Chef Eric Bost is starting to focus in on his first standalone project, a stunner of a space on Melrose that was for years a dinner destination known as Hatfield’s. Construction crews have largely stripped away the trapping from the previous tenant, and now Bost and company are keen to make the place their own, calling the new restaurant Auburn.
Whereas Hatfield’s was a white tablecloth kind of experience, Auburn plans to be something bigger and more joyful. The focus of most of the attention in the room will be the glowing open hearth that acts as a backbone to the visible kitchen, and is the reason the restaurant is called Auburn in the first place.
Reps for the restaurant say that Bost is keen to craft a new kind of menu style, marrying the format of a finer-dining multi-course meal with the scale and scope of a place like Republique, where Bost previously spent time. Diners can scale up or down on how many courses they want, with or without drinks to match, to find the meal that suits them best. Meanwhile, the bar area will be completely a la carte.
As Auburn’s recently-unveiled social media channels can attest, the space itself is getting closer every day. Walls have been stripped back and smoothed over, and blonde wood and ceramics are starting to fill in the rest. While there’s no official timeline for opening just yet, the place is pretty close to launch, so look for an opening early next year for dinner only, with talk of possible brunch and lunch to come later.
Auburn. 6703 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA.
Source: Eater LA – All