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| A view of Gucci Osteria Seoul in Yongsan District, central Seoul / Courtesy of Gucci Osteria Seoul |
Gucci, Louis Vuitton opening fine dining restaurants in Seoul
By Park Han-sol
High-end fashion and fine dining experiences are being combined in Korea as more luxury brands are opening up their own posh cafes and eateries to attract diners.
A month ago, Italian fashion house Gucci announced the grand opening of its contemporary restaurant, Gucci Osteria Seoul, in central Seoul's Yongsan District.
Nestled on the top floor of Gucci Gaok, the brand's second flagship store in Korea, the restaurant is Gucci Osteria's fourth in the world to open its doors to the public, with the other three branches being in Florence, Los Angeles and Tokyo.
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| Gucci Osteria Seoul's signature dish, Emilia Burger / Courtesy of Gucci Osteria Seoul |
Like its other branches, Gucci Osteria Seoul aims to present traditional Italian cuisine infused with creative twists inspired by local recipes and ingredients.
Some of the locale's dishes include the signature Emilia Burger made with "hanwoo" (Korean beef) patty, tortellini with Parmigiano Reggiano cream and Seoul Garden salad ― which can be served a la carte at a cost between 26,000 won ($20.55) and 39,000 won or as a full-course meal of 120,000 won or 170,000 won.
Despite the hefty price, the restaurant created an instant buzz in the local dining scene, with all of its tables fully booked until mid-May within minutes after online reservations were made available.
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| A view of Pierre Sang at Louis Vuitton in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul / Courtesy of Louis Vuitton |
French luxury house Louis Vuitton is another high-end fashion giant that has followed suit, with its first pop-up restaurant in Korea scheduled to open in early May at its flagship store in the affluent neighborhood of Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul.
Diners will come up to the fourth floor of the Louis Vuitton Maison Seoul from May 4 to June 10 ― the same floor that houses Espace Louis Vuitton Seoul, a cultural space that has previously hosted the exhibitions of iconic creators like Andy Warhol, Alberto Giacometti and Gerhard Richter.
At the helm of the pop-up restaurant is Korean-born French chef Pierre Sang Boyer, who owns three restaurants in Paris, offering cuisine that boasts the marriage of Korea and France.
"I would like to express my gratitude to Louis Vuitton for inviting me to be the first chef to oversee the pop-up restaurant at the Louis Vuitton Maison Seoul," the chef said in a statement.
"I strove to reflect my double DNA of Korean and French in my dish when I first made a foray into the Parisian dining scene in 2012. I am delighted to present my French cuisine with a twist of Korean flavor using fresh, seasonal and local ingredients."
Like Gucci Osteria Seoul, Pierre Sang at Louis Vuitton instantly became the talk of the town. All of the time slots were filled in after just five minutes by eager customers when the eatery became open to reservations, and patrons were unfazed by the prices of multi-course lunches and dinners that go up to 230,000 won.
Other luxury players that have recently dived into the premium food and beverage industry include Swiss watchmaker Breitling, which opened a coffee shop and a restaurant in February at its two-story flagship shop in Yongsan District.
French fashion company Dior's concept store housing a cafe, boutique and garden will arrive in the trendy neighborhood of Seongsu-dong in May in celebration of its upcoming runway show in Seoul for its pre-fall 2022 collection on April 30.
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