Eleven Madison Park's Alumni Are Cooking for the West Village Now

"I'm excited about cooking in a new way that's more casual, more essential and centred around a wood fire," Daniel Humm told the Financial Times during a preview of his new restaurant on Hudson Street. Humm spent the past 15 years keeping three Michelin stars at Eleven Madison Park. His new restaurant, named Humm, opens October 10, and Resy lists it as taking walk-ins.

He has company. Between late August and the end of September, several West Village openings came from chefs trained in the city's most formal kitchens. Most of them chose to sell sandwiches, groceries, jasmine rice and wine by the glass. Their hours end earlier and their seating favors walk-ins. Only one is a tasting menu. For anyone who lives within a few blocks of Hudson Street, the most ambitious cooking in the neighborhood this fall is also the easiest to drop in on.

Humm Is the Headline, and It Was Built With a Lounge

Humm is at 435 Hudson Street, between Leroy and Morton, in the space En Japanese Brasserie held for two decades until it closed in December 2024. The FT describes a 7,731-square-foot room that took 14 months to build. Interiors are by Pierre Yovanovitch, Francesco Clemente designed a celestial mural on the ceiling, and pigment drawings by Roni Horn hang on the walls. The main dining room seats 90.

The food is à la carte and seasonal, with produce from Magic Farms. Humm told the FT the cooking is centered on a wood fire. Eater NY reported crispy feta with sesame and shallot agrodolce, tuna crudo, a chicory-and-tangerine salad, fried eggplant, grilled fish, roasted chicken for two, and a dessert called Milk and Honey. The FT singled out Brigitte's Roasted Chicken, made from Humm's mother's recipe, along with a fingerling potato gratin, tomato focaccia, a caviar bagel, rosemary-lemon fries and Milk and Honey soft serve.

The kitchen is led by executive chef Dmitri Magi, who was Humm's chef de cuisine at Eleven Madison Park. The wine program is run by Michael Duffy, formerly wine director at Rezdôra and Massara.

The layout is what matters for neighbors. Resy lists dinner daily from 5 to 10 p.m., with walk-ins taken for dinner or drinks in the dining room, bar and lounge. The bar and lounge have their own menus of smaller plates. Reservations opened on Thursday, October 1. New dates go live at noon, three weeks ahead. The FT expects tables to be hard to get. Even so, a chef who could fill a tasting-menu room every night chose to keep part of this one for people who just show up. Lunch is planned for next year.

Ten Blocks North, a Tasting-Menu Chef Picked an 8:30 Finish

Humm made the format choice in a large room. Austin Johnson made it in a store. H. Valley opened on Wednesday, September 23, at 569 Hudson Street at West 11th. It comes from Johnson and Eytan Sugarman's Hudson Street Hospitality, the group behind Made in New York Pizza and White Horse Tavern. Johnson was executive chef at Tribeca's One White Street, which used to hold a Michelin star, and at its neighbor, Rigor Hill Market. Eater reports he "has traded tasting menus and late nights" for a 2,500-square-foot market built around prepared food and local provisions. He told Eater he wanted hours that let him finish around 8:30 p.m.

The shelves reflect that choice. Mornings are built around coffee, pastries and breads from head baker Grayson Claes, plus a bacon, egg and cheese on a biscuit. The weekend omelet bar from Rigor Hill came along too. At lunch Johnson plans three hot and three cold sandwiches, including turkey with honey mustard, pickled apple slaw and goat cheese on honey-oat sourdough. The coolers hold prepared dinners, raw meats, sauces and dips. A separate children's fridge has mac and cheese, baked fish sticks, chicken Parm cutlets and turkey meatballs. There is also a house dog food called Dion's Diet, made with Hudson Valley trout, chicken and duck.

"The dogs are customers, too," Johnson told Eater.

Eater warns that prices run well above the average corner grocer. At opening it listed hours of 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., limited café seating, and plans for private dinners, visiting chefs, pop-ups and a larger dining program later this year. Johnson is still cooking at a tasting-menu standard, but he is selling it by the container, early in the day, to people who live nearby.

The Smaller Rooms Follow the Same Logic

The same pattern shows up in two smaller openings a short walk apart.

Hommali, at 28 Seventh Avenue South near Leroy Street, opened Wednesday, September 2. The Observer reports that chef Chattchakorn "Benz" Khajornchaisan trained at Eleven Madison Park and opened Hommali with partners Kritayanee "Air" Promsarin and Pichalak "Picha" Srigungvarl. The name means "fragrant jasmine rice" in Thai, and rice is central to both the food and drink menus. The two-floor space has communal seating as well as a main dining room. Its website lists service Wednesday through Sunday, 5 to 10 p.m.

Bar à Part, at 72 Bedford Street at Commerce, is a 15-seat wine bar and café from Maxime Pradié and Jenni Guizio, who own Zimmi's. Cory Holt runs the wine list. Pastry chef Clodagh Manning previously worked at Lyle's in London. It opened Monday, September 28, takes walk-ins only and serves from 4 p.m. daily.

So that makes four kitchens with serious training behind them: Eleven Madison Park twice, One White Street, and Lyle's. Every one of them either guarantees seats for walk-ins or runs on daytime hours.

Legion Shows What the Other Path Looks Like

The neighborhood still has a new tasting menu. Legion opened Saturday, September 12, at 140 Charles Street at Greenwich Street. The Infatuation describes the chef-founder as a veteran of Le Bernardin, Per Se and Strange Delight. Principal Truman Parsons leads a team that includes chef de cuisine Emilio Cerra, beverage director Nathaniel Hawn and service director James Franchini. The Southern-leaning cooking draws on Charleston and New Orleans, and The Infatuation's September 14 guide lists a seven-course menu. The price has been reported differently over the summer and fall, so check the current menu before booking.

Legion comes from the same kind of résumé and makes the opposite choice. That leaves residents with one fall opening to plan around as a special occasion, and several to drop into on any weeknight.

Getting a Seat This Month

The practical details, as reported at opening:

• Humm, 435 Hudson St. Dinner 5 to 10 p.m. daily. Walk-ins are accepted in the dining room, bar and lounge, and Resy reservations open at noon, three weeks out. Opening night is Saturday, October 10.
• H. Valley, 569 Hudson St. Breakfast from 7 a.m., limited café seating, and a weekend omelet bar.
• Hommali, 28 Seventh Ave. S. Wednesday through Sunday, 5 to 10 p.m.
• Bar à Part, 72 Bedford St. Walk-in only, from 4 p.m. daily, with 15 seats.
• Legion, 140 Charles St. A seven-course tasting menu, so plan ahead.

Two schedule notes will affect the walk over. Community Board 2 lists Perry Street between Greenwich and Washington as closed to traffic on weekdays and Saturdays through October 30. Jane Street between West and Washington is closed through November 4. On Saturday, October 31, the 53rd Village Halloween Parade starts at 7 p.m. at Canal Street and Sixth Avenue and heads north to 15th Street, with the theme "Body & Soul." Anyone planning a 7 p.m. walk-in at Humm that night from east of Sixth Avenue will have to cross the parade route.

When you are choosing which blocks of the Village to call home, the walk to Hudson Street is now part of the decision. The Antigua Team can walk those blocks with you and explain what each one means for daily life and long-term value. Request your Global VIP consultation.