When Karen and Quinn Hatfield announced plans to vacate their eponymous restaurant for larger digs on Melrose, the couple left a void in the Beverly Boulevard dining landscape. However, it didn’t take long for another accomplished chef to arrive and ensure that the kitchen’s quality level experienced little to no drop-off. Eva chef-owner Mark Gold previously worked at Water Grill, Café Pinot and Leatherby’s Café Rouge before striking out on his own, naming his first restaurant in honor of his grandmother.

Gold opted to retain Hatfield’s spare look, with twin patios bracketing a small cream-colored dining room. You’ll only find two noticeable additions to the decor, a bookshelf lined with cookbooks and Hans Gissinger’s artistic black-and-white kitchen photos. The tables are lined with white tablecloths, but Eva is far from formal.

Gold’s menu is highly seasonal and changes beyond monthly, with interesting deconstructed plating and plenty of enticing options. It was a cool night (for Los Angeles), so we ordered accordingly.

Hot carrot soup ($9) was satisfying, with added vibrancy from a candied orange thatch and cool contrast from a crème fraîche drizzle.

Oven-baked Young chicken ($19) featured crispy skin, juicy flesh and a garden’s worth of accompaniments, including turnips, turnip greens, tangy olive tapenade and sweet persimmon presented on a seared potato wedge.

Hokkaido Scallops ($20) achieved nearly ideal caramelization in the pan. Gold plated his supple, golf ball-sized scallops with chorizo cuts, Brussels sprouts, perfectly al dente Spanish rice and punchy tangerine foam layered with dill. Scattered tangerine sauce streaks completed a well balanced entree.

Our waiter recited pastry chef Tess Panzer’s dessert menu, swaying us by mentioning “lemon pudding cake.” The soft cake arrived overflowing with vanilla bean custard, plumed with a single branch of thyme and topped with a dome of sweetened vanilla foam. Panzer’s pastry experience was apparently limited to home baking before signing on at Eva. It seems like she was a good find.

Based on my first meal at Eva, it’s obvious that Mark Gold is honoring his grandmother in style. My next play is to return for a Sunday family-style dinner, which changes on a weekly basis.