How Louis Vuitton Has Built a Culinary Empire Around the World

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

Over the last few years, the concept of luxury has taken on a completely new meaning, with LVMH leading the industry with new concepts and immersive experiences and the mission to build a lifestyle, not just a luxury product. Louis Vuitton’s foray into hospitality is a natural extension of its storied legacy in the art of travel, transforming culinary experiences into sensory voyages that linger in the memory.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

Since the debut of Café and Restaurant Louis Vuitton in Osaka in 2020, the Maison has reimagined luxury dining through its global network of Louis Vuitton restaurants, cafés, and Le Chocolat Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton. This culinary evolution, rooted in the savoir-faire that defines the brand, is driven by the Louis Vuitton Culinary Community, born in Saint-Tropez under the mentorship of acclaimed chefs Arnaud Donckele and Maxime Frédéric. Spanning vibrant cities like Bangkok, New York, Chengdu, and Milan, this community fosters creativity and excellence, uniting local chefs as members and internationally renowned chefs as friends to craft signature menus.

“We are dedicated to bringing customers a relaxed Louis Vuitton culinary experience,” says Donckele, emphasizing the duo’s commitment to innovation. Frédéric adds, “The Culinary Community allows us to align with the Louis Vuitton hospitality offering while encouraging chefs to flourish according to their skills.” From Michelin-starred dining to exquisite pastries and chocolates, each option invites guests to explore the House’s heritage through taste.

THE LOUIS VUITTON RESTAURANT

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Louis Vuitton’s restaurants — the heart of its culinary vision — are sanctuaries where masterful craftsmanship meets exquisite cuisine. Each dish, infused with a chef’s distinctive creativity, embodies the Maison’s steadfast commitment to excellence, delivering discerning guests an unforgettable experience.

THE LOUIS VUITTON CAFÉ

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For a more casual feel, the Louis Vuitton Café concept has created a new movement: luxury snacking. In an atmosphere adorned with curated design objects or envisioned as a refined library, Louis Vuitton Cafés welcome guests throughout the day to savor comforting classics reinterpreted with flair and finesse, inviting them to relax, indulge, and embrace the art of living à la Louis Vuitton.

LE CHOCOLAT MAXIME FRÉDÉRIC AT LOUIS VUITTON

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Finally, Le Chocolat Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton is the Maison’s interpretation of dessert for those with a sweet tooth. Here, culinary artistry takes shape as chocolates are crafted into exquisite forms, from signature handbag silhouettes to iconic monogrammed creations, opening the door to delectable discovery.

ARNAUD DONCKELE & MAXIME FRÉDÉRIC AT LOUIS VUITTON IN SAINT-TROPEZ

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Perhaps one of Louis Vuitton’s most notable culinary outposts, Arnaud Donckele and Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton, has reopened its Michelin-starred restaurant at the White 1921 hotel in Saint-Tropez for the season, until September 30, 2025.

Nestled on the iconic Place des Lices, this seasonal open-air dining destination, awarded a Michelin star this year, in 2025, fuses Mediterranean elegance with Louis Vuitton’s signature craftsmanship, offering an eclectic menu and immersive ambiance that celebrates the summer spirit of the Côte d’Azur.

The Saint-Tropez restaurant, set in a historic courtyard once home to village doctors, echoes this ethos with a menu that explores three pillars: international, disruptive, and cultural dishes. Sourced from local producers, ingredients shine in dishes like silky marbled tomatoes, girolle-filled ravioli, wagyu beef in aromatic bouillon inspired by pot-au-feu, and brill meunière with seaweed and citrus. The grilled bluetail lobster, elevated by a shiso-infused sauce, and sole with local herbs reflect the Mediterranean’s vibrant terroir. And Maxime Frédéric’s desserts steal the spotlight in the mid-afternoon, with offerings like the rhubarb vacherin and hazelnut meringue with lemon sorbet, perfect to savor under the shade of an imposing umbrella pine.

