I Ate at the Louis Vuitton Restaurant in NYC, Ask Me Anything
Luxury logos abound at this buzzy new spot near Madison Avenue.
Courtesy of Le Café Louis Vuitton
It’s a busy time of year for Madison Avenue and the blocks surrounding it as tourists and locals alike head to upscale shops to start ticking things off their holiday lists. One difference in the luxury landscape this season, though, is that there's a new restaurant for shoppers to visit, and it’s right in the middle of a designer store — Le Café Louis Vuitton.
The multi-billion-dollar French fashion house opened the doors to its first eatery in the United States on November 15th, located on the fourth floor of its opulent Shohei Shigematsu-designed New York City flagship at 6 East 57th Street. Le Café, which was developed as a collaboration between Louis Vuitton and Philadelphia-based hospitality group Starr Restaurants, is designed to be a space for “luxury snacking” — or lunch and light bites, and is open seven days a week. And obviously, diners don’t have to make a five-figure purchase to eat there.
Restaurateur and founder of Starr Restaurants Stephen Starr explained to Food & Wine that the food was a collaboration between his group, Louis Vuitton chefs in France — executive chef Christophe Bellanca (of the Michelin-starred Essential by Christophe) and executive pastry chef Mary George (from Daniel Boulud’s acclaimed and two-Michelin-starred Daniel) — who all “worked together and incorporated a lot of what Louis Vuitton's brand is into what the menu is.”
Their efforts were successful — while dining in the library-inspired space, you’ll encounter reminders of its parent brand on nearly every surface you see and food you taste. It’s not a restaurant that’s meant for every kind of diner, and it certainly doesn’t feel like a neighborhood spot. But if you love Madison Avenue, want a deluxe experience that celebrates luxury fashion, or are searching for something playful, then it might fit the bill; and there are several delicious dishes on the menu.
Despite what you might expect — I’m not sure what I anticipated, maybe ornate crown moldings, silver platters, and gilded decor — Le Café’s interiors take a colorful and retro-inspired approach. Pops of turquoise and orange are scattered throughout the space, appearing in the upholstery covering plush, mod chairs and on the vertical neon lights that are attached to columns throughout the room. Dark wood and ‘70s-style furniture reminded me of Mad Men's last season. Texture is also a recurring theme, with tactile fabrics covering pillows, seating, rugs, and even the walls.
The Louis Vuitton references start with the interior design — it’s practically a guarantee you won’t forget which brand owns the restaurant. Among the bookshelves on the walls are stacked suitcases covered in the signature LV monogram (which also matches the façade covering the designer’s second building across the street currently undergoing renovations). The brown, leather placemats feature small metal rivets that carry the Louis Vuitton name, and the dishware sports the fashion house's classic floral stamps from its monogram pattern around the edges.
If that sounds like an abundance of Louis Vuitton, get ready for more. Cappuccinos arrive with the brand name and flagship Paris address emblazoned into the foam. The butter that comes with the free bread (a very good loaf of sourdough) is shaped into a monogram flower, the pasta for the ravioli is stamped with the same pattern, sandwiches are both cut into the general shape and stamped with it, and every delicate entremet option for dessert visually references the signature as well.
The dishes on the menu walk a fine line between approachable and refined fare. As Starr described it for Food & Wine, “You know, we're not doing precious food. We're doing very fine food done in a very accessible way.”
Menu items include a burger with seared fois gras, dover sole meunière, a croque “Louis Paris” with black truffle, and a scallop soufflé with golden ossetra caviar and a Champagne beurre blanc. There’s also a turkey club, which pays homage to the restaurant’s NYC location.
Not every item is worth ordering — I’d recommend skipping the aforementioned turkey club and the croque, which unfortunately seemed to have a pitiful amount of béchamel and overly greasy bread — but several of them were quite memorable. The Crisp Monogram Waffle is a delicate textural balance of crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and you can tear it apart and top it with either tzatziki or crème fraîche and caviar. It’s also one of the most playful foods, arriving plated on a monogram-shaped metal rack.
I loved the scallop soufflé, which has a whole scallop buried in the center, rich white wine-butter sauce beneath it, and a generous scoop of caviar on top. My favorite item, by far, was unexpectedly one of the sides — the Pomme Mousseline Louis Vuitton, described on the menu as Louis Vuitton's signature truffle mashed potatoes. The title of “mashed potatoes” doesn’t do it justice; this dish consisted of a silky purée with whole pieces of tender potato and crispy fried morsels of the tuber mixed in for added texture. A creamy truffle-infused sauce was an excellent finishing touch. This happened to be the one thing I ate that didn’t have an LV logo, but I do think it’s a must-try.
For dessert I suggest going with the hazelnut entremet over the chocolate — if you love hazelnuts, this channels their flavor elegantly, with a pool of hazelnut butter on top and crunchy pieces of praline inside, in addition to nutty cake and mousse layers that I couldn’t stop eating.
Considering that truffle and caviar reign supreme over the menu, I wouldn’t say Le Café Louis Vuitton is the most approachable place, but it does succeed at being very playful and feels like a true celebration of the fashion house. Anyone who wants to dip their toe into the ultra-luxe world of a high-end brand, is a dedicated follower of fashion, or simply loves over-the-top dining experiences will likely enjoy themselves.
If you’re visiting Madison Avenue and want to pop in for a bite, the bar seating is available for walk-ins (although I will note there was a line waiting for these sites while I was there). For anyone planning ahead, tables are made available on Resy 28 days in advance — but they’ve been booking up almost immediately thus far, so it’s best to set an alarm.
