Thanksgiving Dishes Flatiron NYC: A Spanish Holiday Week

The week of Thanksgiving in Manhattan has its own rhythm. Offices empty out a little early, friends fly in, roommates start planning the Friendsgiving they talked about all fall, and somebody inevitably asks where the group should eat. If you’ve been searching for thanksgiving dishes Flatiron NYC crews can pass around a table, the original Boqueria at 53 West 19th Street has a Spanish answer for every role on a holiday spread, from the big centerpiece to the sweet finish.

Here’s the plan in one line: come in early in the week, on the Wednesday night before the holiday, for Black Friday brunch, or over the weekend after. Boqueria Flatiron is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26, 2026. We’re open our regular hours Monday through Wednesday of that week, back on Black Friday with brunch alongside the regular menu, and open as usual on Saturday and Sunday.

There’s no turkey on our menu, and we won’t dress anything up as one. What you get instead is the Thanksgiving table translated into Spanish: a paella with a crackly golden bottom where the bird would sit, Patatas Bravas in place of the mash, croquetas and Pan con Tomate for the bread basket, and churros or Crema Catalana where the pie would go.

Key Takeaways

• Boqueria Flatiron is closed on Thanksgiving Day (Thu, Nov 26, 2026). Regular hours Mon to Wed, Nov 23 to 25; regular hours on Black Friday, Nov 27, with brunch plus the regular menu; normal hours Sat and Sun, Nov 28 to 29.
• The best days for a Spanish Friendsgiving here are early in the week, Thanksgiving Eve on Wednesday, Black Friday brunch, and the weekend after with visiting family.
• Every classic Thanksgiving role has a Flatiron match: paella or Roasted Chicken for the centerpiece, Patatas Bravas for the potatoes, croquetas for the stuffing, churros and Crema Catalana for the pie.
• The Chef’s Menu (“The Classics” or “The Boqueria Experience”) takes the ordering off the organizer’s plate, and both include paella.
• In NYC, Boqueria Soho and Boqueria Times Square are open on Thanksgiving Day with the regular menu.

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1. Thanksgiving Week Hours at Boqueria Flatiron

Let’s get the calendar out of the way first, because it shapes every plan below. Here is how the holiday week looks at 53 West 19th Street.

Day	Boqueria Flatiron
Mon to Wed, Nov 23 to 25	Regular hours
Thu, Nov 26 (Thanksgiving Day)	Closed
Fri, Nov 27 (Black Friday)	Regular hours, brunch + regular menu
Sat to Sun, Nov 28 to 29	Regular hours

So the Flatiron dining room is dark for one day only, and open on the six days around it. For regular opening and closing times, check the Flatiron location page before you send the group invite.

If your crew has its heart set on Spanish food on Thanksgiving Day, two of our sister restaurants in the city are open: Boqueria Soho from noon to 9pm, and Boqueria Times Square from its regular opening time until 9pm, both serving the regular menu.

2. Thanksgiving Dishes Flatiron NYC Tables Can Share: The Spanish Swap

Every dish on a holiday spread has a job: something grand in the middle, a potato side, greens, bread for mopping, a tart-sweet note, a dessert and a toast. Here’s how the Flatiron menu fills each one, with the Spanish names explained.

