Highly Likely

We all have our hobbies. Maybe for you it’s dressing your corgi up in costumes or making Civil War dioramas or going to 17 Phish concerts a year. Or, maybe it’s just hot sauce. If so, you should know about Highly Likely, a daytime spot in West Adams that makes a truly fantastic one.

Even if you’re fine with just putting tabasco on everything, Highly Likely is worth seeking out. This is another one of those breakfast and lunch spots with an extremely attractive interior and elaborate toasts - although you’ll get over the feeling of deja vu pretty quickly. Whatever you order will be familiar, but way more interesting than you’d expect.

photo credit: Jakob Layman

Highly Likely serves dishes like a Japanese breakfast bowl stacked with pickled vegetables, a gem lettuce and halloumi plate, and a fish finger-stuffed sandwich that’s the best thing here. More than half the menu can be made gluten-free or vegan, the coffee is good, and they’re not going to mind if you take over a table and turn it into your office for the day. Plus there’s that hot sauce, which can (and should) be sprinkled on everything you eat. And while we would never tell you to steal one of the bottles they have sitting on every table, we will tell you to take full advantage of all the to-go containers of sauce they have behind the counter.

Highly Likely is the kind of place where you can catch up with friends, do a little work, or just sit quietly in the corner appreciating the fact that you’re eating food this good on a Tuesday at 1pm. So while you may come here at first for the sauce, pretty soon Highly Likely might end up being your newest hobby.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Jakob Layman

Japanese Breakfast Bowl

This bowl of porridge, dashi, greens, pickled vegetables, and an egg is ideal when you want something healthy but still filling. It’s also so good that you should order it even if you don’t care about the health thing at all.

photo credit: Jakob Layman

Highly Burrito

You can get this burrito with added egg and bacon for breakfast, and we highly recommend that course of action. Even more important: liberal use of the hot sauce on every bite.

Highly Burger

We give this burger points for being a little different - it comes with a pimento-y cheddar cheese sauce and some great pickles - but there are better things to eat here.

photo credit: Jakob Layman

Fish (Don’t Have) Fingers Sando

This is unbelievably good. It’s fried fish, fancy tartar sauce, a yuzu slaw, and a soft milk bun, and you should definitely add some of that hot sauce. A must-order.

photo credit: Jakob Layman

“The Saltie” Sando

A mix of raw, pickled, and roasted vegetables, with pickled egg, red chermoula, and labneh, on very good bread, this sandwich won’t necessarily jump out at you on the menu, but it’s great.

Not Another Kale Salad

This is definitely another kale salad. Certainly one of the better ones around, and made a little more interesting with roasted cauliflower and coconut dukkah on top, but still - it’s a kale salad.

photo credit: Jakob Layman

You Had Me At Halloumi

Ask the staff at the counter and they’ll tell you this is a salad. It’s really some big pieces of fried cheese, with gem leaves, a minty yogurt dressing, and fancy granola on top. Get it.