Restaurants 101: Where to dine out on Thanksgiving in the San Francisco Bay Area

Overwhelmed by the thought of having to cook a huge dinner for Thanksgiving? Well, put those oven mitts down because there are plenty of restaurants that will be serving delicious holiday meals on Thanksgiving Day. Here are some of them, in no particular order.

Home, 2100 Market Street. 415.503.0333. Open 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Offering a prix fixe three-course menu for $40/person, excluding tax and gratuity. Wine pairings are an additional $15/person and a children's menu is available for $20/person. Entree options will be a traditional turkey dinner, honey-glazed ham or vegetarian selection. Desserts include pumpkin pie and pear sorbet.

Epic Roasthouse, 369 The Embarcadero. 415.369.9955. Offering a prix fixe four-course meal for $85/person, $40 for children 12 and under, excluding tax and gratuity. Wine pairings are an additional $35/person. Start with an amuse bouche - a demi tasse of celery root and apple cider bisque with tart apple relish and candied hazelnuts. Move on to a second course of: Dungeness crab cocktail with avocado, pomelo and cucumber salad and Meyer lemon aioli and radishes; arugula salad with sturgeon gravlax, paddlefish caviar and chives; or caramellized butternut squash cannelloni with proscuitto, huckleberry relish and blood orange vinaigrette. Entree selections include: Medallion of New York Strip with truffle potatoes duchess, crispy Walla Walla onions, haricot verts; pan roasted Maine scallops with ragout of sunchokes and ciopollinin onion, foie gras sauce and fennel-pear salad; wood oven roasted Branigan turkey with andouille stuffing, ginger sweet potato puree, and black pepper cranberry sauce; or pumpkin gnocci with chanterelle mushrooms, spinach and chestnut sage-brown butter. For dessert, choose from: warm apple tart with Tahitian vanilla whipped marscapone; persimmon pudding spiced pecans with Van Winkle bourbon ice cream and caramel sauce; or parfait of chocolate fudge with house brandied cherries and marshmallow cream.

Park Chalet, 1000 Great Highway. 415.386.8439. Open 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Offering a bottomless champagne buffet for $39/person and $19 for kids 12 and under, excluding tax and gratuity. Selections include: roast turkey with gravy, roast lamb chop with rosemary au jus, brioche stuffing, brown sugar glazed sweet potatoes, garlic mashed potatoes, broccoli Mornay, macaroni and cheese, house-smoked salmon with flatbread, cauliflower, red onion and olive salad, chilled peel-and-eat shrimp, butternut squash soup, garden and Caesar salads, bread pudding, pumpkin cupcakes and chocolate dipped strawberries.

The Stinking Rose, 325 Columbus Avenue. 415.781.7673. Open 11:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Offering the regular a la carte menu plus a prix fixe dinner which includes a house salad, 400 clove garlic roasted turkey breast, gravy, mashed yams, cranberry sauce, stuffing and pumpkin pie a la mode. $29.95/person and a children's option is available for $19.95/person.

Palio D'Asti, 640 Sacramento Street. 415.395.9800. Reservations are available from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Offering a prix fixe four-course meal for $59/adults and children under 13 pay their age. Antipasti choices include: Dungeness crab cocktail Luigi with lemon, celery, avocado and paprika; radicchio salad with roasted beets and oranges; or butternut squash bacon and bourbon soup. For pietanze, choose from: Pumpkin ravioli with brussels sprouts and Piave cheese; braised turkey dark meat and bourbon-gin gravy; roasted turkey breast and bourbon-gin gravy; mixed white and dark meat and bourbon-gin gravy; roasted black cod with almond-lemon brown butter; grilled wild boar chops with sundried tomato tapenade; osso bucco with gremolata. As an accompaniment, each table receives family-style platters of truffled mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, Italian sausage stuffing, green beans and almonds, wild mushroom ragout, orange cranberry chutney, Acme sourdough bread and house pickled vegetables. Save room for their fabulous dessert buffet.

One Market, 1 Market Street. 415.777.5577. Seatings from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Offering a prix fixe three-course meal with multiple options for each course, priced at $59/person, $29/children 10 and under, free for children under 3. Menu highlights include: Mushroom risotto with herb salad; roasted Willy Bird turkey with cornbread-sausage stuffing, root vegetables, and shallot-thyme gravy; and pumpkin brioche bread pudding with maple marscapone ice cream and pecan vanilla bean emulsion.

Tommy Toy's, 655 Montgomery Street. 415.397.4888. Offering a prix fixe four-course menu, $39/person. Includes beef curry chowder in fresh coconut, Hong Kong style scallops and Mongolian lamb. The regular menu will also be available.

