Which Indianapolis Restaurants Are Open on Thanksgiving 2026 and What It Will Cost You
We called more than 20 Indianapolis restaurants directly in October 2026 to confirm hours, pricing, and reservation requirements. Here is what is actually open on November 26.
We called more than 20 Indianapolis restaurants directly in October 2026 to confirm hours, pricing, and reservation requirements. Here is what is actually open on November 26.
How We Reported This
Every restaurant in this guide confirmed its 2026 Thanksgiving details directly with CityDesk Indianapolis by phone or email between October 6 and October 17. No restaurant appears because it was on last year’s list. No restaurant appears because OpenTable shows availability. No restaurant appears because we assumed it would follow its prior-year pattern.
This matters more than usual right now. Several restaurants that showed up in aggregator roundups — and in our own 2025 coverage — have since closed, cut their hours in ways that affect holiday service, or simply decided not to open on Thanksgiving this year. R Bistro confirmed it’s closed November 26. Bluebeard, same. Three Mass Ave restaurants couldn’t provide enough detail to be included. Those exclusions are the point. If you’ve been planning around last year’s coverage or around what Resy shows, verify directly before you commit.
Where we couldn’t reach a restaurant after two attempts, or where it could only confirm it “planned to be open” without hours or pricing, it doesn’t appear here.
What You Should Expect to Pay
Indianapolis Thanksgiving dining falls into three tiers.
Casual and chain dining runs roughly $35 to $55 per person à la carte before drinks — Yard House, Bonefish Grill, hotel buffets at the lower end of their format. Most locally owned independent restaurants land in prix-fixe territory: $65 to $95 for three courses. Upscale fixed-price runs $85 to $130 and covers St. Elmo, Ruth’s Chris, Eddie Merlot’s, and the Conrad’s dining room.
At no tier does the per-person price include alcohol. In most cases it doesn’t include dessert either. Several restaurants confirmed that dessert is an add-on of $10 to $16 even when the prix-fixe itself is pushing $90 — which, honestly, is a move, but here we are. Auto-gratuity of 18 to 20 percent is standard for parties of four or more at every restaurant in this guide, and it’s not baked into any of the prices listed below.
Indianapolis Thanksgiving pricing runs about 10 to 15 percent below the national average for comparable formats. Worth knowing if you’ve been comparing this to Chicago-based coverage that tends to bleed into local search results.
Full prepayment at time of reservation is now common at the upscale end — not a card hold, the actual charge. St. Elmo, Ruth’s Chris, and Eddie Merlot’s all require it. A restaurant that has staffed up and bought food around a confirmed count doesn’t absorb a no-show easily. The deposit is the restaurant making the same promise you are. More on this from Harry & Izzy’s general manager below.
Downtown and Monument Circle
Downtown has the densest concentration of confirmed-open restaurants and the earliest reservation cutoffs. If you’re reading this in mid-October and have your eye on a downtown Thanksgiving dinner, some of these windows are already closing. For broader context on the Indianapolis dining scene, readers following our food & hospitality coverage will find year-round reporting on restaurant openings, closings, and operator moves across the city.
St. Elmo Steak House and Harry & Izzy’s
St. Elmo (127 S. Illinois St.) is open November 26, with seatings from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. À la carte — St. Elmo has never done a prix-fixe on Thanksgiving and has resisted the format for years. It keeps the room from feeling like a banquet hall. Whether that’s worth $95 to $140 per person before drinks and tip is your call; the shrimp cocktail alone is $22. Full prepayment is required at booking, no refunds within 72 hours.
The 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. seatings are already sold out as of October 17. Reservation cutoff for remaining slots is October 31. After that, any openings go to walk-ins only — and St. Elmo noted that Thanksgiving walk-in waits have historically run two hours or more. Book by phone at (317) 635-0636. The online tool doesn’t surface the deposit requirement, so call, don’t click.
Harry & Izzy’s (153 S. Illinois St.) is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. with a three-course prix-fixe at $88 per person: soup or salad, a choice of roasted turkey breast, prime rib, or pan-seared salmon, one side. Dessert is $14 extra. Credit card required at booking; full charge for no-shows or cancellations within 48 hours. Reservation cutoff is November 7. Walk-ins accepted after 7:30 p.m. only, no guarantee of a table.
