Across the pond, the fourth Thursday of November, aka Thanksgiving, (which falls on 23rd November this year) is a very big deal. It’s a day that commemorates the harvest feast shared by the Plymouth colonists from England and Native Americans in 1621, although nowadays it’s more of an excuse to get family and friends together, eat turkey and put marshmallows on sweet potatoes, watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and the NFL Thanksgiving games, and go mad for bargains on Black Friday.
It’s not a national holiday in the UK but whether you’re a bonafide yank who celebrates Thanksgiving in London every single year or an Americana fanatic who just loves a roast turkey, there are plenty of Thanksgiving feasts to get stuck into right here in the capital. Here are the places to go for turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie.
The Hoxton Grill
The Hoxton Grill, inside The Hoxton, Shoreditch, is bringing in the big guns for Thanksgiving this year. Mississippi-born Executive Chef Slade Rushing is cooking up a menu that includes pumpkin arancini & sage-infused mayo, tea-brined roast turkey & sage gravy, Tennessee whisky-glazed ham & mustard sauce, cornbread stuffing, sweet potato casserole and charred brussel sprouts, with a pumpkin pie from Willy’s Pies with whiskey whipped cream on offer for dessert. The full menu is £55 per person and each guest will get two Jack Daniel’s cocktails included too. Aimee Phillips will be adding some American flavour by taking over the decks for a DJ set with her mate Billy Clark, and word on the street is that there’ll be a few surprises on the night too. Bag yourself a spot by booking here.
Thursday 23rd November 2023
81 Great Eastern St, London EC2A 3HU
thehoxton.com
Ham Yard Hotel
Ham Yard Hotel is putting on a five-course feast this Thanksgiving, which’ll kick off with a bourbon, grapefruit & cranberry spritz and jalapeno cornbread with turkey gravy butter and blue cheese & chive fondue. Then there’s the likes of clam & corn chowder, fried green tomato with garlic mayo & hot sauce, roast cajun rub turkey with smoked bacon & gravy, dandy braised short ribs with molasses & onion rings to choose from, with sharing sides of wedge salad with blue cheese dressing, roast sweet potatoes, collard greens and green bean casserole. You can finish in style with pecan cake, pumpkin pie or NOLA-style beignets with bourbon butterscotch.
Thurs 23rd November 2023
1 Ham Yard, London W1D 7DT
firmdalehotels.com
Carousel
Dig into a proper family-style Thanksgiving at Carousel, where soul food and BBQ experts Sam Evans and Shauna Guinn, aka Hang Fire BBQ, will be in the house. They’ll be serving up hush puppies & cajun aioli, wedge salad, maple glazed roast turkey, cornbread stuffing, green bean casserole, bone marrow mashed taters, roasted sprouts and both pumpkin and pecan pie with vanilla ice cream. Be sure to wear those stretchy trousers.
Thurs 23rd November 2023
19-23 Charlotte Street, London, W1T 1RL
carousel-london.com
Joe Allen
Joe Allen is invoking the spirit of the Big Apple for Thanksgiving this year with a menu that includes spiced pumpkin soup with toasted seeds; pan-fried cod with crab & sweetcorn chowder; roast turkey with chestnut stuffing, sweet potato gratin, pigs in blankets, buttered cabbage & cranberry sauce; and grilled ribeye with fries & peppercorn sauce. For dessert, you can go classic Thanksgiving with pecan tart and butterscotch & popcorn ice cream or classic NYC with a New York baked cheesecake and raspberries.
Thurs 23rd November 2023
2 Burleigh St, London, WC2E 7PX
joeallen.co.uk
The Gladwin Brothers
If you know the Gladwin Brothers, you’ll know they own a collection restaurants around London, including The Shed in Notting Hill, Rabbit in Chelsea, The Black Lamb in Wimbledon, The Fat Badger in Richmond and Sussex in Soho, each of them bringing a bit of the British countryside to the smog-laden streets of London. This time, they’ll be bringing an XL helping of America to all their restaurants, with a Thanksgiving menu featuring crab and corn chowder with chorizo, a Yorkshire turkey parmo with hispi cabbage coleslaw, and a pumpkin tart with creme fraiche. Bosh.
