Snapdragon Stadium is doubling down on featuring local restaurants, as well as bringing more options and elevated stadium foods to events this year.
The stadium, in partnership with San Diego FC, hosted a Taste of Snapdragon Stadium event on Tuesday, just days before the football club opens its 2026 Major League Soccer season opener in Mission Valley on Saturday. In addition to new menu items at eateries already established inside, it was announced that a few new food vendors will be added in 2026: The Fish Shop, Socal Street Dogs & Esquites and The Girls Deli.
The event featured 22 food items available this year, from eateries such as Buona Forchetta, Cali BBQ, Gaglione Brothers, Hodads, The Taco Stand and The Fish Shop. Stadium staff also shared their own creations.
Chefs at Snapdragon created their 12-inch Augusta (veggie) pizza with San Marzano tomato sauce, mozzarella, roasted garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, arugula and balsamic reduction. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
“We want the food to tie in with the community,” Snapdragon Executive Chef Enrique Hernandez said. “San Diego has a lot to offer in the culinary world, and it’s quite an experience and a pleasure to work and partner with other restaurants that we have here. Everybody’s unique in their own way, and the effort that our staff put into making their food, you know, it’s very special.”
After trying all 22 samples at the tasting, here are five goal-scoring food items and a few honorable mentions with an assist.
Ahi poke nachos, prepared with ahi marinated in soy sauce, ginger, crushed red pepper and sesame oil, topped with Sriracha aioli and avocado lime drizzle, and served over seaweed salad, cucumber and wontons, were among the new items added to the menu at Snapdragon Stadium on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026, in San Diego. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Ahi Poke Nachos
The Fish Shop is introducing super soft poke that melts in your mouth. It’s marinated in soy sauce, ginger, crushed red pepper and sesame oil and topped with a sriracha aioli and avocado lime sauce that gives a beautiful spicy kick at the end of each bite. Crispy and lightly fried wontons act as the nachos for this dish.
Barbacoa Quesadilla
It’s a simple cuisine of meat, cheese and a flour tortilla, but its the preparation that makes The Taco Stand’s barbacoa quesadilla shine. Hernandez said the braised beef is cooked for about six hours with ingredients such as apple cider vinegar, chipotle peppers, bay leaves and Mexican oregano. The beef is nicely tender with a savory taste from all the ingredients. It was slow-cooked and the flour tortilla has a buttery crispiness to it.
Caviar Blini Bar
This upscale and oddly tasty dish is available in the suites and club level. The blini is like a micro pancake made of buckwheat that is slightly nutty. It’s crowned with savory and thinly sliced smoked salmon, creamy caviar, buttery crème fraiche, chives and pickled shallots. Weirdly, all the flavors blend well together, and it makes the bilini richer and less dry.
El Perro Caliente
Socal Street Dogs & Esquites is transporting an over-the-top TJ-style hot dog to Snapdragon Stadium that is loaded with condiments that hit many flavor pallets. The foot-long hotdog is salty and savory from the bacon wrapped around it, spicy from hot sauce, jalapenos and hot cheetos, and messy from the ketchup, mustard, mayo and grilled onions.
S’mores Nachos
This dessert is for chocolate lovers and those with a sweet tooth. It’s a combination of cinnamon sugar-dusted flour tortilla chips as the base and a gooey marshmallow spread, chocolate sauce, mini marshmallows, graham cracker crumbs and chocolate chips on top. The best part is that the sweet nacho chips stay crunchy, even with all the heavy fixings.
Honorable mentions
Chefs at Snapdragon prepared fresh mango, watermelon, jicama, cucumber, Tajin, chamoy and lime to create Baja street fruit cups. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
New to the regular concession offerings, the Baja-style fruit cups are a light and refreshing snack containing slices of watermelon, mango, jicama and cucumber and they are garnished with chamoy, lime juice and Tajin. The mini lamb chops are a classic treat for carnivores. It’s glazed with a rosemary butter and cooked medium to medium rare.
Chefs cooked mini lamb chops in rosemary butter, were among the new items added to the menu at Snapdragon Stadium on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026, in San Diego. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The Freak from The Girls Deli in North Park is a hot sandwich with salty pastrami, brisket, melted jack cheese, bacon, mustard, spicy sriracha mayo, onions, and jalapeños. Herdandez said this item was one that fans requested.
The classic fish and chips were prepared with Alaskan cod and served with fries and cocktail and tartar sauce at Snapdragon Stadium on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026, in San Diego. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The Fish Shop’s fish and chip plate is also a new dish by request, according to Hernandez. The fish is Alaskan cod, lightly fried and served in strips with cocktail and tartar sauce on the side. The fresh fries are shoestring style.