While for many people Thanksgiving is marked by spending all day cooking in the kitchen, others opt for a special meal out. Capitol Hill is fortunate to be densely populated by excellent restaurants, many of which will be preparing decadent feasts on Thanksgiving.
Below is a list of some of the neighborhood restaurants that will be open this year. Be sure to visit each restaurant’s website for more information as some restaurants are still deciding on their final menus and hours of operation for Thanksgiving.
Mi Vida
Located in the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood, Mi Vida (98 District Sq. SE) will offer a scrumptious Mexican twist to the Thanksgiving meal. They will serve their Sopa De Calabaza ($10), a butternut squash soup with crispy squash and chives, Pave Relleno ($28), a kale and ricotta-stuffed bacon-wrapped turkey breast with chipotle-cranberry sauce, corn bread, and roasted brussles sprouts, and their Pay De Camote ($10), a sweet potato pie with pineapple-caramel sauce. https://mividamexico.com
Osteria Morini
A Navy Yard favorite, Osteria Morini (301 Water St, SE, Suite 109) will serve a decadent array of Thanksgiving classics on Nov. 28th. Their prix-fixe menu includes the choice of three appetizers, three entrées, and two desserts, including a burrata with housemade stracciatella, pumpkin seed crumple, and granny smith apple, gnocchi (ricotta dumplings) with butternut squash, cippolini onions, brown butter, and sage, and a classic pumpkin pie with vanilla sabayon. They will also be serving a roasted turkey breast with rosemary turkey leg stuffing, potato puree, and turkey sugo. The meal will be $68 per person and $35 for children 10 and under. https://osteriamorini.com/washington-dc/
Bidwell
Bidwell (1309 Fifth St. NE) the Union Market restaurant with a focus on sustainability, will be offering a special Thanksgiving meal as well as a to-go option. Their Thanksgiving meal, $55 per person and $25 for children under 12, is a choice of roasted butternut squash soup or rooftop mixed green salad as well as feast for the table: oven-roasted heritage turkey and homemade from-scratch gravy, sourdough stuffing with rooftop sage, maple sweet potatoes and candied pecans, mashed potatoes with rooftop chives, caramelized brussels sprouts with bacon, Chef Mooney’s cranberry sauce, and apple pie with vanilla bean ice cream. The carryout menu includes all of the portions of their Thanksgiving meal individually priced so that it can either be a supplement to home cooked food or the can provide the whole spread. https://unionmarketdc.com/events/thanksgiving-at-bidwell/
Tunnicliff’s Tavern
Local gathering-place Tunnicliff’s Tavern (222 Seventh St. SE) will be open on Thanksgiving. They’re offering the regular menu plus a three-course Thanksgiving feast for $29.95. Of course, they’ll be airing all the Thanksgiving football games as well. Stop by for a drink and watch the game with the family at the Hill’s local Cheers.
La Plaza
La Plaza (629 Pennsylvania Ave. SE), a neighborhood favorite Mexican and Salvadorian restaurant at Eastern Market, will be open on Thanksgiving from 12 to 11 p.m. and will offer their normal menu with a fried turkey special. https://www.laplazadc.com
Montmartre
The sophisticated French restaurant Montmartre (327 Seventh St. SE) will be open from 12 to 8 p.m. with their usual dinner menu and specials. Their menu includes delicacies such as Cape D’or Salmon ($27) with green lentils, crispy kale, kalamata olives, fennel chutney, and preserved lemon crème, braised beef ‘bourguignon’ ($28) with kabocha squash puree, crispy kale, celery root, roasted mushrooms, and red wine braising jus, and an onion soup ($10) with wild mushroom broth, caramelized onions, melted swiss cheese and croutons. http://montmartredc.com
Bistro Bis
Bistro Bis (15 E St. NW) will present a splendid banquet of food, including a roasted Heritage Farm turkey with all of the trimmings and Bis classics. A children’s menu will also be available for kids under 10-years-old. On Thanksgiving, they will be open from 12 to 9 p.m. as well as for breakfast from 8 to 10 a.m. http://bistrobis.com
Station Four
Station Four (1101 4th St. SW) will be preparing a celebratory feast for dinner guests as well as Thanksgiving dinner pick-up option. The to-go option is $199 for 10 to 12 people and includes a whole turkey with stuffing (15-18 lbs), mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce and accounts for plenty of leftovers! https://station4dc.com
Del Mar
Del Mar (791 Wharf St. SE), a Spanish cuisine restaurant that looks out over the Southwest waterfront, will be presenting an expansive menu with a mix of their classics and Thanksgiving themed dishes. A highlight is their roasted local turkey with whipped potatoes, chestnut stuffing, and wild mushroom gravy. Prices range from $10 to $100. https://www.delmardc.com/menus-1
Café Berlin
Café Berlin (322 Massachusetts Ave. NE) will serve a blend of traditional German and Thanksgiving food on Nov. 28th. Their menu features kürbissuppe, a sweet and sour pumpkin soup with pumpkin seed oil; sauerbraten with red wine marinated braised beef roast, bread and potato dumplings, and red cabbage; house roasted turkey with garlic cheddar mashed potatoes, cornbread dressing, fall vegetable gratin, cranberry relish; and an assortment of pies, tarts, and cakes. Seatings will take place at 1:30 p.m., 4 p.m. 6:30 p.m. The feast costs $55 per person. https://www.cafeberlin-dc.com/thanksgiving/
Eat at Home
For people who plan to a Thanksgiving meal in the comfort of their own home, there are plenty of resources to help ensure a safe and happy day. Medium Rare (515 Eighth St. SE) will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for free deep frying of turkeys, an extremely generous offer that attempts to decrease the injuries from frying. Visit www.mediumrarerestaurant.com for more details. Additionally, Whole Foods has an assortment of Thanksgiving sides and main dishes available to make preparation less daunting. Visit http://holiday.wholefoodsmarket.com to order a whole Thanksgiving meal at once, find tips and tricks, and browse recipes, or visit one of the two locations near Capitol Hill: 600 H St. NE or 101 H St. SE.
Are you the kind of cook who realizes two hours into roasting your turkey that you don’t have a baster? Read advice on planning your meal from local storyteller, cook, author and television personality Jonathan Bardzik. And don’t worry –Leah Daniels at Hill’s Kitchen (713 D St. SE) has again given you the holiday gift of being open on Thanksgiving (Thurs, Nov. 28) from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. to mitigate those turkey disasters!
