Trader Vic’s, Katsuya, Rock ‘n Fish, Wolfgang Puck and more at L.A. Live

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L.A. Live, the 4-million-square-foot, $2.5- billion ‘sports, entertainment and residential district’ next to Staples Center is gearing up for phase two of its rolling openings. This one, on Dec. 3, involves 11 of the 15 restaurants and clubs that make up a large portion of L.A. Live real estate.

Opening in late November and early December will be: ESPN Zone restaurant and sports bar, Fleming’s Steakhouse, Yard House, The Farm of Beverly Hills, Rock n’ Fish, Lawry’s Carvery, New Zealand Natural Ice Cream, Club Nokia, Lucky Strike Lanes and lounge, the Conga Room and Starbucks.

The remaining restaurants -- Katsuya, Wolfgang Puck Bar and Grill, Trader Vic’s and Rosa Mexicano -- will open after the new year. L.A. Live’s managing director Lisa Herzlich says that the group talked to about 200 potential occupants before settling on the final roster. Trader Vic’s and Rock n’ Fish were the last two venues to sign on and the list was decided upon in large part to keep the development free of competing styles of food. Rosa’s Mexicano had written into its lease that no other restaurant in the complex can offer guacamole as a main dish.

‘When we selected the restaurants we gave them exclusivity,’ says Herzlich. ‘We wanted the best of different types of food and a mix of regional and national concepts with local appeal.’

There is an emphasis on outdoor dining at L.A. Live, with plenty of double-wide patio seating along a paseo informally called ‘Grammy Lane,’ in honor of a Grammy walk of fame that will extend through the development beginning at the Grammy museum.

If you’re not up for throwing down cash to dine formally, then you can pick up food at vending carts around the property, all of which will be stocked by Wolfgang Puck catering. All in all, Puck’s establishment will be L.A. Live’s most visible restaurant. It occupies a coveted spot just below a giant LED screen at the far end of Nokia Plaza, where the red carpet is set up for the Emmy’s and the Grammies and will be visible in telecasts. If it’s not rented out for private parties its patio will be the perfect spot to watch the stars. So will the second-floor patio at the ESPN Zone, which overlooks the plaza.

You can also expect a weekend farmers market on the L.A. Live plaza sometime after the new year.

-- Jessica Gelt