Grinches may gripe that the US import of Halloween has become ubiquitous but for the real proof of the creeping Americanisation of our calendar, look no further than the increasing importance of Thanksgiving. Still, Thanksgiving does at least come with better food than Halloween and unless one wants to go full Pilgrim Father, no need to dress up.
Thanksgiving falls on the last Thursday in November — November 28 this year — and commemorates the three-day feast celebrated in the early 17th century between the Puritan settlers of the Plymouth Colony and the native American Wampanoag tribe. Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a US national holiday by in 1863.
A traditional Thanksgiving dinner will include dishes made from ingredients native to North America: the centrepiece turkey, of course, but also sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, creamed corn and pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving is reputed to be the largest eating event in the United States not only in terms of food bought but also food consumed: a typical Thanksgiving dinner contains between three and four thousand calories.
Our guide to London’s best American restaurants may prove useful here or, below, we’ve selected the finest restaurants in the capital serving a Thanksgiving dinner this year, from the traditional to the contemporary, fine-dining to family-friendly. We’ve also provided details of the best London hotels offering a Thanksgiving menu — all are well worth booking even if you’re not an American tourist staying as a guest.
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This long-running Broadway import has been turning out decently done American cooking since 1977 which, if not exactly showstopping, is among the most reliable crowd-pleasers in Theatreland. The star of the Thanksgiving show is a roasted Norfolk Bronze turkey with chestnut stuffing, pigs in blankets, buttered sprouts, sweet potato mash, cranberry sauce and gravy; elsewhere are grilled rib-eye, a chestnut, cashew and cranberry nut loaf, and herb-crusted cod, plus spiced pumpkin soup to start and pecan pie for pud — ideally with a chaser of egg nog.
How much? Three courses, £70
Motcombs St John’s Wood
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The Belgravia original of Motcombs has a reputation for being one of the most Britishly blue-blooded dining rooms in the capital, but its simple approach to classic cooking will work just as well with the Thanksgiving menu at this new St John’s Wood outpost. The four-course menu kicks off with pumpkin cream and sage soup to start ahead of lobster mac ‘n’ cheese, roasted Norfolk turkey with bread stuffing, Brussels sprouts casserole and sweet potato mash, and pecan tart with gingerbread ice cream.
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This Covent Garden restaurant has been on a mission to prove to Londoners that there is more to American cuisine than burgers and ribs since 1991 and, while its Thanksgiving offering will please traditionalists, the three-course menu has enough to satisfy anyone who never wants to see a cranberry again. There is, of course, slow-cooked ballotine of organic turkey with cornbread, creamed potatoes and Michigan cherry-and-chestnut stuffing, but also seared blackened salmon and spiced rack of lamb. Desserts, however, are down-home all the way: pumpkin pie and warm chocolate brownies.
How much? Three courses £85
One might as well be overlooking the East River as East London at this skyscraping dining room atop the Heron Tower which brings a Masters of the Universe Wall Street energy to the City of London. The poultry of the day will be turkey not duck come November 28, served up as whole roasted Bronze bird with an avalanche of trimmings: sweet potatoes with marshmallows and candied peanuts, green-bean casserole with crispy shallots and mushroom gravy, truffle mac and cheese, and Brussels sprouts. There’s brioche rolls with whipped honey butter to start and pecan pie for pud.
How much? Lunch, £55 (£27.50 for kids under 10); dinner, £90 (£45 for kids)
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This poshest of pubs, with a smart location way down King’s Road, is going all-American for Thanksgiving with bourbon cocktails and a special three-course menu overseen by chef James Knappett of two-Michelin-starred Kitchen Table. Expect prawn cocktail followed by roast turkey or pomegranate roast molasses roast ham with (deep breath) corn bread, roast potatoes, baked sweet potatoes and marshmallows, sage and onion stuffing, spinach gratin and green bean casserole. Sister pubs the Hound in Chiswick and George in Fitzrovia are doing something similar.
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Snobs may scoff at the global behemoth with a branch in every time zone from Honolulu to Yokohama but anyone who hasn’t eaten at a Hard Rock recently may have forgotten just how much fun they are, especially for first-time kids whose eyes will pop at the huge portions. London’s pair of West End Hard Rocks are offering a two-course Thanksgiving dinner (which must be booked in advance) of slow-roast turkey with roasted veg, home-style stuffing, sweet potato mash, cranberry sauce and turkey gravy, followed by pumpkin pie. Kids get a mini roast turkey; grown-ups may be grateful for a cranberry mojito. Don’t forget to buy some merch as you waddle out.
When? November 26-December 1
How much? Roast turkey, 325.99; kids’ turkey, £12.99
150 Old Park Lane, W1K 1QZ and Criterion Building, 225-229 Piccadilly, W1J 9HR, hardrockcafe.com
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Soho’s Sola is serving a 12-course Thanksgiving menu befitting its status as the UK’s only Michelin-starred American restaurant. Chef-patron Victor Garvey has grafted his modern Californian ethos onto a traditional Thanksgiving offering, so there’s turkey demi-deuil with lap cheong sausage, cranberry and mustard, but also langoustine ‘nabemono’ flambéed in whiskey, suckling pig breast with nasturtium and jasmine, and a Mont Blanc of Japanese chestnut parfait with bay leaf ice cream.
London hotel restaurants offering Thanksgiving menus
The Hoxton Grill
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108 Brasserie at the Marylebone
Abc Kitchens at The Emory
How much? £150 minimum spend
Brasserie Max at the Covent Garden Hotel
The Game Bird at the Stafford London
16-18 St James’s Place, SW1A 1NJ, thestaffordlondon.com
The Hoxton Grill at the Hoxton
How much? Roast turkey, £44
27 Poultry, EC2R 8AJ, thened.com