Cooking a Thanksgiving feast is a full-contact sport. Between timing the turkey, preventing mashed potato lumps, and answering “when will dinner be ready?” seventeen times, you might be ready to tap out. Good news for Kansas City folks who’d rather relax than roast. This year, plenty of local spots are prepared to handle the heavy lifting while you focus on what really matters—enjoying time with people you actually like (most of them, anyway).
Where to Dine Out This Turkey Day
If washing dishes sounds about as appealing as watching paint dry, Stock Hill on the South Plaza has your back. Their three-course Thanksgiving menu runs $55 per person from noon to 8 p.m., offering that upscale steakhouse vibe without requiring you to mortgage your house. You get the fancy restaurant experience, someone else does the cleanup, and you still make it home in time for leftover pie.
Looking for something more laid back? Garozzo’s keeps both Kansas City and Overland Park locations humming from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Their family-style feast costs $39.99 per person and includes roast turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, Italian green beans, house salad, and your pick of apple or pumpkin pie. You can also order from their regular Italian menu if turkey isn’t your thing.
Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant serves up their full Thanksgiving spread all day long for $36.99 per person (kids 12 and under eat for $15.99). The menu features slow-roasted turkey, butternut squash soup, and Eli’s pumpkin praline cheesecake. Wine club members can even bring their own bottles to the table and earn points on every dollar spent.
Over at the Intercontinental Kansas City, you can catch Thanksgiving dinner with Plaza lighting views from their rooftop ballroom. The buffet includes a complimentary champagne toast, a seafood display with shrimp and oysters, and carving stations loaded with turkey, prime rib, and roast pork loin.
Take It Home Instead
Maybe your couch is calling, or your relatives prefer eating in their pajamas (no judgment). Garozzo’s offers Thanksgiving carryout meals for two at $54 or for four people at $105. Orders include roast turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, classic stuffing, cranberry sauce, house salad, and bread. You can add whole apple or pumpkin pies for $20 each. Just remember to order by November 25 to secure your spot.
Buca di Beppo makes feeding a crowd simple with family-style Thanksgiving dinners to go. Feed three to four people for $105 or five to six for $160. Every order comes with sliced turkey, homemade gravy, mashed potatoes, spicy Italian sausage stuffing, seasonal vegetables, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Order by November 26 and save 10 percent with their coupon code. Pickup or delivery runs from November 24 through 27.
Harvey’s in Kansas City offers hot and ready-to-serve meals or cold options with easy reheating instructions. Choose between oven-roasted turkey breast or Virginia baked ham, both served with fresh garden salad, mashed potatoes, and gravy.
Lock It Down Early
Here’s the deal: Thanksgiving reservations disappear faster than pumpkin pie at dessert time. Most restaurants need at least 72 hours’ notice for takeout orders. For dine-in tables, booking now beats scrambling later. Stock Hill, Cooper’s Hawk, and the Intercontinental all strongly recommend reservations. The same goes for Garozzo’s, especially since they’re serving both their Italian menu and holiday specials.
Whether you’re going all out with a rooftop buffet or keeping it simple with takeout on your couch, Kansas City’s got options that won’t leave you exhausted. Pick your spot, make that reservation, and prepare to actually enjoy Thanksgiving for once. Your future self (and your back) will thank you.
Sources: stockhillkc.com, garozzos.com, chwinery.com, dineatbuca.com, eventbrite.com, harveyskc.com
Header Image Source: harveyskc.com
