Spartan football: 5 great spots for a meal near San Jose’s CEFCU Stadium

There could be any number of reasons why you’d leave hungry after a San Jose State Spartans football game. We’ve experienced them all. Maybe the concession lines were way too long, and you didn’t want to miss any of the action on the field. Perhaps the refs threw flags for every little thing, making the game a long day’s journey into night. And there’s no way you could leave your seats at halftime and miss the spectacular Spartan Marching Band.

Clearly, you need dining options. The location of SJSU’s CEFCU Stadium on South Campus offers football fans the opportunity to explore the diverse culinary scenes in nearby Little Saigon, East San Jose, the SJSU campus community and downtown San Jose.

Here are five recommendations:

Pho Ha Noi

Little Saigon residents flock to Helen and Harry Nguyen’s original Pho Ha Noi, located in the center of the Vietnam Town complex, for classic cuisine made with top-tier ingredients.

Bowls of long-simmered pho (featuring oxtail, chicken, even a 1-pound short rib) are wildly popular here, but don’t overlook the specialties: That savory favorite, Shaking Beef, is made with Harris Ranch ribeye. Roasted free-range birds from Stockton Poultry are featured in the chicken platters. And Bun Cha — grilled pork with vermicelli — has been a hit here and across the United States ever since then-President Obama ordered it in Vietnam, the couple says. Their version is made with pork from Yosemite Meats.

The beverage lineup runs the gamut, with Vietnamese salted-cream coffee, ube smoothie, coconut juice with Kumquat, salty lemon soda and more supplementing the beer, tea, coffee, soda and juice options.

By the way, if you’re heading home to the East Bay or the Peninsula after the game, check out the couple’s Pho Ha Noi restaurants in Fremont (the newest), Milpitas, Cupertino or Palo Alto.

The dish: Two of us fought over the Vietnamese Sizzling Steak ($21), sliced and sauced prime filet mignon, served with a pork-and-chicken-liver pate, fries and sunny-side egg.

Details: Open daily for lunch and dinner starting at 10 a.m. On game days (Friday, Saturday) the restaurant serves until 10 p.m. Vietnam Town, 969 Story Road, No. 6048, San Jose.

Acopio

On South 24th Street, a little more than two miles from the stadium, you’ll find a charming family story and great contemporary Mexican food.

Second-generation siblings (and trained chefs) Lorena and Carlos Vidrio of the Taqueria Lorena family redesigned the original space and reopened it as a modern Mexican bistro in 2022. Both inside and outside, geometric Aztec-style elements are set against a palette of colors that evoke Mexico — cactus, molcajete, adobe.

Heritage flavors and practices blend with the contemporary. Soft, supple tortillas — handmade from corn nixtamalized onsite — star in the tacos champinones, camarones al pastor, carnitas de pancita and carne de res. The Tabla de Queso brings a platter of Mexican cheeses, tomatillo jam, chile honey, nuts and fruit dulce. Cool dishes include aguachile, ceviches and a paddle cactus salad.

The tequila- and mezcal-centric bar mixes a dozen signature cocktails and several margaritas.

The dish: No question. That Mole Poblano con Pato ($30) is a stunner, beautifully cooked and composed, texturally interesting and Instagram-gorgeous. The preparation style varies throughout the year; currently the duck leg comes with honey-glazed rainbow carrots and carrot-escabeche puree.

Details: Dinner is served from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, until 10 p.m Saturday. 399 S. 24th St., San Jose; www.acopiosj.com

Scott’s Seafood

For nearly 40 years, Scott’s has been feeding the seafood cravings of Spartans, first at CityView Plaza in downtown San Jose and since 2020, along South First Street, where this classy spot is expected to help anchor a new restaurant row.

Request a table inside or on the heated patio and start with a cup or bowl of the classic clam chowder or the cognac-tinged lobster bisque. Among the appetizers, the jumbo lump crab cakes with spicy remoulade are a longtime customer favorite.

Are you in the mood for fresh fish — grilled halibut or almond-crusted blue nose bass? Or a Bay Area classic such as Scott’s famous Cioppino or petrale sole dore? The menu offers those, along with pasta-and-seafood dishes, steaks, chops and seafood salads.

It’s a more casual lineup for weekday lunch, with a lobster roll, fish ‘n’ chips, Scott’s burger and a chicken club.

The dish: We’ve always thought the Seafood Saute ($43), with its simple lemon butter sauce, shows off the scallops, prawns and crab to good advantage.

Details: Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday-Friday, and dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday and 4:30 to 8 p.m. Sunday at 200 S. First St., San Jose; www.scottsseafoodsj.com.

Naglee Park Garage

Located just a block from campus, the Garage is a favorite of neighbors in the SJSU campus community — and it was featured by Guy Fieri on “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” back in 2010.

Chef Mark Ostrowski, the owner for the last decade, adds seasonal touches to a solid lineup of American cuisine. There are four starters, including irresistible bacon-balsamic Brussels sprouts and an ever-evolving burrata appetizer; two meal-size salads, a Caesar and a Naglee Cobb with cranberry, apple, gorgonzola, chicken and a maple vinaigrette; two burgers, including a plant-based version; and two entrees, pan-seared salmon linguine and a bourbon-peppercorn New York strip steak with sides.

The selection of wines and craft beers is thoughtfully curated, and the sangria is housemade.

Enjoy the food and drinks inside at the bar, at one of the small tables — we love the funky, rustic vintage look of the interior — or outside on the cool, leafy patio.

The dish: It’s hard to pass up the shareable, homemade vanilla bread pudding, crowned with sea-salt caramel, toasted pecans and orange-cardamom whipped cream ($13).

Details: Open from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday-Saturday (and until 8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday) at 505 E. San Carlos St., San Jose; www.nagleeparkdining.com.

Togo’s

Back in the day, when little to no food was sold at Spartan Stadium, SJSU students would line up on East William Street to buy deli sandwiches to eat in the stands — while hungry alums nearby stared with jealousy.

That was the original Togo’s. San Jose State student Mike Cobler bought a sandwich joint with a funky wooden exterior in 1971 and set about making sandwiches stuffed the way he liked them — and figured dormitory dwellers and others would go for them, too.

While that Togo’s is long gone, there is a location not far from CEFCU Stadium for a tasty and sentimental stop before or after the game. The good ol’ No. 9, Pastrami, remains the best seller, followed by the No. 24, Turkey & Avocado. (Almost no one had heard of Turkey & Avocado when Togo’s introduced that combo in 1974.) Cheesesteaks are popular now, too, and a BBQ Beef is the summer addition.

The dish: Our go-to is the classic No. 16, The Italian, stacked with Genoa salami, cotto salami, mortadella, capicola and provolone cheese and drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette.

Details: Open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 1430 Monterey Road, San Jose. www.togos.com