My sister and I decided to try HATCH Yakitori & Bar in the BLOC shopping plaza in the heart of LA. Neither of us have been and didn’t know what to expect. We hardly did any research ahead of time. The only thing we made sure was that my sister can bring her puppy, Francis. I just knew it was a fusion of Japanese yakitori and California cuisine.
I made reservations ahead of time on OpenTable, which I was grateful I did because I heard overheard the hostess telling another party it would be an hour wait. They have indoor and outdoor dining with sectioned off spaces right outside for bigger tables. Music was bumping loud, which created a lively and energetic environment.
Luckily, I got seated at the bar first while waiting for my sister. One of the chefs asked if I’ve been here before and I said “no.” He quickly made note to the others that it’s my first time. I was already surprised at the attentive service. My sister was about 10-15 mins late and while I was perusing the menu, one of the chefs gave me a small appetizer plate to try while waiting for my sister. He said it was on the house. I was really surprised and appreciative because I hardly would have expected anything.. That was so sweet and thoughtful!
TSUKEMONO. Daily house pickles. Lightly pickled and compliments the other dishes to come.
My sister finally arrived with her dog. She initially asked me to put her bag on an empty seat next to me but their counters have hooks underneath to hang out bags! I love bars that do that! I am super sad I forgot to bring my food camera to take better quality photos, but these iPhone 8 pics will have to do for now.. 🙁
MANGORITA. Lunazul tequila, mango syrup, agave nectar, lime juice, Orange bitters, Serrano peppers. My sister started herself with a cocktail which I took a sip of to try. Very light and easy to drink. The mango taste wasn’t too strong and it was light. I actually appreciated that even though it tasted a bit boozy, the taste wasn’t overwhelmingly strong either. There was a good balance in this cocktail.
We went ahead and ordered a few skewers from the yakitori bar and an entree to share, which were all delicious btw.
CHICKEN MEATBALL. With egg yolk and tare dip. Even though it sounds simple, this skewer was decadent and delicious. The chicken was very moist and juicy. It was enjoyable to dip the bites into the egg yolk dip, which added a creaminess.
BEEF TONGUE. With Pearl onion and shiso lime sauce. We were confused which skewer was the beef tongue but after narrowing down the other obvious ones, we deduced that the medium sized cubed chewy bites were the beef tongue!
SEARED AHI BELLY. With house togarashi and green onion. Very fatty and decadent pieces!
CHICKEN HEART. Probably also out of bias, this was both of our favorites! Deliciously seasoned and slightly chewy.
SKIRT STEAK AND WASABI. With freshly grated wasabi. The skirt steak was fresh and savory. My sister didn’t know that she’s been eating fake wasabi all her life and this is the real thing!! The chef showed us a whole piece of fresh and real wasabi thats $100/lb! I admire that he took the extra step to provide this rare delicacy to elevate this skewer. I like the attention to fine detail.
MUSHROOM. It did take a while to get our skewers because our rice dish did come first for a long while. This was also on the house while we waited 🙂 what good service huh?! Not that we were complaining though.. haha
BLACK FRIED RICE. Organic forbidden rice, black garlic sauce, carrot, corn, mushroom, green onion, pickles. From a quick scan on Yelp, I knew I wanted to try this because it looked the most interesting in terms of presentation. I like the creativity of such a simple plate with simple ingredients. It was delicious! The rice actually tasted healthy to me but in a good way. I enjoyed the little diced vegetables in it that were somewhat hidden after stirring together. It would be an easy way to get a child to eat veggies without knowing!
12” BONE MARROW. With house shiso vinegar, negi, grilled garlic mochi bread. Bone marrow was huge! Nicely seasoned but what actually impressed me from all the other bone marrows I’ve had were the grilled mochi bread! Interesting and delicious added texture and flavor. I actually want more!
BLACK CHICKEN KARAAGE. Two day brined fried chicken thighs, squid ink, house pickles, grilled lime, black ranch dip. On the house because the chef told us we ordered everything on the menu but the highly most popular item and he didn’t want us to miss out on it. And boy was I grateful for his generosity and kindness, because it was absolutely delicious! Super crispy and lightly crunchy on the outside while insanely moist and juicy on the inside! The contrast achieved is impeccable! Black dipping sauce is a plus for those who love sauces!
Throughout our meal, my sister and I would occasionally enjoy small chit chats with the chefs finalizing their dishes right in front of us. To our pleasant surprise, one of them is actually the owner of this place and he is so nice! My sister was so impressed and in awe that he was working alongside his workers. She pointed out that not many do that and this is a good way to build rapport with them!
His name is Chef Daniel Shemtob and he also introduced us to his partner, AK. He was very friendly and inviting and super modest despite all of his accomplishments at such a young age! He is also a dog owner himself so no wonder this place opens its arms to dogs! 🙂 He also owns a few other restaurants and a truck, which I will make an effort to try! 🙂
