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Highland Park's food and culture scene is as strong as ever in June 2026, with a buzzy new French bakery drawing morning crowds on York Boulevard and beloved neighborhood anchors like El Huarache Azteca, Highland Park Bowl, and Lodge Room still firing on all cylinders.
What's New in Highland Park (June 2026)
The most-talked-about newcomer right now is Fondry, a French-style bakery and café that's landed near the Eagle Rock–Highland Park border on York Boulevard and has been pulling long lines since it opened. People are showing up early — and we mean early — for the croissants. Laminated, golden, properly shattered on the outside. If you're the kind of person who sets an alarm for pastry, this is your place.
Along Figueroa and York, smaller boutique and food concepts continue to rotate in and out, keeping the corridor feeling alive and a little unpredictable. It's worth a slow walk on a weekend morning — you'll find something new every few weeks.
Best Restaurants in Highland Park
El Huarache Azteca (5225 York Blvd) remains the neighborhood's most essential table. The huaraches are the size of a small surfboard and cost about what a coffee used to. Cash-friendly, no-frills, deeply correct. Go hungry.
York Boulevard as a whole rewards the hungry explorer. The stretch between Avenue 50 and Avenue 56 has enough variety — tacos, Vietnamese, pizza, sit-down Mexican — that you could eat your way through a weekend without repeating yourself.
Galco's Soda Pop Stop (5702 York Blvd) isn't a restaurant, but it belongs in any eating conversation. The selection of craft and imported sodas is genuinely staggering — hundreds of bottles, organized with obsessive care. Grab something strange and citrusy to wash down whatever you just ate on York.
Best Bars and Nightlife in Highland Park
The Hermosillo is the neighborhood's living room bar — friendly, unpretentious, and reliably good. It draws a mixed crowd, pours well, and doesn't try too hard. Exactly what a neighborhood bar should be.
Highland Park Bowl (5621 N Figueroa St) is one of the more atmospheric places to spend a Friday night in all of Northeast LA. The 1927 bowling alley has been beautifully restored, and the food and cocktails punch well above typical lane fare. Reserve a lane in advance — it fills up fast on weekends in June.
Lodge Room (104 N Ave 56) anchors the live music end of the neighborhood. The converted Masonic hall has exceptional acoustics and a booking calendar that skews indie, folk, and alternative. Check their June lineup — summer shows here are a genuine Highland Park ritual.
Things to Do in Highland Park This Weekend
Start Saturday morning at Fondry on York for a croissant before the line gets unwieldy — aim for before 9am. Walk the York corridor south toward Galco's and browse the soda wall. Pick up something you've never heard of.
Spend the afternoon at Sycamore Grove Park (4702 N Figueroa St), Highland Park's most underrated green space. The grove itself is genuinely beautiful, and the park connects to the Arroyo Seco Bike Path if you want to stretch the afternoon into something longer.
For dinner, grab a table at El Huarache Azteca and order more than you think you need. Then walk to The Hermosillo for a drink and see where the night goes. If Lodge Room has a show, that's your closer.
Sunday mornings belong to the York Boulevard corridor in general — slower traffic, open storefronts, good light. It's the kind of neighborhood that rewards wandering without a plan.