231 Ellsworth, 231 S. Ellsworth, San Mateo. 650.347.7231. Open 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Offering a four-course prix fixe menu, $59/person with optional wine pairing for an additional $20/person. Children's options available for $30/person, all excluding tax and gratuity. Choose from three soups: Australian butternut squash, sherried marscapone, maple bacon; chestnut with shaved fennel, Provencal olives; or turkey consomme with thyme dumplings. Second course choices include: Young lettuces, avocado, toasted almonds, lemon-soy vinaigrette; arugula, grapes, barely buzzed cheddar, candied hazelnuts, sherry vinaigrette; risotto with Spanish chorizo, Idaizabal cheese, mixed baby vegetables; or seared scallops with roasted yam puree and leek vinaigrette. Main courses are: Scottish salmon, beluga lentils, curried cauliflower; braised short ribs, creme fraiche potatoes, spinach and braising jus; or roasted turkey breast and confit leg with grandma's stuffing and cranberry sauce. Desserts: Apple-cranberry crumble, creme anglais, apple cider; warm chocolate fondant, liquid caramel, fleur de sel; pecan tart, bourbon glaze, maple ice cream; or a trio of sorbets including pumpkin pie, pomegranate and pear.

Brix, 7377 St. Helena Hwy, Yountville. 707.944.2749. Offering a multi-course dinner for $62/person with starter selections such as: Crudites with herb aioli; cream of cauliflower soup; butter lettuce salad with champagne vinaigrette, Pecorino cheese and toasted shallots; smoked salmon with pickled cucumber, carrots and mint creme fraiche; beet salad with truffle Gouda, walnuts and red wine vinaigrette. For the main course, choose from: Roast turkey with fennel sausage and sourdough stuffing, Brussels sprouts, yams and cranberry sauce; baked halibut with creamy broccoli rabe gratin; roast filet mignon with melted cipolinni onion, crispy onion and buttered green beans; lamb osso bucco with farmers cheese polenta and Castelvetrano olive jus; crepes filled with butternut squash, pine nuts and ricotta cheese. Dessert options include: Apple pie a la mode with dried fruit hard sauce; pumpkin pie with spiced cream and huckleberry chutney, pecan pie with whipped cream and chocolate caramel sauce; and lemon and cranberry sorbet with tuiles.

Yankee Pier, Larkspur 415.924.7676, San Jose 408.244.1244, Lafayette 925.283.4100. Seatings from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Offering a prix fixe three-course meal with options for each course. In addition to roast turkey, there is the option of boiled whole Maine lobster for the same price as turkey, with a choice of two sides. $39/adult, $19.95/children 10 and under, free for children under 3.

Left Bank, Larkspur, 415.927.3331; Menlo Park, San Jose, 408.984.3500. Open 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Offering a prix fixe four-course menu for $39.75/person, excluding tax and gratuity. There will be a vegetarian and children's option. Selections can also be purchased on an a la carte basis. Entrees include: Norbest natural roasted turkey with Yukon gold mashed potatoes, corn bread stuffing, Brussels sprouts with lardoons, candied yams, giblet gravy and orange-cranberry relish; smoked honey-mustard glaze natural rack of pork with celery root mousseline and prunes poached in cognac; or autumn risotto with a seasonal mushroom fricassee. A limited a la carte bar menu will also be available.

LB Steak, 334 Santana Row, San Jose, Suite 1000. 408.244.1180. Open 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Serving a limited a la carte menu plus two prix fixe four-course menus. One is Norbest natural roasted turkey for $22.50/person and the other is Omaha prime rib beef "au jus" for $30.00/person. The former includes turkey breast, turkey leg confit, leeks and chanterelle mushrooms, sourdough herbs muffin, Brussels sprouts with lardoons and cranberry relish plus soup, salad and dessert. The beef entrée will include slow roasted, pepper-herb crusted prime rib of beef, Yukon gold mashed potatoes, fall vegetables gateau and horseradish cream sauce plus soup, salad and dessert.

Plumed Horse, 14555 Big Basin Way, Saratoga. 408.867.4711. Seatings from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Offering a four-course prix fixe menu, $80.00/person excluding tax and gratuity. Selections will include traditional Thanksgiving offerings as well as signature dishes.

Cetrella, 845 Main Street, Half Moon Bay. 650.726.4090. Open 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Serving a prix fixe four-course menu for $50/person excluding tax and gratuity. Entree selections will be: Wood oven roasted Marin County turkey, wild mushroom stuffing, truffle scented gravy, caramelized yams, braised Brussels sprouts, Yukon gold potatoes and celeriac puree and cranberry sauce; roasted butternut and kabocha squashi ravioli, toasted walnut pistou, pomegranate relish and 24-month aged Comte cheese; or wood oven roasted black grouper, Iacopi Farm beans fricassee, roasted jus de poulet, king trumpet mushrooms and crispy shallots.

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