Hatchet Hall — Restaurant in Culver City

disclaimer the food itself was actually really good but the majority of my review will be on the experience we had here– also I sadly do not have photos of the food because we were so excited to eat we forgot to take pics 😂

we walked in around 8pm on a Saturday night, not having looked up this place ahead of time (maybe our bad). the hostess staff were friendly but we got different answers within 5 min when we asked two different people what the wait time was for a table (no wait vs 15ish min) which was a bit strange, but nbd. we started at the bar but eventually got reseated at a table in the patio area which was CUTE and very cozy.

I meant to look for a feedback box but I didn’t see one– I have to say this place has one of the hardest menus I’ve ever seen to read (from a legibility standpoint). I’d love to leave some constructive feedback for you all (and again, we had a lovely experience as a whole so this is not me discrediting that)

1. the font on the menu is SO small and the sections / lines of text were too close together, making it really difficult to read
2. the cartoons(?)/pictures in the margins of the menu were cute, but I couldn’t tell why they were there or if there was some meaning behind them– the impact was that it felt like they were taking up a ton of space that instead could have been used to spread out the menu
3. apparently the menu is organized by SECTIONS? Such as seafood, vegetarian, and meat dishes– but there weren’t any headers so I wouldn’t have noticed if the waiter hadn’t told us. Objectively this actually makes perfect sense, I just wish there were headers so I knew what I was reading 🙈

Experience con’t– I’m not sure if this was just our table or our section but we were served by 4 or 5 different waiters over the course of the meal. They were all lovely! I was just a little overwhelmed because we couldn’t tell who our main person was supposed to be 😂

We ended up ordering the cornbread, potatoes, fried green tomatoes, pork belly, scallops, and panna cotta. -the starters were all DELICIOUS and well-presented (sorry again for no pics) -the pork belly and scallops were a little bit too salty for me, but great otherwise; the scallop could have been cooked a little bit longer but the cauliflower sauce on it was phenom. -the panna cotta was surprising– more tart and not what I expected in a really good way. Super tasty!

ALSO– our water got refilled literally every 3 sips we took. Again– not a complaint and maybe not necessarily a bad thing considering sometimes I have the opposite experience (like not being able to flag down a waiter at other restaurants) but by the end of the dinner, it felt a little bit like we were being water boarded by the staff (our bottle for the table was replaced at least 4x) and I realized I was full from the water instead of the food hahaha

OVERALL: -ambiance 5/5 would recommend -food 4/5 would recommend -service and experience im giving a 4.5 just because it felt a little bit chaotic (see pics of menu below)

anyways I promised my boyfriend I would leave an honest review so that’s all I got for now but we’ll def be back, we had a great time overall....

We went here for the second time in a month. We live about 45 minutes away but we really enjoyed the food and hospitality of our first visit. The food was good and our waiter who is from South Carolina was excellent.

Fast forward about 1 month later and my wife mentions that she wants to go back for brunch. We made reservations and the 45 minutes drive( 90 minutes both ways).

Well, today, we were being served by a waiter who seems a little beyond middle age. Mostly grey and wore glasses. The menu has both starters and mains like most other menus. My wife and I being foodies, ordered 1x starter to share. We also ordered fries , scrambled eggs and avocado for our toddler not knowing which one he would actually eat. That's toddlers for you.

We later ordered two Entrees. The waiter was sure to shout that it was a lot of food with a passive aggressive attitude.

We noticed just about everything was served at once excluding the cocktails. We told the server that we expected the food to be coursed out. Our server, once again obviously passive aggressive, told us that we hadn't ordered appetizers and gave no indication that we wanted the food coursed out. By the way, the cornbread we ordered was from the starter section. I noticed him getting pretty loud with my wife so while maintaining my composure, I pointed out that the cornbread was from the starter menu that he just said didn't exist.

I could see that my wife was watching me thinking that I was about to match his energy- I held back as we had our child with us. He, mockingly said "should I take it back and bring it back out" . We told him it's okay to de-escalate the situation. My wife felt so uncomfortable with how aggressive this server was being towards our family she lost her appetite. It was extremely unsettling that the server would choose to get aggressive with a young family.

He eventually came back to our table and with the same passive aggressive posture asked, " how is the food- do you have enough?" It's as if he was bothered by our order/presence-even if it would only help his tip size. I guess it doesn't matter when you have a tanned complexion. Never before has a waiter ask that before.

Anyway, I am hoping management reads this. We like the food and even saw that the restaurant once was awarded a 1x Michelin star which was later lost. Might it be for bad eggs like this waiter ?

At the end of meal, you could tell that the server was maybe thinking he was overly aggressive towards us because he took the individual drinks off the tab and the cornbread. Sadly,the damage was done. We won't be...

Considering its Michelin-star status, I expected a heightened dining experience but left feeling disappointed. Here’s a summary of our experience:

Service: There was a clear disconnect among the staff. While asking to wait for a better seating arrangement, the hostesses seemed to have conflicting opinions on accommodating us or not. I recommend asking for inside or inner patio dining. The tables in the parking lot are quite sad comparatively. Moreover, our order arrived haphazardly, with dishes arriving faster than our drinks. Then our sides were served before the mains at such a quick pace. Despite raising our concerns about pacing, it was comical when the next side arrived 5 mins after she said we’d have a 15 min break before the next course (pacing it as a 3 course meal) each course paired with one of our last 2 sides. We were full on small dishes before the real meal began. Additionally, our waiter barely checked on us and the time she did was to ask if we want more drinks, never about the food or experience after raising that concern we stopped seeing her. Lastly, the mandatory 20% gratuity felt in appropriate given the overall experience.

Food: The food quality was a mixed bag for a restaurant of this caliber. While we enjoyed dishes like the cornbread, shrimp sauce, and half chicken, others like the ribeye and ceviche were underwhelming, especially for the price point.

Dishes We Ordered:

• Ricotta toast: Delightfully cheesy. Good combo of flavors. • Ceviche: Standard; nothing exceptional. • Cornbread: A standout—warm and buttery. • Brussels: Typical fried Brussels with walnuts. You know what you’re getting. • Shrimp: Delicious sauce; note it’s served shell-on. • Ribeye: Found it chewy (got med-rare) and poorly trimmed with some inedible fat pieces and other areas not rendered, surprising at $80. • Half chicken: Well-seasoned and flavorful. • Corn side: Vibrant and creamy; a favorite.

Given the prestige associated with Michelin-starred establishments, the overall experience didn’t align with our expectations. I believe there are other establishments that might offer better value for your money. It’s puzzling how this restaurant holds a star with such inconsistencies. We know service is dicey in LA but when choosing the tier of restaurant you expect a lot of that to subside and it’s easy to look past a couple things when the rest is a great experience. Unfortunately not...