The Hat — Restaurant in Lake Forest

I've been grabbing takeout from this The Hat location for almost a decade. It used to be my go-to when I wanted a solid, oversized meal that was easy. Pretty much the same order every time, a roast beef sandwich, a pastrami sandwich, and some fries. I worked nearby 8 or 9 years ago, and would bring that home regularly. It was always way too much food. We’d be eating leftovers for two, sometimes three days.

Not anymore.

The roast beef sandwich my wife brought home today was tiny. Like, not even five inches. And the way it was cut actually made it look smaller. Barely any meat inside. Honestly, it looked more like a sample than a sandwich. The pastrami was okay, but the whole thing felt lazy. I had to Air Fry the bag of fries for 30 minutes to make them edible. That's not ok. Seriously.

Were not even going to talk about the barely cooked gravy fries she got as well. So disgusting...

We finished it all in one sitting. No leftovers. No we’ll eat the rest tomorrow, just all done.

Shrinkflation is very real, and The Hat isn’t even trying to hide it. This place used to feel like a local staple. Now it feels like what they are, just another Sysco food...

Clean, well organized, well managed "sandwich shop". 🥪 (so much better than calling it that) Another place I went to recently claimed to have the best pastrami sandwich in Orange County. While theirs was very good, it doesn't compare to The Hat. I've eaten at several of their locations and all are superb!!! This visit I got carried away with my order. I ordered a "Pastrami Dip", and an order of "Pastrami Fries". Each on their own can feed two comfortably. The fries are a monstrous mound of taters topped with a generous pile of pastrami (one can add chili and cheese if desired - I didn't). Then there's the sandwich... A soft fresh French style "loaf", about 12 inches, piled with pastrami and had pickles and yellow mustard on it as well. Very Very good...incomparable!!! No, I didn't even finish the fries; I ate the pastrami off the top along with a few fries, took the rest of the fries home. Didn't even touch the sandwich until later in the evening. My beverage was an "Orange Bang". I love Orange Bang, but it's not for everyone...rather sweet. Service was quick and efficient, as was the preparation of the order. Worth the Trip, the Visit,...

The Hat- Lake Forest location. I've been a long time fan of Johnny's Pastrami at Crenshaw & Adams in LA but since they've closed down after 50+ years I thought I'd give The Hat a try since they're right off the 5 freeway on my way to ń from LA. It's a totally different experience; the place is very clean, neat, spacious, nice wooden booths to sit in, very consistent, organized, Corporate Franchise. The food is very tasty; chile tamales, pastrami dip sandwiches, giant bags o' fries n' onion rings(Love the Onion Rings), etc. Very similar menu to Johnny's. But! And here comes The Big BUT. The portions of pastrami on the sandwiches is very SKIMPY! ! ! I'm used to seeing a mountain of meat on the bread and only being able to eat half the sandwich, saving the other half for later. But The Hat's sandwich is light-in-the-loaf! There's as much bread as there is meat. While it is tasty, I could easily eat Two of these and still have room for onion rings and a soda! And I'm a skinny guy. So at $9.oo a sandwich it's not a good value for your money. I'll have to try some other pastrami places in LA to get my pastrami...