The turkey can wait. The order form can’t. Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, Nov. 26, but the first deadlines for Thanksgiving catering in Montclair hit this Sunday, Nov. 15, when both Faubourg and Clementina stop taking orders. Most other kitchens in town close their books Friday, Nov. 20. We went through restaurants’ own menus and posts to find who is cooking for your table this year, what it costs per person and exactly when you need to commit.
Montclair Thanksgiving catering deadlines at a glance
- Sunday, Nov. 15: Faubourg (or sooner if the turkeys sell out), Clementina
- Wednesday, Nov. 18: Tia’s Food of Love
- Friday, Nov. 20: Pendragon’s Smokehouse (by 10 p.m.), Brown Butter Kitchen, Sweet T’s Southern Eatery, Sabor Latino NJ
- Sunday, Nov. 22: Libélula Bakery and Kitchen
- While supplies last: Montclair Diner, Ironbound Farm Market turkeys
The classic turkey dinner, start to finish
Turkey, stuffing, gravy, sides and something sweet, packed to reheat.
Faubourg | 544 Bloomfield Avenue
The brasserie’s Gather by Faubourg bundle is the most French take in town: butternut squash soup with pumpkin seeds and marshmallow, roasted turkey with chestnut stuffing, cranberry chutney and gravy, plus a fall vegetable fricassée and pommes purée. The a la carte list adds a $220 beef tenderloin au poivre for four, a $120 roasted salmon and $48 trays of sides like sweet potato gratin and Brussels sprouts. Pies come from Bijoux French Pastry for $49 each, in apple cinnamon crumb, pumpkin spice and maple bourbon pecan. A 5% catering fee is added to every order, and all sales are final.
- Order by: Sunday, Nov. 15, online, or until the turkeys sell out
- Pickup: Wednesday, Nov. 25, or Thursday, Nov. 26, 10 a.m. to noon, in Montclair or Weehawken
- Price: $275 for three to four people or $525 for six to eight, roughly $66 to $92 per person before the fee
Brown Butter Kitchen | pickup in the Montclair and Maplewood area
Brown Butter Kitchen sizes its packages to the table. The Intimate Gathering (215) serves two to four with an herb-roasted turkey breast and two small sides. The Family Table (425) serves six to eight with three large sides. The Grand Thanksgiving ($675) serves eight to 10 and adds citrus-roasted salmon and a fourth side. Every package comes with homemade gravy and sides chosen from a list that includes six-cheese mac and cheese, brown butter sweet potato casserole and roasted cauliflower with sage and pine nuts. Desserts include peach and apple cobbler and a $46 brown butter pecan pie.
- Order by: Friday, Nov. 20, by email at orders@brownbutterkitchen.com
- Pickup: Wednesday, Nov. 25, in the Maplewood and Montclair area, with delivery for an extra fee; the exact pickup spot is confirmed when preorders close
- Price: roughly $53 to $108 per person, depending on the package
Montclair Diner | 613 Valley Road
The Upper Montclair diner keeps it straightforward: pick an entrée, a starter, three sides and a dessert for $265, serves six to seven people. The headliner is fried turkey, in Cajun garlic butter or roasted garlic butter, with glazed ham as the alternative and candied yams, mac and cheese and sweet potato pie among the extras. Tax and a 15% gratuity are added.
- Order by: no deadline posted, so call early
- Price: $265 for six to seven people, roughly $38 to $44 per person before tax and gratuity
Smoked, Southern, Italian or Latin American
Not every Thanksgiving table needs the same menu, and these kitchens cook the holiday in their own style.
Pendragon’s Smokehouse | delivery only
Pendragon’s, a family-run barbecue business that delivers across Montclair in an electric van, is smoking its turkey breast over oak and cherry wood. The Complete Thanksgiving Dinner pairs it with sausage and herb stuffing, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, honey-roasted carrots and parsnips, apple cider-braised red cabbage, gravy, cranberry-orange sauce and an apple and cranberry crumble, according to its announcement. Everything arrives fully cooked and chilled, so you can have dinner in the fridge before the Wednesday rush.
