Spending Thanksgiving in Asheville is a popular choice for families who use this time of the year for traveling and exploring a new place together. Fortunately, our city has everything to make the sweetest holiday memories.

Think about cozy bed and breakfasts and boutique hotels, beautiful scenic drives and hikes, fun experiences on a cold, rainy day, a vibrant shopping scene, excellent food and drinks, and dozens of unique opportunities to volunteer and give back during the holidays.

Turkey Day is centered around family and sharing delicious meals that reflect the abundance of the season’s harvest. So, finding the right place to eat on Thanksgiving in Asheville is key to a successful vacation. Thankfully, many fantastic local restaurants are open on Thanksgiving or offer preorder meals in various price ranges.

Of course, this experience is not only for those traveling. Each year, more local families choose to eat out to celebrate the holiday either as a new family tradition or as an alternative for a hassle-free festivity where you get to dress up, go out, and return to a clean house with no dirty dishes. (Tell your aunts not to worry – you can return to cooking next year!) 

Or you can get a charcuterie board from a local shop and delicious Thanksgiving food from a barbeque joint and enjoy a meal at home without worrying about grocery shopping and hours of cooking. You can still show off your special occasion, fine China, and watch football all day!

Also (and if you’re like me and don’t get football), this area offers many fun activities to do during Thanksgiving weekend, including judging gingerbread houses at the Grove Park Inn, shopping in the River Arts District, getting your Christmas tree at a local farm, and taking a holiday trolley tour.

I’ve compiled a list of some of the best places to grab Thanksgiving dinner in Asheville. Of course, there are more, and please feel free to share your favorite ones in the comments if I didn’t mention them. Also, be sure to make reservations, as these places fill up on Turkey Day. 

We hope you and your family have a blissful holiday in Asheville!

Don’t forget to check out our web story: The 13 Best Restaurants in Asheville for Thanksgiving Dinner

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase or booking through one of our links we may earn a small commission (don’t worry, it’s at no extra cost to you).

Where to go for Thanksgiving in Asheville, NC 

1. Omni Grove Park Inn

The Omni Grove Park Inn is one of Asheville’s finest hotels, featuring some of the best restaurants in town, an award-winning spa, a golf course, fantastic holiday shopping opportunities and events, and perfect sunset views. 

In addition, it’s a great place to spend Thanksgiving in Asheville. Not only does the Blue Ridge restaurant offer its signature Thanksgiving dinner buffet, but the resort’s in full-blown holiday mode, fully decorated with plenty of Christmas trees, lights, and garlands. 

The special farm-to-table Thanksgiving menu includes soups, salads, traditional side dishes, fantastic seafood and cheese displays, carving stations of turkey, ham, and beef, and an impressively large selection of desserts. The best part, though, is the views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Your family will love checking out the National Gingerbread House Competition‘s fabulous creations before or after dinner. Make sure you grab some hot chocolate from the adorable Great Gingerbread House in the Great Hall! 

This is a great spot to enjoy a memorable Thanksgiving dinner in Asheville after spending the day exploring the resort and learning all about its history. There is a free historical walking tour and informative video showings at the atrium of the Vanderbilt Wing. 

Spend time relaxing by one of the 36-foot-long fireplaces in the lobby, getting your holiday shopping done with all the lovely Asheville souvenirs, and enjoying flawless sunsets. Tip: If you don’t want to pay for their overpriced parking, use a ridesharing app (Uber, Lyft, or the local AVL Ride). 

Omni Grove Park Inn: 290 Macon Ave, Asheville

2. Asheville Charcuterie Company

Asheville Charcuterie Company offers fantastic curated charcuterie boards and grazing tables that you can customize to make them perfect for any occasion, including the holidays. They use the freshest, very best ingredients, and the result is yummy and aesthetically pleasing (hey, Instagram!).

Their charcuterie boards are an excellent and satisfying option for your Thanksgiving dinner appetizers. You’ll also love the Graze Cups, a “snack-sized cup” that will make it extra fun for your guests. 

