From upscale dining to a backyard buffet, here’s where you can eat turkey and more Thursday in the Sarasota and Bradenton Area! Perhaps your turkeys have been known to arrive on the table drier than the one served in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”
Or, you cook for a living and the last thing you want to do is spend your holiday in the kitchen.
Maybe you’re flying solo this year, or it’s just the two of you, and making a big spread of food just seems silly.
Regardless of your reasons, there’s nothing wrong with going out for Thanksgiving dinner.
Here are six great local restaurants serving the traditional feast. Reservations highly recommended.
- Arts & Eats Restaurant and Gallery
- Harry’s Continental Kitchens
- Louies Modern
- Pier22
- Polo Grill and Bar
- Table Creekside
1114 12th St. W., Bradenton; 941-201-6647; artsandeatsfl.com
Enjoy dining in the delightfully funky Village of the Arts. Chef Jim Copening is serving a Thanksgiving buffet dinner in the wooded backyard of his restaurant from 4 to 8 p.m. Menu is roast and smoked turkey, spiral ham, cranberry pear sauce, homemade bread stuffing, blue sage cornbread, mashed potatoes, mac-n-cheese, green beans almondine, roasted vegetables, pumpkin cheesecake, pecan pie, and truffles. Cost is $39.
525 St. Judes Drive, Longboat Key; 941-383-0777; harryskitchen.com
Harry’s Restaurant, an upscale dining destination with a rich history on Longboat Key, is serving a Thanksgiving meal from noon to 8 p.m. The menu features choice of soup or salad with an entree of fresh roasted turkey with apple-walnut stuffing, giblet gravy, cranberry relish, fresh green beans almondine, mashed Idaho and sweet potatoes. Dessert choice of: traditional pumpkin pie, apple cheese cake, or chocolate pecan pie. Cost is $38.99 per person, $50.99 with premium wine pairings, $29.99 entree only. Harry’s Deli will be closed all day but the Corner Store will be open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
1289 N. Palm Ave, Sarasota; 941-552-9688; tableseide.com/louies-modern
One of downtown Sarasota’s top spots for creative cuisine, Louies Modern is serving a massive Thanksgiving buffet from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. There’s a carving station with roasted turkey, prime rib and pit-smoked ham as well as a seafood station. Salads and breads are joined by an impressive array of sides including traditional items with interesting twists such as the pretzel stuffing featuring sausage and kale plus wood-oven vegetables. Holiday desserts include pumpkin cheesecake trifles, pecan torte, apple berry cobbler, chocolate cake, and chocolate-covered strawberries. Cost is $65 (adults) and $25 (children); children younger than 5 eat for free.
1200 First Ave. W., Bradenton; 941-748-8087; pier22dining.com
Downtown Bradenton landmark that puts diners right on the Manatee River with Gulf of Mexico sunset views will be open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. with a traditional Thanksgiving meal menu of slow-roasted turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato casserole, broccoli casserole, green beans, and cranberry sauce. The cost is is $29.95 (adults) and $16.95 (children age 12 and younger). Takeout orders are $99, feeds four and includes a bottle of wine.
10670 Boardwalk Loop, Lakewood Ranch; 941-782-0899; pologrillandbar.com
Lakewood Ranch’s most venerable restaurant will offer its annual Thanksgiving buffet from 12 to 5 p.m. There will be carving stations for roasted turkey, prime rib and smoked ham, various salad stations, seafood options and lots of mouthwatering side dishes such as Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Sweet Onions, a whole bunch of equally appetizing homemade desserts. Cost is $42 and for $20 children age 12 and younger. Price does not include beverages, 20 percent gratuity or tax.
5365 Tamiami Trail S., Sarasota; 941-921-9465; tablesrq.com
Table Creekside, easily one of Sarasota’s best waterfront restaurants, will offer a Thanksgiving menu of traditional and more eclectic entrees including organic roasted turkey, slow roasted ham shank, Maine stuffed lobster with Alaskan king crab, and Florida stone crab. Traditional Thanksgiving dishes will be accompanied with sweet potato cobbler, brioche serrano giblet stuffing, and cranberry loquat jam. Pumpkin Tartlette and Gianduja Chocolate Sphere are the desserts. Prices vary based on menu selection. Soups, salads and appetizers begin at $9.95 and entrees at $32.95. The regular dinner menu will also be available.
*Information Courtesy of The Herald Tribune, http://www.heraldtribune.com/News/20171121/Ticket-Editor-6-Great-Restaurants-Open-Thanksgiving-In-Sarasota-Bradenton