By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com San Diego Blogger
It’s time to gobble up all the fun our area provides this time of the year. To be sure you’re in the know, here’s what to know about every cool thing that’s happening in San Diego for this Thanksgiving.
San Diego Thanksgiving Events
• Shipwreck Pirate Party. Quartyard in East Village is holding Shipwrecks Music Fest, a pirate-themed party with music. It’s on Saturday, Nov. 29, from 4-9 p.m. Tickets are $40.
• Belmont Pier Black Friday / Cyber Monday Deal. From November 24 – December 1, guests can snag a 2026 Belmont Park Season Pass for only $100, unlocking unlimited fun at San Diego’s historic seaside amusement park. Tickets here.
• Turkey Trots. There are several Turkey Trots – 5K walks and runs – throughout the area, in Coronado and Oceanside. The Shore Room at The Seabird hotel is having a post-race party in Oceanside with a full bar until Noon. Exercise and then socialize! San Diego’s longest-running (no pun intended) run is the Father Joe’s Villages Thankgiving Day 5K Run and Walk.
Wednesday, Nov. 26 Thanksgiving Eve
• Levinson Group Annual Friendsgiving Party. This is a pub crawl in the Gaslamp Quarter with buy-one-get-one drinks all night. It meets at Kaluu (9 p.m.,) and goes to Nova Nightclub. So dress accordingly. It’s free with details here.
• Atomic Groove, the high-energy fun cover party band, is at Belly Up in Solana Beach. Tickets are $12; $17.80 in advance with the fees.
• The Rooftop Bar at the Mission Pacific Hotel has a Friendsgiving gathering from Noon-10 p.m. It includes 20% off champagne and rosé, 15% off whites and reds and 25% off large-format magnums. The food menu features mezze platters and seafood towers.
• in Encinitas, Temaki Bar: Handroll, Sushi, Sake is having a a rub-your-eyes-this-can’t-be-right all-you-can drink package for $50. It includes well spirits, beer and wine, and goes from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. You can pair the pours with Temaki’s craveable rolls, including the Caterpillar Roll with Krab, eel, cucumber, avocado, eel sauce and goma, priced at $15; the Super Ninja Bunny with blue crab, toro, bubu arare, chives, brown butter aioli, caviar and truffle oil, priced at $25; and the West Coast Philly with salmon, cucumber, everything spice and vegan cream cheese, priced at $12; along with its monthly rotating specials and handrolls.
San Diego Bars & Restaurants Turkey Dinners
Here’s a rundown of Thanksgiving dinners, along with prices, at San Diego bars and restaurants:
In the Gaslamp Quarter, The Smoking Gun has a Smoking Gun Thanksgiving Plate with house-smoked turkey breast, garlic-mashed potatoes, cheesy Brussel sprouts, stuffing and gravy, and habanero-cranberry sauce. Around the corner, barleymash has a three-course meal created by CHOPPED Champion Kevin Templeton and Sous Chef Rose Lane. The first course includes a choice of house salad, Caesar salad, or French Onion Soup. Second course is Andouille Stuffed Turkey Roulade with Wild Turkey brown-butter gravy, mashed potatoes, artisan stuffing, corn pudding, farmhouse veggies and cranberry slaw. And for dessert, your choice of Dutch Crumb Apple Pie or Pumpkin Sticky Pudding with toffee sauce and pepita brittle crumble. The price is $56.95. Barleymash will also be offering a Gobble Til You Wobble Sando ($21), with roasted turkey, artisanal stuffing, ale aioli, habanero cranberry sauce, arugula, and tomato on sour dough, with fries, for $21.
Lionfish Modern Coastal Cuisine has a Friendsgiving Feast, available from 5-9 on both Wednesday and Thursday. For $45, you get a bucket of crispy deep-fried turkey, Boursin mashed potatoes, truffle macaroni and cheese and buttermilk biscuits. Exclusively on Wednesday it has $5 shots.