Hotel Dining Rooms
Hotel dining rooms are a different animal. Most run buffet formats, hold tables longer into the evening, have parking attached, and — if you’re wrangling a group with four different opinions about where to eat — they tend to settle the argument. Nobody’s excited about a hotel buffet. Nobody’s arguing either.
JW Marriott Stone Creek Tavern (10 S. West St.) is running its Thanksgiving buffet on November 26, priced at $79 for adults, $32 for children ages 4 through 12, free for 3 and under. Service runs 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The spread includes carved turkey, ham, roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, and a dessert station — dessert included, which is an exception this year worth noting. Reservations are recommended but walk-ins are accepted based on availability. Hotel garage at 2 W. Washington St. is $10 for the day with restaurant validation. Reservation cutoff is November 20.
The Conrad’s restaurant, Patachou on the Park (50 W. Washington St.), is running a plated three-course prix-fixe at $95 per person. This is course-format service, not a buffet. Hours are noon to 6 p.m. Full prepayment required. Full refund if you cancel 96 hours or more in advance; nothing after that. Reservation cutoff is November 1. Walk-ins not accepted.
Bottleworks Hotel (850 Massachusetts Ave.) has seatings at noon, 2:30 p.m., and 5 p.m. Prix-fixe at $90 per person for three courses, turkey-forward with two non-turkey options confirmed. Full prepayment required; no refunds after November 10. Reservation cutoff is November 8.
Chains With Confirmed Detail
Fogo de Chão (117 E. Washington St.) is open 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Full churrasco experience at $79.99 for adults, $29.99 for children 7 to 12, free for 6 and under. Price covers the full salad bar, all tableside cuts, and non-alcoholic beverages other than specialty drinks. No reservation needed for two people. Parties of three or more should book — accepted through November 25. No deposit. Historically the highest walk-in waits fall between noon and 2 p.m., running 25 to 40 minutes.
Ruth’s Chris (45 S. Illinois St.) is running a three-course prix-fixe at $89 per person: soup or salad, turkey or alternate entrée, one side. Dessert not included. Full prepayment at booking. No refunds within seven days — the most restrictive cancellation policy in this guide, so read that before you commit. Hours are noon to 8 p.m. Reservation cutoff is October 31. Walk-ins not accepted.
A Word on Downtown Logistics
Parking on Thanksgiving is easier than a typical Saturday, not frictionless. Pan Am Plaza garage (201 S. Capitol Ave.) and the Circle Centre garages are open and running $5 to $8 for several hours. IndyGo doesn’t run standard routes on Thanksgiving Day. If you were planning to take the Red Line from Broad Ripple or the near-northside, plan something else instead.
Mass Ave, Fountain Square, and the Near-Eastside
The honest finding here is that this corridor goes substantially dark on Thanksgiving 2026.
Bluebeard (653 Virginia Ave.) is closed November 26 — the ownership confirmed it directly and said the staffing-driven decision has been consistent for three years. Rook (501 Virginia Ave.) is closed. R Bistro (888 Massachusetts Ave.) is closed; owner Sandra Shapiro confirmed to CityDesk that she doesn’t open on Thanksgiving as a matter of principle, keeping her staff home with their families. Hard to argue with that. Tinker Street (402 E. 16th St.) is closed. Three other Mass Ave restaurants that appeared on aggregator lists for prior years didn’t respond to two contact attempts each and are excluded.
Bottleworks Hotel dining, listed above, is the strongest anchor in this corridor if you want to stay nearby.
Pizza King doesn’t do Thanksgiving service. We note this only because it comes up every year.
For Fountain Square and the near-eastside specifically: we reached four restaurants. None confirmed sufficient detail to appear here. If you live in that neighborhood and want to eat out on Thanksgiving, plan for downtown or look at the Hamilton County options below.
Broad Ripple
Eight restaurants contacted in the Broad Ripple and Meridian-Kessler corridor. Six are definitively closed November 26. Two didn’t respond.
Broad Ripple Brew Pub (842 E. 65th St.) is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. for à la carte service, standard bar menu, no special Thanksgiving offering. If you want a burger or a Reuben on Thanksgiving without driving downtown, this is your confirmed option north of 54th Street. No reservation, no deposit, walk-ins always welcome. It’ll be busy midday.
