Hatfield's

I've been dying to go check out Hatfield's for almost two years now but I sort of forgot about it. Then, while doing this foodie documentary and asking around for recommendations, we had hlf a dozen foodies telling us to go here. Now I couldn't pass it up!

Finally my boyfriend brought me here to celebrate my birthday. We arrived around 7pm but it was still beautifully gold outside. I couldn't resist taking pictures of the pink and orange clouds and the golden beams of light peeking through.

I didn't realize that it was on Beverly Blvd., really close to The Grove. Also, it's next to a restaurant that decided they are too cool to have a name. It's just a logo or maybe the logo spells something out but to my untrained eye, it just looks like a crowded and pretentious place. Thank goodness Hatfield's was the exact opposite of that - quiet, upscale, and romantic.

There was no wait and possibly due to the recession, I was able to reserve a table just a day beforehand.


As soon as we got seated in a cozy little spot, we were greeted with some shot glass soups and deviled quail eggs. We chose to do the Spring Special Menu for $49 which included 3 courses.

House made ricotta and mustard green agnolotti,
braised bacon, melted leeks,
chanterelles and fava beans

These were my boyfriend's choice. I really enjoyed the soft and cheesy and savory combinations of all the ingredients in these. I would have liked to have switched mine with his because mine was a lot heavier and I still crave the ricotta.

"Croque Madame"
grilled brioche, hamachi,
prosciutto, quail egg

For all the right reasons and ingredients, this dish was delicious but definitely on the heavier side of things. I only ate half and I was already feeling full. This dish reminded me of something Dylan had made at his home the night before. I think quail eggs are sexy right now.

Pan roasted hanger steak and
slow cooked horseradish dusted short ribs,
spring onion confit, smoked potato purée

This was my entree. Definitely way too much food. I had expected smaller portions because most other places would have given you half as much for twice the price. The short ribs were a fatty delicious juicy party in my mouth and the steak was nice and tendery. I gave most of this dish to my boyfriend because he didn't like his entree that much.

Branzino filet,
roasted haricot vert, red onion soubise,
dried apricot, crispy almonds and caper crunch

Afterwards, we realized that our foodie friends had told us to get the duck or lamb or anything with foie gras, which we did not. Instead, my boyfriend got the Branzino filet. We didn't even know it was a fish until we asked. I didn't like it too much because I prefer my fish less fishy tasting. My boyfriend prefered the steak as well so there was a lot of this left over.

Toasted coconut cream "macaroon",
marinated pineapple, vanilla tapioca,
passion fruit sorbet

By the time dessert rolled around, I found myself asking if we could just take it home with us. But, the server said that desserts did not keep well and I'm actually glad we just ate it there. It was so delicious and the macaroons were light and the sorbet and all the flavors in this dessert reminded me of Thailand or Costa Rica. Delicious. I still dream about this.

"Cheesecake" crème caramel,
strawberry and tangerine salad, shortbread crust,
blood orange sorbet

I got this one, which was also delicious but definitely a lot more heavy. I think if you like the sweet and tart combination of strawberry and tangerine AND you love cheesecake, this is your dish. For me, I found it to be a little too heavy at the end of my heavy dinner.

The chef sent us these two little chocolate mini cupcakes. I forgot what the filling was because I only had a bite out of courtesy because by this point I was tipping over my chair.


But I had ordered coffee so I could wake myself from my comatose and I'm so glad I did. The coffee here is superb. I like it better than their cocktails. Who would have thought?

All in all, Hatfield's did not disappoint. But, I want to go back and try the duck or the lamb now before giving it any sort of star rating. That brazino was probably not their best dish nor the dish that they want people to remember them by.