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The setting is as captivating as the cuisine, with a bright floral pattern echoing the 2025 Women’s Resort Collection and the Constellation tableware collection, crafted in extrawhite Limoges porcelain with reinterpreted monogram flowers. Rattan furniture, macramé accents, and reimagined Objets Nomades — like Barber & Osgerby’s mini bell lamps and Zanellato/Bortotto’s leather-woven lamps — create an ethereal ambiance that blends 1970s Côte d’Azur nostalgia with Louis Vuitton’s modernity.

BUILDING A CULINARY EMPIRE AROUND THE GLOBE

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PARIS, FRANCE

Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton and Le Chocolat Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton

In December 2022, the LV DREAM exhibition space in Paris unveiled the Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton café, a lush retreat surrounded by tropical plants that offered freshly crafted pastries inspired by the House’s motifs, alongside Le Chocolat Maxime Frédéric, which showcased an exquisite assortment of chocolates packaged in iconic Louis Vuitton boxes.

NEW YORK, USA

Le Café Louis Vuitton New York

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Open during store hours on the fourth floor of Louis Vuitton’s 57th St. location, Le Café Louis Vuitton — a café-meets-library that blends French design with a New York loft ambiance — features a menu by Christophe Bellanca and Mary George, mentored by Arnaud Donckele and Maxime Frédéric, and dishes like Monogram-embossed ravioli and a signature New York lobster roll.

MILAN, ITALY

DaV by Da Vittorio Louis Vuitton, Le Café Da Vittorio Louis Vuitton, Milan

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In April 2025, Louis Vuitton unveiled Da Vittorio Café Louis Vuitton and DaV by Da Vittorio Louis Vuitton at Milan’s historic Palazzo Taverna and Via Bagutta 1, partnering with the three-Michelin-star Cerea family to blend Italian authenticity to offer a luxurious jardin d’hiver café ambiance and playful, casual fine dining under chef Edoardo Tizzanini.

TAORMINA, ITALY

Le Bar Louis Vuitton

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In August 2023, Louis Vuitton opened Le Bar Louis Vuitton in Taormina, a Mediterranean-inspired sky bar with a blue and warm white terrace that features a gourmet aperitivo of reimagined Sicilian delicacies and signature cocktails.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM

Café Cyril Lignac at Louis Vuitton Heathrow T2, London

In October 2024, Louis Vuitton debuted Le Café Cyril Lignac at Heathrow Terminal 2, an intimate airport café where celebrated French chef Cyril Lignac’s menu is made of elegantly reimagined French and international classics.

OSAKA, JAPAN

Le Café V, Le Restaurant Sugalabo V, Osaka

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Louis Vuitton debuted in-store dining in February 2020 with Le Café V and Sugalabo V in Osaka, a refined, skyward-inspired space by Jun Aoki and chef Yosuke Suga that celebrates Japanese cuisine and design.

TOKYO, JAPAN

Le Café V, Tokyo

Opened in March 2021, Le Café V in Tokyo blends Japanese artistry and French elegance with chef Yosuke Suga’s locally inspired menu in a serene, design-rich oasis above Louis Vuitton Maison Ginza.

CHENGDU, CHINA

The Hall by Louis Vuitton, Chengdu

Opened in November 2022, The Hall by Louis Vuitton in Chengdu reimagines European cuisine with Sichuan flavors, earning a Michelin Star in 2024 under chef Leonardo Zambrino.

DOHA, QATAR

Louis Vuitton Lounge, Doha Hamad International Airport

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In May 2023, Louis Vuitton opened the Lounge by Yannick Alléno at Doha’s Hamad Airport, blending the Maison’s travel heritage with refined, round-the-clock cuisine in a serene, tropical-inspired space.

BANGKOK, THAILAND

Gaggan at Louis Vuitton, Le Café Louis Vuitton

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Opened in February 2024, LV The Place Bangkok features Le Café Louis Vuitton and Gaggan at Louis Vuitton, where chef Gaggan Anand’s Michelin-recognized fine dining concept explores Thai flavors through his signature five S journey.