202) 448-0450
200 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001
8. Lia's Restaurant
Just across the DC line in Chevy Chase, Maryland, Lia's Restaurant offers housemade pasta made with techniques from the old world, along with seafood, salads, steak, and pizza. Also on offer are special weekly plates, a nod to the kitchen's commitment to honoring seasonal ingredients. It's the type of neighborhood restaurant that isn't as common anymore. A weekend brunch menu is a delectable blend of classic brunch fare like avocado toast, blueberry waffles, and a BLT Benedict made with toasted ciabatta, bacon, tomato, arugula, and an other worldly sun-dried tomato hollandaise.
If you're in the neighborhood on Thanksgiving day, stop in for a special holiday menu: The three-course meal will cost you $62 per person and the menu is filled with Thanksgiving goodness. The star is the roasted turkey dinner featuring chicken sausage and sour cherry stuffing, roasted garlic and buttermilk whipped potatoes, candied yams, brown butter and sage gravy, bacon Brussels sprouts, and port wine cranberry sauce. Save room for pumpkin pie for dessert.
(240) 223-5427
4435 Willard Ave, Chevy Chase, MD 20815
9. Michele's
Michele's restaurant is a love letter to French food. The upscale new American menu reflects a delicious combination of classic French technique with Southern American influences. Located in the Eaton Hotel along the city's K Street corridor, Michele's serves a range of dishes that are both sophisticated and comforting. The fried chicken sandwich is artfully prepared and served with pimento cheese, a ranch aioli, and horseradish pickles. It shares the menu with the usual French suspects like French onion soup, a potato and black truffle tarte flambée, and beef tartare.
Michele's is making Thanksgiving hassle-free this year with a three-course menu at $85 per person. Children eight years old and under are $25. Diners will be treated to a modern, elevated spin on holiday favorites. You can reserve your table between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. for a taste of Thanksgiving favorites with a fantastic French flair.
(202) 758-0895
1201 K St NW, Washington, DC 20005
10. Palette 22
Food, art, and fun guide the menu at Union Market's Palette 22 restaurant. The buzzy restaurant with a rotating gallery of art is known for its eclectic menu of globally-inspired entrées and shareable dishes, giving diners a unique dining experience in the heart of DC. Weekends at Palette 22 bring bottomless brunch, which includes specialty bottomless cocktails, dips like roasted carrot Romesco, snacks, and treats from the wood-burning grill like shiso-wrapped chicken thighs (yuzu soy, sweet chili sauce, and pickled daikon). The menu also offer brunch staples like buttermilk pancakes and chicken and waffles.
On Thanksgiving day, Palette 22 is serving an all day menu. If you're looking for an unconventional holiday meal, reserve your table now. You can nosh on dishes like a whole branzino with mango relish, salsa verde, and charred lemon or a lamb picanha served with guajillo-tahini purée, roasted corn, shaved fennel and arugula. Palette 22 will be open from noon to 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
(202) 844-5757
400 Morse St NE, Washington, DC 20002
11. RPM Italian
There's something for everyone at RPM Italian in DC's Mount Vernon neighborhood. The menu is vast and encompasses everything from hot and cold antipasti, wood oven pizettes, housemade pasta, your favorite Italian classics, and more. The focaccia with whipped ricotta and wild blossom honey is a bread-lover's dream.
Thanksgiving at RPM Italian will feature a three-course menu of holiday classics, with an Italian edge, of course. The menu includes selections like a first choice of a Fall Harvest Salad with honey crisp apple, gorgonzola, and walnuts or stracciatella bruschetta prepared with roasted heirloom tomatoes and housemade ciabatta. Entrees include the Harrison's Farms organic turkey with traditional gravy and a Barolo-braised short rib served with creamy polenta, braised radicchio, and Pecorino Romano. Don't forget to save room for dessert. Pumpkin cheesecake and pecan pie are holiday additions to a sweet menu. Thanksgiving dinner will be served from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. and is priced at $105 per person.
(202) 204-4480
650 K St NW, Washington, DC 20001
12. Trademark
Located in the Westin Hotel in Alexandria's Carlyle District, Trademark restaurant boasts a menu of American brasserie fare celebrating the best of Virginia. The restaurant, which was recently renovated to create an open, light-filled space, focuses heavily on local ingredients and products unique to the Mid-Atlantic and the Chesapeake Bay.
Thanksgiving at Trademark will be a feast for the ages. Trademark has a New-Fashioned Turkey, brined for 24 hours with bourbon, port and special baking spice bitters. It will be served with fig and sausage stuffing, smashed root vegetable and Brussels hash, green beans, au jus and a Save the Bees gin and honey cranberry sauce. If you want to skip tradition and explore other flavors, the grilled Romanesco cauliflower steak is served with lemon risotto, cannellini beans, and lemon olive oil. For dessert you can choose between a sweet potato cheesecake with a pecan crunch, a pumpkin spice cappuccino cup with a side of biscotti, or a salted caramel mousse cake with a white chocolate and caramel drizzle. This three-course holiday meal is available from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. for $59 per person. Dinner is by reservation only.
(703) 253-8640
2080 Jamieson Ave, Alexandria, VA 22314
Methodology
To compile this list I used a combination of personal experience, expert recommendations, and research. I took into account my experiences dining at some of these restaurants where I was able to assess the quality of the food firsthand. My goal was to include restaurants in a variety of locations across the DC area to give diners options in different neighborhoods, making it easier to find a great Thanksgiving spot nearby. Additionally, I reviewed ratings from respected local food publications and consulted with industry colleagues for their expert insights and recommendations. Lastly, I factored in the number and consistency of positive reviews to acknowledge restaurants known for great dining experiences, especially around the holidays.