A Look at Eleven Madison Park’s New Plant-Based Menu

Eleven Madison Park, helmed by chef Daniel Humm, will reopen its doors to indoor diners on June 10. The date also marks the beginning of a new direction for the three-Michelin-starred restaurant, regaled as one of the best in the world. No longer will caviar, foie gras, lavender honey-glazed duck, or any form of butter or dairy arrive at the table. From now on, all of the dishes served as part of the restaurant’s multicourse tasting menu will be plant-based.

“In the midst of last year, when we began to imagine what EMP would be like after the pandemic — when we started to think about food in creative ways again — we realized that not only has the world changed, but that we have changed as well. We have always operated with sensitivity to the impact we have on our surroundings, but it was becoming ever clearer that the current food system is simply not sustainable, in so many ways,” wrote Humm in a note revealing the decision in early May. “We are thrilled to share the incredible possibilities of plant-based cuisine while deepening our connection to our homes: both our city and our planet.”

An early look at new dishes from the restaurant include fried peppers with Swiss chard, cucumber with melon and smoked daikon, and an artfully plated blueberry-based dish.

Cucumber with melon and smoked daikon.
Courtesy of Evan Sung

Fried peppers with Swiss chard.
Courtesy Evan Sung

“We are obsessed with making the most flavorful vegetable broths and stocks. Our days are consumed by developing fully plant-based milks, butters and creams. We are exploring fermentation, and understand that time is one of the most precious ingredients,” added Humm in his note, posted on the EMP website.

Ticketed reservations for the restaurant are already in high demand and sold out for June and July. August reservations open on July 1 at 9 a.m. EST and will likely be difficult to snag. Reservations also have a charitable element: each purchase will allow EMP to provide five meals to food-insecure New Yorkers in partnership with Rethink Food, a continuation of the restaurant’s efforts during the pandemic.