Thanksgiving role	Boqueria Flatiron dish	What it is
The centerpiece	Seafood, Short Rib or Vegetable Paella	Saffron and bomba rice cooked in a wide pan, with a crunchy caramelized bottom called socarrat
The roast	Roasted Chicken (half or whole) or Secreto de Ibérico	Chicken with lemon, herbs and salsa verde; or the “secret cut” of Ibérico pork with white romesco and a sherry-honey reduction
The potatoes	Patatas Bravas or Tortilla Española	Crispy potatoes with spicy salsa brava and garlic allioli; or a thick Spanish omelet of eggs, confit potatoes and onion
The green sides	Espinacas a la Catalana, Grilled Broccolini, Escalivada	Spinach with garbanzos, pine nuts and golden raisins; broccolini with almond “ajo blanco”; fire-roasted eggplant, pepper and onion
Sweet potatoes	Crispy Sweet Potatoes	Crisp sweet potatoes with “mojo verde” herb sauce and spicy yogurt
Stuffing and rolls	Pan con Tomate, Croquetas de Jamón, Croquetas de Setas	Catalan toast rubbed with tomato and garlic; creamy ham or mushroom croquettes
The cranberry moment	Bacon-Wrapped Dates, quince purée with the Croquetas de Jamón	Dates stuffed with almonds and Valdeón blue cheese; a sweet fruit paste that cuts through richness
The nibbles board	Aged Manchego, Aged Mahón, Jamón Serrano, Jamón Ibérico de Bellota	Spanish sheep’s and cow’s milk cheeses; cured hams, including the acorn-fed Ibérico
The pie	Classic Churros, Crema Catalana, Basque Chocolate Cheesecake, Orange Olive Oil Cake	Fried dough with dipping sauces; Catalan custard with burnt sugar; two cakes
The toast	Sangría, cava, sherry	Red, white, rosé or elderflower Hugo sangría; Spanish sparkling wine; La Cigarrera PX

The paella is the carving moment. At a family table, the bird gets presented and everyone gathers around. A paella pan does the same thing at Boqueria. It lands wide and steaming in the middle, and the prize is underneath: socarrat, the thin layer of rice that toasts against the pan until it crackles. Scraping for it is the Spanish version of fighting over the crispy skin. In late November, the Short Rib Paella is our pick, with braised short rib, Turkish figs and roasted bone marrow giving it a deep, sweet-savory richness. The Seafood Paella brings monkfish, squid, shrimp, clams and mussels, and the Vegetable Paella keeps the non-meat-eaters happy.

Where the tart-sweet note comes from. Cranberry sauce exists to cut through rich food. At Flatiron, the quince purée that comes with the Croquetas de Jamón does that job, and the Bacon-Wrapped Dates balance salt, sweetness and sharp blue cheese in one bite.

For guests who avoid gluten, several dishes are marked gluten-free on the menu, including all three paellas, the Patatas Bravas and the Roasted Chicken. Tell your server about any allergies before ordering.

3. Four Ways to Do Thanksgiving Week at Flatiron

With Thursday off the table at this location, the week still gives you plenty of good nights. Tapas guidance on the menu is two to three plates per person, and the table below builds on that.

The occasion	When	Start with	The centerpiece	Finish with
Friendsgiving with roommates or old friends	Mon or Tue, Nov 23 to 24	Croquetas de Jamón, Aged Manchego and Jamón Serrano	Short Rib Paella, Crispy Sweet Potatoes, Grilled Broccolini	Classic Churros and a round of red sangría
Thanksgiving Eve with friends home for the holiday	Wed, Nov 25	Pan con Tomate, Bacon-Wrapped Dates, Pimientos de Padrón	Seafood Paella, Patatas Bravas, Espinacas a la Catalana	Crema Catalana and a glass of cava
Black Friday brunch after shopping	Fri, Nov 27	Pan con Tomate, Patatas Bravas	Torrija, Huevos Estrellados, Brunch Paella	Churros to share
Family visiting for the weekend	Sat to Sun, Nov 28 to 29	Bacon-Wrapped Dates, Tortilla Española	Vegetable Paella, Whole Roasted Chicken, Escalivada	Orange Olive Oil Cake and sherry for the grown-ups

Early-week Friendsgiving. Monday and Tuesday are when most friend groups can actually get everyone in one room before people scatter for the holiday. Roommates, a book club, the coworkers who sit near you: this is their night. A Short Rib Paella in the middle and a pitcher of sangría is about as close to a Spanish Friendsgiving as it gets. If you’d rather host that early-week Friendsgiving at your own apartment, use the “Order to-go” link on the location page to pick up a few dishes on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday for your gathering.

