Eleven Madison Park — Restaurant in New York

This was one of the most disappointing meals that I can remember. We had such high hopes since we enjoyed the retrospective menu from May 2017 so much that much of it remained seared in our culinary memory, but this meal was a total flop, an anticlimactic decrescendo that slapped us in the face with a $1,400 price tag. We are still reeling from the experience today and vowed never to come back.

I commend the sustainability concept and how this would make EMP a pioneer in the culinary world, but that’s only if the dishes were actually good. There was not one single “wow” in any course throughout the evening; everything was flat, unremarkable, had no real developed flavors, was missing acid in a few dishes, and the dessert course included some tough mochi and strawberries that were banged up and tasted less than fresh. We remarked that this seemed indicative that EMP didn’t have a pastry chef that could deliver a delicious dessert. The bread and butter course may have been the tastiest, which is sad. The soba noodles were so unappetizing, I could not even make it through the dish. Our last experience was brilliant and inventive with beautiful plating and unique concepts like a meat grinder to make carrot tartare tableside. There was none of that here, just mediocrity. The one (and only) thing I thoroughly enjoyed was the banana cocktail. I ordered two, they were lovely. The dressed lettuces with the ricotta cheese were also tasty, and the hasselback potato was just ok. The celebration dish (peas and beans), the asparagus, the fried fritter, the soba noodles, and the romanesco were all unappetizing. The team poured a “mole” sauce that they said was more like a salsa verde, and honestly it had little to no flavor as the whole dish was overrun with the flavors of masa and bitter dandelion green.

We asked the sommelier for a Brut at a $200 price point to accompany the bulk of our meal, and we noted that there were lots of options in that price range (or less). We got the check and were charged $255 for an underwhelming bottle of sparkling wine, 25% more than the requested budget and it truly was unimpressive. I was surprised that this was not communicated to us by the sommelier. We wanted something bright and crisp and instead, we got a bottle of Champagne Clan Destin that had a peculiar aftertaste (like Smarties candy) on the palate and did not finish clean at all. It was not at all the bottle of wine we hoped to enjoy and regretted that the sommelier asked us to trust her with a blind selection. Another unique aspect is that most restaurants parse out the cost of the menu and items pretax for gratuity. Here, the prepayment listed included the tax on the meal. We didn’t say anything because it was just a difference in maybe $10 of gratuity which was not a big deal and we were happy to pay, but I appreciate when restaurants are thoughtful and transparent with these things.

This celebration was for my husband’s 40th birthday and we wanted it to be really special- this was the only “gift” he wanted: a memorable and beautiful dinner. He felt really disappointed and sad at the end and asked if he could select a different restaurant for a redo celebration, which broke my heart because my husband always finds a way to spin a negative situation into a positive one. I am just so upset that we spent so much money on such an underwhelming experience when we could have gone to Joomak, Cesar, Jungsik, or any other exceptional restaurant that knows how to deliver at this price point. We certainly spend a good sum on food and fine dining, and have no issues doing so if it’s a great experience, but that did not happen yesterday evening. If Eleven Madison Park didn’t have a good reputation for years, I am confident that not many folks would choose to dine here. I am surprised that the team does not note how underwhelmed their clients are- the two tables surrounding us were also celebrating birthdays and I overheard them also remark about how underwhelmed they were and one of the tables wishes that they left midway...

If ever a plant-based restaurant deserved 6 stars, it's Eleven Madison Park. They proved that you don't need to serve animal products as part of the very best dining experiences.

This review is written after the announcement that they're soon returning to serving animal products as part of the menu but before they've made this transition. It was difficult deciding how to write and frame this review given the recent announcement made after we made and pre-paid our reservation, but in the end we're reviewing the restaurant as visited based on what we experienced. We hope that reviews like ours will help convince the management that the plant-based tasting should at least remain the default option, as it's a great shame to lose what the restaurant represents (or represented). Having the plant-based menu as the default, while offering optional omnivorous swaps to secure the bookings they need to remain in business, would be an acceptable compromise in our opinion (as we believe it's better for a place like this to exist and provide a plant-based experience than not at all). It's easy to condemn a restaurant that serves an omnivorous customer base, and in an ideal world we would all be plant-based, but with the closures of so many vegan restaurants in both the UK and US (one even closed its doors between the planning stage and the trip itself), we think it's better that vegan dining experiences exist alongside options we wouldn't have if that's the genuine difference between closure and staying afloat.

That said, the experience we had was second to none. We booked the full tasting menu and added a cake to the booking. We also opted for the non-alcoholic pairing to go with the tasting (not selectable at booking but possible to request at the restaurant). We were emailed ahead of time to ask if we needed any accommodations or if we were celebrating any special occasions, and we'd let them know that we were coming as a joint honeymoon highlight/30th birthday meal. The restaurant gave us personalised, hand-written cards in reference to both shortly after we were taken to our table, and the staff were extremely friendly and outwardly interested in our trip.

I cannot understate how excellent the service staff were. We're not used to Michelin-star level service (it's difficult to find it at all if you're vegan), but it blew every possible expectation out of the water, especially as we're used to the less personal, less enthusiastic service of the UK. Every single member of staff that we spoke to or were served by was warm, knowledgeable, courteous and really made us feel special.

The food was without doubt the greatest meal we've ever eaten. Every single course was an exercise in brilliance, from presentation to flavour. Pictured are some highlights, but some elements/dishes weren't photographed.

The non-alcoholic pairings were undoubtedly a great choice, as it was explained that every one was prepared on-site in partnership with the chefs to ensure that each paired and complemented the course it was served with. Primarily consisting of the juice of a grape varietal traditionally used in wine, each one was imbued with aromatics, spices and infusions to shape the taste exactly to go alongside each course seamlessly. Every single thing we ate and drank tasted amazing, ranging from in-your-face flavours to more subtly elegant dishes.

Every single course and pairing was explained by the staff, which really added to the experience. One particular highlight was the preparation table-side of the smoked hasselback potato, tonburi 'land caviar', pomme purée, seaweed cream and chive blossoms. The service staff assembled the dish in front of us, walking through it while demonstrating excellent quenelle technique.

To close out, we had a coffee and a tea (for which the staff were more than happy to walk us through the options and their own recommendations) and the prepaid cake, which, before it was served, was presented with a birthday candle for us to take photos if we wished.

A once-in-a-lifetime experience we will...

TLDR: Vegan couple who travels the world and disappointed by the only 3 Michelin Star vegan place. Food was flat with almost every course hitting the palette salty. Our service was subpar compared to those around us even though we were kinder to our staff.

Atmosphere: high ceilings and looks expensive, but bland. Nothing wows you or makes you feel cozy. It feels corporate.

Service: we were surprised by how impersonal the staff were. They were kind, but most (especially the men) seemed to want to get away from us as soon as possible. No one introduced themself having to ask each person's name. It felt like they were trained to "blend in" vs. making you feel comfortable, but I don't treat waitstaff like robots. Julia and Pelly were the exception as they tried to connect with us. The male staff would begin to back away from the table while talking, making us feel like we were not a priority.

We were the final seating, seated 20 min late, and the place was mostly empty, so not in the rush. This treatment became VERY clear when the tables around us received personalized attention. Our 1st table captain disappeared with no notice, and the 2nd would spend 5 min with the table next to us while barely giving us a minute. We were dressed nice and we treat servers kindly, even stack our plates. We were not given a tour of the kitchen or any special dessert experience like EVERY table around us.

We both ordered mocktails, yet no one told us there was a non-alcoholic pairing. While glasses were never empty and everyone smiled, it felt clinical and for a place FAMOUS for amazing service, we are flabbergasted. Compared to Orlando's AAA Five Diamond rated Victoria and Albert's where you get a 10 course vegan meal and you 2-3 servers fully dedicated to your table. They introduce themselves. They treat you like family (well nice family, not that crazy uncle).

Food: 1 clarified tomato basil soup, cold drink punched with flavor and hit the palette unexpected. I LOVED it, but my wife hated it. After finishing mine, I began to drink hers, and it hit me... it was so salty that after a few sips, I started to feel sick. I was too enamored by the unexpected flavor to realize that it was not refreshing but weirdly heavy.

2 three tomato bits, one of our favorites. Each was flavored slightly differently, and the sauce was superb. This was one of few moments of "wow, how did they do this?"

3 tomato silken tofu soup. Warm, well seasoned, but did not have a different flavor profile from the previous 2 courses. It was nice to have something warm at 10pm, but whenever multiple courses feature the same ingredient, each should be different you think, "how can you get such a range of flavors?"

4 radish tostada with horseradish and vegan caviar. Interesting, but salty and not groundbreaking.

5 sunflower croissant roll. Laminated well, but we have had better pastry at small vegan bakeries. Good, not great. I asked for a housemade spicy sauce and that improved the remaining courses.

6 sunflower salad, salty, and not refreshing. Our palettes we screaming for a cleanser at this point.

7 stone bowl rice. Amazing texture, good flavors, but nothing I can't find at a great Chinatown restaurant like Hangawi.

8 fried eggplant fritter. Salty and heavy. Lots of ingredients that could not be individually tasted.

9 spongy seitan with smoked zucchini. The sauce was salty and not unique. The zuc didn't raise the dish. Neither of us finished it.

10 melon sorbet. The best dish of the night. Finally, something refreshing. This should have been moved up to course 5/6 to lift the meal.

11 strawberry yogurt that was again salty. Not umami sweet/savory, but genuinely salty.

12 dessert pretzel (good, but not great) with zero proof vermouth (best we have ever had).

Overall, the meal was too heavy and salty. I woke up super dehydrated even though I drank 1L+ of water. Simply not as good as many other vegan fine dining experiences in Orlando, DC, New Zealand, and the Netherlands we have tried at similar or even less than...