HATCH — Restaurant in Los Angeles

FIRE the tall lanky bartender with the tattoos. 😤 So I discovered Hatch a little over a month ago and because of their keto friendly options I've been supporting them nearly every other day. They have a great Happy Hour where an average skewer (ie: chicken, brussel sprouts, etc.) is an avg of $3. With that being prefaced, about a week ago I ate there and wanted to order the beef off their Happy Hour menu. The server, who I always run into and try to be super kind to, informed me they no longer carry that beef option on the menu but they have a skirt steak option instead. To which I replied, oh great well that works! NOW... I just order like 5 or 6 three dollar items off the Happy Hour Menu.. And that's it. Turns out.. I LATER found out the hard way it wasn't a Happy Hour item. Now this is just my opinion, but most people with common sense would have the decency to be like "Hey but that's not on happy hour" Especially when it turns out to be a $13 skewer... So (still not knowing) I love the steak so much I order 4 more!! Thinking this is the best deal ever.. haha And the same server takes the order. COME ON MAN.. At this point you can use context clues. I always come there and order a ton of cheap menu items. Now's the time to be like "Woah.. uh. Sir. Just so you're aware they're $13 each. Not on Happy Hour." But nope... And I wonder why.. Could it have something to do with a larger tip? Well.. spoiler alert I was a server for 5 years and the answer is Heck Yes. Soo..When when I got the large bill- I was shocked and brought to his attention and he didn't help. So I stood by my morals, didn't care for the embarrassment, and tipped him $0 in front of his face on that mobile payment device.

But unfortunately, that's not where my story ends... Fast forward to today. I order togo from a lanky tattoo guy cookie cutter Hollywood looking bartender. I then I wait.. for a while... (In fact, I've waited longer than usual for all my orders ever since that bad tip day..) And then when I come to check up, I can see he's purposely ignoring me.

So a nice server, who I've always had great talks with in the past, sees the concern on my face and tries to help and I tell him about the 30 min wait. And HERE'S WHERE IT GETS MORE INTERESTING... For some reason I even tell him, privately, I have bad hunch on this order and feel like I'm not favored here by some people. And then WOAH... turns out my order never got entered! But hey.. I like to play devils advocate before I jump to conclusions. So I then confirm with him how that happened, so it can be avoided in future. And he explained the process, and I learned how the bar boy "accidentally" didn't hit the final button to send order to the kitchen.

And HERE'S WHERE IT GETS MORE MOREEE INTERESTING.. So I call bar back's attn and tell him "Hey, just so you're aware I waited 30 minutes for my order and it never went through so be more careful next time"

His RESPONSE (paraphrasing) "It seems like you're getting a bit intense with me. And I don't think you have a right to since you NEVER tip."

WOAHHH....

Did that just come out of an employees mouth?!

I then explain briefly why I didn't that 1 time. Since I know CLEARLY that server from Story 1 likes to spill the tea (no restaurant pun intended) and GOSSIP about me to the whole back of house!!!

And I tell him ofc I've tipped otherwise when dining in and had no need to tip him when all he did was ring up my to go order! (actually well.. I guess he didn't)

His response: Well there's cooks back there too.

Uncalled for, but I actually agreed with him and appreciate their work. And explained I, like most customers, don't tip the cooks nor for my to go orders.

So at this point the OWNER hears are bickering and I reiterate everything you just read above to him. And yikes...

Alpha Bartender doesn't like that...

The way he stared me down.

And so I'm refunded, owner doesn't try and do anything else to show courtesy for me wasting a half hour of time. And that's it.

Oh.. and on the way out I get GRILLED BY BAR...

The unassuming exterior gives little clue that it’s a yakitori spot within. Step inside, and you’re greeted by a modern space that flirts with Japanese roots—sleek, clean, and minimalist with a collection of beckoning hand cats perched thoughtfully atop the bar. It straddles modern and traditional, never fully committing to either, leaving the space feeling a bit in limbo.

I started with shishito peppers, which were fine but unremarkable. They lacked the smoky char or simple seasoning. Then came the chicken meatball yakitori—solid but didn’t quite soar. The meatball was tender, and the dip added a velvety richness, but it left me wishing for a punchier flavor—a missed opportunity. The wagyu burger & fry yakitori was a clever take on comfort food, a skewer meets slider hybrid, though it leaned more towards novelty than something amazing.

The black softshell crab taco with apple slaw was a bizarre combination and a clear miss. While the crab itself was decent, the apple herb slaw tipped the scales into a realm of oddity—it’s a concept that needs serious rethinking stat. The squid ink karaage brought things back on track. These jet-black, 48-hour brined chicken thighs, dusted with aonori, delivered a surprisingly satisfying bite without a hint of burnt flavor. Paired with the black garlic ranch dip was a nice finishing touch.

The star of the night? The bone marrow, served alongside grilled mochi bread to swipe through the luscious, salty marrow. The shiso vinegar cut through the richness, making it indulgent without being overwhelming. If you come here for one thing it is this.

For dessert the binchotan brownie paired with green tea ice cream sounded super promising, but the execution was just...fine. While the flavors worked, it lacked the wow factor needed to end the meal on a high note. I didn’t even finish it.

Service at HATCH was efficient but lacked the warmth or polish to make it memorable. The overall experience was a mixed bag of hits and misses, with moments of promise offset by missed...

My friend loves this place and promised me I would love it as well and she was right on the money. We had dinner here after seeing a movie at the Alamo as it’s located in the same building. I’m gonna do a repeat of this sequence. We sat outside to enjoy the warm evening and people watch in the building courtyard. Everyone who works at Hatch, from the host to our server to the manager were so warm and friendly, knowledgeable about the food and drinks, had excellent recommendations and helped create a super delightful and delicious dining experience for us. Every. Single. Thing. we ordered was absolutely delicious, from the variety of skewers to the dishes we shared. The cocktails were made and mixed beautifully, with unique combinations of flavors that made my mouth sing. I appreciated the attention to detail on the presentation of the dishes and cocktails. I think my favorite skewer was the chicken meatball (comes with a soy sauce egg yolk to dip in and it’s divine) so make sure to order that. The fried chicken with squid ink batter was so delicious and unique as well. Like I said, everything was so good, and looking forward to coming back here many more times to sample more of the drinks and food menu.

Edit on 12/22/24 Returned with friends and unfortunately this time, the experience wasn’t quite as enjoyable as the last. We had a server who wasn’t very attentive. We sensed it was understaffed for a Saturday night. The food was okay overall, but not as tasty as I remember it being. The eel yakitori was our least favorite as the eel was soft and a bit fatty. I couldnt eat it. The tuna ahi rice toast was disappointing as well-rice toast was almost stale tasting and the fish was bland. Maybe it was simply an off night for Hatch or maybe quality/flavor of the food has taken a turn. Our favorites were the chicken meatball yakitori and the squid ink karage chicken. Not sure if I will return here based on the...