Where to Eat in Highland Park: Tacos, Donuts, Vegetarian Brunch and Pizza

Blue-corn tortillas pressed to order, three locations deep

Villa's Tacos serves Los Angeles-style tacos on handmade blue-corn tortillas. The tortillas are nistamalized blue corn pressed to order. The business operates three locations in Los Angeles.

The Highland Park #1 location at 5455 N Figueroa is open Monday through Sunday from 12:00 PM to 10:00 PM. The Grand Central Market location at 317 South Broadway is open Monday through Sunday from 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM. The third location at 6103 N Figueroa is open Monday through Sunday from 12:00 PM to 9:00 PM.

The menu at locations I & II includes tacos, queso tacos, mulitas, vegan options, salsas, and aguas frescas. That menu is exclusive to those locations. Fillings include chicken thigh, skirt steak, pork chorizo, potatoes, grilled soyrizo, and black beans with cactus. Specialty sampler trios include two off-menu tacos. All orders are served with radish, lime wedges, and hibiscus-pickled onions.

The third location has its own menu, exclusive to that address. It features an exclusive lineup of Baja seafood, mesquite-grilled tacos, and new flavors. The kitchen serves Baja-style beer-battered fish and shrimp tacos, and Mexican mesquite-grilled tacos. Vegetarian tacos include sweet potato and mushroom options.

Villa's Tacos started in 2018 as a front yard pop-up at Chef Victor Villa's grandmother's home in Highland Park. It won its first L.A. Taco Madness title in 2021 and in 2022 became the first and only three-time Taco Madness Champion. The first brick-and-mortar location opened in February 2023. Villa's earned its first Michelin Bib Gourmand distinction in July 2023, beginning a three-year streak. Chef Victor Villa appeared on Netflix's Taco Chronicles: Cross the Border in November 2023. The third location opened in March 2025, introducing a seafood concept inspired by Baja-style cooking. In February 2026, Victor Villa joined Bad Bunny during the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show. Future locations are planned for South Pasadena, Atwater, Hollywood, and Las Vegas.

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5455 N Figueroa, Los Angeles, CA 90042 · Official website

Plant-based donuts and ice cream on York Boulevard

Donut Friend has been making plant-based donuts and ice cream in Los Angeles since 2013. All products are made in house by hand in small batches every day. The shop describes its donuts as punk rock-inspired creations, with inventive flavors that strike a balance between traditional donuts and donuts that push boundaries.

The Highland Park shop at 5107 York Blvd is described on the website as where it all began. Its phone number is (213) 908-2745. Hours are 7AM to 9PM Sunday through Thursday and 7AM to 10PM on Friday and Saturday. There is a second location in DTLA at 543 S Broadway, open 7AM to 7PM every day, with phone number (213) 908-2743.

The menu includes signature donuts, mochi donuts described as sweet rice cake donuts with a variety of glazes and toppings, and plant-based ice cream branded Creamo Ice Cream®. The shop also offers donut ice cream sandwiches, donut ice cream sundaes, and donuts turned into shakes. The menu rotates four times a year, with unique items introduced during holidays or special events. Special orders include miniature donuts, donut letters, and giant donuts.

Customers can place orders online for delivery or pickup. The shop advertises low fees and no markup for online orders compared with ordering apps. The website has a contact form for customer inquiries.

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5107 York Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90042 · Official website

A vegetarian cafe on Figueroa, with a plant-based bakery next door

Kitchen Mouse Cafe is located at 5904 N Figueroa St in Highland Park. The cafe is open daily from 8am to 4pm, and its phone number is (844) 590-4344. It opened on Figueroa in 2014 as a tiny vegetarian cafe with fewer than 20 seats. The founder is named Erica. Kitchen Mouse Catering started in 2012 in the founder's personal kitchen.

The original brunch menu was inspired by catering clients' requests for vegan and gluten-free food. Pancakes are described as the cafe's forever best seller. In 2016 the cafe expanded into the neighboring space, adding more tables and chairs, covering the walls in its signature mint green, and building a kids' play area. Kitchen Mouse Bakery opened in 2021 and is entirely plant-based.

The cafe is known for pancakes, sauces, focaccia, cookies, waffles, breakfast sandwiches, and chilaquiles, along with vegan and gluten-free pastries and flavor-forward vegetarian food. It serves breakfast, lunch, pastries, and coffee. The cafe is mostly vegan but not entirely: eggs are available and dairy milk is offered at the coffee bar. The bakery is entirely plant-based. Gluten-free food has been part of Kitchen Mouse since the beginning, including pastries and pancakes.

