It will very likely open in Highland Park with dinner and patio service

Highly Likely opened a second location on Friday, November 17, in Highland Park. The 5,000-square-foot restaurant is located day and night across the street from Rosty Peruvian and Checker Hall, and one block from the always crowded Villas Tacos. The latest location shares a similar ambiance to the original location in West Adams, however, the new location features spacious seating areas, a full dinner menu, and an indoor/outdoor bar serving cocktails.

The Highland Park location, which occupies office space formerly occupied by an architecture firm, has been in the works for some time after failed attempts to open a second restaurant in West Adams, co-owner and chef Kat Turner tells Eater. Also behind the project are partners Carrie Mosier of Gracias Madre, and wife-and-husband team Chelsea and Alex Matthews; Chelsea owns another company while Alex owns Here Studio.

Turner hopes the Highland Park restaurant will attract a similar group of regulars as the original. “In West Adams, we have this kind of place where some people come in every day, or at least four times a week and they get the same thing every time,” Turner says. “I’m here to please those creatures of habit.”

Highly Likely offers fast casual service and light breakfast and lunch items including sandwiches, salads and plates from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The strong coffee menu is managed by Dayglow’s Emily Elmore.

Turner and Sous Chef Christian Sanchez’s dinner menu comes alive from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The menu includes yuzu eggs, steak tartare, and chicken liver mousse, as well as a Mediterranean fattoush salad with lettuce, cucumber, and chickpeas. Onions, dried cherries, feta and crispy pita. Vegetarian diners can order a Caesar salad made without anchovies and cheese. The Midwestern comforts of Turner’s childhood, including fettuccine Alfredo, chicken fried steak and beef tenderloin, also appear on the evening menu. For dessert, Turner fries rice pudding stuffed with gianduja and tops it with a Copali Rum crème anglaise sauce for a sweet arancini flavour.

The cocktail menu at Bar Franca’s Diana Danaila includes a Paloma made with a mix of tequila, Espadin Mezcal, grapefruit, and citrus soda. Also on the drinks menu are beer, wine, negronis, martinis, margaritas and cocktails. Pina Colada Slushes and Daiquiri Slushes are distributed on weekends only. The outdoor bar will remain closed until dinner, although outdoor seating is available at all times.

In the lead-up to the opening, community protesters picketed outside Highly Possible in August to protest gentrification and the emergence of upcoming restaurants seeking liquor licenses. Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council President Angela Gonzalez Torres objected to Highly Likely’s liquor license application. “It’s a protest I made to the state (alcoholic beverage control) as an individual and I will move forward with my community behind me,” Gonzalez Torres tells Eater. Eater was unable to confirm whether the complaint had been filed with ABC.

Turner tells Eater that he’s very likely to respond to community outcry on two fronts. First, the restaurant partnered with Community Spirit vodka to raise money for the nonprofit No Us With You. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each bottle will be donated to the non-profit that benefits undocumented restaurant workers. Second, Highly Likely hires directly from the community wherever possible. “We’ve really focused on hiring people who live in Highland Park,” Turner says. “We are ready to have talks and find ways to coexist.”

Highly Likely is located at 5526 N. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90042. Hours are Tuesday through Sunday 8am-3pm and 5pm-10pm, with hours expanding in the coming weeks.

Evan Robinson