For the first time in 32 years, the Bay Area is hosting FIFA Men’s World Cup matches. Perhaps you have roots in one of the visiting countries or a deep love of soccer but no tickets for the pricey games. We’re here to help you find lively watch parties with like-minded souls — and tell you where to go to immerse yourself in the culinary traditions of these athletes.
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It’s pretty easy in the diverse Bay Area. We’ve found chefs from Algeria, Jordan and Turkey running restaurants true to their heritage. A contemporary spot serving an Austrian native’s recipe for the country’s most famous dish. Places where you can indulge in the best of Switzerland. The Australian-style coffee that fuels the team from Down Under. And the restaurant believed to be the only one on the entire West Coast serving Paraguayan cuisine.
Read on and enjoy. If these recommendations prompt you to broaden your horizons, well, that was the intent of the traveling World Cup games all along.
ALGERIA
The game: Algeria vs. Jordan, 8 p.m. Monday, June 22, at Levi’s Stadium, 4900 Marie P. DeBartolo Way, Santa Clara.
Gusto, Berkeley
Couscous is the specialty at this quick-casual restaurant near UC Berkeley that opened in January, but there’s so much more: grilled koobideh and chicken kebabs over saffron rice, one of the tastiest iterations of baba ghanoush in the East Bay.
“Our passion for cooking comes from Algerian and Mediterranean traditions, with recipes and flavors inspired by family, culture and years of experience in hospitality,” says Aghiles Didi, Gusto’s chef and partner and a self-described Algerian Berber.
A map of the world beckons diners to stick a pin on where they’re from; in return, Didi offers them a trip to his home country with lamb-tongue sandwiches and homemade noodles that a server described as Algerian spaghetti. For the World Cup, Gusto will have a big-screen TV playing the game, and might offer themed menu items and specials inspired by the participating countries.
The dish: The Couscous Mixt arrives in a tagine that gusts steam when opened, revealing a bounty of tender lamb, bone-in chicken, carrots, zucchini, green beans and chickpeas ($21). It all sits on a shoal of sand-sized couscous grains, which soak up a cinnamon-scented broth diners can accent with yogurt sauce and a dynamite, brick-red harissa. There are also couscous dishes with vegetables, merguez or salmon; pair them with the intensely smoky, creamy baba ghanoush ($9), and you’ll be as happy as Ronaldinho.
Details: Open noon-9 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays and Sundays and noon-10 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays at 1986 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley; (510) 977-2477, yelp.com/biz/gusto-berkeley.
Mozza Mocha, Oakland
The shelves of this new cafe near the Temescal District are stocked with Algerian groceries – fresh Sophine dates, the roasted green wheat called frik, Hamoud La Blanche sodas that predate Coca-Cola – and scratch-made pastries like bradj and kalb el louz. The owner, Omar Khemici, is an engineer from Algiers who decided he needed a retirement project; thus, you might find him managing affairs at a table while drinking rayeb, a frothy, fermented milk he makes himself.
The rayeb is off the menu, but if you ask, he might offer it; the same goes for traditional foods like couscous. The on-menu items are a couple of sandwiches (merguez, chicken), coffee and espresso and pizza, including an Algerian version hard to find around here. Come World Cup time, the cafe’s chairs will be arranged around a TV by the wall, so diners can enjoy all the footie action.
The dish: The beef merguez sandwich is an admirable version with a mildly spicy harissa kick, fresh tomatoes and red onions and warm bread. The merguez feels light and airy, despite being a sausage ($13). Aside from cheese and pepperoni pizza, there’s also a Pizza Carree offered by the slice ($3.50). It’s a snack you’ll find in Algeria that’s made with semolina-enhanced dough, parsley and olive oil. “I remember in middle- and high school, carts would sell them out on the street,” Khemici says. “Whether you got some depended on how much money you had in your wallet that day.”
Details: Open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays at 4501 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland; 510-666-7950, yelp.com/biz/mozza-mocha-oakland.
AUSTRALIA
The game: Paraguay vs. Australia, 7 p.m. Thursday, June 25, at Levi’s Stadium, 4900 Marie P. DeBartolo Way, Santa Clara.