- Order by: Friday, Nov. 20, at 10 p.m., and at least three days before your delivery date
- Delivery: any day from Wednesday, Nov. 18, to Wednesday, Nov. 25, 3 to 7 p.m., for a $10 fee in Montclair
- Price: $289 for six to eight people, $415 for 10 to 12 or $625 for 16 to 18, roughly $35 to $48 per person
Libélula Bakery and Kitchen | 5 North Fullerton Avenue
Libélula brings Peruvian and Dominican flavors to the holiday. Its $260 dinner package feeds four and lets you choose one main from herb-roasted turkey, slow-roasted pork, roasted chicken or roasted rib-eye steak, then three sides from a list that includes sweet plantains, garlic-confit mashed potatoes and green beans with almonds. Dessert is tres leches or chocolate espresso cheesecake, and house salad, dinner rolls, gravy and sauces come with every package. Pies and treats are also available on their own.
- Order by: Sunday, Nov. 22, by calling 973-707-2082 or stopping by the bakery
- Price: $260 for four, about $65 per person
Clementina | 627 Valley Road
Chef Michele’s Upper Montclair restaurant is cooking an Italian Thanksgiving to go, with dishes that run from roasted turkey to baked maccheroncini al fumé. Each dish serves four, so you can build the meal tray by tray.
- Order by: Sunday, Nov. 15, by calling 973-746-5151
- Pickup: Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Sweet T’s Southern Eatery | 387 Bloomfield Avenue
Sweet T’s sells its Thanksgiving menu by the half pan. The centerpiece is a $125 baked turkey of 10 to 14 pounds, which comes with gravy, cornbread stuffing and cranberry relish. Smothered turkey wings with cornbread dressing ($200, feeds 10) and a vegan lasagna ($180) are the alternatives. Southern sides like mac and cheese, candied yams and collard greens run $65 to $80, each feeding 10 or more, and a whole sweet potato pie is $55.
- Order by: Friday, Nov. 20, by email at sweettssoutherneatery@gmail.com; mention that you’re picking up in Montclair
- Pickup: Wednesday, Nov. 25, 5 to 6:30 p.m.
Sabor Latino NJ | Montclair-based caterer
This small Montclair catering and meal prep business is taking Thanksgiving orders for rotisserie chicken, pork and turkey, cooked with the homestyle flavor its owners describe in their bilingual posts.
- Order by: Friday, Nov. 20, by calling 862-220-3191
Just the turkey, or just the sides
Cooking half the meal yourself? These options cover one side of the table.
Tia’s Food of Love | 638 Bloomfield Avenue, Verona
Just over the town line, Tia’s has the deepest menu on this list. Goffle Farms turkeys come oven-ready from $175 for a 10- to 12-pound bird or fully cooked from $225, and a sliced turkey breast in homemade gravy runs $65 for four to six people. More than 20 sides, from Southern cornbread stuffing to Carolina collard greens, mostly cost $40 for four to six people or $60 for eight to 12. Read the fine print: Tia’s won’t accept changes after the deadline and charges 50% for cancellations.
- Order by: Wednesday, Nov. 18, online
- Pickup: Wednesday, Nov. 25
Ironbound Farm Market | Lackawanna Station
For cooks who want a better bird, Ironbound is taking reservations for organic, pasture-raised, never-frozen whole turkeys from Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-op. A $50 deposit on Ironbound’s website holds your preferred weight range. Extra turkey breasts, wings and legs, plus gluten-free stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy from the Ironbound kitchen, will be sold a la carte while supplies last.
- Pickup: Tuesday, Nov. 24, or Wednesday, Nov. 25, at the Montclair market or Ironbound Farm in Asbury
Montclair Meats
The whole-animal butcher’s preorder window has closed, but it will sell extra turkeys on Tuesday, Nov. 24, and Wednesday, Nov. 25, first come, first served.
For the turkey without the trimmings, Pendragon’s sells its smoked turkey breast on its own from $72.50. For the trimmings without the turkey, Brown Butter Kitchen’s Sides Only Table brings four large sides for six to eight people for $275.
Order one more turkey for a neighbor
While you’re placing your order, consider one for someone else. The 14th annual Montclair Bikery Turkey Ride on Sunday, Nov. 22, collects turkeys for the Human Needs Food Pantry, which serves nearly 1,000 households every week. Cyclists ride 15 miles from the Bikery on Valley Road to Kings in Upper Montclair, buy frozen turkeys, carry them to the pantry on Label Street, then celebrate next door at Egan & Sons. If you’re not riding, a $22 donation on the Turkey Ride’s donation page buys one turkey. You can also drop off a frozen turkey or Thanksgiving staples at the pantry on Nov. 22.
We’ll update this list as restaurants post deadlines and sell out. Cooking for Montclair this Thanksgiving and not on here? Email us at hello@montclairpod.com.
Image credit: Megan Watson/Unsplash