In Pacific Beach, Duck Dive has a traditional Turkey Dinner that includes all the classics: turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, seasonal vegetables, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie, for $43. Those looking for something different can enjoy the Prime Rib Dinner ($52), with prime rib and horseradish cream, accompanied by mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables and pumpkin pie. Duck Dive will also feature a selection of fall-inspired cocktails and is hosting a Canned Food Drive on Thanksgiving, collecting unexpired and clearly labeled items to donate to a local food pantry. Duck Dive opens at 10 a.m, with food being served starting at 11 a.m.
In Mission Beach, Sandbar has one of – if not the – least expensive deals of any place in San Diego. It’s Traditional Thanksgiving Plate is $15, and it’s available all day starting at 9 a.m., It’s also available for takeout. A few blocks down the beach, Miss B’s Coconut Club – home of San Diego September Bartender of the Month Cute Kate – is adding Chef Troy’s Thanksgiving Plate to the menu featuring Dominican-style turkey smothered with Jamaican gravy, Cuban-style ham, Caribbean cranberry sauce, mashed sweet potatoes, curried cream corn, and Haitian-style cornbread. The massive plate goes for $28 and is available from 9:30 a.m., until it run out and oh, there are also $6 beer and rum specials. The Miss B’s blonde beer and it’s own rum are both very good.
On Coronado, Serẽa Coastal Cuisine at the Hotel del has the following Thanksgiving Day treats, running from 5-9: stracciatella cheese and preserved pear salad with frisée, pumpkin spice walnuts and lemon vinaigrette, priced at $28; roasted turkey paired with crab macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, creamy horta and turkey gravy, priced at $48; and bone-in braised short rib, served with smoked Gouda polenta, beef au jus, Aleppo crispy asparagus and microgreens, priced at $75. Those with a sweet tooth can cap off the meal with brown butter pecan pie, featuring an all-butter crust topped with orange whip and shaved orange zest, priced at $22.
• Piper hotel in Oceanside has a Thanksgiving brunch buffet for $125 from Noon-4 p.m.
Thanksgiving Day NFL Games & Game-Watching Bars
• Green Bay at Detroit, 10 a.m. Miss B’s Coconut Club for the Green Bay Packers. The offical Detroit Lions bar is SD Taproom in PB.
• Kansas City at Dallas, 1:30 p.m. Kansas City Chiefs: Home & Away in Old Town (on San Diego Ave., halfway between the main part of Old Town and Washington Street) and Kansas City BBQ, better known as “the Top Gun bar.” The Cowboys bar is The Smoking Gun in the Gaslamp Quarter (on Market & 6th).
• Cincinnati at Baltimore, 5:20 p.m. You’re SOL finding a bar for fans of those teams.
College Football Rivalry Week San Diego Bars
Friday, Nov. 28
Texas A&M at Texas, 4:30 p.m., Home & Away (Texas). There is no designated A&M alumni bar, tho The Smoking Gun in the Gaslamp Quarter is a good call for Aggie fans.
Saturday, Nov 28
• Ohio State at Michigan, 9 a.m., American Junkie Gaslamp Quarter & Oggies Del Mar (Ohio State), The Local PB (Michigan). The Buckeyes, recipients of an easy Big 10 schedule, are already in the College Football Playoffs so they are only playing to subdue their rival. The Wolverines, also recipients of an easy Big 10 schedule, either need to win to make the CFP or will be trying to gain satisfaction from again beating the Buckeyes.
• Alabama at Auburn, 4:30 p.m., Smoking Gun (Alabama) and Tower 13 (Auburn). The Alabama alumni will be out in full force at The Smoking Gun as the Crimson Tide tries to fight off the spooky voodoo of Jordan-Hare Stadium in a must-win game to make the College Football Playoffs. The Auburn people will be at Tower 13 in Cardiff-by-the-Sea hoping it doesn’t happen with a replacement coach.
• Oregon at Washington (Time TBD), Miss B’s Coconut Club (Oregon), Poor House & Union Kitchen Encinitas (Washington). The Poor House is on 30th Street in North Park.
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