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Hatfields was incredible.
Just incredible.
I mean, I went with really high expectations and not only were they met, but exceeded.

Backstory: Hatfields has been high on my hit list for well over a year. We just hadn’t made it until now (we’re not eating out as often as we used to or as much as we’d like to) I decided it was the place I wanted to try for my birthday dinner out, which was last night.

Three of us went after a movie last night (Forgetting Sarah Marshall - it was quite funny), so we didn’t go for the whole three courses or drink very much as it was late when we got there (after 9.30pm).

We each had one entree and a dessert (but I was given a free dessert because I’d told them it was my birthday and sensibly opted not to order one - I’m no dummy!)

Also we each had one drink, namely beer, a glass of prosecco ($11) and a very nice Cotes de Rhone ($11) with my perfectly pink, date & mint crusted lamb cutlets ($38). My guy raved that his slow cooked beef ($33) was the most incredible thing he’d eaten since a highly memorable Christmas Eve dinner at a fancy place in Paris (Le Carre des Feuillants) where we were served rare lamb that you could virtually cut with a spoon.

Our friend had the Olive oil poached halibut which was truly sensational. This is something I’ve seen a lot on Iron Chef but have never made myself. It had a fresh sheen of citrus on it, which was yet another example of this fantastic chef’s restraint (Quinn Hatfield; Karen Hatfield is the pastry chef and I believe often runs front of house). Also our friend was going to ask for the mushrooms to be omitted, because he never eats them, but I urged him to try them and it turned out he really liked them!! None of us had heard of shimeji mushrooms, but I assumed they were a japanese variety.

I think it worked out to approx $60 pp
Not bad for such high quality fare.
Everything — I mean everything – was outstanding, from the amuse (a shot glass of warm celeriac soup plus a devilled quail egg with smoked trout on a tiny spoon) to the best little bread rolls EVER to the magnificently prepared, presented and perfectly cooked meals. The desserts were great - I loved the crispy napoleon.

Just WOW.

Oh, here’s the other thing - I am not a huge eater and generally take food home. The portions (also our ordering) were so spot on that we all cleaned our plates. The only thing that wasn’t consumed was one of the little petit four that we were given with our bill. One tiny cake. Every dish went back empty. If I were a chef, that would be proof positive I was doing something right, right?

But I don’t know if this is just a special occasion, birthday place.
The place seemed very small (we were seated right in a front window and I didn’t go exploring, but I believe they have a patio) There was nothing remarkable about the decor or ambience.

It’s more like a really great and unpretentious place to dine out every once in a while.

The thing about Hatfields was, yes $32-38 entrees…
With three courses and ample drinks, you could rack up quite a bill…
So I thought it was fairly reasonable and comparable in price to (one of our favourite places) Lucques, I would say, and slightly more impressive in result.
Loved it!

Open 6pm till 10pm or 10.30pm Fris and Sats
Closed Sundays

Hatfields
7458 Beverly Blvd, between La Brea and Fairfax (actually between Vista and Gardener, on the sth side)
(photos via Hatfield’s website)
tel — 323 935 2977

By MaxMillion (see more of her posts). Max Million is the nom de 'net of Pauline Adamek. Born in Sydney, Australia, Pauline has lived in Los Angeles for the past ten years and finds it agrees with her. She has been reviewing films and filing celebrity-based interview articles since 1991, and has filed stories from various international film festivals, including Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Toronto and Sundance. She is completing a family cookbook and also writes novels for 8-12 year olds.