If you’re not cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year, the world’s premier eating city has you covered. Each year, New York City’s best restaurants celebrate the annual feast with specialty menus, fresh takes on roast bird, and dining experiences that bring travelers and locals alike together in the spirit of the holiday. From barbecue smoked turkey and dry-aged duck to hearty plant-based menus, here are Now Frolic’s recommendations for Thanksgiving dinner—ideal for dining solo, as a couple, or celebrating with a group.

Bushwick · $$ · Turkey

Bark Barbecue is the takeout-only option, ideal for groups and families who want an alternative to roasted bird for the family table. Bark is a hotspot for barbecue in New York. Since pitmaster Ruben Santana first opened the popup in 2020, Bark has become known for its white oak-smoked brisket, ribs, turkey breast, and chicken. In 2024, the restaurant made Texas Monthly’s list of best barbecue restaurants outside of Texas, and earlier this year opened a new permanent location in Bushwick. This Thanksgiving, pre-order a whole smoked turkey that serves 8-10 people for just $120.

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Williamsburg · $$$ · Turkey

A hotel brasserie with a bar, Le Crocodile is located in Williamsburg’s Wythe Hotel, and is the welcome landing spot for solo travelers or diners looking to celebrate an upscale Thanksgiving built around roast turkey. At $163 per person for a three-course French feast, this is one of the pricier options. Diners can expect decadent, elevated classics like citrus-brined turkey and pumpkin pie.

Diners love Thanksgiving at Le Crocodile year after year because it feels like home, with comforting, familiar recipes and cozy environs. Reservations are going fast!

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Chinatown · $$ · Duck

Looking for something other than turkey? Peking Duck House on Mott Street offers a juicy stand-in for the classic turkey. A Chinatown staple ranking in Time Out’s 15 Best Chinese Restaurants of 2026, this is the perfect spot for couples dining out for the holiday or groups looking for an elegant alternative to the traditional Thanksgiving menu. Known for carving succulent, crispy roast duck table-side, the long-standing BYOB policy at Peking Duck House makes it a prime destination for wine lovers—or those who would prefer to spend their money on meat, rather than drink. Purchase by the duck.

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Williamsburg · $$$ · 1 Michelin Star · Duck

Francie, a glamorous Williamsburg brasserie, retained its Michelin Star in 2025. This season, the acclaimed restaurant’s annual Ducksgiving Meal will enter its fourth year.

This is an establishment known for its duck. Dry-aged duck. Duck lasagna. Duck mortadella. The MICHELIN Guide celebrates that “crown of roast duck arrives in dramatic fashion, presented whole and finished with a barley honey glaze before being carved.” That same crown of duck—both whole, bone-in duck breasts joined by the rib cage—on the menu for $152 is the centerpiece of Ducksgiving. For couples and small groups who prefer what Pete Wells labeled “fancy, not fussy,” Francie has your Thanksgiving table.

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Union Square · $ · Plant-Based

Le Basque offers a different concept from everything else on this list, and that’s why we’ve saved it for last. 100% vegan, kosher-certified French-Basque cuisine from chef Guy Vaknin, entrées here run à la carte from just over $30 to over $70, and the entirely plant-based Thanksgiving menu costs $75 per guest with an optional wine pairing. Recognized in Forbes, Le Basque brings sophisticated plant-based flavors to the table this Thanksgiving with impossible meatloaf, maple-glazed plant-based turkey served with garlic confit, sliced sweet potatoes, and desserts like pecan pie and pumpkin cheesecake.

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If there’s a holiday more thoroughly dedicated to food than Thanksgiving, you’d be hard-pressed to name it. While for many this means celebrating classic recipes, passed down generation to generation, for others Thanksgiving is the celebration of new communities, new food traditions, and new memories. Whether you’ve just moved in, you’re traveling through, or you just don’t have the time to cook this holiday, New York City’s restaurants have a table set aside for you. Tuck into harvest favorites and the turkey feasts most cooks can only dream of, or go a little further afield with a vegan spread or roast duck. From the editors at Now Frolic: Happy Thanksgiving!

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