High Point Grill goes Italian with Rustico
After several years on Albuquerque’s West Side, High Point Grill Chef Mike White is crossing the Rio Grande for his new restaurant, Rustico Italian Kitchen by High Point.
White said the new restaurant, which is planned to open late this year, will offer the house-made pastas that once occupied the menu at High Point Grill along with other Italian favorites like stone-fired pizza and entrees like fish and steak.
White said the menu offers an expanded take on the Italian offerings at High Point and his eventual plan is to branch out to several different restaurants with each focusing on a specific type of cuisine.
But Rustico, like High Point, will operate on the same guiding principle: comfort.
“It’s comfort food with a chef’s twist on it,” White said.
As a spin-off of the High Point Grill, Rustico’s menu will also be centered on food made from scratch — including the pastas.
White said preparing all of the food in house is about “taking the time to put our care into the food.”
Besides bowls of pasta, White said Rustico will have a full bar and a later closing time so patrons can enjoy cocktails and pizzas late into the night.
Rustico is taking over the space at 5200 Eubank NE, the Promenade Shopping Center restaurant formerly occupied by the Barley Room. The location provides Rustico with plenty of indoor seating along with a small stage and a large covered patio.
White said many of his customers had their fingers crossed for another West Side location, but the move eastward will allow him to reach more people.
Traditions formed at the High Point Grill like the 505 Food Fights and the 505 Bar Fights will also make their way to the new restaurant.
Ben Perich and Bo Galles of Colliers International of New Mexico represented Rustico in the transaction.
Brewery’s new spot
Rustico won’t be the only new tenant in the shopping center. Bosque Brewing Co. is also readying to open a location in the center — the first Northeast Heights location for the brewery.