Going to SoFi for the World Cup? Here Are Five Spots on the West Side That Locals Actually Go To.

Most “best of LA” guides were written by someone who’s never been past the 405. You can tell. These five spots span Venice to Inglewood. Some cost $10. Some cost $40. All of them are worth it, and none of them are going to ask you to scan a QR code.

SoFi Stadium in Inglewood hosts the USMNT’s opening World Cup match, a quarterfinal on July 10, and eight total games across the tournament. That means a lot of people are going to be in Inglewood and the surrounding west side of Los Angeles for the first time, standing outside a stadium wondering where to go before or after the match. This guide is for them.

The west side of this city has its own thing going on and most travel guides miss it entirely. The recs are always the same neighborhoods, the same type of place, the same energy. These five spots span Venice to Inglewood, all within 20 minutes of SoFi on a good traffic day. For everything the stadium itself offers and the broader Los Angeles World Cup picture, our Los Angeles World Cup guide has the full picture. This is specifically the five places worth leaving the couch for.

SoFi Stadium in Inglewood California hosting eight 2026 World Cup matches including the USMNT opener and the July 10 quarterfinal, surrounded by the West LA neighborhoods of Venice, Playa del Rey, and Santa Monica where visitors can find five local bars and restaurants worth knowing before and after the match — Eight World Cup matches at SoFi. The quarterfinal on July 10. All five spots on this list within 20 minutes on a good traffic day. On a bad one, 45 minutes, which in LA means they’re practically neighbors.

——— WHERE TO GO ———

Five West LA and Inglewood Spots Worth Knowing Before the Match

THE BEER

FIRESTONE WALKER PROPAGATOR · Craft brewery · Venice

1202 Lincoln Blvd, Venice

Most brewery taprooms in LA are Instagram sets with okay beer. The Propagator on Lincoln Blvd is the other thing: a working brewery where the taps rotate constantly because they’re actually brewing on site. You order from your phone, sit on the patio, and drink something that’s genuinely good. In a city full of places trying too hard to be something, this one just does the thing well. The Lager is always a safe landing spot, but if you see anything from their Barrelworks program, stop and get it.

Firestone Walker's Propagator brewery taproom on Lincoln Boulevard in Venice California, a working craft brewery where taps rotate constantly because the beer is brewed on site, the best craft beer stop on the West LA circuit for 2026 World Cup visitors between Venice and SoFi Stadium in Inglewood — A working brewery where the taps rotate because they’re actually brewing on site. The Lager is always a safe landing spot. If you see anything from the Barrelworks program, stop and get it. Weekday evenings, the patio opens up and you can hear the person across from you.

INSIDER TIP · Weekday evenings are the move. The weekend crowd is worth it, but Tuesday at 7pm the patio opens up and you can actually hear the person across from you.

THE PRE-GAME DINNER

SUNDAY GRAVY · Italian · Inglewood

1122 Centinela Ave, Inglewood

A few blocks from SoFi Stadium and the Kia Forum. That alone makes it a pre-game destination by default, but it’s not a game-day bar. It’s a neighborhood pasta spot with a Nipsey Hussle portrait on the wall, Lakers memorabilia, old-school R&B on the speakers, and fresh pasta made by Florentyna’s, a local Inglewood producer. The bread comes from Cadoro Bakery. Also Inglewood. They weren’t chasing a trend; they just know their neighbors. The lasagna is non-negotiable. The Caesar is better than it has any right to be at these prices.

Sunday Gravy restaurant in Inglewood California, the neighborhood Italian spot two blocks from SoFi Stadium with fresh pasta from local producer Florentyna's, bread from Cadoro Bakery, and a Nipsey Hussle portrait on the wall, the ideal pre-match dinner destination for 2026 World Cup visitors — Fresh pasta from Florentyna’s. Bread from Cadoro Bakery. Both Inglewood. A Nipsey Hussle portrait on the wall. Make a reservation. This place skews date night, which makes it the smarter pre-game move than every sports bar fighting for seats two blocks away.

INSIDER TIP · This place skews date night more than watch party, which makes it a smarter pre-game move. Everyone else is fighting for a seat at the sports bar two blocks away. Make a reservation. The room is small and they won’t rush your table, which you’ll appreciate once you’re in it.

