Shooters Waterfront
The Intracoastal legend runs a Thanksgiving buffet all day. For $54 per person ($26 for kids 5 to 12), you get the turkey, ham and prime rib carving station, all the Thanksgiving sides you need, salad and warming fall soups and for dessert, pumpkin and apple pie. Shooterswaterfront.com
Grille 66 and Bar
Its location in the grounds of the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 makes this a prime spot if you’ve got out-of-towners you want to dazzle with a top Lauderdale locale. From 4 to 9 p.m., the restaurant offers a Thanksgiving menu including traditional turkey dinner. Then perhaps a stroll around, under the lights of a local icon. Grille66andbar.com
Bokampers
If your family just doesn’t think it’s Thanksgiving unless everybody watches football, head over to this on-the-Intracoastal sports bar and restaurant, co-owned by broadcaster and former Dolphin Kim Bokamper. It’s kid-friendly, the outdoor seating’s great and it makes you rethink what a sports bar can be. Sushi bar and a raw bar? The sports bar’s not just for chicken wings anymore. Bokampers.com/fort-lauderdale
3030 Ocean
If you want to have a traditional Thanksgiving meal without the traditional all-day gorging, this always popular restaurant which only opens in the evenings might be a good bet. Located at the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, it’s been doing a popular Thanksgiving spread for several years now. 3030ocean.com
Sublime Restaurant and Bar
Granted, this one’s not actually on the water – although it’s just across Federal from a canal off the Middle River, so you just have to cross the street. We wanted to include it anyway because Thanksgiving isn’t always the easiest holiday for vegetarians, but the city’s biggest vegetarian restaurant’s Thanksgiving feasts has become somewhat legendary. You get a full-on feast that will delight vegetarians and might just stun nonvegetarians. Sublimerestaurant.com
