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Inside Cafe Carmellini, Chef Andrew Carmellini's Towering Tribute to Food in NoMad
November 2, 2023, 8:30.36 pm ET

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Photos: Evan Sung

Chef Andrew Carmellini brings fine dining to Manhattan at Café Carmellini, located in a landmark building at 250 Fifth Avenue, part of the luxurious new Fifth Avenue Hotel. Located in the heart of NoMad, Chef Carmellini is putting his personal touch on classic Italian and French dishes. After 30 years of cooking it is also the first restaurant to bear his name.

“Café Carmellini is New York at heart and Italian and French in spirit,” said Carmelli. “Nestled in a magnificent and historic New York landmark, Café Carmellini is my love letter to New York City. I want it to become a destination for New Yorkers and visitors to the city to feel transported, celebrated and warmly welcomed.”

The magnificent dining room channels stately Old New York elegance with double-height ceilings, two grand sculptural trees and balcony seating with vibrant blue jewel-tone banquettes. The restaurant harkens back to the grand spaces in New York that Chef Carmellini’s grandfather might have encountered while restarting his life in the city.

The location was previously the site of the mansion and carriage house of Ms. Charlotte Goodridge, a leading society figure during the city’s Gilded Age. It was succeeded by a five-story Renaissance palazzo designed by McKim, Mead & White, the architects who put their stamp on quintessential New York buildings like the Brooklyn Museum, Columbia University and the original Pennsylvania Station.

Chef Carmellini’s cooking at Café Carmellini draws inspiration from places like the Oysters à la Pomme’s reference to Normandy and Shrimp Colonnata, a nod to a village near his family’s hometown in Tuscany. Chicken ‘Gran Sasso’ is Chef Carmellini’s tribute to Italy’s “Great Rock,” the highest peak in the Apennine Mountains.

Other offerings include Lobster Cannelloni & Osetra, Red Snapper ‘Meunière,’ Squab en Croute, Rabbit Cacciatore, Duck Tortellini, and Scallops Cardoz in homage to Chef Floyd Cardoz who Chef Carmellini worked with in the 1990s. Chef Carmellini is planning to add other dishes as homages to other great chefs.



Chef Carmellini is assisted in the kitchen by Chef de Cuisine Kyle Goldstein, formerly of Gramercy Tavern and Eleven Madison Park, with desserts by Pastry Chef Jeffrey Wurtz, who previously collaborated with Chef Alain Ducasse. Desserts include Sticky Toffee Pudding with Aged Rum, Chocolate-Pear Delice with Ginger, and Coffee ‘Livornese’ Granita with Crema.

Café Carmellini's comprehensive 1,800-bottle wine list is inspired in large part from Italy and France along with other worldly producers. The list, with bottles ranging from $70 to $10,000, offers hundreds of older vintages, with many opportunities for deep exploration. Wines by the glass range from $18 to $40 extend beyond still and sparkling to Sherry, Madeira, sweet, fortified and aromatized.

For more information, visit cafecarmellini.com



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