Daniel Humm’s Eleven Madison Park, the fine dining temple that critics skewered following its pivot to a plant-based menu last year, is still one of the world’s great restaurants — and possibly the finest vegan restaurant on planet Earth, according to Michelin.
Co-hosts Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka announced tonight at a chic ceremony in Hudson Yards that Eleven Madison Park would keep its three-star rating, Michelin’s highest award. The accolade stands in sharp contrast to reviews and columns that questioned just about every aspect of the restaurant after it dropped virtually all animal products from the menu.
Eleven Madison now appears to be the only vegan restaurant in the world with three stars.
Michelin’s famously anonymous inspectors adding a whopping 17 new restaurants to the one-star list this year, including Tribeca tasting menu spot One White Street; the French American Clover Hill; and the Lower East Side’s Dirt Candy, which has been serving vegan fare since 2008. Semma, the Greenwich Village restaurant from Roni Mazumdar and chef Vijay Kumar, became the city’s only Indian restaurant with a Michelin star. A number of modern Korean restaurants and pricy sushi dens also joined the list, including Koreatown’s Joomak Banjum, Yoshino in the East Village, and Noz 17 in Chelsea.
The inspectors dropped 11 restaurants from the one-star list, including Peter Luger, the steakhouse that was the subject of a withering Pete Wells review before the pandemic, and Marea, the tony Italian seafood and pasta spot on Central Park South. The Italian American Carbone and ZZ’s Clam Bar also fell off the list, leaving Major Food Group — which is on a rapid expansion tear — with zero Michelin stars in New York City.
There were no changes to the three-star category, which, aside from Eleven Madison park, also includes the opulent Per Se, the French Japanese Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, French seafood palace Le Bernardin, and sushi spot Masa, the country’s most expensive restaurant.
Michelin elevated just two new restaurants to two-star status: Al Coro, an Italian fine dining restaurant that opened a mere three months ago, and Saga, a tasting menu spot located some 60 floors above Crown Shy (whose own one-star rating was renewed on Thursday evening). There are now 13 restaurants with a two-star rating in New York City, following the closure of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Blanca, and Ichimura at Uchu.
In Michelin parlance, one star means “high quality cooking, worth a stop;” two stars indicates “excellent cooking, worth a detour;” three stars signifies “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.” The rating process for this year’s guide was conducted between spring 2021 and summer 2022, according to a representative for Michelin.
The Bib Gourmand category, announced in part last month, consists of venues where patrons can order two courses and a glass of wine before tax or gratuity for $49, up from $40 in 2021.
This year Michelin debuted an exceptional cocktail award, which went to Philip Dizard of Noda; a pastry chef award, awarded to Kelly Nam of Joomak Banjum; and a mentor chef award, which recognized Eric Ripert, the chef and co-owner of Le Bernardin. The guide’s sommelier and young chef awards, first introduced in 2021, went to Nikita Malhotra of Momofuku Ko and Charlie Mitchell of Clover Hill, respectively.
The Thursday night ceremony concludes an unusually busy calendar year for the Red Guide. Michelin previously announced its starred winners once per year, but in November, the organization broke from tradition, releasing the names of its award contenders in two month intervals — an apparent bid to drum up press year-round.
The full list of 2022 starred selections for New York City and Westchester
Three-stars restaurants
Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare
Eleven Madison Park
Le Bernardin
Masa
Per Se
Two-star restaurants
Al Coro (new)
Aquavit
Aska
Atera
Atomix
Blue Hill at Stone Barns
Daniel
Gabriel Kreuther
Jean-Georges
Jungsik
Momofuku Ko
The Modern
Saga (new)
One-star restaurants
63 Clinton (new)
Batard
Family Meal at Blue Hill
Casa Enrique
Casa Mono
Caviar Russe
Claro
Clover Hill (new)
Contra
Cote
Crown Shy
Dirt Candy (new)
Don Angie
Estela
Four Horseman
Francie
Frevo (new)
Gramercy Tavern
Hirohisa
Icca (new)
Jeju Noodle Bar
Joomak Banjum (new)
Jua
Kanoyama
Kochi
Kosaka
L’Abeille (new)
Le Coucou
Le Jardinier
Le Pavillon
Mari (new)
The Musket Room
Noda
Noz 17 (new)
Odo
Oiji Mi (new)
One White Street (new)
Oxalis
Oxomoco
Red Paper Clip (new)
Rezdora
The River Cafe
Semma (new)
Shion 69 Leonard Street (new)
Sushi Amane
Sushi Ginza Onodera
Sushi Nakazawa
Sushi Noz
Sushi Yasuda
Tempura Matsui
Torien (new)
Tsukimi
Tuome
Vestry
Yoshino (new)
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism