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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 The towering floral-and-twig ­installations have been replaced by more-­decorous arrangements of summer flowers and green topiary.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

Prix-Fixe Menu

Mon.—Fri., 5:30 p.m.—10:30 p.m.; three courses, $88; five courses, $125

Weddings
This twenties Art Deco building boasts two private party enclaves overlooking the main dining room (up to 50 guests) with terrazzo floors and original light fixtures. The Madison Square Park vista, as seen through the twenty-foot windows, is just as memorable as Chef Daniel Humm’s updated French fare. Prices upon request.

Ideal Meal

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

Related Stories

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

• 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)

Recipes at Eleven Madison Park

• 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)