Bluestone Lane, Los Altos, San Francisco
When Team Australia (a.k.a. The Socceroos) comes to the Bay, they’ll be getting the special Bluestone Lane treatment: The coffee chain specializing in Australian-style coffee and brekkie will be the official coffee of Team Australia, according to Jonathan Penny, the brand’s Northern California area leader.
The brand, which has over 55 locations around the U.S., is planning to have someone stay at the team’s training camp throughout the World Cup to make sure the team stays supplied with Bluestone Lane coffee, he says. They also intend to wrap some San Francisco store windows with Team Australia decor. Watch party plans are still being solidified.
“It’s a big deal for us,” he says.
The dish: Aussie iced latte ($8). Instead of using ice in an iced latte, why not use ice cream? That’s the winning premise behind this decadent coffee drink popular in Australia and on the menu at Bluestone Lane. The beverage is sweet and rich, blending coffee with vanilla notes, and while the texture is thick, it’s far more drinkable and latte-like than a milkshake. Or order an avocado toast, also believed to be an Australian invention.
Details: Open 7 a.m.-5 p.m. daily at 288 First St., Los Altos, with five San Francisco locations; bluestonelane.com.
AUSTRIA
The game: Austria vs. Jordan, 9 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, at Levi’s Stadium, 4900 Marie P. DeBartolo Way, Santa Clara.
Naschmarkt, Campbell, Pleasanton, Palo Alto
Named after Vienna’s largest open-air produce market, Naschmarkt has been serving classic Austrian dishes — Wiener Schnitzel, Spaetzle, Smoked Pork Bratwurst — to appreciative diners in downtown Campbell for 15 years. Expansion restaurants in Palo Alto and Pleasanton have opened in recent years.
The inaugural chef, born in Austria, supplemented the New Austrian menu with seasonal California dishes, and that array continues on today’s menu.
But the desserts skew Austrian, and diners would be wise to take advantage; these specialties are hard to find elsewhere. Besides Apfel Strudel with hazelnuts, there’s a Sacher Torte that showcases the traditional chocolate with apricot preserves and an ethereal Salzburg Nockerl vanilla souffle with blueberry compote.
Naturally, there’s a nice wine list of Austrian and other European varietals.
The dish: We recommend what’s considered the country’s most famous dish. Crisp and hearty (but not heavy), the Wiener Schnitzel comes in pork or veal versions ($26/$32 at lunch, $36/$45 at dinner) and is served with lingonberry sauce, lemon and Austrian potato salad. At lunchtime, a Schnitzel Sandwich on a pretzel bun comes in pork or chicken versions ($19).
Details: 384 E. Campbell Ave., Campbell; naschmarktrestaurants.com.
JORDAN
The games: Austria vs. Jordan, 9 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, and Algeria vs. Jordan, 8 p.m. Monday, June 22, at Levi’s Stadium, 4900 Marie P. DeBartolo Way, Santa Clara.
Mazra, San Bruno, Redwood City
Brothers Saif and Jordan Makableh, whose family is from Jordan, won’t be hosting any World Cup watch parties at their Peninsula restaurants. That’s because they’re planning to go see the June 16 and 22 games in Santa Clara themselves – a historic moment, as it’s the country’s first time competing in the FIFA World Cup.
“It’s an experience we couldn’t miss,” according to Saif Makableh.
The two brothers built their first restaurant in the home of their dad’s former San Bruno grocery store, and while Mazra’s menu isn’t strictly Jordanian, it represents their take on flavors often found across the Levant region, including Syria, Lebanon and Palestine.
The dish: Barbecue lamb kebab and lamb chops. The restaurant’s barbecue lamb kebab and lamb chops tend to resonate most deeply with people from Jordan, he says. The a la carte lamb kebab ($9) is tender and bursting with rich flavors. “We often hear from guests that the smell brings back memories of home, which is always meaningful to us,” Makableh says.
Details: Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays at 2021 Broadway, Redwood City, and 504 San Bruno Ave. W., San Bruno; eatmazra.com.
