Luxury Fashion Brands Are Opening Cafés and Restaurants

Scrolling through TikTok, The Polo Bar by Ralph Lauren might pop up on your FYP, with creators and celebrities alike reviewing $37 cocktails and a $35 burger. While visiting New York City, a fashionable friend might suggest Tiffany’s Blue Box Café for a spot of afternoon tea while shopping. Swiping through Instagram, another friend might be on vacation in Paris, grabbing a designer latte branded with a snappily dressed fox at Café Kitsuné. 

It’s not your imagination, or some kind of hallucination induced from watching too many Birkin bag videos. Fashion brands and designers are opening more restaurants these days. The source of buzz seems to be a trio of openings in New York City—from Armani, Louis Vuitton, and Tiffany’s—plus one rumored takeover.

The latest is the new Armani/Ristorante, which opened on Madison Ave last December, and it’s giving quiet luxury. Now 90 years old, Giorgio Armani opened his first restaurant in Paris in 1998, and today owns 24 around the world. There was previously an Armani/Ristorante on 5th Ave, but the whole flagship moved to the Upper East Side, where the ground floor restaurant spans 4,156 square feet, including a bar and mezzanine. Supposedly inspired by Armani’s yacht, the modern design features eucalyptus wood, lacquer green walls, and marble floors. Much of the furniture comes from the Armani/Casa line; the table lamps alone start at several thousand dollars. 

It’s Italian fine dining in minimalist style, and if shopping feels like a daytime activity, it dives surprisingly deep into dinner. Executive chef Antonio d’Angelo flew out from Milan for the opening, and the restaurant offers prix-fixe lunch and an à la carte dinner, with plans to add a full tasting menu and aperitivo snacks. The chef recommends the ravioli Genovese, slowly simmering both beef and veal for six hours, like his mama used to make. Of course, you could make it rain truffles for $70. 

At some other Armani cafes around the world, “People come inside to have one drink to take a photo for Instagram or TikTok,” D’Angelo says. But not on the Upper East Side, where they’re staying for dinner, and it’s slightly more discreet. 

Only a month earlier, Le Café Louis Vuitton burst open on 5th Ave in November 2024, with a maximalist aesthetic of monograms on everything. This is the house’s first restaurant in the United States, joining others around the world, including a swanky destination in Saint Tropez. It’s in the new temporary flagship (while the original gets a multi-year renovation), with a giraffe trotting across the facade and suitcases towering in the atrium. On the fourth floor, the cafe unfolds like a library with walls of books, stacks of trunks, and color pops of signature orange. 

Louis Vuitton partnered with James Beard Award–winning restaurateur Stephen Starr from Philadelphia—also behind restaurants like Pastis and Le Coucou in NYC—who tapped Michelin-pedigreed chef Christophe Bellanca (Essential by Christophe) and pastry chef Mary George (Daniel). An all-day menu covers breakfast, lunch, and snacks for luxury shoppers. Your cappuccino foam is stamped with a luggage tag, the club sandwich comes cut in the shape of the iconic flower, and the chocolate entremet arrives embossed with the house monogram. 

There’s a line downstairs, a line upstairs, a waitlist for reservations, and it’s a social media scene. However, “We have the same standards as all the Michelin stars we’ve worked at before,” Bellanca insists. “The only difference is we like to make sure our food is more approachable, in a sense…” George adds. “That cafe setting, but that Michelin polish.”

Yes, you can have breakfast at Tiffany’s, ever since the Blue Box Café reopened on 5th Ave, following a sparkling renovation in 2023. An earlier version of the cafe started in 2017, before LVMH acquired the brand in 2021, and reopened the flagship in 2023. Today it’s a jewel box of a cafe tucked up on the sixth floor, where blue boxes hang from the ceiling and confetti splashes across the floors. “With social media today, it has even more appeal for being playful, colorful, and whimsical,” says 1988 F&W Best New Chef Daniel Boulud. “It’s very chic, but it’s very casual.” 

Boulud has been partnering with the fine jewelry brand for many years, and pulled in executive chef Raphaelle Bergeon. Fans come for the $68 set breakfast and $98 afternoon tea, both served on tiered silver trays, trimmed with egg shells stuffed with caviar, mini croissants, and fancy fresh juices. The burger is also a bestseller, dressed up with gooey raclette, tomato confit, and a potato brioche bun. Fans of the film arrive wearing little black dresses and oversized glasses, and it’s always a party, with Champagne and photos popping. 

“What I love about the Blue Box Café at Tiffany’s, compared to any other cafe, is that sense of celebration,” Boulud says. Whether you’re picking out an engagement ring, welcoming a baby, or celebrating a birthday, “It’s a beautiful social rendezvous.” 

Rumors are also swirling that Prada may plan to open a restaurant in SoHo, taking over seafood institution Lure Fishbar. The Feed Me newsletter reported the news first, prompting an Eater headline of “The Devil Is Prada.” Prada already inhabits the former Guggenheim Museum SoHo above the restaurant, and now seems to be acquiring the lease for the entire building, while Lure’s current lease is up in mid 2026. Food & Wine reached out to Prada for comment, but did not hear back. 

It’s not just New York, however. Fashion cafes cross the country. Did you know the original Ralph Lauren restaurant is in Chicago? RL has been serving classic burgers and clubby vibes since 1999. The Gucci Osteria came to Beverly Hills in 2020, courtesy of famed chef Massimo Bottura, and that tortellini won a Michelin star. Meanwhile, Miami likes to party with art and fashion, and the new Dior Café rooftop is prowling with jungle animals.  

Although of course, the U.S. is just catching up with the rest of the world. Does anywhere have fashion cafes quite like Paris? Where even a casual coffee is an opportunity to dive into a sunken swimming pool at Le Plongeoir Hermès. London shoppers get to feast on scones and cakes at Rose Bakery in Dover Street Market, from the creator of Comme des Garçons. And Tokyo takes their designer restaurants seriously, with Michelin-starred spots from Chanel and Bulgari. 

Only a privileged few people in this world might be able to drop five figures on a handbag, but we can all splurge on a slice of chocolate cake with the same logo. And while prices may be high and portions may be small, many designer restaurants bring more to the experience, with distinct design and modern art. They say they take their food seriously. 

“Today, many of the fashion houses are offering dining experiences at the highest level,” D’Angelo says, as translated by a representative. “Armani, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci have all stepped up their concepts of good food and good service. To me, it’s worth the price, because you’re getting a Michelin-level fine dining experience.”