New Rudy Martinez Restaurant Celebrates Grand Opening

HPK—Highland Park's newest bar and restaurant—is off to an encouraging start, according to chef Huntley See.

About 200 patrons mingled at the tapas bar this past Wednesday evening to help chef See celebrate HPK's grand opening.

Throughout the evening, music was provided by duo The HY and later by DJ Frontside. HPK's staff passed around appetizers including feta and beet salad, pomegranate ceviche, chicken skewers, mac n' cheese, braised short rib sliders, open faced sandwiches and house made fries with chipotle aioli.

"It was very encouraging because we had more locals and new patrons enjoy our concept, who simply were walking by and noticed the space," See said. 

See told Patch that HPK will focus more on dinner service in the future, but on Wednesday night the venue had much more of a bar vibe.

"We planned on doing dinner service for the event, but realized it would be too crowded to go that route. So instead we decided on a cocktail event," See said. "I plan on having live music and DJs regularly by the end of the month, so it was nice to see the space operate in that fashion. However, we want to maintain that restaurant lounge vibe during dinner service."