WORK is well underway on a new steak house which is set to create 40 jobs in a Hampshire precinct.

Bar + Block says its new restaurant, currently under construction at Whiteley be open for February.

Part of Whitbread PLC, Bar + Block Steakhouse in Whiteley will be the third of the all-day dining chain to open, following the successful roll-out of its debut venue in Birmingham’s Waterloo Street in March, and the upcoming opening of the flagship site in King’s Cross in November.

The Whiteley venue will be housed in a new building at Unit F7a, Whiteley Shopping Centre.

The new chain has been described as an “evolved and contemporary” version of Whitbread’s old Beefeater brand, originally launched in 1974.

The restaurants feature a central bar, a large open kitchen and booth style seating.

Dave Murdin, chief of brand development at Whitbread Restaurants said the Bar + Block concept was designed for high street locations and had “taken the best of the Beefeater values and reinterpreted them to appeal to a younger crowd”.

Each week the Butcher’s Block will treat diners to a new steak special Meat lovers will also be able to tuck into into plates of slow-cooked pork belly, beef short ribs and handmade beef burgers which are expertly ground and formed on site.

Lighter dishes include flattened grilled chicken with heritage tomatoes and falafel salad.

Lazy weekend diners can look to Bar + Block’s carnivorous breakfast menu.