The Wednesday-night kickoff. The night before Thanksgiving is one of the busiest social nights of the year in New York. Everyone who grew up here is back in town. Booking a table on 19th Street for Wednesday makes a natural reunion spot. Start with cava, order a paella for the table, and linger over dessert.

Black Friday brunch. On Friday, November 27, Flatiron is open our regular hours with brunch served alongside the regular menu. After a morning of shopping along Fifth Avenue or around Union Square, it’s a welcome sit-down. The brunch menu here includes Torrija, a crispy Spanish French toast stuffed with sweet cream and blackberry compote; Huevos Estrellados, shoestring fries with truffle potato cream, Jamón Serrano and a fried egg; and a Brunch Paella with roasted chicken, chorizo and farm eggs. It’s also a very good break from a fridge full of leftovers.

When a group can’t decide. The Chef’s Menu works any day we’re open. “The Classics” is a customized run of Boqueria favorites that includes one of our paellas. “The Boqueria Experience” adds seasonal dishes, paella and a taste of hand-carved Jamón Ibérico de Bellota, our most prized ingredient. For the friend who always ends up organizing, it means no spreadsheet and no debate.

4. The Original Boqueria, a Holiday-Week Fixture on 19th Street

Boqueria started here. The first location opened on West 19th Street in 2006 as a neighborhood spot that borrowed the noise and warmth of Barcelona’s tapas bars and added design and hospitality. Our Roots tells the longer story; the short one is that the room that helped define modern tapas in New York is the room you’d book for your Friendsgiving.

The location page describes a space that comes to life at lunch and keeps humming through dinner, and Thanksgiving week shows off that range. At midday, Flatiron office teams squeeze in a team Friendsgiving lunch before the long weekend. In the evening, Chelsea neighbors meet friends who just flew in, and visitors who read about the original location come by to see it. By Saturday, the brunch crowd fills the room with out-of-town cousins and their hosts.

The neighborhood adds to the mood. A few blocks north, Madison Square Park usually has its leaves turning in late November, and the Flatiron Building watches over its southern tip. To the south, the Union Square Greenmarket piles its stands with squash, apples and root vegetables, a reminder of all the cooking you won’t be doing tonight.

Planning a bigger gathering earlier in the week? For a team Friendsgiving or a family dinner on any open day that week, start with the NYC events page. Our earlier guide to group dining in Flatiron covers how larger tables work in this room.

Cooking a Friendsgiving of your own? Our holiday paella de mariscos recipe walks you through a seafood paella at home, step by step. And if a friend hosted the Tuesday Friendsgiving and did all the dishes, a Boqueria gift card makes a good thank-you for a dinner out on another night.

5. Visit Us in Flatiron

Boqueria Flatiron sits at 53 West 19th Street, just off Fifth Avenue and steps from Union Square. It’s an easy meeting point whether your group is coming from a Chelsea walk-up, a Flatiron office, or one of the many subway lines that converge at Union Square.

Book ahead for groups. Monday through Wednesday and the weekend after fill quickly, and Black Friday brings shoppers looking for a sit-down brunch. Reserve a table as soon as your group picks a date.

Remember the one closed day. Flatiron is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26. Plan your Friendsgiving for the days before, or your family meal for the days after.

Conclusion

A holiday table doesn’t need a turkey to feel like the holidays. It needs something generous in the middle, a few sides worth fighting over, bread for the sauces, a sweet finish and a reason to raise a glass. At the original Boqueria on 19th Street, that looks like a Short Rib Paella with crackling socarrat, Patatas Bravas, croquetas, churros and a round of sangría or cava.

Just plan around the one day we’re closed. Boqueria Flatiron is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26, 2026, and open the rest of the week: regular hours Monday through Wednesday, Black Friday with brunch and the regular menu, and the weekend after. Browse the menus on the Boqueria Flatiron location page, pick your night, and reserve a table. We’ll have the paella pan ready.

Frequently Asked Questions