From petting zoos and caviar bars to Baja-inspired turkey and oceanfront brunch, these Southern California resorts are doing the cooking (and the dishes) this year
Skip the grocery store chaos and let someone else handle the turkey this year. Thanksgiving dinner in San Diego means sunshine on the patio, an ocean view with your pie and, if you play it right, zero dishes in the sink. On Thursday, Nov. 26, resorts across San Diego and Southern California are pulling out all the stops with grand buffets in historic ballrooms, petting zoos and carriage rides for the kids, chef-driven prix fixe menus and even full feasts to take home. Whether you’re planning a holiday staycation or just want to show up, eat well and leave the dishes behind, here’s where to book your table.
Feast Beneath Chandeliers Fit for Oz
Few places do the holidays quite like Hotel del Coronado. Its Thanksgiving buffet takes over the iconic Crown and Coronet Rooms, where guests dine beneath ornate crown chandeliers designed by “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” author L. Frank Baum. The chef-curated spread is a choose-your-own-adventure for every age, with a whole-roasted turkey and prime rib carving station, a chilled seafood and raw bar, hand-rolled sushi and sashimi, a made-to-order ramen station, an artisan cheese and charcuterie market and a festive display of desserts and gelato. Live music sets the mood, and adults 21 and over receive complimentary sparkling wine. Tickets are $292 for adults and $165 for kids ages 5-12, while children 4 and under dine free. Reserve online or call 619.522.8100.
Make it a weekend: Skating by the Sea returns to the oceanfront Windsor Lawn Nov. 20 through Jan. 3, with 90-minute sessions at $35-$45 per person ($5 off for hotel guests, members, military and first responders).
Hotel del Coronado
1500 Orange Ave
Coronado, CA 92118
619.435.6611
Turkey Gets a Baja Glow-Up
For a Thanksgiving with a Baja accent, head to Ponto Lago, the Forbes Four-Star restaurant at Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa overlooking Batiquitos Lagoon. Its three-course Thanksgiving Dinner Feast runs 4-8:30 p.m. and comes from Chef de Cuisine Jorge Saldana, a San Diego native who has cooked in multiple Michelin-starred kitchens, including Le Coucou in New York City. The table starts with shareable bites like savory churro bites, kanpachi crudo with guajillo-pomegranate consommé and guacamole with charred cherry tomatoes and tostadas.
Mains include a Thanksgiving Plate of pipian rojo roasted turkey breast with confit turkey leg stuffing and cranberry-morita chile sauce, plus prime rib, a local catch and charred cauliflower with mole amarillo. Family-style sides of milk bread with morita chile honey plus roasted Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes round it out before individual desserts like chocolate pecan pie with brown butter ice cream, smoked pineapple cascare and vanilla mille-feuille with dulce de leche. Dinner is $115 per adult and $50 per child ages 2-12, plus tax and service charge, and a regular kids menu is available upon request. View the full menu and reserve here.
Ponto Lago at Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa
7100 Aviara Resort Dr
Carlsbad, CA 92011
760.691.5434
Brunch With a Side of Sea Breeze
Want sand between your toes after the feast? Chandler’s Oceanfront Dining at Cape Rey Carlsbad Beach, a Hilton Resort & Spa, sits right across from the Pacific and is offering two ways to celebrate. The Thanksgiving Day brunch buffet pairs chef-crafted brunch favorites with holiday classics for $105 per adult and $45 per child. Later in the day, a three-course prix fixe dinner ($85 per person) opens with an appetizer, salad and raw bar buffet, followed by a choice of holiday entrées including a traditional turkey dinner plate, and finishes with a dessert duo from the pastry chef. A kids menu is available at dinner. Reserve on OpenTable or call 760.683.5500.
Chandler’s Oceanfront Dining at Cape Rey Carlsbad Beach
1 Ponto Rd
Carlsbad, CA 92011
760.683.5500
Caviar for the Grown-Ups, a Petting Zoo for the Kids
If your crew includes little ones with big energy, Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa is the one. The resort turns Thanksgiving into a full-day celebration from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., starting with a grand buffet that features its legendary raw bar with Petrossian caviar, live sushi and taco stations, a truffle shaving station, an impressive carving station and a dessert bar stocked by the RV Pie Shop. Once plates are cleared, the lawn comes alive with a petting zoo, carriage rides, face painting, a bounce house, crafts and more. Pricing is $275 for adults and $95 for children ages 3-11, and kids under 3 dine complimentary. Reservations are by phone at 858.759.6246.
