NYC’s Eleven Madison Park relaunching as 100% vegan restaurant

Eleven Madison Park, arguably the most acclaimed fine dining restaurant in NYC, is reopening on June 11 and chef-owner Daniel Humm has announced that when it does it will serve "a plant-based menu in which we do not use any animal products." Previously, EMP's menu was known for dishes with duck, lobster and foie gras.

"When we began to think about reopening EMP, we realized that not only has the world changed, but so have we," Humm wrote on Instagram today. "We have always operated with sensitivity to our impact on our surroundings, but it had become clear that the current food system is not sustainable. We knew we couldn’t open the same restaurant."

Of the 132 restaurants in the world with the Michelin stars, this will make Eleven Madison Park the only one with an entirely vegan menu. EMP is one of five three-Michelin-starred restaurants in NYC and one of only three to receive four stars from The New York Times.

Humm goes on to say, "We promised ourselves that we would only change direction if the experience would be as memorable as before. I find myself most inspired by dishes that center vegetables, and have naturally gravitated towards a more plant-based diet. At times I’m up in the middle of the night, thinking about the risk we’re taking abandoning dishes that once defined us. But then I return to the kitchen and see what we’ve created. What at first felt limiting began to feel freeing, and we are only scratching the surface. We believe that this is a risk worth taking."

The restaurant is also one of the most expensive in the city, and that's not going to change, but Humm says now every $335-per-person dinner (gratuity included) will "allow us to provide 5 meals to New Yorkers in need -- delivered by Eleven Madison Truck, which is operated by our staff. It’s a circular ecosystem where our guests, our team, and our suppliers all participate."

"Every dish is made from vegetables, both from the earth and the sea, as well as fruits, legumes, fungi, grains, and so much more." Some of the dishes on the initial menu, according to The Wall Street Journal, include a beet dish that involves a 16-hour process with “more than a dozen distinct steps,” a rice porridge with celtuce, and an amaranth-seed-and-sweet-pea dish “served with a creamy fermented-almond cream and pea-miso purée.”

Reservations for Eleven Madison Park's new menu for the month of June start Monday, May 10 at 9 AM EDT.