Along with the Le Croque Louis Paris made with whole wheat bread, white ham, comté cheese and black truffle, and the crisp monogramed waffles filled with caviar, crème fraîche and chives, there’s a burger, and a dessert take on the classic P&J sandwich, on the menu at Le Café Louis Vuitton.
“We created a beautiful Caesar salad. We created a beautiful club sandwich. We created a beautiful burger — six ounces with French fries,” said Christophe Bellanca, the executive chef of Le Café Louis Vuitton. “We believe we need to have a burger on the menu. Why not? It’s also very important to have a nice lobster roll.”
For the first time, Le Café Louis Vuitton has come to America. It’s situated on the fourth floor of the temporary Louis Vuitton flagship at 6 East 57th Street. Across the street, the permanent Louis Vuitton flagship, 1 East 57th Street, is undergoing a massive, multiyear overhaul. But Vuitton’s temporary store with its staggering trunk installations, artwork, VIP and personalization services, and broad multicategory luxury collection, seems anything but makeshift.
That also holds true with Le Café Louis Vuitton. For the city, the brand has created a new culinary concept called “luxury snacking” considered equal parts fun and refinement, French flair and local touches.
“You can just have a beautiful drink and eat a beautiful salad and that’s it,” Bellanca said.
Or perhaps the steamed scallop soufflé enhanced with caviar and Champagne beurre blanc, or braised black bass served with vongole bouillon. How about the Poularde Rótie with Japanese curry and heirloom carrot and jus gras, or truffle raviolis embossed with the flower monogram and Damier tartlets filled with seasonal ingredients?
The dessert selection reinterprets French classics with Louis Vuitton monogram flourishes, whether a hazelnut gâteau on a noisette entremet, or a vanilla cake using beans from Tahiti and Madagascar. There’s also a pear tart, roasted, spiced and encased in buttery pastry. The Jardin Sundae is a take on the classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It’s made with Concord grapes, and sunflower seeds instead of peanuts, which Marie George, the executive pastry chef, said have a similar flavor profile to peanuts, and is fine for those allergic to peanuts.
“Bringing our own signature desserts, as well as incorporating what they do elsewhere at Louis Vuitton, I think creates a very special menu,” said George.
French chefs Arnaud Donckele and Maxime Frédéric developed the New York concept for Le Café Louis Vuitton, and mentored Bellanca and George. Donckele and Frédéric have been steadily strengthening their relationship with Louis Vuitton since the May opening of the restaurant in Saint-Tropez, which is aptly named after the duo, “Arnaud Donckele and Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton.”
“With Arnaud, we are not here to impose a vision,” said Frédéric in a statement. “We wish to impart a codification, which is not the same thing. The codification is how we imbue the savoir-faire and the culture and the quality of the maison into the menu. For me, this means that every client in every Louis Vuitton café around the world will be able to discover a unique and subtle touch of French spirit with every bite.”
Donckele added, “We are laying the foundation for a culinary community that will hopefully thrive on the sharing of ideas. What will make this menu so different is that it will be led by people with a New York soul.” The presence of Bellanca and George at Le Café Louis Vuitton on 57th Street lays a foundation for local chefs helming future Vuitton restaurants under the guidance of Donckele and Frédéric.
“Christophe and I were able to spend time with both Arnaud Donckele and Maxime Frédéric,” said George. “They mentored us in August and helped us understand the concept behind Louis Vuitton in the culinary world. We were able to see our craft in its best state.”
“I know Arnaud for a couple years already. We share the same passion for food,” said Bellanca. “It’s all about the quality. It’s all about the sourcing. It’s all about the execution. And the project is also about hospitality. It’s not just about the food. It’s about being welcoming.
“We source the best ingredients possible in America,” Bellanca said. “The black bass from Boston or New Jersey is one of the best fish you can find in the world. We have fantastic scallops from Boston. I used to buy my butter in France and bring it to America. Now the butter in Vermont, for me, is as good as the butter in France. The same is true with vegetables and fruits. We [use] a fantastic farm in New Jersey for all the citrus. We’re taking advantage of all these local ingredients. Our job is to find the best ingredients and to support the farmer. We buy this poularde from a very small farm in Pennsylvania, and you know, this chicken is as good as the poularde breast in France. I don’t think people understand how lucky we are in Manhattan” to have access to such ingredients.
The chefs made it clear that sourcing more locally — New York, Pennsylvania or New England — is not just about the economics behind the proximity. “It’s to support the local people if they do a good job,” Bellanca said.
“We spent time in France to actually taste the ingredients Louis Vuitton is using over there, to be able to replicate that same quality, but using New York local suppliers,” said George. “That’s what’s really special. We’re able to make a comparison to the exact quality they [achieve] in Paris.”
With her pastries, “I wanted to replicate the same milk they use. So I’ve been able to find local New York suppliers who can source great quality whole milk, with very similar qualities to the one that they produce on the farms at Louis Vuitton in Paris.” At Manhattan’s Union Square Market, she conveniently sources from a New York milk company. She also picks up Concord grapes there. “A Concord grape is unlike anything else, and it’s something very special to people from New York and America in general.”
Le Café Louis Vuitton has a warm, intimate setting with seating for 64, soft fluorescent lights, a low ceiling that’s decorated with hundreds of LV leather luggage tags suspended from the ceiling, and two walls of books to encourage flipping the pages, conversations and lingering, adding an element of sophistication and discovery to the experience. There’s an extended banquette under the book shelves, and a small, gently curved bar in the front seating six, so people can sit side-by-side as they scan books together.
Overseen by editor and curator Ian Luna, there are some 600 to 650 titles — 35 percent of which are Louis Vuitton Editions hardcovers — on designers, architecture, art, food, style, travel and even some children’s books, among other topics. New York artists and designers including Stephen Sprouse and Jeff Koons is an overarching theme. The Louis Vuitton Editions are for sale, but the staff knows where the other books can be purchased.
For the operations, Louis Vuitton has partnered with Starr Restaurants, and a big part of how the kitchen operates revolves around sustainability. “In the kitchen, we try to reduce the plastic at the maximum,” said Bellanca. “We don’t use the plastic testing spoon because when the plastic spoon goes to the garbage, it’s not good for the planet, right? So now we can buy a stainless steel tasting spoon that we use once and then we wash it.”
The serving hours at Le Café Louis Vuitton coincide with the store hours by opening at 10 a.m. and closing at 8 p.m., except Sundays when the hours are from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. A late breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner are served. The restaurant opens Saturday, while the store opens Friday.
“By offering an approachable yet luxurious experience, we aim to resonate with New Yorkers and visitors alike,” Bellanca said. “The combination of gourmet dishes and warm hospitality ensures that our café stands out in this ever-evolving food landscape. We have, a special sauce, a special bouillon, special ingredients. The food will be electric. But we want everybody to feel good — appreciated.”
