Café Carmellini

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A 30-Year Career, Distilled

Café Carmellini is the signature restaurant of James Beard Award-winning chef Andrew Carmellini, and by his own account, a summation of three decades cooking in New York City. The restaurant's name is itself a piece of family history — a nod to the Carmellini family's coffee importing business, which operated in Tuscany for 120 years. That heritage of hospitality runs through everything here, from the depth of the wine program to the care taken with each plate.

Ranked 39th on North America's 50 Best Restaurants 2025, Café Carmellini marks Carmellini's deliberate return to fine dining after years building one of the city's most respected restaurant groups. The result is a menu that is, in his words, "a modern, sophisticated marriage of Italian and French cooking with a classic New York sensibility" — dishes that draw on seasonal produce, reimagined classics, and techniques refined over a long career.

The Room

The setting is a neoclassical landmark mansion inside The Fifth Avenue Hotel, redesigned by Martin Brudnizki in what the team describes as lush maximalist style. Six tiered chandeliers hang above two grand sculptural trees at the center of the two-story dining room, surrounded by gleaming brass mirrored columns and royal blue velvet banquettes. An ornately mirrored six-seat bar with etched peacocks anchors one end; a blue-tiled open kitchen anchors the other. Artful details accumulate quietly — a blue peacock cognac stopper, black leather embossed menus, a sculptural curved glass wine decanter, a ceramic vase used for bread service.

The terraced second-story balcony offers a more intimate perch above the main floor, a genuine luxury in Manhattan. For private gatherings, The Club Room accommodates up to 20 guests. Forbes Travel Guide singled out the service specifically: staff iron every white tablecloth between reservations, walk guests to the Portrait Bar, and hold back the draped cloth as diners settle in — and somehow none of it feels formal.

What to Eat and Drink

The dinner menu moves through four focused sections — Raw & Cured, First, Second, and Entrées — keeping choices manageable without sacrificing range. Highlights include Lobster Cannelloni della Casa, Squab en Croûte, and Lamb alla Messinese with eggplant and sesame. Weekend brunch, a two-course affair served with champagne, spans Comté Cheese Soufflé, Crêpe Suzette Flambéed French Toast, and Smoked Egg Salad & Caviar Katsu alongside more straightforward egg dishes and an Osetra Caviar service. Breakfast and lunch round out a full daily program.

The wine list, curated by Master Sommelier Josh Nadel, runs to 1,800 bottles, drawing on producers from Italy, France, the United States, and beyond.