diff --git a/gcsfs/extended_gcsfs.py b/gcsfs/extended_gcsfs.py
index 175890af..dd801457 100644
--- a/gcsfs/extended_gcsfs.py
+++ b/gcsfs/extended_gcsfs.py
@@ -96,6 +96,9 @@ def __init__(self, *args, finalize_on_close=False, **kwargs):
         finalize_on_close : bool, default False
             By default, files in zonal buckets are left unfinalized to allow appends.
         **kwargs : dict
+            - cache_unknown_buckets : bool, default False
+                Whether to cache UNKNOWN bucket types. Useful when users lack permissions
+                for the Storage Control API to avoid repeated slow failing lookups.
             Additional arguments passed to GCSFileSystem.
             Supports retry configuration overrides for Storage Control API:
             - retry_timeout: Total time to spend retrying (seconds).
@@ -104,6 +107,7 @@ def __init__(self, *args, finalize_on_close=False, **kwargs):
             - retry_multiplier: Multiplier for delay between retries.
             These map to `google.api_core.retry.AsyncRetry` arguments (without 'retry_' prefix).
         """
+        self._cache_unknown_buckets = kwargs.pop("cache_unknown_buckets", False)
         valid_keys = DEFAULT_RETRY_CONFIG.keys()
         self.retry_config = {
             k[6:]: v
@@ -194,8 +198,7 @@ async def _lookup_bucket_type(self, bucket):
         if bucket in self._storage_layout_cache:
             return self._storage_layout_cache[bucket]
         bucket_type = await self._get_bucket_type(bucket)
-        # Dont cache UNKNOWN type
-        if bucket_type == BucketType.UNKNOWN:
+        if bucket_type == BucketType.UNKNOWN and not self._cache_unknown_buckets:
             return bucket_type
         self._storage_layout_cache[bucket] = bucket_type
         return self._storage_layout_cache[bucket]
diff --git a/gcsfs/tests/test_extended_gcsfs.py b/gcsfs/tests/test_extended_gcsfs.py
index 906f8f22..cdc02a8e 100644
--- a/gcsfs/tests/test_extended_gcsfs.py
+++ b/gcsfs/tests/test_extended_gcsfs.py
@@ -1611,3 +1611,55 @@ async def test_cat_file_non_zonal_fallback(extended_gcsfs):
         mock_super_cat.assert_awaited_once_with(
             "standard_bucket/obj", start=10, end=20, concurrency=2, custom_arg="val"
         )
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_lookup_bucket_type_not_cached_unknown(extended_gcsfs):
+    """Test that BucketType.UNKNOWN is not cached when _cache_unknown_buckets is False."""
+    fs = extended_gcsfs
+    fs._cache_unknown_buckets = False
+
+    # Clear cache just in case
+    fs._storage_layout_cache.clear()
+
+    # Mock _get_bucket_type to return UNKNOWN
+    with mock.patch.object(
+        fs, "_get_bucket_type", new_callable=mock.AsyncMock
+    ) as mock_get_type:
+        mock_get_type.return_value = BucketType.UNKNOWN
+
+        # First lookup
+        type1 = await fs._lookup_bucket_type("my-bucket")
+        assert type1 == BucketType.UNKNOWN
+        assert mock_get_type.call_count == 1
+
+        # Second lookup should call _get_bucket_type again because it's not cached
+        type2 = await fs._lookup_bucket_type("my-bucket")
+        assert type2 == BucketType.UNKNOWN
+        assert mock_get_type.call_count == 2
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_lookup_bucket_type_cached_unknown(extended_gcsfs):
+    """Test that BucketType.UNKNOWN is cached when _cache_unknown_buckets is True."""
+    fs = extended_gcsfs
+    fs._cache_unknown_buckets = True
+
+    # Clear cache just in case
+    fs._storage_layout_cache.clear()
+
+    # Mock _get_bucket_type to return UNKNOWN
+    with mock.patch.object(
+        fs, "_get_bucket_type", new_callable=mock.AsyncMock
+    ) as mock_get_type:
+        mock_get_type.return_value = BucketType.UNKNOWN
+
+        # First lookup
+        type1 = await fs._lookup_bucket_type("my-bucket")
+        assert type1 == BucketType.UNKNOWN
+        assert mock_get_type.call_count == 1
+
+        # Second lookup should NOT call _get_bucket_type again because it's cached
+        type2 = await fs._lookup_bucket_type("my-bucket")
+        assert type2 == BucketType.UNKNOWN
+        assert mock_get_type.call_count == 1