The 10 best restaurants open around Indianapolis on Thanksgiving Day 2018

These restaurants in, near or a couple hours away from Indianapolis go all out for America's biggest food holiday.

Liz Biro
IndyStar
  • Bourbon-brined turkey
  • Eat in a 100-year-old barn
  • Vegetarian options

Lots of Indianapolis area restaurants are open on Thanksgiving Day, Bob Evans, Waffle House, Burger King. But come on. This is Thanksgiving, America’s biggest food holiday of the year. If you’re not eating at home, get something special.

These restaurants go all out. Dine in a 100-year-old barn, try a bourbon-brined roast turkey or a book a table in a sophisticated dining room where no one will bring up politics (fingers crossed), and if they do, proper martinis flow. Vegetarians find thoughtful options, too.

All of these places are in, near or a couple hours away from Indianapolis. No matter how far, each one is worth the trip.

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On Thanksgiving Day, Capital Grille will serve its regular menu of dry-aged steaks, as well as a special of slow-roasted turkey ($36) with side dishes of brioche stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes and cranberry-pear chutney.

FARMbloomington

$45 per person, 108 E. Kirkwood Ave., Bloomington; 812-323-0002, farm-bloomington.com

I can’t think of an Indiana restaurant that feels more like home than this downtown Bloomington farm-to-table gem. Chef/owner Daniel Orr filled the place with vintage and antique kitchen appliances, dining room furniture, cooking gadgets and farmhouse collectibles. His grandmother’s biscuit recipe spans four generations. On Thanksgiving Day, Orr plans bourbon-brined roast turkey, truffle-scented giblet and mushroom gravy, mashed local sweet potatoes with molasses and hazelnuts. Butternut squash and banana bisque with coconut milk and stuffed vegetables with roasted red pepper sauce please vegetarians. Assorted dessert bars include salty caramel pumpkin with cream cheese frosting.

Beholder

$75, 1844 E. 10th St., 317-419-3471, beholderindy.com

Milktooth co-founder chef Jonathan Brooks' latest restaurant is known for progressive dishes, but the kitchden offers an ultra-traditional set menu on Thanksgiving Day. Look for holiday favorites, but the special surprise is an option for a rustic tribute to the first Thanksgiving, which historians believe happened sometime in the fall of 1621. The restaurant's always outstanding wine list will include a selection of the more refined cru beaujolais wines.  

Joe Hubers

$21.99 per person, 2421 Engle Road, Starlight; 812-923-5255, joehubers.com

Thanksgiving dinner is served every single day in November at this family-run restaurant. Get all the classics: roast turkey, homemade apple sage dressing and pumpkin pie. The meal is so good it was featured in 2009 on a Thanksgiving episode of Food Network show “The Best Of.” Sit at communal tables and pass the plates around. Recipes have been handed down through generations of the Huber family and incorporate locally grown ingredients. Buffet-style service happens on Thanksgiving day.

Homey farmhouse style at FARMbloomington restaurant, which offers a 2017 Thanksgiving Day menu.

Story Inn

$35 per person, 6404 State Road 135 S., Nashville, 812-988-2273, storyinn.com

Literally travel over the river and through the woods to reach this cozy, rustic inn nestled in the hills of Brown County. The winding drive is almost as lovely as the meal you’ll experience there. The menu lists local roasted turkey, local baked ham and, for vegetarians, smoked tempeh with vegan gravy. Also get grilled shallot stuffing, sweet potato casserole and balsamic-glazed Brussels sprouts. 

The Garrison 

$31.95 per person, 6002 N. Post Road, 317-638-6000

A massive noon-to-4 p.m. Thanksgiving buffet at this Fort Harrison State Park restaurant dishes up roasted and smoked turkeys, cornbread dressing, garlic and herb prime rib, bacon-wrapped pork loin, smoked salmon sides, white cheddar mac and cheese and so much more for. Reservations required. 

Table by Market District

$26 per person, 11505 N. Illinois St., Carmel; 317-569-0171, marketdistrict.com

At this fancy-pants supermarket’s stuffing bar, blend your own recipe to take home and pop in the oven without ever chopping a single vegetable. The stuffing bar is open Nov. 16-21. Don’t want to cook? The in-store restaurant serves smoked stuffed turkey on Thanksgiving Day. Accompaniments include crispy Brussels sprouts with pomegranate molasses, four-cheese mac and cheese and green bean casserole with sherry porcini cream and crispy onions. No need to decide which dessert. Hit the buffet for some of everything.

When I moved to Mooresville some 18 years ago, the first thing people would say was "oooh Gray's".  It's like Madonna or Cher - only one name is needed.  Four generations the Gray family have kept the tradition of Gray Brothers Cafeteria alive.   Yes, there are lines - long, long lines on a Sunday or holiday.  I've seen lines wrapped around the building on Mother's Day.  It's good comfort food, like their famous fried chicken, butterscotch or strawberry pie.

Gray Brothers Cafeteria

Items priced individually, 555 S. Indiana St., Mooresville, (317) 831-7234, graybroscafe.com

Normally, I’d limit myself to two pieces of the best fried chicken I’ve had in Indiana, but Thanksgiving is license to feast. Yes, there will be turkey and all the fixings -- green beans, mashed potatoes, sage dressing and macaroni and cheese -- but think about this: fried chicken on sage dressing, all smothered in gravy. Save room for pie – and cake. Be prepared to wait. Lines have been known to wrap around the building.

Capri

$29.95 per person, 2602 Ruth Drive, 317-259-4122, capriindianapolis.com

The plush dining room, complete with a stone fireplace, is the setting for an Italian-American meal featuring traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy but also Italian chicken lasagna, penne boscaiola with sauteéd mushrooms, tomato sauce, basil, parmigano and a touch of cream and rigatoni chicken fattore with olive oil, garlic, sun dried tomato, asparagus and cream. For dessert choose pumpkin pie or tiramisu.

Amish Acres

$19.95 per person, 1600 W. Market St., Nappanee, (574) 773-4188, amishacres.com

If you’re a sucker for old-fashioned shoo-fly pie and think you were born too late, step back in time at this historic farmstead listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Three bountiful buffet tables set up under hand-hewn timbers in the 100-year-old Restaurant Barn will feature roast turkey, baked ham, all the trimmings, that shoo-fly pie plus apple and pumpkin pies.  

The Capital Grille

$42 per person, 40 W. Washington St., (317) 423-8790, thecapitalgrille.com

Just the place for a proper martini before dinner and civil conversation in the elegant dining room. It’s dark wood and regal paintings are sure to keep unruly family members in check. Dinner brings slow-roasted turkey with brioche stuffing, French green beans with Marcona almonds, cranberry pear chutney, mashed potatoes and, for dessert, pumpkin cheesecake instead of pie. The regular menu is available, too.

Follow IndyStar food writer Liz Biro on Twitter: @lizbiro, Instagram: @lizbiro, and on Facebook. Call her at (317) 444-6264.