REVIEW: Highly Likely - Highland Park
Cafe by Day, Wine Bar by Night
I would like everyone to know that I am currently writing this from within Highly Likely - Highland Park. This little trip will mark my 5th visit to Highly Likely, which I believe is an apt amount of times to visit before making an official decision. (NOTE: I am also of the belief that some places are only worthy of one visit, and that visit can tell you everything you need to know, HOWEVER, I feel for a thorough review it is necessary to try a lot of different things, come with friends and get their perspectives, etc.)
A couple of weeks ago I asked my followers over on Instagram: what do you look for when looking for a restaurant? What things are important for you/do you mainly consider when making your choice? Here are the things that my followers deemed as the most important:
Aesthetic (the vibe/aura/energy of the space included)
Price
Food quality/presentation
Food/drink options
Parking
I believe that this is all encompassing and hopefully, through rating each of these categories with a 5 star scale will even out to a fair score. I am a Letterboxd user first, human being second, so the 5 star scale felt most comfortable to me. An additional layer that I’m going to add, specifically for cafes, is Remote work friendliness. While I long for a large ancient library within which to study, I fear that it will be eons before something like this comes to LA, so I will carry on and fight the good fight, testing out one cafe with free Wifi at a time, so you don’t have to.
So, without further ado, let’s get into it!
Aesthetic ★★★★★
I feel that before I start this portion of the review, I need to preface that I am a proud minimalist-all-white/all-black coffee shop HATER. I think they are an eyesore, trite, and frankly too sterile. I believe that a place to enjoy a food or drink should be a space that welcomes community, not a sterile cubicle sans the partitions with hard as hell chairs. I sincerely hope that we are on the same page about that, dear reader, because if we are not then you might never be able to trust my Aesthetic reviews.
Now that that’s out of the way, I want to emphasize that Highly Likely is not that. It is warm, inviting, and there are plenty of tables to sit at. Want to sit in a booth, they’ve got it. Want to sit at the counter, they’ve got it. Feeling a bit stuffy inside and want something more serene, guess what, their outdoor area has got it! The first time I came here I was greeted by this super friendly cat sitting with a table full of young moms who were all so sweet. (Note: this cat is not guaranteed when you visit, but seeing this sweet little lady added the overall neighborhood vibe so she is worth mentioning!)
Price ★★★☆☆
Price is a bit of a tricky one - I am accustomed to LA pricing at this point and I think that Highly Likely is pretty average in terms of pricing for other new/up-and-coming coffee shops/wine bars. There are some items that I feel are a bit overpriced, but this is mainly things that are only available after 5pm. I asked some of my friends who I brought here while they were visiting from out of town, and these were their thoughts:
Friend #1:
Drink: latte was delicious, slurped the soul out of that thang
Food: breakfast burrito was also delicious from what I remember
Bang for buck: not great from recollection, burrito wasn’t all too big and no sides came with it except a measly carrot
Ambiance: beautiful space with a chance to meet boygenius**
Friend #2: Latte was YUM and nice creamy/milky¿? burrito was sooo good but yeah no sides!?
So yes, everything was super delicious and the ingredients seem well sourced, but the lack of sides makes it a hard to warrant the high prices.
**during this visit we ran into 2/3 of boygenius, further endearing myself to this space
Food quality/presentation ★★★★☆
This is the section where I’ll talk through each thing I’ve had here -
Vanilla Latte with Oatmilk - YES I am a vanilla latte with oat girl and I truly believe it is such a simple way to test any coffeeshop. While this vanilla latte is great cold, I personally will always order it hot (even today where we’re working with a high of 90°F). Something about the way that the milk is foamed is such an incredible texture, it transforms coffee from being something to get energy for the day into a sweet treat to start the morning.
Breakfast Sando - This was the thing that really wow’d me about Highly Likely on my first visit - this breakfast sandwich was DELICIOUS. Eggs how you like them, roasted tomatoes, sheep’s cheese, their house hot sauce, and SO. MANY. HERBS. All of this is then lovingly placed between two slices of Bub & Grandma’s focaccia - quality that I know I love because that is who makes the sourdough bread loafs that I buy every week!
Steak au Poivre - This was the same day as my first visit, I had my boyfriend come drive down to Highly Likely after my hair appointment and we made a little date night out of it! We got some other items, most of which I can’t remember at the moment, but I do remember this Steak au Poivre. I felt as though the bang for buck here was not worth is - I know that steak is hard for restaurants as the margins can be pretty low, but I still felt like 5 little strips of steak with some fries for $30 is a little hard to defend.
Zen Mode (drink) - This was delicious, but again, $16 for a drink was definitely not the best for the bank account.
Chilaquiles - The chilaquiles were gorgeous, but looks aren’t everything, so I’m happy to report they also tasted incredible! More on the acidic side than I typically like, but that is to be expected with Chilaquiles.
Kyoto Bowl - What I’m currently munchin’ on while writing this! I’ll admit, I did need to ask for salt for this one, but once I sprinkled some on it was perfect! Nice and comforting with some yummy frazzled onions on top.
Food/drink options ★★★★☆
Luckily, they have a PDF version of their menu online, so take a look if you’d like!
I think that the breadth and depth of their menu is amazing. While they have a lot of sandwiches/things on toast, they also offer some great salads, rice bowls, and egg dishes - and that’s just for breakfast! I truly feel as though there is a large variety of options and you could bring just about anyone here and they will find something they would like!
Parking ★★★☆☆
There is no assigned parking lot for Highly Likely, which is a little bit stressful, but such is the plight of any Los Angeles coffee shop. Luckily, right off Figueroa there are numerous residential streets that boast free parking - it might not be the street right off of Highly Likely, but you are highly likely (I’m rolling my eyes at myself) to find something!
I’m giving this category 3 stars because obviously it would be nice to feel a sense of security, knowing you will get a parking spot. On the other hand, Highland Park residential street parking is free, which is super rare in other more densely populated areas of the city.
Remote Work Friendliness ★★★★☆
They have incredibly reliable and quick internet, but just a warning, they are only a cafe in the morning! After 5pm, this neighborhood cafe transitions into a sweet date spot and wine bar, a point that they will not let you easily forget.
There are a lot of open seats - only once have a I come where I’ve had to wait for another table to leave and that was with a group of 4, so there are plenty of spots for a lone remote worker to settle in for the day.
The one thing I will say, I cannot for the life of me find any outlets here! I recall having one during my first stay, but as I glance around right now I can’t find any which is a bit of a deterrent for a full day working visit.
IN SUMMARY: The final rating for Highly Likely is 3.8/5 stars! I truly love this space - a remote workers paradise that seamlessly transitions into a great place to grab drinks. A beautiful space, with beautifully delicious food, and an extensive drink menu, where locals and out-of-towners alike can enjoy an enchanting place to gather. I would 100% recommend Highly Likely!