Not been but there is a wine bar called Sara’s on Sepulveda between Washington and Venice.
Bottlerock closed end of last year.
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so, OP was right… the place is stupid good… the wood firing is just right, not too much smoke, roasting things very well… i thought the pricing was very accessible as well… we were just ridiculously buzzed when we sat down already after hitting 3 cocktail bars first but…
The place was downright bustling. Great atmosphere in there. Though it was a Friday
wood fired wild mushrooms was maybe my favorite… they did something really tricky and put very buttery grits throughout the dish, so where one would expect cheese (julienne) it was grits and it was doing wonders for me
she’s stuck on liver (ukranians innit) so this lightly cooked liver toast got ordered and it was fantastic… really nice with out petit syrah (venteux represent)
i take it back… octopus has to be my favorite. was rather shocking how tender they got it and i’ve had it everywhere… japan, spain, etc. nice light wood smoke too.
steak was really lovely too… huge flavor… a bit small of a dish but we weren’t hungry by then… had to really beg for bread to soak this up… they need to get with some bread service 
thanks a lot to OP for the thread. the place wasn’t even on our radar.
took the rest of our decanter to the bar in the back (nobody seemed to care) and had a great time hanging there polishing off our wine…
hurled around 2 am after playing tracks at friend’s crib after she passed out (security showed up and all). good times.
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That’s the place i was thinking of in CC… it was also the place I was very prepared to strike down when the suggestion came because their wines were fairly lacking.
Being back in LA, I have been hitting up all of my old favorite spots, and Hatchet Hall was just about the first place I went back to. Man, I love Mexico, but they don’t have any quality of pork (or don’t know how to work with the meat properly) that Hatchet Hall does, and I missed vegetables and schnitzels, and really just everything about the place haha
Some of my photos did not work out so well, but the meal was as fucking amazing as ever.
Blurry photo notwithstanding, the benne yeast rolls are a masterpiece of bread making that don’t even need the utterly perfect salted honey butter on the side.
A spring pea salad showed off immaculately fresh peas, delightuflly tangy cheese, a poached egg, and house-made croutons. I remember being extremely happy eating such a well-composed salad; ahh, LA produce…how I missed thee
House-made pickles are an absolute delight to eat as well. Maybe I just have a penchant for beets though…
Mushroom spoonbread was awesome, like a cross between polenta and cornbread with perfectly done mushrooms. Really captured the essence of corn and umami blast of mushrooms:
Rabbit schitzel was an absolute joy. I have no idea how they managed to get the breading so crispy and perfect, and maintain such a luscious texture to the rabbit (frequently rabbit seems to come out too dry, especially in fried varietals). The hunter’s sauce was awesome as well. Altogether it almost tasted like a super high end version of an In-n-Out Double Double Animal Style in an interesting way. You are short changing yourself if you don’t go check this schnitzel out. I think it is better than Maringer’s schnitzels at Bierbeisel, and that’s saying something.
At the time, the pork chop was being done with cherries and a chocolate sauce which was not my favorite prep, but it was interesting, and something I had never had before. Plus the quality of pork is unbelievable here. Make sure they cook it rare, because it is so fucking good you may lose your mind when you eat this.
Then we got cookies and milk. The vanila iced milk was an absolute delight, a bit of a romp through childhoold. The cookies were served cold though, which sort of hurt the overall dessert, except that they were undeniably delicious cookies. I loved the PB&J streudel, and the chewy lemon cookie most of all. I would like it if they served the iced milk by itself though, it was really pleasant.
Overall, Hatchet Hall remains one of the best restaurants I have ever eaten at just purely in terms of the flavors on the plates. Just briliant.
The alcohol program has sort of become less creative with the departure of their past sommelier, Maxwell, however, but for some that will be a welcome change.
It looks like they reently revamped the menu again, so I will be returning shortly hopefully.
This is just a reminder that this place remains, to me at least, one of the best restaurants in LA, or maybe anywhere. It is rare to find cooking that gets every element so right that virtually anything you order is exemplary of its category and ingredients.
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hey now, it’s on the Eater 38! 
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Ate at HH maybe three weeks ago. Second the outrageous rabbit schnitzel. Also, do not miss any dish with hoe cakes; we had the salmon candy with them, but there are others from time to time. Any dish with Carolina Gold rice should not be missed. You are eating history, as this went virtually extinct in the depression, and came back in the 70’s or 80’s. Lastly, we had a can, as in a pop top soda can like can of hopped rose wine. I guess that was under the old somm regime. It was good! The table next to us were interested, so we offered them a taste. Very friendly and diverse crowd if you enjoy the occasional conversation with a neighboring table. Another time we shared tastes with a neighbor table. Fun place, great, historic food with a very modern twist.
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you had me at salmon candy
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Damn, I bet they make hoe cakes so incredibly well haha
I don’t see them on their online menu currently though. Their menu has changed online a lot.
I hope they keep hoe cakes on…
I wish they would start making some oatmeal griddlecakes so I would never have to set foot in Salt’s Cure again. Sigh.
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Forgot to mention the buttermilk chocolate pie. Yum! Great flavor and texture. PB, hate to say it, but as terrific as the salmon candy was, and it was, the hoe cakes were better. On the other hand, hoes are my life, errrr, I meant pancakes are my life.
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I wish you had some pics man!
Yeah, I don’t really do that. Combination of lazy and am always bothered when neighbor table flashes again and again, so don’t want to bother others.
Get an iPhone 6. No flash necessary. None of my pics used flash.
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Eureka! Wife has 6+! Thx.
I have a 6+ as well. Just disable the auto-flash. It’s awesome. I did hold my candle up to some of the food at HH to get the pics. Sometimes they turn out blurry, but it is rare. Mostly can be awesome sans-flash, it is great. All the benefits of taking photos without being super obnoxious =) I look forward to more photos of hoes!
Here are the same photos with its exposures digitally enhanced. Enjoy.
Remember, you can adjust the exposure prior to or after taking the picture using smart phones.
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I was there a couple of days ago and the menu included scallion hoe cakes with crab salad and ham. A tasty combo but the cakes themselves were slightly overcooked, The rabbit schnitzel was spot on, though–one of the best dishes I have had there.
This drives me a little crazy, too, lol. Even when people remember to turn off the flash, it’s still annoying, like when people “watch” concerts through their phone screens while filming. That said, the beautiful, mouth-watering pics people post on this site have inspired me to get over it, at least a little bit. Now I sometimes take photos, but only if I’m by myself or getting takeout.
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When we ordered the pigs head at Love and Salt, the table next to us asked to take pictures! I think I’m about to get over it and post pics too.
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I think it bothers people less nowadays because it is so common as well.
And without flash, no one is going to notice. An iPhone doesn’t make clicky sounds or anything so I am not sure that anyone could be annoyed by anything really haha