The 2026 FIFA World Cup has officially kicked off, and there is a new place to watch it in Greenpoint, where food is as much of a draw as the matches.
Socceria, the new futbol-centric cantina from the team behind the award-winning Taqueria Ramirez, opened June 11 in the former Nura space at 46 Norman Avenue. The bar and restaurant will operate daily from noon to midnight through the World Cup final on July 19, with reservations opening soon.
The venture brings together Giovanni Cervantes and Tania Apolinar, the couple behind Taqueria Ramirez, and local partners Josh Borock and John Hilmes. The group first became friends during the pandemic while gathering at Greenpoint’s Transmitter Park, where Cervantes and Apolinar had begun cooking tacos for the neighborhood. It was Borock who first floated the idea of a soccer bar from the Ramirez team.
Cervantes and Apolinar opened Taqueria Ramirez in 2021, turning the tiny Greenpoint taqueria into one of New York City’s most celebrated taco destinations (including a favorite of Mayor Zohran Mamdani). They followed it with the James Beard-nominated Carnitas Ramirez in the East Village in 2024, a pork-focused concept serving up to 15 different cuts of the pig. And more projects are underway with another Taqueria Ramirez location coming soon to Carroll Gardens, alongside a non-taqueria seafood-centric concept set to open in the West Village later this summer, plus Socceria. And if that weren’t enough, amid all these expansions, Cervantes was also named a finalist for the 2026 James Beard Award for Best Chef: New York State. (The award ultimately went to Hooni Kim of Meju.)
Cerantes and Apolinar are working on opening a West Village Mexican seafood bar, El Camaron Peludo, and a second Taqueria Ramirez with a focus on charcoal grilling in Carroll Gardens. Both are set to open sometime this summer.
A Place to Watch Fútbol
Going from two tiny, counter-service taco shops to a full-service restaurant designed around sports viewing felt like a natural next step for Cervantes. “The more I advance into this project, the more I get to know how important and relevant football is for the people around me—they already have established their own communities around this,” says Cervantes. “New York is a particularly special space for that, obviously, because of the crosscultural aspect and people coming from all over the world. But sometimes sports sort of belong to a certain country or like a certain region of the world, but soccer is really the most global sport.
While searching for a location, the team often referenced Nura as a model for the type of atmosphere they hoped to create. “We wanted to generate a great atmosphere, that is unlike a dive or Irish bar,” remarks Cervantes. “Airy and bright with the latest technology and obviously great food.” Then they learned Nura was closing and the space would become available.
The 3,500-square-foot venue that is now Socceria preserves many of the architectural highlights that defined Nura. High ceilings, large windows, and a skylight above the kitchen keep the room well-lit throughout the day. For match viewing, the team installed a 12-foot LED screen and a large projector, ensuring nearly every seat has a clear view of the action.
More Than Bar Food
Socceria’s menu draws directly from the cantina culture Cervantes grew up with in Mexico City, where guests often linger for hours eating and drinking at a steady pace, while chatting or watching a match. “You start with a simple dish, and as you go—and as you keep drinking too—your plates start getting bigger and bigger,” he says of watching fútbol at Mexican cantinas. “It’s the perfect space to eat as much as you drink or drink as much as you eat.” To recreate that experience, he designed a menu that begins with smaller dishes and builds toward larger plates as the game progresses.
Breakfast offerings include chilaquiles, huevos estrellados con hoja santa, and huevos ahogados en chile pasilla.
Happy hour, running from 4 to 6 p.m., offers street-food classics like bacon-wrapped hot dogs and al pastor wings. But the real standout is the legendary Ramirez Burger—a beef and longaniza patty marinated in pastor adobo and finished with sharp cheddar, habanero aioli, and grilled pineapple.. Dinner service from 6 to 10 p.m. shifts toward larger cantina dishes like carne asada, chile poblano, chicharrón in salsa verde, and, of course, a variety of tacos, plus sides like tostadas de salpicón, frijoles charros (beans), and queso fundido (cheese dip).
Cocktails—including a mojito, a classic margarita, and tequila-and-grapefruit palomazo—run about $16. International draft beers from eight countries cost $8, while wine is available for $12 a glass. Agua frescas round out the beverage menu with a tasty NA option.
“I want food to be as equally relevant as having your favorite beer or your favorite drink—and for people to feel like we’re taking care of them,” says Cervantes. “That is what the cantina concept really is.”
A Future Beyond the World Cup
Given its cultural ambitions, it makes sense that Socceria would time its opening sequence with our current football moment. The bar soft-opened to a full house on May 30 for the Champions League Final, when Paris Saint-Germain defeated Arsenal. It had two more soft openings on June 6 and 7, before its hard-launch opening on the first day of the World Cup, June 11.
And while the World Cup has an end point, Socceria plans to be around long after the final whistle. The team has additional plans for the space, including a high-tech bar crown outfitted with televisions that can be raised or lowered depending on whether games are on, “like a spaceship” Cervantes says.
“We are planning to be a year-round soccer bar, amplifying a lot of what football has to give to the whole world,” says Cervantes, who plans to show MLS and Premier League matches. “And besides enjoying a great game with great company, I can’t wait to see people just having great food.”
