The private dining room at Eleven Madison Park

Why it is on the list

Eleven Madison Park holds three Michelin stars, held every year since 2012.¹² Daniel Humm owns and runs it, at the base of the Art Deco Metropolitan Life North building on the northeast corner of Madison Avenue and East 24th Street, across from Madison Square Park.³⁴⁵ The private dining room was recently renovated. One wall is a floor-to-ceiling painting by Francesco Clemente, drawn from the Persephone myth and the sunflowers of the restaurant's Magic Farms, in gold tones. The room seats up to 24 at one table or 27 at three rounds, and takes 30 standing.⁵ It serves the restaurant's own seasonal tasting menus, fully plant-based or with animal protein in a few courses, with wine pairings from the cellar.⁵

It is the wrong room for more than 27 seated: the main dining room takes up to 90 seated or 250 standing.⁵ It is also wrong for a party of nine or fewer that wants to watch the cooking. The Studio at Clemente Bar, upstairs, is a nine-seat counter where Eiji Ichimura serves an Edomae omakase, and it is booked through the same events team.⁵ For a table of a few, book the dining room itself on Resy: tables for a month open on the first day of the month before, and those sales are final.⁶⁴

How to get it

Write to Zoey Truong, the private events manager, at events@elevenmadisonpark.com, or call the event office on +1 646 747 2607. You can also send the request form linked from the events page. Give the date, time and number of guests, and ask for the Private Dining Room.⁵⁷⁶ A signed contract and a deposit of 50% of the food and beverage minimum hold the room. The deposit counts toward the final bill and becomes non-refundable 56 days before the event. The bill can run above the minimum, depending on the menu and the guest count.⁵

The five-course menu is USD 315 a guest and the full tasting menu USD 385. For a reception, four passed canapés cost USD 43 a guest for 30 minutes, USD 51 for 45 minutes and USD 59 for an hour.⁵ The wine pairing is USD 195 a guest and the reserve pairing USD 475. A dedicated sommelier costs USD 500 more. The other choice is three bottles from a private-events list: one red, one white and one sparkling.⁵ Corkage is USD 100 a 750 ml bottle, arranged in advance. Bring more than five bottles and a sommelier is assigned to them for a fee. Your own cake costs USD 12 a guest.⁵ A 5% administrative fee and 8.875% New York sales tax are added to food and drink. Gratuity is up to the host. The bill is paid at the end of the event, and checks are not accepted.⁵

Confirm food, wine, guest count and arrival time 7 to 10 days ahead, and the guaranteed count three business days ahead. Place-card names are due within three days of the event. Audio-visual equipment needs 10 days' notice, and a certified kosher meal from an outside kitchen needs a week.⁵ Printed menus with your heading or logo cost nothing extra, and so do place cards and the week's flowers. Custom flowers, a cake from pastry chef Laura Cronin and parting gifts are charged; the gifts count toward the minimum.⁵

Discretion

The private dining room is separate from the main dining room.⁵ For more room, the whole second floor, one above the street, can be taken with it. That floor holds The Lounge and The Studio at Clemente Bar, and the buyout does not include the Ichimura omakase.⁵ The main dining room and its bar can also be booked for an event.⁵ There is no dress code, and the coat check is free.⁵