For 39 straight days — the entire World Cup competition from start to finish — Chef Diego Argoti of Estrano, the viral street pasta pop-up, and formerly Poltergeist, will be cooking over a live, open fire in a loading dock. There's freshly brewed beer made just steps away. No reservation, no dress code. Just cold beer, good food, and every World Cup match on.

Estrano Verano is the World Cup viewing destination you haven't heard of yet — but will.

What is it?

The gathering is a collaboration between Argoti and the founders of Skyduster Beer, Johnny Marler and Nick Smith.

Running from this Thursday, June 11, to the World Cup final on Sunday, July 19, it will be open every day one hour before the first kickoff for the 104 matches. Located inside City Market South — a century-old former produce market near the Fashion District in Downtown L.A.— neighbors include Rossoblu, chef Steve Samson's Bologna-inspired Italian restaurant, and Dama, chef Antonia Lofaso's Latin-inspired restaurant and lounge.

Who's behind it

Argoti, who has cultivated a reputation as the enfant terrible of the L.A. food world, cut his teeth at Bestia and Bavel, later earning a James Beard semifinalist nod, StarChefs Rising Star 2024 and other accolades — all out of his barcade Poltergeist in Echo Park which closed the same year. Dishes there included a crispy Thai Caesar salad with a towering rice puff crouton that defied gravity, and a butterflied masa-fried dorade — head still on — bathed in Hachiya gazpacho, pink lady aguachile, and mussels escabeche, best enjoyed against the blue hue of classic '80s and '90s arcade games.

Marler and Smith, two veterans of the beverage industry, founded Skyduster in 2021. The L.A.-only brewery has since landed its beer at the Greek Theatre and Dodger Stadium. The City Market location marks Skyduster's first physical space — with a Silver Lake beer garden already in the works for 2027.

The two met in 2024 at the premiere of the PBS SoCal documentary series Rebel Kitchens Southern California, where Argoti spoke openly about losing his father. Afterward, Marler approached him and shared that he had just lost his own father as well. The two bonded over their shared grief, and their partnership soon took shape.

"We're here because both our parents died within a month of each other," Marler said. "If it wasn't for that, none of this happens."

The food and beer

At first glance, the permanent bar menu reads like standard sports bar or pub fare — but with Argoti in the kitchen, there's always more to the story. Marler had two non-negotiables: a burger and a hot dog. Everything else was Argoti's call. That means a Pad Krapow Chicken Sandwich built on masa-fried chicken thighs, holy basil, Thai chilies, papaya salad, and lime leaf aioli — and a Yuba Cheesesteak that swaps the beef for marinated tofu skin on a seeded semolina roll with celery root cheez whiz and enoki shoestrings. Starters include Jidori party wings (Szechuan Buffalo or Tamarind Sticky) and a blue corn tostada with Hokkaido scallops. That menu is available every day the doors are open.

Friday through Sunday, Argoti, alongside chefs Alan Rudoy and Sebastian Salazar, takes it a step further: a separate live-fire menu is posted day-of and available from 4 p.m. until sold out. Think of it as the bar menu's wilder, more unpredictable cousin — subject to whims. The custom-built open fire rig is the heart of the operation. "I want to get some octopus — when there is Morocco against Japan," Argoti said. "That was one of my biggest things for this, to cook something that most people don't think about here in the U.S." A Morocco-Japan matchup is projected as a likely Round of 32 fixture, which means that octopus could be coming sooner than you think.

All of it bears the fingerprints of Argoti's full body of work — from his time at Bestia and Bavel, to the street pasta chaos of Estrano and the barcade-on-acid menu of Poltergeist.

Washing it all down is Skyduster's intentionally simple four-beer lineup — a Japanese rice lager, Italian Pilsner, West Coast IPA, and Citrus Wit — all brewed on site and built to pair with food, not fight it.

Why this, why now

When I asked Argoti and Marler why the city needs a spot like this right now, Marler was direct. "I think L.A. is missing a lot of fun right now," he said. "I just don't know what happened." Estrano Verano is betting that people are ready for a place with fewer rules and more community.

The World Cup serves as the perfect unifier — every country represented in the tournament, every walk of life, welcome to catch a match or just hang. And with the historic City Market South complex as the backdrop, a century-old former produce market that's seen the city change around it, the setting feels less like a pop-up and more like exactly where you're supposed to be this summer.

"This reminds me of jumping out of an airplane and knowing everything is gonna be okay — and afterward it's just gonna be some of the most fun you've ever had in your life," Argoti said.

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