An Eleven Madison Park Star Chef Strikes Out on His Own Tonight in FiDi

Eleven Madison Park’s former second-in-command is striking out on his own today with the opening of a fine-dining restaurant in a landmarked building in the Financial District.

Crown Shy, located at 70 Pine St. between Pearl and William streets, comes from James Kent and partner Jeff Katz, also managing director of Del Posto. Kent and Katz bring a lot of experience to the genre, with Kent spending eight years at EMP before becoming the opening executive chef at the NoMad Restaurant and garnering a James Beard Award nomination for Best Chef: New York City. Katz has been at Del Posto for 13 years, during which time the Michelin-starred restaurant earned a James Beard Award for outstanding service.

Unlike their former venues, though, Crown Shy is aimed at being a place for locals — not just destination dining. The menu serves an a la carte menu that traverses the world, split up into sections of small dishes, vegetables, grains, and mains. White bean hummus with nduja and puffed bread sits on the menu alongside cavatelli with chicken liver ragu and horseradish, as well as charred octopus with red rice and morcilla. Renata Ameni, former executive pastry chef at three-Michelin-starred California restaurant Manresa, does the sweets here with sticky toffee pudding and satsuma orange ice cream among the options. The full menu is below.

Natalie Black for Crown Shy [Official Photo]

Thanks to the landmarked building, the space is a show stopper, designed by MN Design Professional Corporation (Kappo Masa, Cote Korean Steakhouse) and meant to pay service to the Art Deco tower. The 120-seat dining room and bar are split up in a series of rooms with exposed steel columns. A 30-foot granite bar eventually leads to an open kitchen, with 16-foot floor-to-ceiling windows lining the way.

Later this year, the very pedigreed duo will unveil a restaurant at the top of the FiDi tower. For now, Crown Shy’s dining room is open daily at 5:30 p.m., until 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. The bar is open daily at 4:45 p.m., until 1 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.