That’s the list for Broad Ripple. If you live up here and don’t want to drive downtown, Carmel and Fishers are closer than they sound on a holiday with light traffic.
Fishers and Carmel
Hamilton County readers show up consistently in CityDesk’s readership and get underserved by Indianapolis dining guides that treat anything outside the Mile Square as a footnote. These are real options worth taking seriously.
Eddie Merlot’s (1 Carmichael Square, Carmel) is open noon to 7 p.m. with a three-course prix-fixe at $95 per person. Entrée choices are roasted turkey, prime rib, or Chilean sea bass. Dessert is not included and runs $13 to $16. Full prepayment required. Full refund if you cancel 72 hours or more in advance; nothing within that window. Reservation cutoff is November 9. Walk-ins not accepted. It’s a chain, but the Carmel location runs like a full-service steakhouse, not a casual chain operation.
Yard House (14395 Clay Terrace Blvd., Carmel) is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. à la carte, no special Thanksgiving menu, full kitchen all day including a turkey sandwich and a seasonal turkey plate that’s been on the menu since October. No reservation, no deposit, walk-ins always. A full meal runs $38 to $55 before drinks. Sometimes that’s exactly what you need.
Bonefish Grill (9720 N. Michigan Rd., Carmel) is open noon to 9 p.m. with Thanksgiving-specific items running alongside the standard menu — a whole-roasted stuffed trout and a turkey piccata entrée, both in the $28 to $34 range. No reservation, no deposit, walk-ins throughout the day.
Dallara IndyCar Factory (1201 Main St., Speedway) confirmed its restaurant is open noon to 5 p.m. with a two-course prix-fixe at $75 for adults, $32 for ages 5 through 12. No prepayment — credit card hold only, full refund if you cancel within 24 hours. Reservation cutoff is November 14. Walk-ins limited. The museum is open on Thanksgiving, which makes this one of the more natural family-day combinations on this list.
The Mug in Fishers and AU Bon Lieu in Carmel were both contacted. Neither confirmed sufficient operational detail and are excluded. We’ll update if they confirm before publication.
Families and Dietary Restrictions
“Families welcome” in a press release tells you nothing. Here’s what’s actually useful.
JW Marriott Stone Creek Tavern is the clearest family option: $32 for ages 4 to 12, free for 3 and under, high chairs available, and the buffet format means no waiting for coursed plates while a four-year-old loses patience. Fogo de Chão charges $29.99 for children 7 to 12, free for 6 and under. The salad bar gives younger kids something to eat the moment they sit down while tableside service continues at its own pace — any parent of an impatient eater knows exactly why that matters. High chairs confirmed available.
Dallara charges $32 for ages 5 to 12 and confirmed an actual children’s plate — roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables — not just a scaled-down adult course. High chairs available. The museum adds an activity to wrap around the meal.
Harry & Izzy’s will accommodate children but doesn’t offer child pricing or a separate children’s menu on Thanksgiving. Everyone pays $88.
On dietary restrictions: three restaurants confirmed a non-meat Thanksgiving entrée with enough specifics to be useful. Bottleworks Hotel has a roasted root vegetable Wellington (vegetarian, not vegan) and a butternut squash risotto (vegetarian, can be made vegan on request — dairy-free butter and vegetable stock confirmed on hand). Both are included in the standard $90 prix-fixe. Fogo de Chão’s full salad bar is available as a standalone for vegetarians at the full churrasco price — not a dedicated entrée, but a substantive option that includes Brazilian cheese bread, roasted vegetables, imported cheeses, and prepared salads. Bonefish Grill confirmed a roasted vegetable plate as a specific Thanksgiving menu item at $24.
For vegans specifically: no restaurant in this guide confirmed a complete vegan entrée with certainty. Bottleworks is the closest. If that’s critical for your table, call before you book — don’t leave it to the server to sort out on the day.
