From the team behind New York’s Eleven Madison Park comes a new bar, Clemente Bar, a dual-concepted, polished drinking den equipped with a lounge and eight-seat tasting counter. Perched above the Three Michelin Star dining room, Clemente Bar pays tribute to contemporary Italian painter Francesco Clemente via myriad ethereal, dreamlike abstract murals.
As beverage director upstairs and below, Sebastian Tollius—with help from bar manager Richard Millwater—spent the last eight months developing Clemente Bar’s drinks program, which unfolds in spaces that previously served as private dining rooms. The lounge offers minimalist, yet technique-driven cocktails, that highlight techniques like clarification alongside ingredients from pandan to umeboshi (Japanese pickled plum). The plant-based snacks touch upon comfort food from a triple-fried potato to a Sichuan peppercorn-laced portobello mushroom burger.
Upon first glance, one could easily mistake adjacent The Studio, with its lengthy hinoki wood counter, for an omakase sushi bar. While fish on rice isn’t the muse, the idea of omakase partially served as the inspiration for this intimate bar where the team presents a five-course food and drinks tasting menu that’s heavy on Japanese ingredients paired with other flavors from around the world.
Chef/owner Daniel Humm explains that courses here are “presented with theatrical flair,” noting a 60-minute clarified coconut milk punch and sparkling sake cocktail that’s dripped through cheesecloth in front of guests. Diners “watch as [the drink] goes from cloudy to clear… it’s a full circle moment that begins at the start and ends when you finish the pairing,” adds Tollius.
From house-made amazake (a Japanese drink made from fermented rice) to liquid nitrogen, we caught up with Tollius and Humm to learn more about what to expect from Clemente Bar.
Why launch a bar now?
Humm: We felt it was time to evolve and offer something new to match the city's ever-changing energy. There's a growing interest in unique bar experiences, and we saw an opportunity to create something that complements Eleven Madison Park, but lets guests experience it more casually. Clemente Bar lets us rethink what we can offer—a place for people to come in for a drink or a light bite without the full three-hour dining commitment.
What is the Clemente Bar experience?
Humm: The Clemente Bar experience is designed as two distinct spaces that offer unique but complementary atmospheres. The main bar lounge is an inviting space where guests can relax, enjoy a drink, and take in the artistic ambiance created with Francesco Clemente’s influence. This area is casual and accessible, encouraging a sense of spontaneity. Meanwhile, The Studio provides a more curated and intimate experience. It’s an eight-seat tasting counter within the bar, where guests are treated to a five-course tasting menu. The food and cocktails in each course are crafted and presented with theatrical flair.
Where should guests begin?
Tollius: Clemente Bar has a little something for everyone and our menu is designed based on what you’re feeling on any given day with categories like “fresh” and “bold” to help guide guests based on their preference. As simple as it seems, I suggest that guests start by digging into the menu with their server. They can share the details of what makes our drinks so special—from our home-made misos to our technical processes—creating incredibly flavor profiles.
What else is a must-try?
Tollius: Many years ago, I was known for loving to make Ramos Gin Fizzes, so we added a cocktail that is reminiscent of that style of drink. It's creamy, it's rich, and it blends both banana and matcha flavors with a base spirit of mezcal. I also love making martinis. The Clemente Martini was definitely one of the highlights for me on this menu because essentially a martini is so simple, but you can transform it with just a few tweaks. For this one, we created a green curry which we then infused and blended into olive oil. We fat-washed it into both the Italian vodka and gin, added a little bit of Cocchi Americano, dry vermouth, and blanc vermouth to balance it out, and finished it with some saffron. We've also gone ahead and taken gordal olives and pickled them ourselves with more of those curry spices, so you see cardamom and star anise and red chili flakes, curry leaves, bay leaves. So, the olive itself seems quite simple, but once you really bite into it, it's much more than those typical flavors of a regularly brined olive.
How would you describe the cocktail menu?
Tollius: Our menu is a journey of artistic minimalism paired with refined flavors. Each cocktail tells a story—whether it’s nostalgic, inspired by classic cocktails with a twist, or an inventive fusion of ingredients meant to surprise. We focus on precise garnishes and unconventional combinations that leave a lasting impression while highlighting simplicity and depth.
How did you go about researching your drinks?
