With Clemente Bar, Daniel Humm Sets Out to Fashion the Best Bar in New York

To find one’s way to Clemente Bar requires stepping into the expansive grandeur of Eleven Madison Park, where a host checks you in, stows your unnecessary accessories, and then guides you up a flight of stairs and into an elegant, intimate space. An ode to Francesco Clemente, the walnut-paneled room is anchored by three of the Italian contemporary artist’s large-scale murals—one of which resides behind the bespoke bar and the eight-seat chef’s counter. Amid a smattering of smaller artworks and a seamless selection of cozy design pieces, enveloping, sensorial pleasures soon unfold. 

One might imagine the pressure of adding to a three-Michelin-star restaurant would be daunting—but the restaurant is no stranger to upending expectation while maintaining acclaim. To step into Clemente Bar is to understand that, though its footprint is small, the effort behind it is mighty and it bears the same uncompromising vision we’ve come to expect from former Surface cover star Chef Daniel Humm.

With Clemente, Humm’s longtime friend as the centrifugal force, the chef looked toward the lexicon of muraled New York City hotel bars like Bemelmans at The Carlyle and the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis for inspiration, as well as Zürich, Switzerland’s Kronenhalle. Humm then tapped his collaborators for Eleven Madison Park’s 2017 renovation, Brad Cloepfil and his architecture and design firm Allied Works. Cloepfil and lead interior designer Rachel Massey paired vintage furniture designs with custom commissions from Brett Robinson and Carsten Höller. Carved wood battens commune with sophisticated mushroom-shaped lamps as well as a solid hinoki wood and stone counter. 

“Our brief from Daniel was to make the best new bar in New York City—one that creates a sense of community around the art and the food and is infused with the qualities of his favorite places,” Cloepfil tells Surface. “The warmth of the space and casual eclectic nature of the furnishings are meant to evoke a sense of invitation. The custom millwork panels are embedded with hand-carved, one-of-a-kind ‘jewels’ made in our own woodshops, enhancing the bespoke nature of the space.”

To complement the rich visual experience, Humm introduces something unexpected: bar bites worthy of a home within the walls of Eleven Madison Park. The menu includes thrice fried potatoes, a robust take on the humble French fry, as well as delectable sake-marinated pickles with celtuce and kolrabi, a carrot tartare speckled with tonburi, a fried tofu hot dog, and other playful takes on bar-counter classics. They’re served alongside flavorful, finessed cocktails with their own culinary pedigree, designed by beverage director Sebastian Tollius and bar manager Richard Millwater. 

Tollius and Millwater have been experimenting with miso, which acts as the backbone of the cocktail program,  for more than three years. “Making our own miso has allowed us to introduce unique qualities into our cocktails. It gives us solidity and an umami flavor that you don’t really get from other ingredients,” Millwater tells Surface. “The new form of luxury at Eleven Madison Park is time and texture. With misos, we can now embody that.” 

There’s an ease to the carefully concocted cocktails; though nuanced and technique-forward, they avoid fussiness. For instance, the Real Talk nods to the flavors of a cup of coffee and a pretzel ordered on the streets of New York City. To bring it to life, the team marries a pretzel miso with Kings County Coffee Whisky, amontillado, and amazake. Glenfiddich 12 and crème de banane complement a miso composed of red barley koji, plantain, and banana for the Against the Grain cocktail. A surprising lacto-fermented carrot component lends a subtle sweetness to the peated scotch and Ten to One Dark Rum of the Doctor’s Orders libation.

Comfortably, Clemente Bar only seats between 32 to 40 people. In the dim lighting, with the only window a sliver into Eleven Madison Park below, Clemente Bar becomes a showcase of the venue’s impeccable standards, “in a more approachable way,” says Millwater. Though it’s certainly not a three-hour long tasting menu journey, it is still an experience unlike any other. 

“We want Clemente Bar to be a part of the Eleven Madison Park family, but stand apart in its own right,” Humm tells Surface. “Just like at EMP, the drinks and dishes are designed with precision, each telling a story and showcasing innovative ingredients and techniques that feel both familiar and elevated.”