As any seasoned traveller knows, Bangkok is not short of dining destinations. But with the opening of Gaggan at Louis Vuitton, Thailand’s celebrated culinary city gains an edge: it now houses a restaurant that will attract both foodies and fashion fans alike.
As its name suggests, the restaurant is helmed by Gaggan Anand. The Kolkata-born chef became a celebrity in the gastronomical world thanks to his former restaurant in Bangkok, also called Gaggan, which topped the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list for four years in a row and was awarded two Michelin stars. At that erstwhile establishment, which closed in 2019, Anand showcased his elevated, modern spin on Indian cuisine as well as his rebellious approach to fine dining. The restaurant’s menu listed each dish with an emoji instead of a name, and one famous dish, called “Lick It Up”, encouraged diners to do exactly that with their plates.
None of that spunk is lost in Gaggan’s lavish new home in LV The Place Bangkok, Louis Vuitton’s multi-concept mega-store that has opened its doors at Gaysorn Amarin. Gaggan sits on the top of the two-storey building, above the café and the immersive exhibition space on the ground floor. Unsurprisingly, the restaurant boasts a fashionable flair. At the entrance, guests are greeted by a pyramid of Louis Vuitton trunks. The dining area, meanwhile, is marked by wave-like walls furnished with fringe curtains, extravagant tables carved out of Italian marble, and Louis Vuitton’s own Monogram flower lamps. So far, so sophisticated.
You can expect the dining experience in Gaggan to be just as exceptional. It is Louis Vuitton’s first restaurant in Southeast Asia, after all. Anand has specially crafted a menu of seasonal dishes that combines Thai cuisine with the French luxury brand’s style codes. Guests who manage to reserve a table at the restaurant, which includes a private dining room with a view of the kitchen, can choose between an 8-course lunch or a 17-course dinner. Gaggan’s inventive offerings, including the aforementioned “Lick It Up” dish, will send diners on a “memorable food journey”, as the maison notes.
“We will give them something local, preserved in culture, that explodes in modern times,” describes Anand about his approach to creating the menu. “In our restaurant, we won’t turn down the spice. We nurture the flavours of the street and serve them in the comfort of fine dining.”
While the Indian chef has earned a reputation for his playful interpretations of fine dining, he takes his craft very seriously. It’s something that he shares with Louis Vuitton, which preserves its traditional trunkmaking techniques at its atelier in the French village, Asnières. “When I visited Asnières, I related to the craftsmanship of what has been done [there],” recounts Anand. “Things were touched and delivered by hand.”
That commitment to handcrafted perfection is something that diners can expect from Anand’s collaboration with Louis Vuitton. “Every customer who comes to our restaurant will feel the elegance, the craftsmanship and the artisanal value of every dish they eat,” says the chef. “We blend simple ingredients with extraordinary ingredients, and because we investigate the sustainability of seasonality, which is very important, we try to work with ethical people, and we make sure we create luxury with the least amount of effort.”
Still, even a restaurant that offers the finest dishes is nothing without its diners. Anand recognises this, and shares that through Gaggan at Louis Vuitton, he hopes to “build a community”.
“I want to make sure that the world, which is so divided, is united by food [at the restaurant],” he explains. “Food crosses cultures, colours, and people. It brings everything towards the happiness of eating. Every table in my restaurant should be about the unity of people.”
One can easily imagine that sense of harmony emerging within Anand’s restaurant, which will likely attract not just locals but also tourists and Louis Vuitton’s dedicated clients from all over the world. Gaggan even sits on the same floor as the Louis Vuitton boutique, which, perhaps, denotes its significance within LV The Place Bangkok.
Much of Louis Vuitton’s 170-year heritage is devoted to travel, which explains the multicultural influences that can be seen throughout the luxury brand’s fashion collections. Anand, too, is used to crossing borders through his food. That’s why he sees so much synergy between him and the French fashion house—as well as a great potential for what they create together.
“In today’s world, cultures collide with food, fashion, and music,” says the chef. “I think Louis Vuitton and Gaggan are not about colliding but collectively building two cultures together: fashion and food as a lifestyle. We collide and we create. That is what I call art.”
Visit this website to reserve a table at Gaggan at Louis Vuitton and find out more about the restaurant.
