For many Americans, Thanksgiving has long meant crowded grocery stores, hours of chopping and roasting, and a post-feast mountain of dishes. But a growing number of people are choosing a different kind of holiday—one where seasoned chefs transform the classic Thanksgiving spread into a refined, restaurant-quality experience.
This year, the convenience of dining out comes with a surprisingly wide range of price tags and, for many, the added reward of enjoying expertly crafted holiday dishes in a restaurant setting.
Chef’s Pencil analyzed Thanksgiving prix-fixe menus from over 500 restaurants across 29 major U.S. cities. We looked at everything from casual chain restaurants to Michelin-starred establishments to find out exactly what it costs to skip the cooking in 2025.
Key Findings
The National Median: The median price for a Thanksgiving prix-fixe dinner in the U.S. is $75 per person (excluding tax, tip, and drinks).
Most Expensive City: Los Angeles tops the list with a median price of $105, followed closely by San Francisco and New York ($95).
Least Expensive Major City: Cincinnati and Columbus offer the best value, with median prices hovering around $41, though restaurant options are limited in both cities.
The Price Gap: You can find a full Thanksgiving dinner for as low as $28 or splurge on a $295 Thanksgiving Michelin-star tasting menu in Miami.
The Most Expensive Cities for Thanksgiving Dinner
If you’re planning to dine out on the West Coast or in the Northeast, prepare to pay a premium. Los Angeles is the only city in our study where the median price broke the triple-digit mark ($105).
Here is the ranking of major U.S. cities by median prix-fixe price:
A few takeaways:
Coastal hubs are the priciest. Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Seattle and Miami consistently sit at or near the top, with median prices between $85 and $105.
Midwestern and Southern cities like Columbus, Cincinnati, Louisville, Detroit and Chicago remain much more affordable, with medians between $41 and $59.
Cities like Las Vegas, Denver, and Charleston hit the overall national median sweet spot at around $75, reflecting a mix of resort dining and more accessible options.
To see how your city stacks up, explore the map below showing median Thanksgiving dinner prices nationwide.
Where to Find the Best Value
For those looking for a bargain, the Midwest and South offer significantly more affordable options. In cities like Louisville ($45), Columbus ($41), and Cincinnati ($41), dining out costs less than half of what it would in more expensive coastal cities—although the options are generally fewer and skew toward mid-range restaurants.
Even in expensive metros, affordable choices exist. National chains like Mimi’s Cafe offer three-course holiday meals for around $32 in locations from Phoenix to Las Vegas, while some local spots offer turkey plates for under $30.
High-End Holiday Dining: Some of The Priciest Thanksgiving Menus of 2025
While Los Angeles is, on average, the most expensive city for Thanksgiving dinner, the single most expensive Thanksgiving menu in our research comes from the opposite coast. At L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Miami, the Thanksgiving dinner is priced at $295 per person.
The two-star Michelin restaurant offers a Thanksgiving celebration that reads more like a high-end tasting menu than a traditional holiday meal. Diners can expect:
Foie Gras Royale with parmesan foam and Maury “Vieilles Vignes” essence
White Truffle Comté Soufflé, delicate and perfumed
Olive Oil–Poached Icelandic Halibut scented with vanilla and fig leaf
Mishima Reserve Wagyu Striploin, finished with smoky blackberry bordelaise
Dessert choices like an apple spiral with caramel sponge or pumpkin cheesecake mousse
This is Thanksgiving reimagined by one of the world’s most celebrated culinary maisons and the only two-star Michelin restaurant in Miami. Optional wine pairings starting at $350 take the experience even further.
Several other restaurants also offer standout high-end Thanksgiving menus, such as:
These restaurants serve elevated interpretations of holiday classics—offering diners a once-a-year chance to enjoy Thanksgiving through the lens of fine dining.
The Affordable Alternative
At the opposite end of the spectrum, many restaurants offer full Thanksgiving plates in the $28–$35 range. These menus embrace the timeless comfort-food lineup of roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and pie—proof that enjoying a hot, festive meal doesn’t require a lavish budget.
A standout example is All Meal Prep Kitchen & Cafe in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood, serving a generous Thanksgiving plate for $28 that includes:
turkey
mashed potatoes
cranberry sauce
stuffing
steamed vegetables
mac & cheese
dessert
A complete, comforting holiday meal at one of the lowest price points we found.
Is It Worth It?
With the average cost of a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people hovering around $55 total (about $5–$6 per person, per the American Farm Bureau Federation), dining out is undeniably a luxury.
Even in the most affordable cities, you’re paying a 500–600% premium for a restaurant Thanksgiving.
But for diners who value their time more than their budget, the national median of $75 may feel like a fair exchange to skip the grocery runs, avoid the 6 a.m. prep, and forget the mountain of dirty dishes. Plus, the reward—a chef-prepared holiday meal—is hard for even a skilled home cook to match.
Pro Tip: Don’t Wait—Tables Are Disappearing Fast
If you’re considering dining out this Thanksgiving, our advice is simple: book now.
With only a limited number of restaurants open for the holiday, and seating capacities often reduced to ensure a relaxed service, the “wait and see” approach is risky. During our research window alone—from Wednesday to Friday of last week—we watched availability vanish in real-time. Several venues that had prime seating available on Wednesday were completely fully booked by Friday afternoon.
To secure a table at your preferred spot (and at a reasonable hour), we recommend finalizing your reservation immediately. Waiting even another 24 hours could mean the difference between a 6:00 PM dinner and a 9:30 PM slot—or no table at all.
Methodology
Our team used OpenTable to identify restaurants in more than 500 venues across 29 major U.S. metro areas—including both city centers and surrounding suburbs—that:
are open on Thanksgiving, and
offer a prix fixe or set Thanksgiving menu.
We recorded the per-person food price of each menu (excluding drinks, tax, and gratuity). For restaurants that priced their Thanksgiving menu per party, we divided the total cost by the minimum number of guests required (and, in some cases, added the cost of the required extra dessert).
For each restaurant, we used the listed Thanksgiving prix fixe or tasting menu price, then calculated:
median prices by city, and
the overall median across the full dataset.
The result is a snapshot of what Americans are paying to celebrate Thanksgiving outside the home—from budget-friendly chains to some of the most ambitious dining rooms in the country.
Note*: While our team researched more than 500 restaurants, we cannot guarantee that we captured every high-end restaurant in the U.S. offering a Thanksgiving menu.
