The story
Café Carmellini at 250 Fifth Avenue in New York City is a fine dining Italian and French restaurant led by James Beard Award-winning chef Andrew Carmellini, and it holds a 2026 Michelin Recommended distinction. It is his signature restaurant and marks his return to fine dining after a 30-year career in the city.
Carmellini's menu marries Italian and French cooking with a classic New York sensibility. Some plates are classics reimagined, others are dishes he has cooked for years in fresh form, and some are new, built around the season. The name nods to his family's coffee importing business, which operated in Tuscany for 120 years.
The Raw & Cured section includes Bluefin Tuna Crudo and Oysters à la Pomme. Pasta follows, with Lobster Cannelloni della Casa among the second courses. Mains include Sea Scallops 'Fra Diavolo' and Squab en Croûte. Dessert offers a Chocolate Caramel Crémeux with puffed rice croquant.
The dining room sits in an original neoclassical landmark mansion reimagined by Martin Brudnizki in a lush maximalist style. Two grand sculptural trees anchor the room, and balconies offer intimate tables with a view of the action. The wine list holds about 1,800 bottles chosen by Master Sommelier Josh Nadel and earned a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence in 2024. The Club Room seats 20 for private events.
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The warm waitstaff displays an impressive commitment to ensuring guests enjoy a wrinkle-free dining experience (ironing every white tablecloth in between reservations) by doing everything from walking you down the hallway to the Portrait Bar to holding back the table's draped cloth as you settle into your seat. Most impressively, the production feels natural rather than formal.The terraced two-story dining room exudes gilded-age glam. Six tiered chandeliers hang above two live trees in the space's center and are surrounded by gleaming brass mirrored columns and royal blue velvet banquettes, with a blue-tiled open kitchen and an ornately mirrored, six-seat bar with etched peacocks at either end.Artful flourishes appear throughout Café Carmellini in the decor and the dishes. Keep your eyes peeled for a blue peacock cognac stopper, black leather embossed menus, a sculptural curved glass wine decanter and a ceramic vase used for the bread service.The menu's thoughtful organization prevents decision fatigue caused by leafing through a novel's worth of options. Here, choose from well-curated selections in the “Raw & Cured,” first-course, second-course and entree sections.A seat on the dining room's second-story indoor terrace guarantees an intimate evening, a coveted luxury in Manhattan's many crowded restaurants. Guests can watch the action happening below comfortably perched in the plush banquettes. For maximum seclusion or larger events, the NYC restaurant also offers The Club Room private area with seating for 20.
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