Thurs 23rd November 2023
Various locations
gladwinbrothers.com
Duck & Waffle
Enjoy a Thanksgiving feast with some epic views over London by heading to Duck & Waffle. The sky-high restaurant is doing a festive lunch and dinner this year featuring bacon-wrapped dates, cornbread with whipped honey butter, roasted bronze turkey with stuffing, truffle mac & cheese, green bean casserole, roasted sprouts, sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, and bourbon pecan pie with clotted cream. It’s served family-style, just like a traditional Thanksgiving dinner would be, so roll up your sleeves and get stuck in.
Thurs 23rd November 2023
110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY
duckandwaffle.com
Sette
Sette is the London sister to NYC’s Scarpetta and as Thanksgiving is big for them across the pond, they’re hoping to recreate some of that magic here in the capital. Sette’s menu puts an Italian twist on Thanksgiving with dishes like celeriac, chestnut & porcini soup; pumpkin ravioli; radicchio risotto with taleggio; traditional roasted turkey with seasonal trimmings; and a classic pecan pie with vanilla gelato.
Thurs 23rd November 2023
4 Knightsbridge Green, London, SW1X 7QA
settelondon.co.uk
Galvin Bar & Grill
Galvin Bar & Grill, the restaurant inside the Kimpton Fitzroy, is putting out an exclusive menu for the big day which showcases the best of British ingredients with an American twist. The four-course menu kicks off with a heritage beet, roast pumpkin & goat’s cheese salad before moving on to the middle course of clam chowder with crab cake & aioli. The main course will be a roulade of turkey & smoked bacon with sprouts and sweet potato fondant. Then, for dessert, there’ll be apple & pecan tart with bourbon cream.
Thurs 23rd November 2023
1-8 Russell Square Corner of Guilford Street and, Russel Square, London WC1B 5BE
galvinrestaurants.com
The Colony Grill Room
The Beaumont’s resident American, The Colony Grill Room, will be cooking up a celebratory Thanksgiving menu of transatlantic-inspired dishes. There’ll be cured sea bass with sweetcorn, lime & ginger to start, followed by seasonal pumpkin risotto with smoked ricotta & toasted hazelnuts. Then there’ll be a classic turkey with all the trimmings for the main event and a pumpkin pie & spiced coffee ice cream for dessert that can be enjoyed with some tea or coffee. There’ll also be an optional American wine flight to pair with the meal if you really want to push the boat out.
Thurs 23rd November 2023
8 Balderton Street, Mayfair, London W1K 6TF
colonygrillroom.com
The Pem
Chef Sally Abé is putting together a special Thanksgiving menu at The Pem, the fine-dining joint that sits inside bougie Westminster hotel the Conrad London St James. The menu is a mash-up of American and British grub with buttermilk jalapeno cornbread with maple syrup butter, and a maple roast turkey with all the trimmings, including duck fat hasselback potatoes and herb stuffing. Sally’s got both traditional desserts covered with a pumpkin pie ice cream with shortbread & hazelnuts AND a pecan tartlet.
Thurs 23rd November 2023
22-28 Broadway, London, SW1H 0BH
thepemrestaurant.com
The Game Bird
The Stafford London has a strong American connection – the hotel’s American Bar is one of the longest surviving ones of its kind in the capital and is filled with memorabilia often donated by American guests – so they always put on a big Thanksgiving spread. This year their menu, available The Game Bird, includes butternut squash veloute with rye bread crouton; maple-glazed roast Norfolk turkey with garlic mash, sage & onion stuffing, green bean casserole and roasted pumpkin; and chocolate pecan pie with mocha ice cream.
Thurs 23rd November 2023
16-18 St James’s Pl, London SW1A 1NJ
thestaffordlondon.com
Dovetale
Tom Sellers and Tom Anglesea have created a three-course menu for Thanksgiving at Dovetale, which kicks off with an Upcycled Sour aperitif (with Dalmore 12yr Whisky, Grand Marnier, lemon & orange juice, and egg white). Then it’s onto Jerusalem artichoke soup with black truffle, apple & bacon jam, and maple-glazed milk buns; a sharing main of roast bronze turkey with sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes, roast squash, sprout salad, cranberry jam and turkey gravy; and classic pumpkin pie, apple pie and pecan pie for pud.
Thurs 23rd November 2023
1 Dover Yard at 1 Hotel Mayfair, London, W1J 8DJ
1hotels.com