Hatchet Hall

Hatchet Hall is a masterpiece of the Dada movement. Lost in the middle of nowhere, in a part of Los Angeles that everyone ignores — except perhaps the fans of Roy Choi’s A-Frame. In this surprisingly gigantic space (300 seats converted to 120), taxidermy is queen. There’s a charming patio with olive trees, a room for private dinners, and the Old Man’s Bar, a speakeasy hidden at the end of the corridor… Think of Hatchet Hall as a real-life Cluedo game where wine is the ultimate weapon. The two sommeliers (Maxwell Leer, previously at Bestia, and Adam Vourvoulis, former GM at Trois Mec) play around with wine bottles like a mixologist mixes his spirits. The wine list is impenetrable, a weird crossword with fantastic biodynamic wines. The key is to let go, listen to the somm, drink a lot, and order small plates of very rich food by chef Brian Dunsmoor. Chicken livers on toast, benne yeast rolls with honey butter … There’s a whole lot of bread on the menu and in the kitchen. Do not miss, for any reason, the two dishes that go beyond everything else: chermoula carrots (with labneh and honey) and the pork ribs from Peads & Barnetts, the best pig farm in Southern California. Our recommendation is to consider Hatchet Hall as a wine bar where you come to quench your thirst, and where you end up ordering food to soak up all the alcohol!