All About Le Café Louis Vuitton, Now Open in Midtown

1. This is the very first Louis Vuitton restaurant in the U.S.

Although Louis Vuitton has several restaurants worldwide, this is the first time the venerable fashion brand has opened a restaurant concept in one of its retail stores in the United States. It follows in the footsteps of several other high-profile design eateries, like Blue Box Café by Daniel Boulud at Tiffany & Co. across the street, or the Armani restaurant on Fifth Avenue.

Inside, there’s room for 60 guests in the dining room with an additional six seats at the bar. Better yet, you don’t have to be a shopper to dine at the café, but the splendor of the space and the design may make it hard to resist.

“Honestly, it sounds corny, but everyone [is the target audience],” says Starr. “I don’t think you have to be rich and famous to come into this restaurant.”

2. They’re working with an all-star team.

For their first U.S restaurant, Louis Vuitton went big. Stephen Starr, the restaurateur behind hot spots like Pastis and Le Coucou, is on board as a partner. Chef Christophe Bellanca, of New York’s Essential by Christophe, leads the kitchen, with Mary George, formerly of Restaurant Daniel, leading the pastry team.

“We went through many, many chefs in our search. We found a chef, Christophe, who had an unbelievable pedigree and was willing to do food that would be accessible to everyone. He actually enjoyed stepping away from the super, super fine French stuff,” Starr says. “It’s still fine dining, but it’s just easier. His personality is fantastic, and he’s just a great host.”

Both Bellanca and George say they were inspired by time they’ve respectively spent in France when it came to working on the menus, bringing their travels back across the Atlantic with them to Fifth Avenue.

George was also inspired by a “desire to fuse iconic creations with New York City’s vibrant culture,” using the best ingredients available.

3. The menu is meant for “luxury snacking.”

Le Café’s dining team calls their particular brand of fine dining “luxury snacking” that’s upscale but not unapproachable.

“This is a luxury brand, but we didn’t want to be fussy,” Starr explains. “We didn’t want to be pretentious. We didn’t want precious food. We want luxury, but luxury that feels easy.”

That means you’ll find dishes like tuna tartare, crab “Louis” (a play on crab louie), mini lobster rolls, and turkey club sandwiches (Le Club “Pont-Neuf”) branded (of course) with Louis Vuitton’s signature logo.

“You can eat, like, five of them,” Starr laughs, describing the lobster rolls and sandwiches. “They’re delicious.”

There is also steamed scallop soufflé topped with caviar, a Le Croque “Louis Paris” with white ham, Comté, and black truffle, and even a classic burger, Le Burger “1898.” The Louis Vuitton monogram design is found throughout the spread of dishes, too, including on the side of the hazelnut entremet, or monogrammed onto flower ravioli stuffed with spinach, fontina, taleggio, and black truffle. It’s even painstakingly and meticulously made out of pearls of caviar in the crisp monogram waffle that’s offered as an all-day snack.

Dessert is a main event here, as well, especially with George on board. There’s a Bartlett pear tart alongside three varieties of entremet (vanilla, hazelnut, and chocolate), as well as an ice cream sundae with Concord grapes and sunflower praline.

4. Cocktails, Champagne, and coffee service are all on offer.

The beverage menu is just as thought out, with options ranging from coffee service to cocktails.

There’s the Cocopolitain with coconut-washed Belvedere vodka, clarified lime, and cranberry, or the Velours Noir, a Negroni with cocoa butter, red aperitif, and shaved dark chocolate. The wine list also leans predictably French, with plenty of luxury pours by the glass and bottle.

5. It looks as eye-catching as you’d expect it to.

No holds were barred when it came to the interior design of Le Café. It’s meant to be emblematic of the Louis Vuitton brand, with a huge library collection of fashion and pop culture books, furniture in that classic yellow, and dozens of LV luggage tags hanging from the ceiling.

“I feel happy when I walk in,” Starr says. “It’s not overly designed; it’s happy, it’s light. Everything is perfectly in line.”

Part of the beauty of the marriage between Starr and Louis Vuitton, he says, is that they share the same obsessive attention to detail, whether it’s related to the interior of the restaurant, the menu, or the lighting.

“I think what makes a big difference between me and other restaurateurs is my obsession and reverence for design. So, design, to me, is just about equal to food, because the environment you’re in and the ambience that you create makes everything else better around you,” Starr says. “I believe they have that same obsession and reverence for design. They have the same DNA.”

Lé Cafe Louis Vuitton is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. and on Sunday from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Ellie Plass is a freelance writer based in Brooklyn. Follow her on Instagram and X. Follow Resy, too.