On March 15, a new dining hub will open on the western edge of Midtown Manhattan in Hudson Yards, from 10th to 12th Avenues and 30th to 34th Streets. Many of the restaurants involve familiar names like Thomas Keller, David Chang, Michael Lomonaco, Costas Spiliadis and José Andrés, among others, with some restaurant imports from England and California.

The developers, Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group, are counting on the restaurants to give the former rail yards — now bristling with shiny towers like some futuristic San Gimignano — a sense of neighborhood geniality to appeal to those who visit, live and work in the new complex. Most of the dining options are clustered in a central one-million-square-foot, seven-story building, the Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards. A huge, vibrant Spanish food hall, coyly named Mercado Little Spain, is the most dynamic addition to the area and even to the city itself.

Scattered throughout are familiar casual spots like Sweetgreen, Maison Kayser and Shake Shack. The Neiman Marcus store will have several dining areas.

At the Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards, the most prestigious restaurants are on the higher floors. “When you go down to four, three and two, you get more democratic brands,” said Kenneth A. Himmel, the president and chief executive of Related Urban, a division of Related Companies, which also developed the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. The success of the restaurants there “convinced chefs and restaurateurs that they could thrive in a vertical setting.” There are no major dining areas on the ground floor of the Hudson Yards centerpiece, where only luxury brands like Cartier can afford the rents. “Expense is a hurdle,” Mr. Himmel said. He is hoping to find an Italian restaurant for a vacant space on the fifth floor.