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With its great skyscraper ceiling, its lofty flower-and-twig arrangements, and its discreet, sky-box dining suites, Eleven Madison Park is the largest member of the Danny Meyer dining empire, and the most conspicuously self-conscious. Since opening its doors in 1998 in the Flatiron district, it has also been a restaurant in search of an identity. The towering floral-and-twig ­installations have been replaced by more-­decorous arrangements of summer flowers and green topiary. Two giant wrought-iron chandeliers, which used to hover over the room in a heavy, medieval sort of way, have been removed, giving the place a lighter, more airy feel. There's a new cocktail menu, new flatware, and a whole new set of delicately ridged china by Limoges. But the most profound change has taken place in the kitchen, where a Swiss cook named Daniel Humm has replaced the original chef, Kerry Heffernan. Mr. Humm arrives from San Francisco after a well-reviewed stint at the Campton Place hotel. Unlike the more earthy cooks Mr. Meyer has favored in the past, Mr. Humm is a high-minded classicist. He is also an alchemist, a dabbler in the mercurial art of reductions and foams, and, almost overnight, he has turned Eleven Madison Park into one of the more interesting restaurants in the neighborhood. — Adam Platt

Mon.—Fri., 5:30 p.m.—10:30 p.m.; three courses, $95; five courses, $135; eleven course "Gourmand," $175

Weddings
This 1920s Art Deco building boasts two private-party enclaves overlooking the main dining room (up to 110 guests), which features terrazzo floors and original light fixtures. The Madison Square Park vista, as seen through the nine-foot windows, is just as memorable as chef Daniel Humm’s elevated French fare ($135 per guest).

Foie gras with bing cherries, gnocchi, suckling pig, chocolate-caramel tart

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New York Magazine Reviews

• Adam Platt's Full Review (8/28/06)

Best of New York Awards

• Best Pig (2007)
• Best Brunch for In-Law Introductions (2007)

Featured In

• Adam Platt's Where to Eat 2011 (1/3/11)
• The Individual Coffee Roasters You’ll Find at Union Square Hospitality Group’s Restaurants (11/30/09)
• Where to Eat 2008 (1/7/08)
• Our Picks for Diet-Be-Damned Dishes (12/24/07)
• Coming to Your Kitchen Table: Ceramics by Jono Pandolfi (3/5/07)
• 101 Best New York Restaurants for 2006 (1/9/06)

Recipes at Eleven Madison Park

• Strawberry Gazpacho (2010)
• Glazed Black Mission Figs With Fall Spices (2007)
• Grilled Kielbasa Roll With Cardamom Coleslaw and Whole-Grain Mustard Aïoli (2005)
• Chocolate-Covered Banana–Crème Fraîche Ice-Cream Bar (2003)