Cheval Blanc Paris Hôtel opens Hakuba Japanese restaurant

hakuba restaurant cheval blanc paris hotel

(Image credit: Photography by Vincent Leroux)

published 20 July 2024

When Cheval Blanc Paris Hôtel opened in 2021, the ground floor space that now houses Hakuba was better known as Limbar, a relaxed restaurant slash salon de thé which focused on the creations of pastry chef Maxime Frédéric. Although the space took design cues from Africa, it has now been seamlessly reinterpreted as Hakuba, an omakase restaurant headed up by chef Takuya Watanabe, Arnaud Donckele of Cheval Blanc’s three-Michelin starred Plénitude, and Frédéric overseeing the desserts.

Hakuba at Cheval Blanc Paris Hôtel

Interior of Hakuba at Cheval Blanc Paris H&ocirc;tel — Interior of Hakuba at Cheval Blanc Paris Hôtel

The dark-grained walnut walls, which have been retained from Limbar, are well suited to Hakuba’s minimalist Japanese style and have been left in place to remind guests of a Japanese forest. Another natural touch is the Tsukubai stone and bamboo fountain, which travelled from Japan to sit at the restaurant entrance and set the calming mood with a soft stream of water.

The original walnut wood bar counter is still in place, finished with a bronze edging by artist Ingrid Donat. The bronze shelving behind has also been designed by Donat and while before it stacked fresh rustic loaves, it’s now home to a collection of Japanese antiques such as large decorative pieces of stone and ceramic vases, all handpicked by Cheval Blanc Paris designer, Peter Marino.

Following the Japanese sushi bar style, another counter has been added facing away from the original to focus guests’ attention on the chefs in front of them and to allow the team to move seamlessly behind. The walls of rice paper panels have been made bespoke for the restaurant and slide open in the traditional Japanese manner to reveal a third, private dining space set around a curved wooden table.

As art de la table is held in as high regard in Japan as it is in France, each service is thoughtfully presented down to the finest details: even the lighting above each counter has been designed to follow the plates to highlight each dish as it arrives.

The team tapped into Japanese savoir-faire to source glassware directly from Kyoto and most earthy ceramic plates and bowls from the south of Japan. One particularly special piece, though, is a glazed white sculpture of a lotus flower, created by French ceramist Virginie Boudsocq in collaboration with Frédéric to elegantly present his delicate mochi desserts.

Red mullet marinated in Shio Koji and grilled over Binch&#333;tan — Red mullet marinated in Shio Koji and grilled over Binchōtan

Hakuba is located at Cheval Blanc Paris Hôtel, 8 Quai du Louvre, Paris, chevalblanc.com

Originally from Leeds, Nicola Leigh Stewart lived in London and Madrid before moving to Paris, where she writes about travel and food for the likes of Conde Nast Traveler, The Telegraph, The Times, Design Anthology UK, and Robb Report. She has also co-authored Lonely Planet guidebooks on Paris and France and teaches travel writing at the American University of Paris.