Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant, without the dishes.

You’re not alone

More people are eating Thanksgiving out.

In 2025, OpenTable data showed Thanksgiving Day dinner reservations up 13% on the year before. A Popmenu survey of 1,000 US adults that November found 53% planned to order at least part of the meal from restaurants for takeout or delivery, and 5% planned to sit down at one. The top reason, given by 63%: they wanted to enjoy the holiday and not worry about cooking.

That demand is the main thing to plan around. For many restaurants that open, it is one of the busiest days of the year — the manager of Mary Mac’s Tea Room in Atlanta calls it their second busiest — and the good seating times go first.

Know the menu

What restaurants serve on Thanksgiving.

Book it

When and how to book.

• As soon as menus appear. Restaurants usually post holiday menus weeks ahead. Book that week, especially for an early-evening table.
• Give the real headcount. Large tables are planned around; adding three people on the day is hard.
• Ask about the seating window. Holiday tables often run in timed seatings. Know when you need to be out.
• Ask about deposits and cancellation. Some places take a card or a deposit for holiday bookings.
• Pass on allergies and what people don’t eat at booking, not at the table.
• Takeout instead? Note the ordering deadline and pickup slot — missing the cut-off means missing the meal.
• Confirm the day before, and check holiday hours.

At the table

Ordering for a group.

• Pick one orderer for shared platters, so the table doesn’t end up with four green bean casseroles and no stuffing.
• Family-style is the friendliest format for a group: it looks like the holiday, and the picky eaters can skip what they like.
• Order one of each pie rather than a slice each — pumpkin, pecan and apple, a fork for everyone.
• Ask for leftovers early. Some set menus include a to-go box of turkey and sides; it is half the point of Thanksgiving.
• Kids: ask for their plates to come out first.

The bill

Tipping on Thanksgiving.

• The baseline is the usual US rate: 15–20% of the pre-tax bill at a sit-down restaurant. Our tipping guide has the details and quick maths.
• A little more is kind. Staff working Thanksgiving are giving up their own holiday, often on a long double shift.
• Check for an automatic gratuity before you add a tip. Many restaurants add one for large parties; don’t pay it twice.
• Tip on the full value, not on a discount or gift card.
• Splitting? Decide how before you sit down — evenly, or by family. The split bill calculator does the maths.

Copy this

Your Thanksgiving-out plan.

• ☐ Restaurant: ___ · booked on: ___
• ☐ Party of ___ · seating time ___ · out by ___
• ☐ Format: set menu / family-style / buffet / takeout
• ☐ Allergies and no-gos passed on: ___
• ☐ Kids’ plates? High chair?
• ☐ Automatic gratuity on large parties? yes / no
• ☐ How we split the bill: ___
• ☐ Leftover boxes included? yes / ask
• ☐ Confirmed the day before
• ☐ The table photo, before anyone reaches

Keep it

A Thanksgiving you can look back on.

A restaurant Thanksgiving is easy to forget precisely because nobody cooked it. Take one photo of the table when the plates land. PlateDiary cuts the turkey plate, the sides and each slice of pie into separate saves on your phone, files them under that restaurant and that night, and keeps who was there on the companions row. Add the bill, or scan the receipt — it is read on your phone and the photo is deleted.

Your November comes back as a month story in Served, and next year each person’s page shows “A year ago today.” For the plate itself, see the Thanksgiving dinner numbers; hosting friends the weekend before? Try our Friendsgiving ideas.