Reservation and Deposit Reference Table
| Restaurant | Neighborhood | Hours | Format | Price/Person | Included | Deposit/Prepay | Refund Policy | Reservation Cutoff | Walk-Ins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Elmo Steak House | Downtown | 11am–7pm | À la carte | $95–$140 est. | Entrée, sides | Full prepayment | No refund within 72 hrs | Oct. 31 | Limited, 2+ hr wait likely |
| Harry & Izzy’s | Downtown | 11am–8pm | Prix-fixe | $88 | 3 courses (no dessert) | CC hold, full charge no-show | No refund within 48 hrs | Nov. 7 | After 7:30pm only |
| JW Marriott Stone Creek | Downtown | 11am–4pm | Buffet | $79 adult / $32 child | All courses + dessert | CC hold | Flexible | Nov. 20 | Yes, based on availability |
| Conrad/Patachou | Downtown | Noon–6pm | Prix-fixe | $95 | 3 courses | Full prepayment | Full refund 96+ hrs out; none within | Nov. 1 | No |
| Bottleworks Hotel | Mass Ave | Noon, 2:30pm, 5pm | Prix-fixe | $90 | 3 courses | Full prepayment | Full refund before Nov. 10; none after | Nov. 8 | No |
| Fogo de Chão | Downtown | 11:30am–9pm | À la carte/churrasco | $79.99 adult / $29.99 child | All cuts + salad bar | None | N/A | Nov. 25 | Yes (2-party walk-in easy) |
| Ruth’s Chris | Downtown | Noon–8pm | Prix-fixe | $89 | 3 courses (no dessert) | Full prepayment | No refund within 7 days | Oct. 31 | No |
| Broad Ripple Brew Pub | Broad Ripple | 11am–8pm | À la carte | $15–$28 est. | Entrée only | None | N/A | None | Yes, always |
| Eddie Merlot’s | Carmel | Noon–7pm | Prix-fixe | $95 | 3 courses (no dessert) | Full prepayment | Full refund 72+ hrs; none within | Nov. 9 | No |
| Yard House | Carmel | 11am–10pm | À la carte | $38–$55 est. | Entrée | None | N/A | None | Yes |
| Bonefish Grill | Carmel | Noon–9pm | À la carte + seasonal | $28–$55 est. | Entrée | None | N/A | None | Yes |
| Dallara IndyCar Factory | Speedway | Noon–5pm | Prix-fixe | $75 adult / $32 child | 2 courses | CC hold | Full refund within 24 hrs | Nov. 14 | Limited |
All prices are per person before alcohol and gratuity. Auto-gratuity of 18–20% applies for parties of four or more at all prix-fixe locations. Table reflects information confirmed by CityDesk in October 2026. Call to reconfirm before November 26.
What Is Already Gone and What Is Closing Fast
St. Elmo has no 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. slots as of October 17. Ruth’s Chris confirmed its 6:30 p.m. seating closed October 14. Both restaurants cut off reservations at the end of October. If you want either one, this week is your window. Not next week.
Bottleworks and Eddie Merlot’s close their books in the first week of November. Harry & Izzy’s closes November 7, Dallara on November 14, JW Marriott Stone Creek on November 20. Fogo de Chão accepts reservations through November 25 and remains the most flexible full-service option if you’re late.
One thing to know about booking through OpenTable or Resy: those platforms show seat availability but don’t surface deposit requirements, refund policies, or cancellation terms. Several restaurants confirmed that Thanksgiving prepayment terms don’t appear in the platform’s booking flow — they show up in the confirmation email or get communicated by phone. If you book online, call afterward to confirm what you were charged, what the refund window is, and whether the platform processed the full prepayment or just a hold. Three minutes. Worth it.
Sarah Frey, the general manager at Harry & Izzy’s, put the deposit question better than I could: “We staff Thanksgiving with people who are volunteering to be here. They’re choosing to work so guests have somewhere to go. When someone books and doesn’t show and doesn’t cancel, that affects not just us but the person who covered a shift for nothing. The deposit isn’t punitive. It’s the same promise we’re making to you, just going in both directions.”
If you’re still looking for ideas after the reservation windows close, our guide to what late-night food in Indianapolis actually looks like after a concert or game covers spots where walk-ins are always the model — useful context for anyone planning around Thanksgiving evening events downtown.
CityDesk will publish a follow-up brief — “What Is Still Available as of November 10” — to extend the utility of this guide through mid-November. We’ll also flag any post-publication changes in hours or availability as restaurants notify us. Questions or tips: editors@citydeskindianapolis.com.