Shawarmaji, Santa Clara, Oakland
“We’re super excited,” says Mohammad Abutaha, the chef and owner behind Shawarmaji, about Jordan playing two World Cup games nearby at Levi’s Stadium. Abutaha says he moved to the U.S. from Jordan in 2011 at age 20, and currently, he is still planning his restaurant’s events and promotions related to the international soccer competition.
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While mansaf, a dish made with lamb cooked in fermented dried yogurt sauce and served over rice, is Jordan’s national dish, Abutaha grew up eating shawarma most often and has made that dish a core part of his restaurants’ menus.
“Technically, mansaf is our national dish, but I feel like shawarma is what brings the whole country together,” he says.
The dish: Jordan-style shawarma ($9-$18). “Literally everybody in the country eats shawarma at least two to three times a week,” Abutaha says.
Wrapping the chicken or lamb and beef filling with flatbread instead of a pita is the more Jordanian-style way of serving the dish, he says. The fillings are simple and flavorful, like pairing chicken with toum (garlic sauce), cucumber and pickles, or lamb with tahini, onions and tomatoes.
Details: Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays and 11 a.m.-midnight Fridays-Saturdays at 2100 Franklin St., Suite 2190, Oakland, and 2281 The Alameda, Santa Clara; theshawarmaji.com
PARAGUAY
The games: Paraguay vs. Turkey, 9 p.m. Friday, June 19, and Paraguay vs. Australia, 7 p.m. Thursday, June 25, at Levi’s Stadium, 4900 Marie P. DeBartolo Way, Santa Clara.
Cafe Guaraní, Pacific Grove
Cafe Guaraní is believed to be the only Paraguayan restaurant on the West Coast and only one of three in the U.S., according to Sebastian Araujo, son of owner Liliana Araujo, who works at the cafe just blocks from the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
The restaurant is Liliana’s “retirement” passion project – we use quotes because she says she’s still working there most days from 4 a.m. to 8 or 9 p.m. – after a career working as a hospital lab technician and phlebotomist in Monterey. The mother of five, who immigrated to the U.S. from Asuncion in 2002, opened the cafe with her family just days before the COVID-19 shutdowns began in 2020. The restaurant also has a bit of Argentinian flair – Araujo’s mother-in-law was an Argentinian baker in Paraguay, and Liliana attended her culinary school.
“I make everything from scratch,” she says.
The restaurant survived the pandemic – thanks in large part to their coffee menu, she says – and they’ve been sharing their pocket of Paraguayan culinary culture with locals and travelers alike ever since. They’re still figuring out all of their World Cup plans but plan to host a TV reporter from Paraguay on June 17 ahead of their teams’ game against Turkey on June 19 and are making arrangements to serve their food to the Paraguayan national team, according to Araujo.
The dish: Cheese sopa and sopa Guaraní. Paraguayan cheese sopa ($9) is a kind of dense, moist cornbread containing cheese and onions. Araujo has found a way of re-creating the taste of Paraguay’s cheese sopas, despite struggling to find the same cornmeal and cheese ingredients as in her home country, she says. Meanwhile, her sopa Guaraní ($13) is a soup that builds on Paraguay’s vori-vori soup with chicken and some of her own ingredients. To drink, sip like the Paraguayans and order a cocido ($3), a form of sweetened, smoked and strained yerba mate.
Details: Open 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends at 111 Central Ave., Pacific Grove; cafeguarani.com.
SWITZERLAND
The game: Qatar vs. Switzerland, noon Saturday, June 13, at Levi’s Stadium, 4900 Marie P. DeBartolo Way, Santa Clara.
La Fondue, Saratoga
Cheese and chocolate. What more do you need to fete the Swiss team’s trip to compete in the Bay Area?
For 30 years, La Fondue on Big Basin Way has been popular for decadent date nights, anniversaries and group celebrations. What started as a limited menu has exploded with options to please Bay Area palates.
