Helmed by chef Yosuke Suga, Sugalabo V is the first restaurant Louis Vuitton has built inside its own store. It takes over the entire top floor of the Midosuji flagship, designed by Japanese architect Jun Aoki.
A hidden ‘speakeasy’ style-door leads into the dining room, decked out in chocolate box colours, with an open kitchen and mahogany bar. Timber walls complement brown and white geometric floor tiles, yellow bar seats and ruby table chairs.
Brass rails skirt picture frames and wall panels – a detail further echoed by the shelving and door frames across the dining room – which hone a glamorous prohibition vibe. Adding to the exclusive feel, Sugalabo V hosts only a handful of people every evening, and diners can sit at formal tables, or watch chefs at work in the open-concept kitchen.
Those seeking more informal refreshments can make a pilgrimage to Le Cafe Vi, also in the top floor of the Louis Vuitton Osaka Midosuji store. The cafe is conceived as a lighter, brighter counterpart to the restaurant’s design, and continues the jewellery box colour-scheme but with creamy walls and floors, and oversized yellow sofas.
Le Cafe Vi tumbles out onto an airy terrace and offers the best view of the building’s crowning atrium, designed by Aoki to mimic a billowing sail.
