We made reservations for the 5Church Thanksgiving buffet. It was our first experience at the restaurant, and we were impressed! The vibe was upscale casual, there were people in jeans on Thanksgiving and others in suits and fancy dresses.

Our server, Elvis, was an absolute doll. at one point, when I discovered the dessert station was out of apple cider donuts, he actually went to the back and brought more out to refill the station just for me!

The quality of the food was impressive, however, a little inconsistent, but there was such a selection! Something to make everyone happy.

I don’t know what the crowd is like on a usual night at 5Church, but there were whole families here on Thanksgiving, grandparents to babies, lots of folks brought their kids. The buffet was upscale but varied so if you brought your children, they would definitely find enough they’d want to eat as well.

For the grown-ups in your group, 5Church has some excellent craft cocktails. I couldn’t be more complimentary of the Deception in the Garden, the smoothest Herradura tequila with pineapple, pear and lavender - Eden in a glass.

There were several different protein options on the buffet. The prime rib had an excellent rub. It was tender and delicious and I loved the horseradish sauce on the side. If you are a Thanksgiving traditionalist, the turkey was juicy and well seasoned as well. They had some delightfully tangy cranberry sauce that was a delicious garnish for the turkey. On the other hand, the ham was just so-so, a little dry and the warm salmon was very bland.

The buffet of side items was extensive. Salads and charcuterie followed by a smorgasbord of warm items. The bread was very good with the apricot jelly.

Our very favorite item from the buffet was the fried truffle arancini. If you haven’t had this before, it was like balls of creamy fried risotto. SO GOOD! The brussels sprouts were perfectly caramelized,the chorizo stuffing was a slightly spicy treat, loved their deviled eggs and the spanakopita had a lovely crunch and perfectly flavorful filling. Oh! And the lasagna was also really great with lots of cheese and tender noodles.

Lots of hits but also some misses. The fried plantain balls lacked flavor. The broccoli rabe was bitter and stringy. The baked ziti needed more spices. When we first arrived, they had put out a tray of sweet potato casserole with marshmallows. The potatoes were purple, which was an interesting departure, but the texture was odd. Later, they put out a standard sweet potato casserole with marshmallows which was better, but it needed more seasoning as well.

We topped off our meal with a little of everything from the dessert bar! The very best things over there were the bourbon chocolate pecan pie bites, the fresh apple cider donuts, and the matcha ganache tarts - I love something different!

Did we eat too much? Oh yes we did! You are given a two hour time frame to enjoy the Thanksgiving buffet, and if you pace yourself, you’ll need every minute of it.

We basically rolled out of 5Church back to our car. There is a convenient parking deck just behind the restaurant and they validate your ticket so parking is free.

For the service, variety and quality of the food, I’d say it’s definitely worth the $70 per person price tag to enjoy a mess free, stress-free Thanksgiving smorgasbord in such a lovely setting!