Kitchen Mouse Cafe and Kitchen Mouse Bakery are next to each other in Highland Park. The bakery is at 111 S Avenue 59 and is open 8am to 3pm. Catering has been omnivorous from the start, with plenty of vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. Catering serves photoshoots, production sets, offices, meetings, parties, weddings, and private events throughout Los Angeles. Catering office hours are Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm; the catering contact email is Catering@KitchenMouseLA.com and the phone number is (323) 256-2683. General questions can be sent to hello@kitchenmousela.com, and job seekers can send resumes to jobs@kitchenmousela.com.

The cafe has cookie jars and quirky spaces where people celebrate birthdays and first dates. A Kitchen Mouse cookbook is planned for release soon. Kitchen Mouse describes itself as a bakery, a destination, a neighborhood cafe, and a catering company. The cafe has been operating for more than a decade. It takes Thanksgiving pre-orders with an order deadline of November 20th, and offers seasonal menus and specials via a newsletter.

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5904 N Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90042 · Official website

Roman pizza by the slice on Figueroa

Triple Beam Pizza is described as Nancy Silverton & Matt Molina's Roman pizzeria. The restaurant serves rectangular pieces of pie, plus beer & wine. The Highland Park location is at 5918 N Figueroa St, with phone number (323) 545-3534. Hours are Sunday-Thursday 11am-9pm and Friday-Saturday 11am-11pm. The location offers dine inside, dine outside, and order online for pickup & delivery, with beer and wine available.

The menu offers pizza in three sizes: Big Slice (1 person), Half (1-2 ppl), and Whole (3-4 ppl). Options include Pepperoni (Big Slice $7.25, Half $13.50, Whole $26.00), Roasted Fennel & Sausage (Big Slice $10.50, Half $20.00, Whole $38.00), Pineapple, Prosciutto and Jalapeno (Big Slice $11.00, Half $21.00, Whole $41.00), Roasted Mushroom and Shallot (Big Slice $10.25, Half $19.50, Whole $38.00), Potato Sage and Truffle (Big Slice $10.25, Half $19.50, Whole $38.00), Cheese (Big Slice $6.50, Half $12.00, Whole $23.00), Margherita (Big Slice $6.50, Half $12.00, Whole $23.00), Acorn Squash (Big Slice $8.50, Half $16.50, Whole $30.00), Vegan Margherita (Big Slice $8.50, Half $16.00, Whole $31.00), and Vegan Pomodoro (Big Slice $6.00, Half $11.50, Whole $22.00).

Salads include a Caesar Salad with romaine lettuce, house made croutons, parmesan, and house made caesar dressing (contains anchovy) for $12.00, and a Veggie Chopped Salad with iceberg lettuce, pepperoncini, toasted hazelnuts, raw corn, red onion, marinated tomato, parmigiano cheese, and soy vinaigrette dressing for $14.00.

Triple Beam Pizza offers a Mobile Oven service that comes to events to cook hot, fresh pizzas on-site. The service charges a flat catering set-up & oven transport fee of $350, and all mobile catering is subject to tax plus an 18% service fee for the catering crew. Catering menus include "The Classics" at $17.00 per person with a choice of up to 4 pizzas (cheese, pepperoni, acorn squash, margherita, vegan margherita) and "The Anything" at $19.00 per person with a choice of up to any 4 types of pizzas from the menu. Salads can be added: Caesar $6 per person, Chopped $7 per person, Green Bean & Spinach $8 per person. Garlic knots are available: 10 for $30, 20 for $50. Brookies are available for dessert: 10 for $65, 20 for $120. Brookies are described as dark chocolate brownie, bittersweet chocolate chip cookie, dark chocolate, bourbon vanilla bean molten lava center, sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Other locations include Echo Park at 1818 W Sunset Blvd, open Sunday-Thursday 11am-9pm and Friday-Saturday 11am-11pm, phone (213) 281-9753; Glendora at 229 W Foothill Boulevard, open Sunday-Thursday 11am-9pm and Friday-Saturday 11am-10pm, phone (626) 689-2023; and Santa Monica at 2905 Main Street, open Sunday-Thursday 11:30am-9pm and Friday-Saturday 11:30am-10pm, phone 310-579-4775.

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5918 N Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90042 · Official website