Guest Check: Clemente Bar
A cozy space where you can appreciate unbelievable art, friendship, plant-based food + drink, and the commitment to nailing the details 🎨🍸
Welcome to Guest Check, a series where I review NYC's most hyped-up spots to see if they're really worth the hype. I’m not a food writer, but reviewing restaurants is a secret pleasure of mine.
A few weeks ago, Mark and I headed to Clemente Bar, in search of a romantic date night filled with art, vegetables, and fancy cocktails.
Clemente Bar is the latest plant-based masterpiece from chef Daniel Humm, perched above the three Michelin starred Eleven Madison Park like a sultry secret loft for vegetable enthusiasts. It’s a sleek, wood-accented space bedecked with stunning works by Italian artist Francesco Clemente, a personal friend of Humm. Apparently, Clemente always dreamed of having a cocktail named after him, but Humm — ever the overachiever — said, “Forget one drink; how about an entire bar?” Now that’s friendship. My life goal has officially shifted: I don’t need anyone to name a cocktail after me; I need a bar. Applications open now.
The bar serves well-crafted cocktails alongside a small but mighty menu of snacks and small plates, plus an abbreviated tasting menu option at the counter. And given our past experiences at Eleven Madison Park — Mark and I have dined there a few times because we enjoy pretending to be fancy — we had sky-high expectations.
Case in point: the first time I visited EMP, the staff made such an impression that I haven’t shut up about it since. Picture this. I’m walking through their pristine dining room en route to the kitchen tour (a highlight for diners), and the buckle on one of my Jimmy Choo heels (I had just proudly scored on the RealReal for less than $200) snapped on the first wear. Like Cinderella’s clumsier, less magical cousin, I hobbled through the room, half barefoot and wholly mortified.
When we sat back down at our table, our waiter came over and explained that she wanted to see what she could do to fix my shoe. She exclaimed that she had safety pins and was confident that she would be able to come up with a solution by the time the bill came. We ate the rest of the meal laughing about the embarrassing situation, with me dining barefoot in one of the world’s top dining institutions, feeling like a country bumpkin.
When the check came, our waiter brought out a wooden champagne box with a bow on it. Inside was my left shoe, not clothespinned together, but completely fixed, appearing as if the satin buckle hadn’t ripped, frayed, and spaghettified all over the dining room. I was completely shocked. She had called a nearby cobbler and bribed them to stay open until 10pm, 4 hours past closing on a Friday no less, to fix my shoe! I’m 100% sure the repair cost more than the heels did, but this extreme act of service was something that was so meaningful to me.
I thought this grandiose display of service was perhaps because Mark is friends with Chef Humm, but when he texted to thank him, he didn’t even know this had happened. That’s the level of service Humm’s team operates at — unrelentingly above and beyond, purely because they can.
So, naturally, I walked into Clemente Bar expecting art, elegance, and perhaps an emergency cobbler in the back room.
The ambiance
The moment you ascend the staircase at EMP and step into Clemente Bar, you’re in another world. The airy EMP dining room gives way to Clemente’s sultry, fresco-clad space, where Francesco Clemente —on his back Michelangelo-style, no less — painted ceilings that transport you far from Manhattan’s chaos. This isn’t EMP’s “cool little sibling.” It’s its own full-blown destination.
The details are incredible, from the woodwork in the bar room, down to the unique handcrafted glassware that the cocktails are served in. And don’t even get me started on the cutesy orange bow and plane logos/branding they’ve implemented here. I’m a sucker for it all. The team here knows to pay attention to the small things, and every element tells a story of its own. The entire visual experience is a testament to Humm’s appreciation for art and artists, and a meal at Clemente Bar, to me, feels like dinner at a mini museum.
The service was top notch, just as expected. No one hovered over us, and our table felt private, but our water glasses never reached the halfway empty point and dishes arrived promptly but not in a hurried manner.
We got there early (you know we love a 5pm table), so it wasn’t very crowded and there wasn’t much people watching to be done, but we came late for drinks only last month and it was SLAMMED. If you’re going to attempt a walk-in, come as soon as it opens, on a weekday. Otherwise, make a res.
What we ordered
When we tackle a new restaurant, we go straight for the dishes everyone’s buzzing about.
For drinks: I opted for the Apium Elixir, a delightful zero-proof option, while Mark stuck to his classic dry gin martini. I took "research sips” of Against the Grain, Parakeet, and C.R.E.A.M., and my favorite — if I still imbibed — would have been Against the Grain. The balance of the smoky scotch and barley miso is so dangerously quaffable. I might add that they nailed the classic gin martini too.
Clemente Bar’s food menu is constantly rotating to take into account the freshest seasonal vegetables. We tried the pepper toast, avocado inari rice pockets, agedashi tofu dogg (yes, dogg), and thrice-fried potato. The kitchen also sent out the endive goddess and cucumber salad as gifts, which we hadn’t planned to order but turned out to be our standout favorites.
The avocado pockets and agedashi dogg were skippable to me, but I think it’s because when I eat plant-based meals, I don’t want soy and veg masquerading as bar food, I want leafy greens and cruciferous plants shining at their best and brightest. These dishes just fell flat to me.
I’m dying to try the counter tasting menu, because it has the same Soba on it as the EMP bar downstairs serves, which is absolutely DIVINE and a standout dish/reason alone to visit EMP. The buckwheat noodles are perfectly chewy and the broth is mushroomy and umami-forward in the best way.
What’s the damage?
Cocktails hover around $25 (consider it a drink and a show), while small plates range from $15–$30. The counter tasting menu is $225 per person. It’s a splurge, but when you factor in the art exhibit ambiance, it feels like a deal.
The Takeaway
Overall, the food and drinks at Clemente Bar are good, but the atmosphere and art is the real star of the show. If you go, aim for a 5 p.m. reservation or walk-in like us early birds — or risk battling the late-night crush for a spot. Either way, Clemente Bar proves that vegetables (and ceiling frescoes) can be just as sexy as steak.
xx,
Bella
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