Thanksgiving is nearly here, and if you’re not cooking at home, it’s never too soon to make reservations for that special feast.
Many restaurants sell out seats quickly, so secure your table now, and get those invitations ready for friends and family.
Here are some tasty options for top-notch you’re sure to gobble up:
Safari West, Santa Rosa
For a top-notch, truly memorable feast, celebrate at this amazing bit of the wild in Santa
Rosa, where you might be able to see creatures like giraffes and zebras nibbling their own fine feasts, too. In an event called “A Wild Sonomalicious Day!” you can dine amongst the blue wildebeest and lemurs, snack alongside the swift and sleek cheetahs, and grub with the wild guinea fowl.
Owners Nancy and Peter Lang have put together a Savannah-meets-Sonoma supper of local artisan cheeses, spinach salad with candied pecans and Fuji apples, butternut squash soup, roast turkey, peppered flank steak or slow roasted pork, all the sides, and pumpkin or apple pie.
Two seatings at noon and 4 p.m.; $60 adults/$20 children 4-12. 3115 Porter Creek Road, Santa Rosa, 707-579-2551, safariwest.com/thanksgiving.
The Flamingo Resort, Santa Rosa
A grand time is guaranteed with a deluxe buffet including carver stations, an opulent holiday dessert spread, and complimentary sparkling wine and mimosas.
Join in the fun of this retro landmark, built in the 1950s as a haunt of many celebrities of the time including Jayne Mansfield, and accented by the rotating pink flamingo atop the tall, centerpiece tower. Think old-fashioned holiday feasting in the grand ballroom, with turkey, ham and all the trimmings, and old-fashioned pricing, too, at just $35 including the unlimited sparkling wine.
From 1 to 5 p.m., $35 adults/$16 children 5-1/free Children under 5. 2777 Fourth Street, Santa Rosa, 707-545-8530, flamingoresort.com.
Applewood Inn, Guerneville
This Michelin-starred restaurant and country lodge is a destination as much for its views as for its food, presented in a romantic upstairs dining room with cozy fireplaces and a solarium overlooking a courtyard and babbling fountain below.
Many ingredients are drawn from the Inn’s own two-acre organic kitchen garden as well as the farms and ranches scattering the Sonoma County countryside. And here is just a taste of the remarkable goodness we shall eat in a multi-course meal: buttercup squash soup with crispy sunchokes, wild mushroom chèvre tart with huckleberries, oven roasted breast and confit leg of turkey, Dungeness crab cioppino, and pumpkin crème brulée.
From 1:30 to 5:30 p.m., $75 adult. 13555 Highway 116, Guerneville, 707-869-9093, dineatapplewood.com.
Bacchus, Rohnert Park
This Tuscan-style property on the golf course of DoubleTree by Hilton Sonoma Wine Country impresses with its views, and also its cuisine. Ready your appetite for an elegant three-course supper, showcasing classics like butternut squash bisque, house aged prime rib roast, Sebastopol mushroom hash, roasted free range turkey in Riesling rosemary gravy, and pumpkin cheese cake.
From noon to 8 p.m., price determined by entrée choice, $32.50-$37.50. 1 Doubletree Drive, Rohnert Park, 707-584-5466, http://doubletree3.hilton.com
Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn, Sonoma
If choice and flexibility suit you, make a reservation at the legendary property, where the Big 3 Diner will serve Thanksgiving brunch starting at 7 a.m. all the way through dinner until 9 p.m., and Santé restaurant will spread out a decadent buffet complete with live music. Mouthwatering favorites include free-range slow-roasted turkey with brioche and sage stuffing, turkey giblet gravy and cranberry sauce, roasted sweet potatoes and a dream-worthy “sugar pie” pumpkin pie. The options are extensive, but you can view both Big 3 and Santé menu here.
Big 3, brunch 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., dinner specials 2 to 9 p.m. (all a la carte); Santé buffet, 2 to 8 p.m., $99 adult/$49.50 children 5-12/free children 4 and under. 100 Boyes Boulevard, Sonoma, 707-938-9000, www.fairmont.com/sonoma.
Timber Cove Inn, Jenner
The secluded coastal property is celebrated for its rustic luxury charm and extraordinary ocean views. It’s a delicious holiday escape, too, for a spectacular cliffside meal, relaxing before a roaring fire in the huge stone fireplace in the Sequoia Lounge, then taking a brisk, post-dinner stroll in the crisp Pacific air.
Thanksgiving is served in Alexander’s restaurant with a specially prepared menu from chef Ben St. Clair, including carving stations for stuffed turkey breast and honey-roasted ham with pineapple-honey glaze. Save room for the spiced pumpkin pie, and the Granny Smith apple pie berry cobbler a la mode.
$39 adult/$16 children under 10. 1780 North Coast Highway 1, Jenner 707-847-3234, timbercoveinn.com.
Nectar, Santa Rosa
Start with a made-to-order omelet. Move on to an organic Chioggia beet salad, then a Tomales Bay seafood platter brimming with Bay shrimp, scallops and Dungeness crab. With this extravagant buffet at Hilton Sonoma Wine Country, you can satisfy breakfast, lunch and dinner in one delicious meal.
The carving station offers succulent oven roasted turkey with house made orange-cranberry sauce and bourbon infused turkey gravy, traditional honey glazed ham with whole grain mustard sauce, and slow roasted prime rib au jus with horseradish cream. Don’t miss dessert of chocolate fondue with fresh fruits and berries, and if you get a table on the patio, you’ll enjoy an extra treat of beautiful hillside views.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., $42 adults/$36 seniors 65 and over/$16 children twelve and under. 3555 Round Barn Boulevard, Santa Rosa, 707-523-7555, nectarsantarosa.com.