Three In-town Raleigh Restaurants Offering Thanksgiving 2008 Dinner

Special places for a holiday dinner in downtown Raleigh

The Clarion Hotel restaurant is an excellent choice for a moderately priced Thanksgiving Day dinner if you happen to be in the downtown area on the holiday. It offers a full menu for the family.

One special feature of this restaurant is the panoramic view of Raleigh that can be seen from here. In any of the numerous dining rooms a view of some part of the city is visible.

The Clarion Hotel is a favorite of runners and is involved in a number of charity events throughout the year.

If you have in-laws coming to town for the holidays, this is an excellent place to take them. The view will keep them engaged so that they won't have time to ask any of those annoying questions; like are you getting married soon? Why you haven't called or visited? Why you want to live in Raleigh when you could be shoveling snow back up north?

The only danger is that they might decide to stay when they see what we see.

The hotel is located at:

Raleigh Clarion Hotel State Capital
Top of the Tower Restaurant
320 Hillsborough Street • Raleigh, North Carolina 27603

Reservation Phone: (919) 832-0501 dial 3
(dial 3 when the phone is answered to get the Top of the Tower)

Dinner for adults: $18.95
Dinner for kids: $9.49 (ages 6-12)
Free for the little ones with adults.

The Irregardless Café is a Raleigh favorite that is open for Thanksgiving Dinner. They have items for those who like to eat the traditional meats and for those who have taken a stand for the vegetarian side of the menu.

To get to the Irregardless, one needs to enter W. Morgan Street (a one way street) from Hillsborough Street, west of downtown Raleigh, almost to the North Carolina State campus. W. Morgan Street loops and then parallels Hillsborough Street straight into the center of the city.

Restaurant prices are normally in the middle range of sit-down restaurant pricing. This should cost more than the Clarion and probably substantially less than a similar meal at the Angus Barn. The vegetarian offerings are a plus.

The restaurant is located at:

Irregardless Café
901 W. Morgan St. (Tryon St.)
Raleigh, NC 27603
919-833-8898

The TIR NA NOG Irish Pub is an excellent choice in the heart of downtown. The restaurant is, of course, most festive on Saint Patrick's Day. The Irish love a party and Thanksgiving is a party that everyone can appreciate.

Located on the Blount Street side of Raleigh's Moore Square, the restaurant sits south of Hargett Street and north of Martin Street. Just up the street is the wonderful Marbles Children's Museum and the city's only IMAX Theater, both of which will unfortunately be closed on Thanksgiving Day.

For those that want to dine without doing Tom the Turkey in, they offer vegetarian lasagna or vegan curry dishes.

For those of us who prefer the traditional feast, they offer turkey, roast beef and ham, according to one of their staff. I guess they keep the corn beef for St. Patty's.

The environment in the wonderful Americanized Irish Pub can be a little loud and boisterous. It is always a lot of fun.

The Restaurant is located at:

TIR NA NOG Irish Pub and Restaurant
218 S. Blount Street
Raleigh, NC

Reservations Phone: (919) 833-7795

The Vegetarian dinner for Adults: $19.99
The Thanksgiving Feast for Adults: $25.00
The meal for Kids $12.95 (ages 5 to 12)

Max O'Well publishes articles on greenways, gardens, rare diseases, fund raisers and community items.