I’m a bit overdue in posting for Eleven Madison Park. Four of us ate there on Saturday. I had been really excited for this meal – perhaps more so than for any of the other reservations we have. I mentioned before that last time we were here, this restaurant only had one Michelin star, and rated well towards the end of the San Pellegrino top 100 restaurants list and it still really impressed me. This time around, the price was much higher, it has three Michelin stars, and ranks #10 in the world.
The decor was as I remember it. Nice place, high ceilings, and kind of an Art Deco feeling to it.
Eleven Madison Park
Eleven Madison Park
The menu here is a little strange. You have the option of a mix and match four course menu (each course has four options described only by a single word) or a seven course tasting menu. Last time we were here, we opted for four courses while this time we opted for seven.
We started off with some cocktails which were all fantastic. Our sommelier was very helpful in recommending these as well as wine.
Eleven Madison Park
Unfortunately, my happiness with the drinks did not extend to the meal. Overall, it was good but not fantastic. I would have been happy with this meal at most restaurants because it was fairly well executed and tasted good. But it was not memorable. While uploading pictures, I had trouble remembering what all the courses were – which shouldn’t happen four days after the meal. And when you consider that last time I was there the food was better and less expensive, it makes the experience all that much more disappointing.
Last time I was there, I remember having a conversation with our waiter about the differences between them and Daniel, which at the time was the top rated restaurant in NYC. I had found Eleven Madison Park to be much better despite its lower San Pellegrino and Michelin ratings. The waiter at the time (who I noticed is still working there) said that the one Michelin star restaurants try harder. I guess it’s true. I’m including some other pictures of food (when I remembered to get the camera out). The captions aren’t overly descriptive for the reason mentioned above.
Yogourt Lollipops
Apple
Beets
Plantain
Fish
Lamb
Sabayon (in the egg shell)
Lobster
The one redeeming point in the evening is when they gave us sauce spoons to use with the lobster course – I tried, but still haven’t managed to figure out how it can be considered useful. Even our waiter was at a loss to explain.
Sauce Spoon!
