Best Group Dining Restaurants in Highland Park
8 hand-picked restaurants, critic-reviewed and ranked
Last Updated: February 2026
Our Top Pick
The Greyhound Bar & Grill
Chef-driven Midwestern-style wings with tons of sauces in a true neighborhood sports bar.
Notable Picks
8.8
A Highland Park sports bar cornerstone since 2014, The Greyhound is known citywide for its Great Lakes–style hot wings and game-day energy. Happy hour and game-time “Blue Hour” specials make piling into a booth with a platter of saucy wings and a cold beer feel like a ritual.
Must-Try Dishes:
Greyhound Wings (Bone-In), Judgment Day Wings, Schlitz Can Chicken
What Makes it Special: Chef-driven Midwestern-style wings with tons of sauces in a true neighborhood sports bar.
#2
Hippo
8.8
Tucked behind a former post office, Hippo is chef Matt Molina’s Cal-Italian dining room with handmade pastas and wood-grilled mains in a tall, buzzing space. It sits at the intersection of neighborhood hangout and destination date-night, with a menu that changes often but leans heavily on seasonal produce and technique.
Must-Try Dishes:
Hippo house rolls with honey butter and sea salt, Tagliolini with duck ragù, Ricotta tortelloni in lemon butter
What Makes it Special: James Beard–decorated chef-driven Cal-Italian with standout pastas in a lofty room.
#3
Checker Hall
8.6
Checker Hall transforms a restored 1920s Masonic hall into a Mediterranean-leaning supper-and-cocktails room with shareable mezze, skewers, and composed plates. The menu blends California produce with dishes like labneh, seared halloumi, and harissa-spiced vegetables, so it works as well for a full dinner as it does for snacks with drinks. A buzzy bar, balcony views over Figueroa, and ties to the Lodge Room music venue make it a fixture of Highland Park nights out.
Must-Try Dishes:
Roasted Harissa Carrots, Seared Halloumi Salad, Baja Shrimp Skewers
What Makes it Special: Part restaurant, part cocktail den, Checker Hall pairs Mediterranean-leaning plates with a dramatically lit 1920s Masonic hall setting.
#4
Mala Class
8.5
Mala Class is a modern Sichuan dining room where crisp mala wings share menu space with dan dan noodles and numbing small plates. Opened in 2024, it’s already a buzzy York Blvd destination for sharp, chili-forward flavors and a compact, design-forward room.
Must-Try Dishes:
Mala Wings, Dan Dan Noodles, Mushroom Fries
What Makes it Special: Modern Sichuan dining where mala wings share spotlight with noodle classics.
8.4
Ggiata’s Highland Park outpost brings East Coast Italian deli swagger to York with overstuffed hot and cold sandwiches on charred seeded baguettes. The narrow dining room, mosaic floors, and counter seating make it a lively spot for saucy, crunchy chicken cutlets and classic Italian combos.
Must-Try Dishes:
Spicy P, The Masterpiece, The Classic Italian
What Makes it Special: East Coast–style Italian deli sandwiches with serious crunch and sauce.
8.3
El Pescador is a long-running Mexican marisquería where towering molcajetes, ceviches, and whole-fish platters anchor a full bar with beer and cocktail happy hour specials. With TVs tuned to sports, big booths, and hearty portions, it’s a dependable early-evening meetup for groups craving seafood-forward Mexican plates and margaritas.
Must-Try Dishes:
Molcajete Double with mixed seafood and meats, Caldo de camarón, Shrimp aguachile
What Makes it Special: Seafood-heavy Mexican menu with true food-and-drink happy hour.
8.3
Belle’s Delicatessen & Bar turns the beloved Belle’s Bagels pop-up into a full-on Jewish deli and nighttime hangout, with double-fermented bagels, hefty pastrami sandwiches, and cocktails like the pickle martini. The room blends vintage memorabilia with a busy bar, making it as good for a late-night Reuben as a brunchy bacon-egg-and-cheese.
Must-Try Dishes:
Bacon, Egg & Cheese Bagel, Reuben, Westlake Sandwich
What Makes it Special: An all-day Jewish deli where serious bagel sandwiches meet a real bar.
8.3
Born in Orange County in 2014 and now a West Coast mini-empire, Afters’ Highland Park shop channels the brand’s social-media-famous energy into cereal-inspired scoops and their signature Milky Bun. Late hours, colorful interiors, and big, indulgent flavors make it a go-to dessert stop after dinner on Figueroa.
Must-Try Dishes:
Milk & Cereal scoop, Cookie Monster Milky Bun, Ube Brownie ice cream
What Makes it Special: Flashy, trend-driven ice cream with flavors and Milky Buns built for late-night cravings and photos.