MENDOCINO CO., 11/8/26 — Thanksgiving is Thursday, Nov. 26. The restaurants that have said they’re open are all on the coast, and most serve one set menu at one price and want reservations now. For a free meal, the First Presbyterian Church of Fort Bragg is taking reservations for 1,200 dinners, and Willits holds its 37th annual community dinner.
Restaurants are listed first, by town, followed by free and low-cost meals. Is a restaurant or a meal missing? Email [email protected].
Restaurants open on Thanksgiving
Prices listed below are per person for food only, before tax and tip. Several kitchens add a gratuity to every check that day, and that’s noted where the restaurant said so. Call ahead to confirm hours and menus, which can change. One lodge said it was already close to sold out.
Albion
Terra Mar Kitchen — The restaurant at SCP Mendocino Coast Lodge will be open, the lodge’s front desk said. Hours, menu and prices hadn’t been released yet. 3790 N. Highway 1, Albion; 707-397-2082; terramarkitchen.com.
Elk
Sibo at Elk Cove Inn — Dinner is served family-style at a communal table. A meet-and-greet with a complimentary cocktail starts at 5 p.m. and dinner at 5:30, by reservation only, innkeeper Ricky Hernandez said. Dinner is $95 per person plus tax, with a 20% gratuity added, according to the menu on the inn’s website. It starts with Dungeness crab bisque and tuna carpaccio; entrees are roasted turkey, baked ham or salmon with dill sauce; and dessert is pumpkin pie, chocolate mousse or walnut pie. A drink package of wine, beer and nonalcoholic drinks is $35 more. The inn will also offer to-go dinners. 6300 S. Highway 1, Elk; 707-877-3321; elkcoveinn.com.
Fort Bragg
HarborView Bistro & Bar — The Noyo Harbor Inn’s restaurant serves brunch as usual from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., then a five-course prix fixe dinner from 2 to 8 p.m., starting at $105 per person, the inn said. A 20% gratuity is added for every party. Suggested wines by the glass are $55 a flight, and there’s a $65 charge to split a meal. No takeout on the prix fixe menu. Reservations recommended. Parties of four or more need a credit card to hold the table, and canceling within 48 hours costs $50 per person. 500 Casa Del Noyo, Fort Bragg; 707-961-8000; noyoharborinn.com.
Little River
Heritage House Resort & Spa — The set Thanksgiving menu by chef Fabrice Dubuc is served in three seatings, at 4, 6 and 8 p.m. It runs from crostini and a butternut bisque through a choice of Diestel organic turkey, Kurobuta ham, prime rib or wild mushroom risotto, then apple, pecan or pumpkin tarts. Tickets are $125 for adults, $60 for children and $90 for the vegetarian or vegan menu, before tax, with 22% gratuity added for parties of five or more. Reserve through the Eventbrite link at heritagehouseresort.com; sales close Nov. 23 and refunds are allowed up to seven days before. 5200 N. Highway 1, Little River; 707-202-9000.
Little River Inn — The dining room opens at 2 p.m., with the last seating at 7 p.m. The five-course set menu is a turkey dinner with the fixings, $90 per person and $35 for children, restaurant manager Kalika Casey said. Reservations are strongly recommended, on the website or through the front desk. The inn hadn’t decided on takeout; that depends on how many reservations come in. Room service is available for overnight guests. 7901 N. Highway 1, Little River; 707-937-5942; littleriverinn.com.
Mendocino
Cafe Beaujolais — Open from 3 p.m., with the last seating at 7:30 p.m. The prix fixe menu will run from about $70 to $110 depending on the entree; the restaurant hadn’t set final prices, Ali Harris of the cafe said. Reservations are required through the website. To-go orders will be taken. 961 Ukiah St., Mendocino; 707-937-5614; cafebeaujolais.com.
Fog Eater Cafe — The restaurant serves a set menu for $107 per person for food, with tax, tip and drinks separate, owner Haley Estell said. Reservations only, through Resy. A limited number of to-go meals can be requested by emailing [email protected]. 45104 Main St., Mendocino; 707-397-1806; fogeatercafe.com.
MacCallum House — The four-course dinner is $100 per person, served from 4 to 7:30 p.m. Entrees are roasted turkey, filet mignon, Alaskan halibut or wild mushroom risotto cakes; the filet and the halibut add $15. Reservations are required, through OpenTable or by phone. The inn said it won’t do takeout or to-go orders on Thanksgiving. 45020 Albion St., Mendocino; 707-937-0289; maccallumhouse.com.
The Ravens at the Stanford Inn — The plant-based restaurant’s set Thanksgiving dinner is $95 for adults and $39 for children 4 to 12, with a 20% gratuity added for parties of five or more. The first seating is at 3:30 p.m. Dinner starts with sea palm ravioli, a curried parsnip and apple soup and a seared maitake salad. Entrees are crusted tofu or portobello mushroom with chestnut stuffing, mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, green beans and cranberry sauce; a butternut squash tamale; or a chestnut and cremini shepherd’s pie. Dessert is pumpkin pie, apple cobbler or a candy cap brulee. Reservations are required at 707-937-5615. 44850 Comptche Ukiah Road, Mendocino; stanfordinn.com.
Point Arena
Wharf Master’s Inn — A dinner buffet of turkey with the fixings, pasta, soup, a salad bar and a dessert table, $49 plus tax and an 18% gratuity, the inn said. Beer and wine are extra. Open to the public by reservation only, with seatings at 5 and 7 p.m. 785 Port Road, Point Arena; 707-882-3171; wharfmasters.com.
Sea Ranch
The Sea Ranch Lodge — Dinner is served from 2 to 7 p.m., $115 per person and $45 for children, marketing manager Megan Smith said. Reservations are required, online or by calling 707-579-9777, option 2, and leaving a voicemail. No takeout. The lodge said Nov. 2 it was close to sold out. 60 Sea Walk Drive, The Sea Ranch; thesearanchlodge.com.
