These 9 Columbia restaurants will be open on Thanksgiving day serving holiday meals

Forget stressing over pulling together a traditional Thanksgiving meal this year.

Let a professional chef at a Columbia restaurant do it for you.

We’re less than a week away from another Thanksgiving and all the delicious food that comes with it — be it turkey or ham, along with sizable portions of sides, such as mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. But preparing all that food can be a daunting task, especially if you have a large family.

With that in mind, several Columbia restaurants plan to be open on Thanksgiving Day so families can have a traditional meal, but none of the work that goes into making one.

Here are nine Columbia restaurants serving traditional meals on Thanksgiving.

Rio Brazilian Steakhouse

Rio Brazilian will offer everything you want to eat for Thanksgiving and more. The restaurant will be open 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

According to a post on Rio’s Facebook page, the restaurant will serve “a special feast that blends the traditional flavors of Thanksgiving with the bold and savory tastes of Brazilian cuisine. Indulge in our roasted turkey, perfectly seasoned and served with all the classic fixings like stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce.”

However, the restaurant will also offer a variety of fire-roasted meats, including tender beef, juicy pork, and savory chicken.

You can make a reservation online by clicking here.

Rio Brazilian is located at 410 Columbiana Drive.

California Dreaming

According to its website, California Dreaming in Columbia will be open on Thanksgiving Day, serving a traditional feast of roasted turkey and sugar-cured ham with sides such as sweet potatoes, green beans and carrots, red-skin mashed potatoes, Southern herb stuffing, cornbread and a choice of pecan or pumpkin pie.

The restaurant will be open from10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Click here to make an online reservation.

The restaurant will also offer Thanksgiving meals to go. Click here to order.

California Dreaming in Columbia is located at 401 Main Street.

Lizard’s Thicket

The family-owned Lizard’s Thicket will have all the Thanksgiving sides and desserts you could need for your entire family. The restaurant will be open from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, but if you want any of those tasty sides to go, you’ll need to order 24 hours in advance. From candied yams and collards to green beans, apple pie, carrot cake and blackberry cobbler, Lizard’s should have something for you.

To order online or view all of Lizard’s Columbia-area locations, click here.

Halls Chophouse

Halls Chophouse in Columbia will offer a special menu on top of its regular menu items from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. The special menu includes your choice of traditional roasted turkey or southern fried turkey with with croissant bread stuffing, cranberry sauce, roasted Brussels sprouts and whipped Yukon Gold potatoes. Desserts such as apple pie, pecan pie and pumpkin pie will also be available.

You can find Halls Chophouse at 1221 Main Street.

Golden Corral

The national buffet chain will, naturally, offer an all-you-can-eat meal on Thanksgiving Day, including traditional favorites such as turkey and ham, along with a new roast beef offering this year. The chain will also provide full Thanksgiving meals to go. Customers can order online through the Golden Corral app for curbside pickup or delivery.

Golden Corral in Columbia can be found at 5300 Forest Drive.

Cracker Barrel

Cracker Barrel is another national chain known for offering meals on Thanksgiving Day and this year will be no exception. You can also pre-order a full Thanksgiving feast that includes two turkey breasts, dressing, three sides, two pies and more. To pre-order or find one of the restaurant’s several Columbia-area locations, click here.

Cola’s Restaurant

How about having your Thanksgiving Day meal this year in a restored, 1930s RC Cola bottling plant? Cola’s in downtown Columbia will offer a traditional turkey dinner that will include giblet gravy, apple-sausage-walnut-cornbread dressing, whipped sweet potatoes, vegetables and cranberry sauce.

Cola’s is located at 1215 Assembly Street.

Columbo’s

Located inside the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, this upscale restaurant usually offers a Thanksgiving meal each year, whether you’re a hotel guest or not. The restaurant’s website notes that it will have a Thanksgiving meal this year, but does not yet what the menu items will be, only that the offerings will be “coming soon.”

Columbo’s is located at 2100 Bush River Road.

Hampton Street Vineyard

Enjoy a French twist on Thanksgiving dinner at Hampton Street Vineyard. The restaurant will be offering a three-course meal on Thanksgiving day. The first course will consist of your choice of a garden salad with mixed greens, carrot, radish, cherry tomato, cucumber and house dressing or pumpkin soup with chili oil and fried sage.

The second course will offer Tian with root vegetables, mushrooms, caramelized onion, turkey breast and dark meat or prime rib with horseradish cream, jus, along with a side for the table of green bean almandine, cranberry sauce, mash potatoes, orzo mac and cheese (Lobster Mac sub +3/person), truffle stuffing and gravy.

And for dessert, customers can chose between pumpkin pie, pecan pie or an apple tart. Add Vanilla Ice cream for another $3.

To make a reservation, click here.

Hampton Street Vineyard is located at 1207 Hampton Street.