Hatfields in Los Angeles

I was staying at my favorite hotel in Los Angeles the Kimpton Hotel Palomar on Wilshire. There concierge Paul is always there to lend a helping hand on picking a good restaurant. Tonight he suggested Hatfield's on Melrose http://www.hatfieldsrestaurant.com/. Hatfield's has a cosmopolitan feel when you walk in very open a lot of glass all the way to the kitchen, it is nice and comfortable. I realized while sitting there I had been in the restaurant 15 years ago when it was Citrus, the glassed in kitchen is what brought it to mind. We got seated and our server Janan came up to us very professional not a lot of charisma at first but she soon settled in. I was in the mood for something light since I am still suffering from the holiday hangover of food. Both of us went with the Branzino (Mediterranean Sea Bass) this seems to be the in-fish this winter. We also both went with the Gem Salad which was greens and oven dried pear with shaved Manchego, roasted Hazel Nuts, this was a great starter, lots of substance and taste. First of all the Branzino is a much smaller cousin to our usual Sea Bass, in some cases it is served roasted whole. In this case it was pan roasted fillets centered on a bed of Green Beans, the fish had a sweet onion marmalade on top combined with an apricot, caper and almond crunch. I am not an onion guy but Janan told me that they would be sweet. It was a great recommendation it was the perfect portion light and tasty. After dinner I pulled aside the owner Karen Hatfield to thank her for the great meal and to find out a little about her and her husband Chef Quinn. Chef Quinn had spent several years in the Jean Georges system as a Chef, his wife Karen was a pastry chef in the same system. She now is involved in both deserts and running the front of the restaurant. Overall this restaurant offers great value, the check for 2 was under $110. I will go back again soon.