First Look: Eleven Madison Park Debuts Its Vegan Menu
The notable fine-dining restaurant by chef Daniel Humm reopened with a plant-based menu.
When Eleven Madison Park first announced it was going fully vegan back in early May, New Yorkers wondered how the legendary restaurant would translate its swanky tasting menu into strictly plant-based fare—and remain worthy of its $300+ price tag.
Now that the restaurant reopened this week, you can finally find out. Eleven Madison Park is now offering a tasting menu for $335 per person and a bar tasting menu of six courses for $175 per person, though it may be a while until you can sit down in the dining room to try it yourself—according to Bloomberg, the waitlist for June and July now stretches more than 15,000 people long.
Through 8-10 courses, chef Daniel Humm showcases his new vision of vegan fare with dishes like summer squash with lemongrass and marinated tofu; and a cucumber dish with melon and smoked daikon. Tonburi with peas and baby lettuce subs in for a caviar course, and the final entree is eggplant with tomato and coriander paired with summer beans and corn with juniper.
The menu has the same flair and elegance as the restaurant’s former carnivorous menu, but none of the dishes attempt to mimic meat or fish products—as so many other vegan menus do.
“It’s a tremendous challenge to create something as satisfying as the lavender honey-glazed duck, or the butter-poached lobster, recipes that we perfected,” Humm said in an official announcement in May regarding the new plant-based menu. “But then I return to the kitchen and see what we’ve created. [...] What at first felt limiting began to feel freeing, and we are only scratching the surface.”
On the beverage side, wine pairings by wine director Watson Brown are available starting at $175 per person. A list of specialty cocktails similarly celebrate fresh produce, with options like the Carrot, which pairs mezcal and rum with Batavia arrack, hazelnut, orgeat, lime, and cinnamon. In addition, the restaurant also offers several thoughtful non-alcoholic beverage selections.
Reservations for June and July are booked, but you can join the waitlist online and reservations for August open July 1 at 9 am. For every meal purchased, Eleven Madison Park donates five meals to New Yorkers experiencing food insecurity through Rethink Food.