Tollius: The research and development process started about eight months ago. We wanted to make sure that the drinks were different from the ones we serve at Eleven Madison Park. There, we work much closer with the kitchen and ingredient seasonally and we change our menu every season based on the connections that we can create with the tasting menu. But for here, it was more important for us to define the menu as a more highly technical list that still reads simply. We wanted to make it a little bit more accessible for people in terms of understanding the drinks, but on the back end, it's much more labor-intensive. For each cocktail, we have four ingredients listed as descriptors, but really what's behind the cocktail is much more complex and layered than that. Many of the drinks were inspired by elements of the space—art and texture, light and color. We researched and developed close to 25 cocktails and chose our 14 favorites to start with, and then we'll slowly implement some more. In some cases, we began by looking at classics—as most of the fundamentals of cocktails start from there—but we made them unique to ourselves. I wouldn't call these riffs on classics, though. What we are trying to do is create our own thing and not necessarily follow a structure.
What are some of the more technical drinks on your list?
Tollius: Most of the drinks are quite technical in the way that we're approaching them, but the ones that have the miso or the clarified amazake or even the clarified orgeats are highlights. The miso program that we've developed is definitely something that we're excited about, and it's something that we've really sunk our teeth into here—not necessarily using it as a descriptor in all of the menus, but it definitely adds savory and umami qualities to the drink rather than just using saline as many of us have done in the past. I do think that salt or some kind of savory component in a cocktail really enhances the overall balance of the drinks. When we are talking about clarification, we still use plant-based milk-washing techniques. We wanted to create cocktails that were clear and pristine and almost unassuming, but once you really dive deep into that cocktail you notice more of those complex flavors.
What are some of the more unusual ingredients in your drinks?
Tollius: We're always inspired by different cultures. There's a cocktail that's inspired by Taiwanese cheese tea, which is jasmine tea that's topped with salted cream cheese foam. There is a cocktail that I developed and wanted to highlight those same flavors using cherry blossom and Maraschino and fennel in this drink, but also a little bit of coconut miso. It’s very light and effervescent, but at the same time, it has that umeboshi salted cream that we place on top. It's a floral and refreshing-style drink that also has that creamy quality. We love working with Southeast Asian ingredients as well. Pandan is definitely something that I've loved working with, and I just love the overall flavors that it gives. It's akin to coconut meets vanilla in the best way, like toasted coconut. We've also used sarsaparilla and mandarin together for the Apples to Oranges, which is a really fun, agave shaken cocktail that highlights the flavors of creamsicles but is also brightened by yuzu. It's a really refreshing but slightly nostalgic cocktail that is also bright and reminiscent of a margarita.
What role does design play at Clemente Bar?
Humm: The design was inspired by our desire to merge the experience of art and drink. Francesco’s art is the central point of the design and the minimalist, and warm interiors invite people to linger and feel like they’re part of something special.
Tell us about the art.
Humm: Francesco’s work really defines the space. His fresco above the staircase is the first thing you see as you go up to the bar, setting the tone for an elevated, yet intimate experience. We wanted the art to be a focal point, not just decoration, something that really enhances the ambience. We’ve designed the whole space around his pieces to create a unique emotional experience.
What do you want diners to know about your culinary program here?
Humm: We wanted the food to be comforting and approachable, with a familiar twist. Think of things like hot dogs or banana-cream pie but reimagined in a plant-based and elevated way. It’s fun and nostalgic, but it has that Eleven Madison Park attention to detail. The menu is about giving people something they can relate to, with flavors that feel fresh and surprising.
What about the tasting counter?
Humm: The tasting experience is a deep dive into what we can do with both food and drinks. It’s an eight-seat chef’s counter concept that offers an interactive tasting menu, paired with cocktails featuring dishes and drinks that are prepared in front of guests, like a performance. We wanted to create a tasting menu experience that was intimate and relaxed, giving people the chance to experience mixology at its finest over a 90-minute experience - with drinks and dishes that serve as perfect complements to one another.
How did you go about researching what you wanted to serve in each space?
Humm: For the bar, we really tried to create the sort of bar food that we actually enjoy eating ourselves as chefs — a mix of small, fresh bites, and some richer fried options—which are always satisfying with drinks. At the counter, we drew on a lot of different references and plant-based cuisines for the food, but the service experience itself definitely has some similarities with omakase in its length, format, and level of intimacy.
What goals do you have for Clemente Bar?
Humm: Our main goal is to create a timeless experience. We want Clemente to feel like a space people will return to again and again, where the cocktails, art, and atmosphere create lasting memories. It’s about making people feel connected to New York and each other. We hope to make Clemente a destination where people can escape the city without leaving it.
Hero image: Evan Sung / Clemente Bar