Are you a big-time lover of charcuterie boards? Why not make your Thanksgiving dinner in Asheville a finger food experience by ordering a Grazing Table to fulfill your wildest charcuterie dreams? Imagine a whole table full of meats, cheeses, fruits, raw veggies, pickles, dips, breads, crackers, croissants, jams, honey, and olives! 

In addition, Asheville Charcuterie Company offers Charcuterie Workshops where you’ll make a board to take home for dinner! They also offer private workshops for you and your party, an excellent activity during your Thanksgiving weekend in Asheville. 

To make things even easier for you, they offer delivery. Your only duty will be choosing a great wine, some great local desserts and pies, and enjoying your Thanksgiving in Asheville!

3. The Blackbird

The Blackbird is a downtown staple, serving “Modern Southern food with a ‘nod’ to tradition” and featuring a changing menu based on seasonal, local, and organic ingredients whenever possible. Its wine menu won the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence in 2021, so be prepared for an outstanding variety.

The Blackbird’s three-course Thanksgiving menu changes yearly and offers the best of the season’s harvest. It includes a picky-eater-proofed menu for kids, with turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, gravy, and cranberry sauce. Past mains included a Goat Cheese Corn Pie with a pecan crust, a Sage Brined Smoked Local Turkey with buttery mashed potatoes and cranberry relish, and a Prime Rib with truffle whipped potatoes. 

You’ll love the Southern Custard Coconut Cake (coconut custard layered with cream cheese frosting and toasted coconut, yum!), one of the best desserts in Asheville, and a returning guest to all The Blackbird’s Thanksgiving menus. 

Also, its location in downtown Asheville is perfect for exploring the city’s center before or after your Thanksgiving dinner. You might be able to catch a movie at Fine Arts Theater across the street, showing artsy and independent films. 

The Blackbird: 47 Biltmore Ave, Asheville

4. Laughing Seed Cafe 

Laughing Seed Cafe is one of Asheville’s most beloved vegan spots. It has some of the best veggie burgers in town, fabulous salads, and it also offers a preorder Thanksgiving feast! This is perfect for full vegan dinners or to enhance your family’s non-vegan meal with awesome meat-free options for everyone to enjoy.

The menu includes their famous hummus, a fauxcuterie plate with fruits, veggies, crackers, and their famous sesame ginger sauce, turkey seitan, gravy, all the classic Thanksgiving dinner side dishes (the maple roasted brussels sprouts are amazing!), bread, and three choices for dessert, including a fantastic Heirloom Pumpkin Pie. 

Laughing Seed Cafe is steps away from the Grove Arcade, Asheville’s first mall and one of its best-known historical landmarks, open to visit on Thanksgiving Day (although the stores will be closed). You will love the Christmas decorations, including a Christmas tree competition. 

Laughing Seed Cafe: 40 Wall St, Asheville 

5. 12 Bones Smokehouse

12 Bones Smokehouse is an Asheville institution that has often reached the national media. It opened in 2005 in a squat building in the River Arts District, long before the RAD was the trendy neighborhood that it is today – full of art studios, shops, galleries, and parks, and home to some of the best restaurants and cafés in town. 

This popular spot offers creative barbecue that doesn’t adhere 100% to any particular style but tastes fantastic. And guess what? It’s President Obama’s favorite eating joint in Asheville!  

12 Bones is another excellent place to order your full Asheville Thanksgiving dinner, desserts included. They sometimes offer complete turkeys and alternate with turkey breasts and thickly sliced turkey sold by the pound. 

But Thanksgiving is all about the sides, and you can order them from their regular menu. Try the Baked Beans, Collard Greens, Jalapeño Cheese Grits, and Smoked Potato Salad. They have special sides for the holiday, including Dried Cherry Corn Pudding, Sausage Apple Stuffing, and Spuds. 

In addition, they offer a variety of amazing pies, including apple, pumpkin, key lime, pecan, and peanut butter. Don’t forget to get their Blueberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce and the cookbook at the store – they make great holiday gifts!

