Five last-minute Thanksgiving reservations for holiday orphans

Thanksgiving is around the corner, and if you’re turkey-agnostic and up for something untraditional, then it’s time to decide what you are going to eat. Thankfully, there are a handful of solid restaurants with tables available to book — at least as of Monday morning at 9 a.m.

Act fast if you want to snag a Thanksgiving Day reservation at these spots serving everything from classic surf and turf to salt-and-pepper-crusted crab. 

This Michelin Guide-listed Cantonese restaurant still has a few reservations available on Thanksgiving Day for both lunch and dinner. There’s plenty on the menu that will feel festive, including roasted duck and the fan-favorite steamed barbecue pork buns. Round out the meal with sticky, sweet honey-walnut shrimp and fried sesame balls. 

If it’s just the two of you, grab seats from the handful at Copra’s bar (if you ask us, the best seats in the house). Not only are you that much closer to the excellent cocktails, but you have access to the entirety of the modern Indian restaurant’s regular menu. Chef Sri Gopinathan takes diners on a journey to his home state of Kerala in southwestern India through Thattukada fried chicken, a spicy street food fragrant with fennel, and black cod Pollichathu, a celebratory dish featuring shallot-crusted fish wrapped in banana leaves. 

Who said Thanksgiving has to be dinner? Modern Asian restaurant Piglet & Co is bringing back its Thanksgiving brunch, and reservations are available between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Try the made-in-house Spam, juicy pork cutlet sandwiches served on a pineapple bun, and milk-tea French toast topped with brown sugar boba and chantilly.

Both San Francisco locations — the original in SoMa and the newer Marina outpost — of Montesacro will be open and serving Roman-style pinsa, a style of pizza loved for its fluffy crust with a crispy exterior, as well as antipasti like roasted cauliflower salad and gnocchi alla Romana. Montesacro in the Marina will serve a three-course Thanksgiving menu for $55. Reservations are available for lunch and dinner in the Marina and early dinner in SoMa. 

Popular modern Vietnamese restaurant Lily on Clement will be open for lunch and dinner, serving a four-course Thanksgiving menu. The $88 meal starts with two amuse-bouches — crackers with crispy chicken skin and salmon-and-strawberry spring rolls — followed by salad or soup, an entree of turkey with sweet-potato hash, and banana bread pudding.