THE DIVE BAR

THE SHACK · Dive bar · Playa del Rey

185 Culver Blvd, Playa del Rey

Playa del Rey got left behind when LA started optimizing itself for content creation. No rooftop bar. No DJ on Sundays. No $22 cocktail with a name that’s a movie reference. Just a beach, a jukebox, and The Shack, which has been doing the exact same thing since 1972. The Shack Burger is a quarter-pound patty with a grilled Louisiana hot link on top. If you’ve never had a hot link on a burger, this is your introduction, and it will quietly ruin all other burgers for a while.

INSIDER TIP · Saturday afternoon during football season the back patio fills with the kind of crowd that actually cares about the game. Dog-friendly patio, no judgment, $10 burger. That’s the whole pitch.

THE LANDMARK

BIG DEAN’S · Beach bar · Santa Monica

1615 Ocean Front Walk, Santa Monica

Big Dean’s opened as a lunch counter in 1902. Wilt Chamberlain drank here. Evel Knievel too, which explains the ambient energy. It sits at the foot of the Santa Monica Pier on Ocean Front Walk with 35 TVs, an outdoor patio facing the Pacific, cold draft beer, and a cheeseburger they call “the burger that made Santa Monica famous.” That last part might be marketing. The burger is still worth ordering. You come because you’re drinking a beer 20 feet from the Pacific Ocean at a place that has been doing exactly this since before your grandparents were born.

Big Dean's beach bar on Ocean Front Walk in Santa Monica California, the bar that opened as a lunch counter in 1902 and still serves cold draft beer 20 feet from the Pacific Ocean, the most historically significant spot on the West LA and Inglewood World Cup 2026 restaurant and bar guide — Opened in 1902. Wilt Chamberlain drank here. Evel Knievel too. 35 TVs, an outdoor patio facing the Pacific, cold draft beer. In a city that tears everything down and builds a mixed-use complex, this patio earns something.

INSIDER TIP · The food isn’t the reason to come. In a city that tears everything down and builds a mixed-use complex in its place, drinking a cold beer on this specific patio in 2026 earns something.

THE SPORTS BAR THAT ACTUALLY MEANS IT

THE GARAGE · Sports bar · Palms

3130 Motor Ave, Palms

Downtown Culver City has a lot of bars. Most of them are fine. The Garage, technically in Palms on Motor Ave, is the one that Philly fans found, claimed, told their friends about, and now it’s the one you go to when losing actually hurts. It used to be an auto shop. You can still feel that in the bones of the place. The beer list is serious, the bourbon and whiskey selection is deeper than you’d expect, and when a big game is on, the room has the kind of focused energy you want from a sports bar. Nobody there is performing. They’re watching the game.

The Garage sports bar on Motor Avenue in Palms Los Angeles, a converted auto shop with a serious beer and bourbon selection and the focused crowd energy of a room that actually watches the game, the best sports bar option near SoFi Stadium for 2026 World Cup visitors in West LA — It used to be an auto shop. You can still feel that in the bones of the place. The beer list is serious. The bourbon selection is deeper than you’d expect. When the game is on, nobody there is performing. They’re watching. Motor Club next door does karaoke after.

INSIDER TIP · Motor Club is literally next door and does karaoke on Fridays. Two different vibes, same block. Win the match, walk next door.

——— MORE RECOMMENDATIONS ———

Want More? COCINA’s Takeout & Talk Has You Covered.

For deeper food and restaurant recommendations across LA and beyond, COCINA’s podcast Takeout & Talk is the place to start. Hosted by Xorje Olivares — a proud Tejano from Eagle Pass, Texas, with a career spanning SiriusXM, NPR, Vice, and Rolling Stone — the show sits down with culture-shaping voices over delivery food. Takeout, still in the containers, and someone across from you worth talking to. Every episode maps the restaurants too: the Takeout & Talk map shows every spot and every order that’s made it onto the table. You can also find it on Spotify and all major streaming platforms.

All five are within 20 minutes of each other on a good traffic day. On a bad one, that’s still only 45 minutes, which in LA means they’re practically neighbors.

For the full Los Angeles World Cup picture, including the neighborhoods, the diaspora communities, and what the city looks like when 88 languages worth of soccer fans arrive at SoFi, that’s here.

The match is at SoFi. The west side is the rest of the trip.

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