There are plenty of traditions to partake in on Thanksgiving Day besides eating. Many people love to spend the day waddling in Turkey Trots, watching and/or playing football, shopping early Black Friday deals, volunteering, or enjoying Christmas lights and decorations. If you’d rather spend time with loved ones doing festive things rather than cooking for hours in the kitchen, holiday take-out options are the best bet! You can quickly browse Thanksgiving dinner to-go restaurants in St. Augustine – it's all here.
If you’d rather savor as much as you can, a Thanksgiving Day buffet may be more appealing. Or celebrating with loved ones at restaurants in St. Augustine open for Thanksgiving dinner.
Written by Associate Editor, Nancy DeVault
Thanksgiving Dinner To-Go in St. Augustine
Columbia Restaurant
98 St. George St., St. Augustine
Known as Florida’s oldest restaurant, it’s tough to get a reservation at Columbia anytime of the year – let alone on holidays. However, curbside pickup is a convenient alternative. In addition to the regular menu, Columbia will offer a Thanksgiving Dinner to-go special.
Priced at $28 for adults, it includes soup or salad (nominal upcharge for the popular 1905 salad) and roasted turkey plus sides. This includes Columbia’s unique stuffing made with Italian sausage, ground beef, chopped chicken liver, apples, water chestnuts and raisins, plus sautéed carrots and string beans, sweet potato pecan casserole, whipped potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce and giblet gravy.
Do save room for pumpkin flan!
Graze Craze Charcuterie Boards & Boxes
650 Market St., St. Augustine
If you don’t like feeling more stuffed than a Thanksgiving turkey, perhaps lighter fare to share is more your jam. Whether you call it charcuterie, graze board or meat and cheese plate, you can get a taste of Thanksgiving without the pain of cleaning pots and pans. Graze Craze has tons of seasonally-inspired charcuteries, like the Football Board, Fall Board and, when requested, Thanksgiving Board.
Gypsy Cab Company
The “urban cuisine” concept of Gypsy Cab Company is, as owner Frank O'Rourke says, “a little of a lot… a blend of a lot of little influences.” We can draw a timely connection to the collaborative, blended meal shared between the Native Americans and the Pilgrims.
So, Gypsy Cab has three Thanksgiving dinner options: (1) dine in, (2) family meals to go, and (3) individual turkey plates for pick-up. Be sure to place your family meal order by November 20 if possible.
And if you’re having an intimate holiday celebration with just you and your partner, two individual meals may be all you need.
Ned's Southside Kitchen
2450 U.S. Highway 1 S., St. Augustine
With a dedicated drive-thru, Ned’s makes Thanksgiving dinner to-go easy peasy. Of course, roasted turkey tops the menu, served with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato puree, green beans, and a mandarin orange cranberry sauce.
Alternative choices include prime rib, red drum rockefeller, pan fried red bass, flounder Hemingway, Dijon salmon, shrimp St. Germaine, baked ziti, eggplant parm, and fried shrimp. Ned’s holiday menu also features kids’ entrees, sharables, starters and desserts.
Woodpecker’s Backyard BBQ
4930 State Rd. 13, St. Augustine
Whether you buy groceries to prepare your own Thanksgiving meal or dine-in and/or take-out, the cost can squash one’s budget. But, according to St. Augustine’s most beloved barbeque place, a festive feast doesn’t have to break the piggy bank. You see, Woodpecker’s Backyard BBQ, in the outskirts of the Ancient City, recently earned accolades from Cheapism, naming it as Florida’s go-to place on their “Bucket-List Barbecue in Every State.”
Woodpecker’s is affordable but, more importantly, super flavorful. Meat is smoked daily; and, in full disclosure, Woodpecker’s menu and websites warn, “Be on time… the food won’t last!” The demand is palatable with Woodpecker’s maintaining a 5-star rating on TripAdvisor; not to mention that our own Associate Editor is a loyal customer.
For Thanksgiving dinner to-go, Woodpecker’s pitmaster, Chef David Kinder, encourages carnivores to pre-order “Peck-A-Pound” style. Meaning, order by the pound for sliced barbecued turkey, brisket, pork, ribs, sausage or chicken; whole smoked chickens are also available. Offered by the quart, sides options include baked beans, coleslaw, collard greens, mac-n-cheese, apple sauce, green beans, and corn on the cob; as well as spicier sides like Datil baked beans, Datil corn, and Datil slaw.
Chain Restaurants Serving Thanksgiving Dinners To-Go in St. Augustine
Capital Grill
5197 Big Island Dr., Jacksonville
You can order a Thanksgiving dinner to-go kit from Capital Grill that includes an assortment of holiday sides to compliment your main dish. A to-do list of just roasting the turkey sounds much better than tackling all the other side items, right?
Capital Grill’s take-out and re-heat package includes brioche stuffing, French green beans, cranberry-pear chutney, mashed potatoes, pecan-crusted sweet potatoes with hot honey, seeded rolls, and housemade gravy. It serves four people with a $135 price point.
Ruth's Chris Steak House
814 A1A N. Suite 103, Ponte Vedra Beach
With ‘steak’ in its name, Ruth’s Chris’ may not initially come to mind when noodling Thanksgiving dinner to-go in St. Augustine. Sure, this chain impresses when it comes to its specialty of premium steaks cooked via a patented broiling method and served sizzling on 500-degree plates.
Nonetheless, this steak house is taking a stab at the traditional poultry dish on Thanksgiving by offering a turkey dinner, in addition to their regular menu. Consider selecting sides like potatoes au gratin, creamed spinach and grilled asparagus. Just order online and set a pick-up time for your take-out order.
4 Rivers Smokehouse
9220 Baymeadows Rd., Jacksonville + 220 Park Ave., Orange Park
Since Thanksgiving is a time to display kindness and gratitude, your hearts may be warmed by the compassionate roots of this micro-chain. 4 Rivers humbly started in a garage as a fundraiser to support a family battling cancer. Thankfully, hungry Orlandoans helped 4 Rivers expand to 15 locations, including two in our North Florida region. This smokehouse is accepting pre-orders for Thanksgiving through November 18th, with pick-up slated for November 22nd. On Thanksgiving Day, just heat up either the slow-smoked turkey, seasoned with a thyme, rosemary and sage rub (whole or sliced); beef brisket, massaged with a seasoned rub and smoked for 18 hours; or sliced ham, perfectly combining sweet and savory flavors. Aside from southern-style sides, opt for a Texas Bourbon Pumpkin Pie, Caramel Apple Pie or Traditional Pumpkin Pie.
Cracker Barrel
Multiple locations in St. Augustine, Jacksonville & Orange Park
It seems like Cracker Barrel perfects the Thanksgiving meal all year long, right? This chain offers tons of Thanksgiving dinner to-go choices with serving sizes of wither up to six or up to ten. The main dish options seem to be endless: chicken-fried turkey, roasted sliced turkey, sirloin steak tips, fried catfish, maple bacon grilled chicken, meatloaf, sugar ham, roast beef, chicken dumplings and more. Naturally, there’s no shortage of side selections too – from an array of buttery vegetables to creamy starches to crumbly carbs.
