We get it: cooking a feast for a large group of family or friends is a ton of work. For those who want a more relaxing holiday, without the meal prep; here are several local restaurants that are open on Thanksgiving Day.
Of course, a traditional dinner with turkey and fixings (stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, etc.) is the most common meal, but you’ll also find some more unique options such as Kemola Restaurant’s Thanksgiving dinner with a Nigerian twist or a kosher take-out menu from the Jewish Community Center’s café. Reservations fill up fast, and the same goes for food orders offered by caterers, so don’t wait too long to order.
Celebrate this year’s winners of the Betty Awards!
Dine-In
Canal Street Café
1721 W. CANAL ST.
Serving a Thanksgiving buffet ($45 per adult, $20 per child 12 and under) from noon to 8 p.m., this casual-dining restaurant is on the ground floor of Potawatomi Casino Hotel. Included on the menu are three hearty entrees (herb-roasted turkey with gravy and cranberry sauce, slow-roasted New York strip with red wine demi-glace and garlic Parmesan baked cod), as well as traditional holiday sides. Followed by desserts such as pumpkin spice no-bake cheesecake and mini-sized pumpkin pies.
Book a table through the restaurant’s website.
Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant
8415 W. SURA LN, GREENFIELD | 15 S. MOORLAND RD., BROOKFIELD
A three-course Thanksgiving meal that includes the fixings—stuffing, roasted green beans and carrots, potatoes and cranberry sauce—along with the prerequisite slow-roasted turkey with pan gravy will be served ($36.99 per adult, $15.99 per child 12 and under) on Thanksgiving Day, between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. Pumpkin praline cheesecake ends the meal on a sweet note.
Book a table through the restaurants’ website.
Craft
420 W. JUNEAU AVE.
Tucked onto the ground floor of The Trade Hotel, the restaurant will serve a special dinner on Thanksgiving Day ($70 per adult, $35 per child six to 12 years of age) that kicks off with house rolls and salad, followed by slice of honey ham and herb-roasted turkey breast, sausage stuffing, baked mac n cheese, bourbon-pecan sweet potatoes (or garlic mashed potatoes), green-bean casserole and cranberry relish. Choose between pumpkin cheesecake or pumpkin pie, as well as a glass of wine, sparkling wine or beer. This can also be ordered to-go.
Book a table through OpenTable.
Dream Dance Steakhouse
1721 W. CANAL ST.
As the fine-dining option within Potawatomi Casino Hotel, this is also true on Thanksgiving Day when a Thanksgiving feast ($60 per person) joins the regular menu, served between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. On that menu are mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, sweet-potato casserole, green-bean casserole, turducken (a deboned chicken stuffed inside a duck), ambrosia salad, Waldorf salad and orange-cranberry compote. Then, for dessert, there’s a pumpkin-pie tart. Each meal is paired with a cranberry maple Old Fashioned.
Book a table through the restaurant’s website.
Kemola Restaurant
8704 W. BROWN DEER RD.
Instead of a traditional American Thanksgiving meal, consider ordering a Thanksgiving Family Platter inspired by Lagos, Nigeria, to enjoy at home. These are highly customizable and can be discussed in a phone call, so it’s right for your family, although rice trays, soups, swallows (dumplings) are among the options.
Pre-order by calling 414-588-8355 or 414-239-5602 and pick up Nov. 26 at 11 a.m.
Milwaukee ChopHouse
633 N. 5TH ST.
In celebration of Thanksgiving, this steakhouse on the first floor of the Hilton Milwaukee City Center will offer a special Thanksgiving Day prix-fixe menu ($75 per adult) between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. For each of the three courses, there are two to three selections, beginning with a choice between butternut-squash bisque and two salads for the starter, then either herb-smoked turkey ballotine or 18-ounce prime rib for the entrée, followed by seasonal sorbet, pumpkin crème brulee or chocolate torte.
Book a table through OpenTable.
The Gilded Cleaver
1721 W. CANAL ST.
At this casual-dining option at Potawatomi Casino Hotel, within Potawatomi Marketplace, you can order The Gobbler Sandwich ($17), which is essentially everything you’d find on a Thanksgiving plate (carved roasted turkey, cranberry chutney, stuffing and horseradish Dijon sauce, wedged between two slices of bread, with a side of gravy. This is available between Nov. 1 and Nov. 30, including on Thanksgiving Day, when the restaurant is open between 10 a.m. and 1 a.m.
The Packing House
900 E. LAYTON AVE.
Per tradition, this long-time, family-owned supper club near Mitchell International Airport will serve a condensed version of its regular menu on Thanksgiving Day, between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Call 414-483-5054 to book a table.
The Pfister Hotel
424 E. WISCONSIN AVE.
For its Thanksgiving Bountiful Brunch, the Grand Ballroom is transformed into an elegant buffet-style meal ($119 per adult, $39 per child between three and 10) with food stations such as a sculpted ice and seafood display, and another dedicated to Wisconsin artisanal cheese and meats paired with breads such as New York-style bagels or herb and tomato focaccia. You can also sample from nine brunch entrees at six different chef-led action stations (egg dishes, steak, carved meats, pies, churros and apple-cranberry compote with brie), plus a dessert table piled with 10 desserts, ranging from red-velvet cake pops to French macarons. Brunch is served between 11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Book a table through Tock.
The Studio Kitchen & Cocktails
139 E. KILBOURN AVE.
Serving a special prix-fixe Thanksgiving Harvest dinner between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, the chefs at this restaurant at Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel will take inspiration from the season to develop dishes. Then, earlier that day, starting at 8 a.m., Thanksgiving brunch along with festive cocktails will be featured in the same dining space.
Book a table through OpenTable.
To-Go / Take and Bake
Mosaic Catering
6255 N. SANTA MONICA BLVD., WHITEFISH BAY
If a kosher meal is what your family or friends need for Thanksgiving, then this kosher café at the Jewish Community Center can easily meet that requirement, with a dedicated à la carte menu just for the holiday. Items include challah rolls, challah bread, sliced herb roasted turkey breast, cranberry relish, challah stuffing with leeks and mushrooms, mashed potatoes, green-bean casserole, stuffed peppers with cranberry quinoa pilaf and apple pie with streusel topping.
Pre-order by Nov. 22 and pick up at the Marcus Pavilion Entrance on Nov. 25 between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Desserts
Purple Door Ice Cream
205 S. 2ND ST.
This Walkers Point scoop shop may be best known for its ice cream, but you can also order its ice-cream pies as Thanksgiving Day pies. Each of the four flavors (butter pecan, pumpkin spice, salted caramel or spiced pear sorbet) of nine-inch pies is baked in a graham-cracker crust. Only the spiced pear sorbet pie is dairy-free.
Pre-order by Nov. 15 through Purple Door’s website and pick up at 207 W. Freshwater Way on Nov. 21 or Nov. 22 between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