Order ahead
Trinks Cafe — The Gualala cafe takes orders through Friday, Nov. 20, for a barbecued turkey dinner with sides and pies, picked up Wednesday, Nov. 25, according to its website. 39140 S. Highway 1, Gualala; 707-884-1713; trinkscafe.com.
Closed on Thanksgiving
These restaurants told the Mendocino Voice they will be closed Nov. 26: Disco Ranch and Offspring in Boonville; Wickson in Philo; Izakaya Gama in Point Arena; and The Golden Pig in Hopland, which closes Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so staff can spend them with family. Harbor House Inn in Elk will serve dinner only to its overnight guests, and The Inn at Newport Ranch north of Fort Bragg won’t be open to the public.
Free and low-cost meals
The First Presbyterian Church of Fort Bragg served 1,240 free meals last year, said Kathy Hart, the dinner’s volunteer director this year. Starting at 1 p.m. this year, anyone who shows up, with or without a reservation, can have what’s left.
“We’ll feed our community until the leftovers are gone,” Hart said in an email. “Last year that meant the last person received a box of mashed potatoes, carrots and pie, because that’s all we had left. They were happy!”
The First Presbyterian Church dinner is for coastal residents from Westport to Albion. The meal is turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, a dinner roll and pumpkin pie, according to the church’s website.
Reservations are required for all three ways to get it: delivery from 10 a.m. to noon, curbside pickup at the church from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., or a sit-down meal at 12:30 p.m. The dining room seats 80, down from 100 last year. Montessori del Mar, a school, now uses a classroom that used to be part of the dining area, Hart said.
Meals also go out through mobile hubs run by the church, Mendocino Presbyterian Church, the Fort Bragg Food Bank and the Fort Bragg Police Department’s Care Response Unit. The hubs serve people who can’t get to the church or have no address for a delivery. Hart said the hubs usually carry 80 to 100 meals for people without housing, and this is the first year those meals come with real silverware. Gin Kremen, who runs the packing line, spent the past year with friends combing yard and estate sales for cheap silverware.
Kim Badenhop, a former owner of the Rendezvous restaurant in Fort Bragg, is the new head chef, with volunteer Troy Mellott as sous chef. Lynn Derrick, known around town as Queenie, and Scott Shepley ran the kitchen for 10 years and are coaching the new team.
Green beans are back after costs forced the church to serve carrots in their place last year; Mendocino Coast Produce is donating them. Diestel Family Ranch, the turkey producer, is giving about 1,000 pounds of smoked turkey, more than last year, so there will probably be extra turkey at 1 p.m., Hart said.
Fort Bragg High School culinary students bake more than 50 pies, with supplies paid for by teachers and administrators, and Brittney Tuomala of A Sweet Affair in Fort Bragg donates more than 100 pumpkin tarts. Highway 20 Feed and Fort Bragg Feed & Pet donate cat and dog food for the pets of people living outside.
The church says it needs more than 175 volunteers. Sign up at fbpchurch.org or call 707-964-2316, ext. 2. The church keeps a few volunteer slots for people who just show up on Thanksgiving Day, but there’s no guarantee, Hart said, and it’s best to sign up.
Donations pay for this year’s dinner, and any money left over goes to next year’s. Give online with the “Give Now” button at fbpchurch.org, choosing Community Thanksgiving Dinner, or mail a check to Fort Bragg Presbyterian Church, Attn: Community Thanksgiving Dinner, 367 S. Sanderson Way, Fort Bragg, CA 95437.
Free dinner in Willits
Willits Community Services & Food Bank holds its 37th annual Willits Community Thanksgiving Dinner from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., or until the food runs out, in the Willits Senior Center dining room, 1501 Baechtel Road. The meal is free and open to everyone. Donations are accepted but not required, and they go to the food bank’s programs. Sherwood Valley Casino, the Willits Senior Center, Mendo Food Network, the Chamberlain Creek Cal Fire station and Little Lake Grange help put it on. For information or to help, call the food bank at 707-459-3333.
Low-cost meal in Ukiah
The Ukiah Senior Center serves a Thanksgiving meal at its Bartlett Event Center, 495 Leslie St. It isn’t free: tickets are $20, or $15 for senior center members, and must be bought ahead. Ticket sales close Monday, Nov. 23, at 4 p.m. Pick up a meal at the drive-through from 11 to 11:30 a.m., or eat inside; doors open at noon and the meal is served at 12:30 p.m. Buy tickets at the Bartlett Event Center or tickets.ukiahseniorcenter.org, or call 707-462-4343, ext. 209.
Turkeys and groceries to take home
Mendo Food Network runs the Fort Bragg Food Bank and supplies 33 food banks, pantries, soup kitchens, senior centers and other groups around the county. The Fort Bragg Food Bank, 910 N. Franklin St., adds turkeys and holiday food to its regular pantry groceries Monday through Wednesday, Nov. 23-25. Seniors 60 and older shop from 10 to 10:30 a.m. Monday and Wednesday; everyone else from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. Tuesday is curbside pickup, 10 a.m. to noon.
The network’s Nourish the Holidays event on Thursday, Dec. 3, will provide holiday food to 1,000 coastal families, from noon to 7 p.m. at its Fort Bragg facility.
Nobody has to prove hardship or register ahead. First-timers sign up the day they come, said Rachel Clark, the network’s new executive director. Pantries, pop-ups and partner kitchens stay open through the holidays; days and times are at mendofood.org/find-food.
The network takes food, money and volunteers, and Clark said money helps most. Donate or volunteer at mendofood.org or 707-809-5669.