South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
10 restaurants serving Thanksgiving outdoors
Spend the holiday enjoying the weather, feeling safer while social distancing
If ever there was a time to let someone else sweat it out in a kitchen making Thanksgiving dinner, 2020 is it.
This turkey of a year has been stressful enough for everyone. Why add rattling pots and pans for days to an already what-the-heck-now-world?
So, we’ve done some scratching around and (in no particular pecking order) here are 10 restaurants that would love to do the cooking for you. Keep in mind prices do not include taxes and gratuities.
And even better, these eateries have great outdoor seating where you can enjoy South Florida’s weather and feel a little safer in the era of COVID19 (the seating numbers take into account social distancing).
Blue Moon Fish Company
4405W. Tradewinds Ave., Lauderdale- By-The- Sea.
954-267-9888. BlueMoonFishCo.com.
Seating for about 200 outside and 50 inside.
This Intracoastal restaurant has a devoted clientele and many of them make a habit of the all-day, all-youcan-eat holiday brunch from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 26, for $74.95 per person. Foodie fans also like Blue Moon’ s expansive deck, which somehow manages to remain remarkably cool here in the subtropics. Also, the brunch includes bottomless Champagne, mimosas and BloodyMarys.
Deck 84
840 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. 561-665-8484.
Deck84.com.
Seating for 115 outside and
77 inside.
This casual waterfront restaurant will be open for Thanksgiving from noon-7 p.m. The special menu will include an oven-roasted turkey with whipped potatoes, pangravy, sweet potato casserole, broccolini, apple sage stuffing and a cranberry/orange sauce for $29 or a local blackened grouper withpickled corn relish, mango shallot vinaigrette, jasmine rice and black beans for $32. For the complete menu, go to Deck84.com/ menus/#thanksgiving.
Farmer’s Table
1901 N Military Trail, Boca Raton. 561-417-5836. DineFarmersTable.com.
Seating for 100 outside and 100 inside.
Farmer’s Table — both in Boca Raton and the location in North Palm Beach — has made Open Table’s list of “100 Best Al Fresco Dining Restaurants in America” three years in a row. This year, the threecourse Thanksgiving offer from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. is $59.95 per person (and $29.50 for children 10 and under). For the menu, go to DineFarmersTable.com/ boca-ratonmenu.
GG’s Water front
606 N. Ocean Drive, Hollywood. 954-929-7030. GGsWaterfront.com. Seating for 90 outside and
114 inside.
GG’s Waterfront has a covered waterfront terrace where all kinds yachts sail by. GG’s will have two prix fixe Thanksgiving dinner options for $60 per person and $30 for children (free for under the age of 4). There is also a takeout offer (with reheating instructions) as long as you order by
2 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 24. Those orders can be picked up Wednesday, Nov. 25, or Thursday, Nov. 26.
Runyon’s
9810 W Sample Road, Coral Springs. 954-752-2333. RunyonsCoralSprings.com.
Seating for 60 people outside and 80 inside. The patio doors to the Piano Room can open, essentially turning that space into a covered patio, whichwould
add another 50 seats outside. The prix fixe dinner on Thanksgiving is $41 per person and service is from
3-10 p.m. The menu will include roasted turkey breast with gravy, herb stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans and cranberry sauce as well as a choice of garden salad or butternut squash soup. Dessert will be pumpkin pie. The dinner is also available for takeout as long as you order by Tuesday, Nov. 24. If you pick up on Tuesday, Nov. 24, or Wednesday, Nov 25, the cost is $ 35 per person. If you pick upon Thursday, Nov. 26, the cost is $41 per person. For dine-in, the regular menu will also be available.
Shooters Waterfront
3033 NE 32nd Ave., Fort Lauderdale. 954-566-2855. ShootersWaterfront.com.
Seating for 350 outside and 125 inside. Grateful Palate, their special event space, will open all their glass sliding doors essentially turning that space into a covered patio, which would add another 100 seats outside.
Shooters’ long rambling al fresco dining space— which they call “The Turf”— has a tiki bar, bird cage loungers, fire pits and a dock for your boat. There will be a Thanksgiving all-you-can-eat buffet ( Plexiglas shields and stations manned by staff ) for $56 per person from 11
a.m.-8 p.m. The service will include: a carving station with herb-infused roasted turkey, honey-glazed ham and prime rib; a salad bar with tri-color beet salad and a mixed field greens salad; trimmings such as stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potato casserole, green beans almandine, macaroni and cheese, corn succotash, cranberry sauce and dinner rolls with honey butter. Dessert options will be spiced pumpkin pie and apple pie. There is also a Shooters’ Thanksgiving Day To- Go package for six to eight people for $150.
Takato
551 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. 954-414-5160. ConradFortLauderdale.com/dine/takato.
Seating for 100 outside and 60 inside (with eight more at the sushi bar).
This new restaurant at the Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach hotel puts the spotlight on chef Taek “Taka” Lee (Zuma, Makoto, Monkitail) and his first Thanksgiving blending traditional American fare for the holiday with the Japanese and Korean flavors the fusion restaurant touts. So expect dishes such as: spiced kurobuta samm (traditional Korean pork dish) for $28; turkey dumpling- sweet potato mash with teriyaki gravy for $16; 12 ounce rib- eye with black garlic and baked kabocha for $36; sesame-crusted tuna with green bean tempura for $26 and pumpkin pie with five spiced ice cream for $12.
Taru at Sundy House
106S. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. 561-272-5678. OpenTable.com or SundyHouse.com. Seating for 220 outside and 110 inside.
Chef James Strine’s Thanksgiving menu at this historic inn will be served from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. The prix fixe meal will cost
$75 per person (half price for children under 12). For the uninitiated, the Sundy House is knownfor its tropical garden just beyond the Royal Poinciana tree, which is the oldest documented oneof its kind in Palm Beach County, having been planted by the Sundy family’s children in 1910. The dishes will include starters such as a raw bar, gourmet cheeses and charcuterie. Entrees will be roasted turkey, honey ham, Dijon-crusted salmon and prime rib. Some of the fixings accompanying the entrees will include stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied yams and maple Brussels sprouts. Dessert choices will be pumpkin pie, pecan pie and brownie a la mode.
Tiki Tiki
6200 N. Ocean Drive, Hollywood. 954-927-9560. LetsTikiTiki.com.
Seating for 220 outside and 16 inside.
Formerly known as Jimbo’s Sandbar, this waterfront restaurant has really upp edits culinary and cocktail game since the recent rebranding of this eatery with a large tiki hut covering the outdoor patio. Chef Gerry Gnassi’s (Barton G, South Beach Group Hotels) prix fixe dinner of harvest salad, roast turkey, herb mashed potatoes, vegetables, green beans, cranberries, stuffing and pumpkin pie will cost $29 per person and will be served 11 a.m.-10 p.m. The regular menu will also be available.
Waterstone Resort & Marina
999 E. Camino Real, Boca Raton. 561-368-9500. Email LCook@WaterstoneBoca.com. WaterstoneBoca.com. Seating for 100 outside (weather permitting) and 50 inside.
Boca Landing Prime Seafood at the Water stone will offer a three- course prix fixe dinner for $55 for adults and $25 for children
10 and under (under 2 dine for free). Thanksgiving will be served from 3-7 p.m. The menu includes pumpkin bisque, hand- carved turkey, roasted stuffed a corn squash, honey-glazed ham and pumpkin pie.