On June 11, Mexico and South Africa played the 2026 FIFA World Cup opening game at Mexico City Stadium, launching a month-long tournament of matches jointly hosted by 16 cities in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. While eight live matches will be
held at SoFi Stadium (temporarily renamed Los Angeles Stadium for the event), Los Angeles bars and restaurants have been gearing up for fans to watch their favorite teams. A new collaboration between Estrano pop-up and Poltergeist chef Diego Argoti and the locally owned Skyduster Beer in Downtown Los Angeles promises to be one of the most inviting.
For the 39-day length of the World Cup, the duo will host a live-fire pop-up called Estrano Verano with televisions tuned into the tournament, a rotating menu from Argoti prepared on the loading deck of the former Creature Comforts Taproom and Brewery, along with music by DJ Half Man, and eight television screens.
Argoti has worked with Skyduster founders Johnny Marler and Nick Smith for some time, often as a parking lot pop-up next to Skyduster’s future permanent Silver Lake location. The World Cup–themed Estrano Verano, which operates out of City Market South, sharing a wall with Rossoblu, is a precursor to the brewery’s permanent home, which will debut in 2027 at Sunset Boulevard and Fountain Avenue. Skyduster Beer will continue to brew out of the Downtown space after the World Cup ends.
Argoti has built a reputation for inventive takes on standard dishes with an off-the-wall theme. At Estrano Verano, his team will sling a daily menu that includes Jidori wings with Szechuan buffalo or sticky tamarind sauce, a chicken sandwich pad krapow–style, a short rib cheeseburger and wagyu hot dog (both requested by Marler and Smith), sweet potato waffle fries, Hokkaido scallops on a blue corn tostada, what Argoti calls a Yuba cheesesteak made with marinated tofu skin and celery root Cheez Whiz, and enoki mushroom fries.
The live-fire menu will be served Friday through Sunday, and it’s where Argoti gets to flex his mad-scientist approach in the kitchen. With the help of veteran chefs Alan Rudoy (Funke and pizza pop-up El Gato Negro) and Sebastian Salazar (Poltergeist and Happy Haus 333 pop-up), the evolving menu will be served from 4 p.m. until sold out. “I had a whole custom grill built, and I’m changing the menu by the games being played over each weekend,” says Argoti. “I’ll take a look at the competing teams and do a fantasy football of those cuisines on a dish.” In addition to high-top tables and a DJ, they’ll serve Skyduster’s Japanese rice lager; non-alcoholic beer; a West Coast IPA; Citrus Wit; and an Italian Pilsner, all curated by their lead brewer, Jasper Gallardo. Any beer can be made as a Michelada or as a pint with a briny pickle flavor.
Argoti and the Skyduster team connected over family loss, something even more present for the chef during the World Cup. (“My father was the most important person in my life,” says Argoti. “He loved soccer so much that I think he would be at Estrano Verano for every single game.” Estrano Verano is a tribute to Argoti’s father, and also an expression of partnership. “Without Skyduster, I wouldn’t have been able to do Estrano. Most of my events happen because of their support. We help each other with what we need. They needed a food program for the next 40 days, and I’ve got them,” he says.
Estrano Verano will take place from June 11 to the World Cup finals on July 19 at 1124 San Julian Street, Downtown, CA, 90015. Operating hours are from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Check the Skyduster or Estrano Instagram page for details.