These days diners often order Wagyu steak or lobster tail to cook tableside in court bouillon (vegetable or chicken), and opt for one of the many spicy or garlicky cheese fondues. The top three most-ordered cheese fondues are Classic Cheddar, Stinking Rose and Wild Mushroom, the restaurant says, but guests will also find offerings like a Cajun beer-cheddar blend with shrimp and cayenne and a Mediterranean fondue with sundried tomatoes, Parmesan and Fontina.
The dish: The Classic Swiss, with Emmentaler and Gruyere cheeses and white wine, may be the way to go for soccer fans. For dessert, the Flaming Tortoise, a tableside flambe number with milk chocolate, caramel and pecans, is the customer favorite. Pricing varies depending on which tasting menu and which entrees are ordered. Tip: There’s a late-night $28-per-person chocolate fondue option offered during the last hour of service every night.
Details: Reservations recommended. Open daily for dinner (two hours allotted per party), with lunch service added on Sundays. 14550 Big Basin Way; lafondue.com.
TURKEY
The game: Paraguay vs. Turkey, 9 p.m. Friday, June 19, at Levi’s Stadium, 4900 Marie P. DeBartolo Way, Santa Clara.
Bodrum Mezze & Cocktails, Dublin
Walking into Bodrum reminds you that Turkey shares three borders with the sea. Strung-up nets drip with ersatz fish and nautical paraphernalia, and the sunny interior with colorful highlights echoes coastal Mediterranean architecture. The menu leans on seafood, too, with dishes like whole grilled sea bream with charred lemon and linguine with lobster and bisque sauce.
Owner Fatih Ulas runs several other restaurants in the East Bay, including the Sultan’s Kebab and Elia eateries. Bodrum is a tribute to the eponymous town on the Aegean coast, where Ulas once lived. Aside from fish and crustaceans, diners can dig into hot and cold mezze like kayseri manti (beef dumplings with yogurt and mint) and muhammara (roasted red peppers with walnuts and pomegranate molasses). The restaurant has not yet announced any plans for the World Cup.
The dish: A meal might begin with a snack-sized lahmacun, a flatbread sprinkled with minced lamb and beef, parsley and lemon ($7). Kebabs are popular in Turkey, and here there are many varieties including the ali nazik or “Tenderloin Royale” ($36). Chunks of marinated sirloin sit atop a bed of smashed eggplant you scoop up with pillowy house bread; a drizzle of burnt paprika butter ties it together. And everything goes better with a glass of salgam, the sour cherry-tasting turnip drink that a server says she drinks like a nutritional shot.
Details: Open for lunch 11 a.m.-2 p.m. daily, brunch 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays and dinner 5-10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays and 4-11 p.m. Fridays-Sundays at 4640 Tassajara Road, Suite B, Dublin; bodrumdublin.com
Meyhouse, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, San Ramon
This family of stylish restaurants offers an upscale take on the meyhane, a traditional drinking-and-mezze restaurant found in Turkey and surrounding countries. The dishes of chef Omer Artun are rooted in tradition but bursting with creativity. Where else will you find a former physics expert serving house yogurt, whose mother culture he acquired more than a decade ago from a famous restaurant in his homeland?
The wine and raki are well-sourced and meant to pair with dishes like fire-grilled Galician octopus with creamy fava, butter-poached lamb liver and whipped Ezine cheese with roasted pistachios. The restaurant has not set any firm plans for the World Cup. But at two of its locations, Meyhouse has accompanying jazz clubs, so there will undoubtedly be some kind of lively entertainment.
The dish: Ballers might go with a chef’s tasting menu, “Little Little in the Middle,” a $99-per-person journey across Turkey’s regional flavors. For individual dishes, there is kopoglu, a classic mezze of eggplant roasted until it’s like custard and served with tomato sauce and garlicky yogurt ($19). The chef is also proud of the lakerda, a thousand-year-old recipe of preserved bonito, red onion, fresh dill and good olive oil ($28).
“In places that still care about tradition,” Artun says, “the quality of the lakerda tells you everything you need to know about the rest of the meal.”
Details: Open for lunch and dinner service at three locations in Palo Alto, Sunnyvale and San Ramon; for details, visit meyhouserestaurant.com.
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