Here's What to Expect at Downtown's Incoming Dining Hub The Bloc

Yet another massive Downtown construction project (this one called The Bloc) is slowly coming to life, and it looks like there’s going to be some pretty interesting restaurant components inside, including a brand new Italian steakhouse expansion.

Urbanize.LA has taken to compiling all the stats of the joint into one place, including more than a few details on restaurants for the location. First up is District on the Bloc, which actually opened earlier this summer once the lobby of the Hope Street Sheraton was completed.

From there, expectant diners should be on the lookout for restaurant space build-outs later this year in the open-air segment of The Bloc known innocuously as The Square. It’s an upgrade to what was there before — some food court options and a Carl’s Jr. that allegedly had a liquor license — and should allow smaller operators to dig in for an early 2016 arrival. So far, spots like Urban Oven, TLT, and Popbar are all signed on to take up some of that space.

A second-floor segment along Hope Street should see further restaurants as well, including a confirmed Davios Steakhouse, a high-end chain with spots across the Eastern seaboard that focuses on Italian dishes and meaty chops. And eventually one of those Starbucks Evenings outfits, with on-site beer and wine licenses, plans to open on The Square as well, right near where a new subway access point is being built.

In all, The Bloc should help to transform that section of the Financial District with close to a dozen restaurant and fast casual options throughout the sprawling space. Outside of District on the Bloc, the first vendors should begin to inhabit the space by early 2016, realistically.