Hatfield's (CLOSED)

Hatfield’s always manages to ride the line between formal presentation (precise dinnerware, impeccable service) and SoCal casualness (bustling open kitchen, wall of live herbs). This is due to owners Quinn and Karen Hatfield, chefs with mile-long bona fides who remain truly welcoming. Their four-course, vegetarian prix fixe ($53) gives meat-eschewers a high-end dining destination. The courses change seasonally, but you will likely start with a beautifully composed salad of seasonal greens, followed by a housemade pasta—a recent offering was a mustard green and ricotta ravioli—and a wild mushroom and buckwheat crepe stuffed with a mélange of creamy oat groats and marinated beets. The prix fixe comes with your choice of dessert—it's hard to pick just one—each described with a simple listing of ingredients, but prepared with surprising and challenging execution, in the best of ways.