Staying in? Rancho To Go brings the feast home with starters, a full packaged feast and a la carte dishes, all sold in portions that serve four. The Whole Package includes turkey, stuffing, soup, three comforting sides and a pie, plus a pint each of sage-scented turkey gravy and cranberry chutney. A la carte options range from a $135 whole roasted turkey in herb butter to 6-inch pumpkin, pecan and banana cream pies for $29. Every turkey is all-natural, free-range and herb-brined for 48 hours. Orders have a $350 minimum and close Friday, Nov. 20 at 11:45 p.m., with pickup at the resort on Wednesday, Nov. 25 from 9-11 a.m. or 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa
5921 Valencia Cir
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
858.759.6246
Three Courses in the Heart of the City
Celebrating downtown? Provisional Kitchen, Pendry San Diego’s signature restaurant, is serving a three-course prix fixe dinner from Executive Chef Brandon Sloan from 2-7 p.m. Highlights include roasted pumpkin risotto with wild mushrooms and sage, cranberry-glazed pork belly with polenta cake, free-range turkey with pecan-apple stuffing and garlic mashed potatoes and braised short rib with truffle demi. A vegan roasted honeynut squash with pecan-apple stuffing and vegetarian gravy is also on the menu. For dessert, choose from a pumpkin pie entremet with pumpkin spice mousse and caramel, a chocolate pecan tart or a cranberry apple tarte Tatin. Dinner is $105 for adults and $42 for children 12 and under, with optional wine pairings for $50. See the full menu and make reservations here.
Fall bonus: Provisional’s eighth annual Chefsgiving lands Nov. 19 from 6-8 p.m., when eight of the city’s most celebrated chefs cook a Thanksgiving-inspired menu with each course paired with curated wines. Tickets are $150, and a portion of the proceeds benefits the San Diego Food Bank.
Provisional Kitchen at Pendry San Diego
425 Fifth Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
619.738.7300
A $36 Turkey Dinner and a Lazy River
Trade the crowded Vegas flight for a holiday weekend in Funner. The best deal in this guide is at The Café at Harrah’s Resort Southern California, where a $36 Thanksgiving Feast starts with a choice of roasted butternut squash soup or a dinner salad, followed by oven-roasted turkey with traditional sage stuffing, buttered mashed potatoes, fried Brussels sprouts, turkey gravy and cranberry sauce. Finish with pumpkin or pecan pie. Between meals, float the 400-foot lazy river, test your luck in the newly reimagined $13.1 million High Limit Area with 100 slot machines and tables like baccarat and blackjack or raise a toast at Easy Speak, the area’s exclusive bar pouring hand-selected barrels from WhistlePig and Blanton’s alongside rare spirits like Buffalo Trace. Hungry for more? Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen and the brand-new Tierra y Mar are just steps away.
Harrah’s Resort Southern California
777 Harrah’s Rincon Way
Funner, CA 92082
760.751.3100
Give Thanks in Wine Country, Spanish Style
Worth the drive north, Europa Village is a multi-winery resort in Temecula Wine Country inspired by old-world Europe. Its Spanish-themed Bolero Restaurante is hosting a Thanksgiving Feast Buffet that blends traditional holiday favorites with Spanish specialties. It’s $89 per adult, $39 for kids ages 5-12 and complimentary for children 4 and under. Reservations are required, with the last seating at 3 p.m. Call or text 951.972.5715 to book.
Bolero Restaurante at Europa Village
41150 Via Europa
Temecula, CA 92591
951.972.5715
Q&A:
Which hotels offer Thanksgiving dinner in San Diego?
Hotel del Coronado, Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa, Park Hyatt Aviara (at Ponto Lago), Cape Rey Carlsbad Beach (at Chandler’s Oceanfront Dining), Pendry San Diego (at Provisional Kitchen) and Harrah’s Resort Southern California are all serving Thanksgiving meals on Nov. 26.
Where can I find a Thanksgiving buffet in San Diego?
Hotel del Coronado hosts a grand buffet in its historic Crown and Coronet Rooms. Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa offers a buffet with a raw bar, sushi and a carving station. Chandler’s Oceanfront Dining in Carlsbad serves a Thanksgiving Day brunch buffet. In Temecula, Bolero Restaurante at Europa Village has a Thanksgiving Feast Buffet.
What are the best Thanksgiving to-go meals in San Diego?
Rancho Valencia’s Rancho To Go offers a full packaged feast, starters, a la carte sides and pies, each serving four. There’s a $350 minimum; orders close Friday, Nov. 20 at 11:45 p.m., and pickup is Wednesday, Nov. 25.
Where can I have Thanksgiving dinner in Carlsbad?
Ponto Lago at Park Hyatt Aviara serves a Baja-inspired three-course feast from 4-8:30 p.m. for $115 per adult and $50 per child ages 2-12, plus tax and service charge. Across from the Pacific, Chandler’s Oceanfront Dining at Cape Rey Carlsbad Beach offers a brunch buffet ($105 per adult, $45 per child) and a three-course prix fixe dinner for $85 per person.
Are there kid-friendly Thanksgiving events in San Diego?
Yes. Rancho Valencia pairs its buffet with a petting zoo, carriage rides, face painting, a bounce house and crafts. At Hotel del Coronado, kids 4 and under dine free, and Skating by the Sea opens on the beachfront Windsor Lawn on Nov. 20.
Erik Hale is the visionary and publisher behind LOCALE Magazine. He launched the magazine in 2010, wanting to give the community of OC a premiere lifestyle magazine that knew all the native knowledge behind OC. “Six years ago Ashley and I sat at a table scratching the name LOCALE (among some other names) onto a sheet of paper,” says Erik, “coming up with story ideas and basically dreaming. Everything we imagined has happened and we have been blessed with so much more. I am so grateful as we start another year for my family, my two wonderful children, my health, our amazing writers, designers and photographers, our advertising partners and you.”