12 Bones Smokehouse: 5 Foundy St #10, Asheville

6. Hemingway’s Cuba 

Hemingway’s Cuba has been recognized as the best Cuban food in North Carolina by Big 7 Travel and has been voted by locals as one of the best rooftop bars and restaurants in town. Their terrace offers gorgeous mountain and city views (don’t worry about the cool weather; there are fire pits!). Pair that with the incredible Asheville sunsets and live Cuban music, and it’s la bomba!

The restaurant is open on Thanksgiving Day, so make sure you make a reservation to try gourmet versions of Cuban staples, like Ropa Vieja, Pollo a la Plancha, and the excellent Tostones Board served with picadillo, pulled Hickory Nut Gap pork-mango, and heirloom tomatoes-cucumber-lime.

Their craft cocktails are some of the best in town, and you must end your meal with their excellent Passion Fruit Flan or the Churros with dulce de leche. Saying gracias won’t be enough! They are also open for breakfast on Thanksgiving Day.

Hemingway’s Cuba: 15 Page Ave 4th Floor, Asheville

7. Sovereign Remedies

Sovereign Remedies is a super cool restaurant in downtown Asheville, where everything is mesmerizing, from the historical seven-story New Medical Building on North Market St. to the natural light, the plants, the vintage decorations, and the features from Iron Maiden Studios. And then there’s the decadent food and creative cocktails!

In 2022, they partnered with Private Chef Terri Terrell to host a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Terri is an Asheville-based personal chef, food guru, and awesome storyteller. She was formerly part of HomeGrown and the Chow-Chow food festival and is currently working with The Clarksdale and Ladies Who Brunch pop-ups. 

The Thanksgiving dinner’s price was all-inclusive (including tax and gratuity), featuring an opening cocktail and an 18-item menu. You’ll start your evening with a drink downstairs and then move to their adorable mezzanine, where you’ll sit at a table to enjoy a family-style meal.

You can expect a classic Thanksgiving dinner with some of the most beloved dishes, including brined and slow-roasted turkey, maple-glazed spiral ham, mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, collard greens, corn pudding, and fabulous pies. 

Sovereign Remedies: 29 N Market St. #105, Asheville

8. Plant

Plant is another fantastic alternative for a vegan Thanksgiving dinner in Asheville. This local vegan staple opened in 2011, making it onto Zagat, Food & Wine, and PETA lists. According to their website, Plant is “vegan, 90% organic, often local, and mostly gluten-free.” 

They’re open for Thanksgiving, and you can start making reservations in mid-October. That’s also when they post their holiday menu (it changes every year). Make sure to follow them on social media or subscribe to their newsletter to get the updates. 

Their “General Food Criteria” states that no animal products are used in-house, and almost everything is made from scratch using three types of organic oil: extra virgin olive, regionally produced sunflower, coconut, and toasted sesame. They do not use peanut, soy, or corn oil in-house.

This is a perfect opportunity to show your non-vegan friends that vegan food can be creative and full of fun flavors – even on Thanksgiving! 

Plant: 165 Merrimon Ave, Asheville  

9. Pack’s Tavern

Pack’s Tavern is a downtown icon located in the Hayes & Hopson restored historic building (dating back to 1907 and 1912) adjacent to Pack Square. It serves an eclectic menu of American food with something for everyone. It also features three venues that are very popular for events, from corporate gatherings to wedding parties. 

Their Thanksgiving buffet is very popular. They start taking reservations on October 1, and walk-ins are welcome! The menu is gluten and dairy-free friendly and has some vegan options. It includes salad, herb-roasted turkey, maple and brown sugar glazed ham, seven side dishes, and various desserts.

You’ll love the ambiance, the location in the heart of downtown, and the beloved 1932 yellow Model A Ford Truck parked outside, called the “Juice Box” or “Pack’s Yellow Truck.” You can’t leave Asheville without a photo next to it! (Oops, I’ve lived here for 10 years and still don’t have mine!) 

