There are Thanksgiving people who want their turkey, their stuffing, their potatoes, and absolutely no interference with tradition. And there are Thanksgiving people who would happily start with oysters, work their way through a little prosciutto and Humboldt Fog, and eventually get around to the bird.
Nettuno at Fairmont Breakers is making room for both with its Thanksgiving Day buffet. The ground-floor Italian-Californian restaurant will be open on Thursday, Nov. 26, turning the holiday into an afternoon of seafood, carving stations, seasonal sides, and desserts. All with live entertainment and a welcome glass of the space’s Centennial sparkling wine for adults.
If you’d rather skip your own home in favor of hanging out at a Michelin Key-recognized hotel, this is your time to shine. Running from noon to 4PM, the buffet costs $125 per adult and $49 for children ages 3 through 11. Reservations are available exclusively through OpenTable Experiences.
Nettuno’s Thanksgiving buffet starts at the sea…
The appeal here is the ability to build several very different plates.
Start with the seafood display: Kusshi oysters with shallot mignonette. Jumbo prawns. Bay scallop ceviche. Smoked salmon. All accompanied by whipped chive cream cheese, super seed bread, cocktail sauce, and lemon wedges that round out the spread.
Then there is the Italian restaurant’s natural territory: an antipasto selection. Prosciutto. Coppa. Sopressata. And mortadella, all alongside pickled vegetables and olives. Cheese boards bring Humboldt Fog, Beehive Barley Buzzed cheddar, and Marin Camembert, with flatbreads, baguette, fig jam, dried fruit, nuts…
In other words, there is ample opportunity to get happily distracted before the turkey.
…and ends somewhere around pumpkin cheesecake.
The carving station brings that holiday centerpiece back into focus: roasted tom turkey with traditional sage stuffing, giblet gravy, and cranberry sauce. Joining it is roasted New York striploin served with caramelized onion jam and natural jus.
The supporting cast includes whipped buttermilk Yukon Gold potatoes. Candied garnet yams. Roasted root vegetables and Brussels sprouts. Mushroom ravioli and Aleppo pepper-roasted salmon. Mediterranean salad, freekeh tabouleh, and squash panzanella add some brighter, fresher options between the richer plates.
Dessert stretches beyond the expected pie lineup: pumpkin cheesecake, chocolate mousse cake, lemon shortbread, opera cake, and seasonal fruit tarts. It is a menu that leaves room for the familiar Thanksgiving ritual while giving the person who would rather eat seafood and pasta plenty of reasons to join the table.
The Fairmont Breakers has been building a place in Long Beach’s everyday—and holiday—life.
This Thanksgiving buffet fits a larger story unfolding inside the Breakers: the return of a landmark through spaces that give locals reasons to walk through its doors. Originally opened in 1926, the hotel returned as Fairmont Breakers on Nov. 19, 2024, following an extensive restoration. Its centennial year offers a particularly fitting moment to gather inside a building that has spent a century woven through the city’s changing identity.Â
For diners, that return carried several meanings.
Sky Room restored one of Long Beach’s great special-occasion dining destinations, a room attached to generations of celebrations.
And as I wrote in my early coverage of Nettuno, its strength was the comfort of classic Italian cooking in a decidedly handsome space. Subsequent breakfast coverage traced another way locals could make the hotel part of their routine.
Halo extended that invitation upward, giving rooftop cocktails and holiday gatherings a sweeping city-and-coast backdrop. Alter Ego has developed its own connection through jazz and whiskey, including a CSULB Alumni Jazz Series that brings local musicians into the hotel’s nightlife.
Taken together, those spaces give the Breakers a place in the city beyond overnight stays: breakfast, a celebratory dinner, a rooftop drink, an evening listening to musicians. And now, for those happy to hand Thanksgiving cooking duties to someone else, an afternoon with oysters, turkey, and no roasting pan waiting at home.
What else do I need to know?
Nettuno’s Thanksgiving buffet takes place Thursday, Nov. 26, 2026, from noon to 4PM inside Fairmont Breakers, located at 210 E. Ocean Blvd. Tickets are $125 per adult and $49 per child ages 3–11, plus tax and 20% gratuity. Adults receive a welcome glass of Centennial sparkling wine. Reserve through OpenTable Experiences.
