For seasoned shoppers, ‘Where shall we lunch?’ used to be a question fraught with existential angst, especially after a successful retail spree through a bold-faced named couturier.
This is no longer the case for Louis Vuitton loyalists dropping into the marque’s new four-storey flagship store in Osaka where in-house architects inserted a café and restaurant at the top of the billowing white façade – the latter stylishly mimicking the sails of traditional Higaki-Kaisen cargo ships.
Both venues are collaborations with Yosuke Suga, the celebrated Japanese chef overseeing a pair of serene spaces lined with terrazzo and furnished with, in the case of Le Café V, coloured discs that mimic the sea and a prow-shaped bar; and in the adjoining Sugalabo V restaurant – a bijou, moodily lit space wrapped around an open kitchen accessed through a speakeasy-type panel – with trompe l’oeil cube floors, dark panels, and high leather-swathed stools.
Le Café V, in particular, pairs its sunny room with an equally relaxed menu of Turzum and Kagoshima teas, satsuma juice, and an Earl Grey-infused gin and tonic to go with crab macaroni au gratin, and a crisp Croque Monsieur oozing with Raclette and Abondance. Or skip all that and head straight for the millefeuille scented with Madagascar vanilla.
ADDRESS
2-8-16 Shinsaibashi-suji
Chuo-ku
Osaka
-
Wild sauna, anyone? The ultimate guide to exploring deep heat in the UK outdoors‘Wild Sauna’, a new book exploring the finest outdoor establishments for the ultimate deep-heat experience in the UK, has hit the shelves; we find out more about the growing trend
-
Highlights from the transporting Cruise 2026 showsThe Cruise 2026 season began yesterday with a Chanel show at Lake Como, heralding the start of a series of jet-setting, destination runway shows from fashion’s biggest houses
-
Behind the design of national pavilions in Venice: three studios to knowDesigning the British, Swiss and Mexican national pavilions at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 are three outstanding studios to know before you go
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Rosewood Miyakojima: ‘Japan, but not as most people know it’Rosewood Miyakojima offers a smooth balance of intuitive Japanese ‘omotenashi’ fused with Rosewood’s luxury edge
-
A new book captures the kitschy allure of Japanese ‘love hotels’For his latest project, French photographer François Prost documents the whimsical façades that characterise these erotic roadside venues.
-
All aboard the world’s most luxurious train journeysStay on track with our pick of the most luxurious train journeys around the world, whether in 1920s-style opulence or contemporary chic
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Hoshino Resorts KAI Akiu: a soothing onsen hotelIn Japan’s bucolic northeast, Hoshino Resorts KAI Akiu breathes new life into a sleepy hot spring village without betraying its ancient roots
-
Shake off the winter chill at these design-led onsen hotels in JapanWhether you’re heading to the mountains of Hokkaido or the alleys of Kyoto’s Gion district, these immaculately designed onsen hotels will keep the shivers at bay
-
The new hotels you’ll want to stay at in 2025Where to stay in 2025? Let six of the most-read-about hotel openings of the past 12 months inspire your escape – from a tiny Tokyo bolthole to a Tanzanian safari retreat
-
2025 getaways: where Wallpaper* editors will be travelling to this yearFrom the Japanese art islands of Naoshima and Teshima to the Malaysian tropical paradise of Langkawi, here’s where Wallpaper* editors plan to travel to in 2025
-
The most whimsical hotel Christmas trees around the worldWe round up the best hotel Christmas tree collaborations of the year, from an abstract take in Madrid to a heritage-rooted installation in Amsterdam