Pack’s Tavern: 20 S Spruce St, Asheville

10. The Inn on Biltmore Estate

The Inn on Biltmore Estate is the best hotel in Asheville. Everything – from the location on the Biltmore Estate grounds to the Vanderbilt signature hospitality and service, world-class dining experiences, deluxe spa treatments, and outstanding views – is luxurious. If you’re planning on spending Thanksgiving in Asheville, your stay in one of its 210 rooms will be an experience of a lifetime!

The Thanksgiving Harvest Celebration is a special offer that includes a week-long stay at the hotel, a breakfast buffet in the acclaimed restaurant The Dining Room, a lavish Thanksgiving dinner, and a reservation to Candlelight Christmas Evenings at Biltmore House, one of the best things to do in Asheville to celebrate the beginning of the Christmas season.

In addition, you’ll have access to the magnificent gardens and grounds of the estate (which are already decorated for the holidays and offer tons of opportunities for outdoor adventures), the multi-awarded winery, a working farm, and places to dine and shop.

This a wonderful experience to celebrate Thanksgiving in Asheville, and it sells out fast! Even if you can’t make it to the Biltmore Estate this year, you can add some of the Biltmore’s magic to your holiday by using one of these recipes from the “menu makeover,” which updates the Vanderbilt family’s Thanksgiving menu from 1904 – including George Vanderbilt’s favorite dish! 

Book a room at the Inn on Biltmore Estate

The Inn on Biltmore Estate: 1 Antler Hill Rd, Asheville

11. Bargello

Bargello is in the northeast corner of the Kimpton Hotel Arras Downtown (one of Asheville’s most pet-friendly hotels if you want to bring your furry best friend along). It features astonishing views, an open-fire pizza hearth, and fantastic Mediterranean food. 

Their prix-fixe, multi-course Thanksgiving menu changes every year, and it’s based on locally sourced, seasonal ingredients. It combines the classic Thanksgiving flavors with the taste of Mediterranean cuisine, which is incredible. The desserts are creative and unique, too! Please make reservations, as they don’t accept walk-ins.   

Bargello is an excellent spot to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner in downtown Asheville, so if you don’t go there for your Thanksgiving meal in Asheville, make sure to try it some other time. 

Bargello: 7 Patton Ave, Asheville

12. Isa’s Bistro  

Isa’s Bistro in downtown Asheville serves international cuisine and features a vast menu that offers something for everyone, including amazing in-house-made pastries. Locals have repeatedly voted it one of the best French restaurants in town and the best people-watching spot! Plus, it’s one of the many dog-friendly restaurants in town.

Their Thanksgiving prix-fixe, three-course menu can be matched with an optional wine pairing for an extra fee. They have a children’s menu, too, making it a great option for the whole family. The holiday menu changes yearly, but recent editions have included entrees like Herb Brined Joyce Farms Turkey Breast, Antarctic Salmon, Vegan Sausage Ragout, and Steak Frites. 

Can’t make it there for your Thanksgiving meal in Asheville? Go the night before and enjoy their Wine Down Wednesday deal, with half price on any bottle under $80 (plus free valet parking at the adjacent Haywood Park Hotel). 

Isa’s Bistro: 1 Battery Park Ave, Asheville

13. Fork Lore

Open since 2009 and formerly known as Roux, Fork Lore is a Biltmore Park staple. This is a locally-owned, independent Asheville restaurant in the Hilton Biltmore Park, a hotel located within a short walking distance from Biltmore Park Town Square and the French Broad River and featuring excellent amenities and a great spa.

Fork Lore hosts a family-style Thanksgiving dinner every year, which you’ll be served at your table. This is open to the general public, although hotel guests have a priority. You must make reservations because spots sell out fast. The price of the menu is very budget-friendly and perfect for families.

No worries if you didn’t make it here on time for your Thanksgiving dinner in Asheville. Head out to Fork Lore on Sunday before returning home, and enjoy a delicious brunch with $6 Bloody Marys and Mimosas! 

Book a Stay at Hilton Biltmore Park

Fork Lore: 43 Town Square Blvd, Asheville

There you have it! The 13 best restaurants for a festive Thanksgiving meal in Asheville. What’s your favorite place to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast in town? Let us know in the comments below!

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