Downtown’s Controversial Offal Restaurant Hock + Hoof Opens on May 7

Downtown restaurant Hock + Hoof is finally ready for its grand reveal, opening wide to the public on May 7.

The restaurant’s main focus is on meat, albeit many of the funkier, more flavorful off cuts that give the place its name. The menu offers everything from standards like chicken liver mousse to pigs head with agedashi tofu or a tripe and tendon dish with fry bread on the side, plus usual cuts like cowboy steaks, a burger, a fried chicken sandwich, and whole grilled fish. There are also cocktails on offer, plus brunch and a happy hour coming soon.

As for the space, this is the old Tabachines on Spring Street, but stripped down to its brick walls and tall ceilings. Workhorse metal chairs, white tile, and some string lights and greenery fill out the rest of the fast casual space.

It’s also worth noting the controversy surrounding Hock + Hoof, albeit not one of the restaurant’s own making. This is the (still unopened) restaurant that LA Weekly food editor Michele Stueven put on her new 99 Essentials list, calling Hock + Hoof “the new kid on the block” and pointing out dishes that were “getting a lot of buzz.” Readers pointed out to the Weekly that the restaurant had not opened to the public but was given prominence on a major food list, while many other undeniably popular restaurants like n/naka had been left off. Stueven stood by her pick and had Hock + Hoof on the lineup for their Essentials food event in Downtown, which was cancelled just days before it was scheduled to take place.

Hock + Hoof

Now the world will have the opportunity to try Hock + Hoof for themselves. The restaurant officially opens on May 7, keeping daily hours from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and again from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. (or 11:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night).

Hock + Hoof
517 S. Spring St.
Los Angeles, CA

• The Essential Guide to Downtown Los Angeles Restaurants, 2018 Edition [ELA]

Hock + Hoof

Hock + Hoof