Eleven Madison Park Turns 25
The Landmark Restaurant Has Put Out a Retrospective Cocktail List.
My first experience at Eleven Madison Park—which is celebrating 25 years in business this fall—was with its bar.
This was back in 2007. I walked through the revolving doors of the grand MetLife building, nervous as hell, because EMP is, and always has been, a fancy restaurant. It is a place that can fill first-timers like myself with I-don’t-belong-here-itis. I desired no interaction with the front-of-house staff, as I had no dinner reservation, so I quickly turned to the right and made a beeline for the bar, which sat in the southeast corner of the space.
Back then, the bar was basically a separate entity. Or, at least, it felt that way. It was more low key. It certainly had lower prices. There were bar stools and a few table-and-chairs setups, all facing the bar—that is, away from the huge, high-ceilinged dining room. There was a wall and a bannister that set the area apart from the rest of the restaurant and the ceiling was much lower. It was cozy, a lovely little nook for a drink and a light snack.
Actually, all of my experiences at EMP over its quarter century of anchoring the Madison Square culinary world—aside from attending a couple of its once-legendary Kentucky Derby parties—have been with the bar. I’ve actually yet to eat a full meal there.
But that’s OK. I write mainly about drinks, after all, and it was more important that I sample the cocktails than the food. And the cocktails at EMP have always been excellent.