Magic on the Menu

Restaurateur Will Guidara served as general manager of Eleven Madison Park in New York City for 11 years. During his tenure, the restaurant achieved “best in the world” status, according to an expert-curated annual list of the globe’s top 50 restaurants. Eleven Madison Park reached this milestone thanks to a pioneering concept that Guidara dubbed “Unreasonable Hospitality”: creating extravagant, bespoke-feeling service experiences for every guest.

No one who ever changed the game did so by being reasonable.

In Unreasonable Hospitality, Guidara tells the story of Eleven Madison Park’s rise to the pinnacle of fine dining, and traces his own journey from counting oysters in the basement of a New York skyscraper to become a restaurateur at the top of his field. And every story has its lesson — about building a healthy organizational culture, hiring as the core of that mission, how and when to give tough feedback, and more.

Both memoir and leadership guide, Guidara’s book entertainingly describes how striving for perfection helped Eleven Madison Park become a New York Times four-star restaurant — and why perfect service is no substitute for genuine hospitality.

A Setting for Excellence

Eleven Madison Park’s dining room provides the ideal setting for excellence in food and service. Situated on the first floor of an Art Deco building, it features 35-foot ceilings and two-story windows overlooking Madison Square Park. Guidara describes how he trained his staff to deliver service that matched this refined setting. In one cinematic example, the waitstaff practiced repeatedly to present a soup course for six guests in grand style — three servers presenting the dish in synchrony and lifting lids from the bowls simultaneously.

To perfect service, Guidara admonished his staff to focus on their tasks down to the “last inch” — and to place each plate gently on the table. Applying this “One-Inch Rule” to everything they did, Guidara says, helped his staff deliver service with precision.

Two responses are possible when you realize that perfection is unattainable: either give up altogether or try to get as close as you possibly can.

Guidara describes how he scrutinized the selection of music, lighting levels, glassware, silverware, and the servers’ appearance. No detail was too minor. The person who took reservations on the phone greeted guests by name upon arrival. When they rose from the table, they found their coats waiting for them. Thanks to efforts like these, Eleven Madison Park earned three, and then four stars from The New York Times.

Set a Budget for Magic

Despite these successes, Guidara still struggled to bring Eleven Madison Park to the pinnacle of fine dining. The answer, he realized, was something he had already pursued in various ways for years: the spark that occurs when people feel something about a service experience that transcends mere happiness. By making the art of hospitality the restaurant’s guiding light, Guidara realized he could transform Eleven Madison Park’s already-excellent dining experience into something truly magical.

Years earlier, Guidara had discovered the “Rule of 95/5”: Spend 95% of your money carefully and the remaining 5% “foolishly” — on details and touches that will wow customers and create magical, memorable experiences. That last 5%, he says, will more than pay for itself through its impact on customer experiences, loyalty, and word of mouth.

Getting the right plate to the right person at the right table is service. But genuinely engaging with the person you’re serving, so you can make an authentic connection — that’s hospitality.

Guidara describes how he leveraged the Rule of 95/5 to shape the general guest experience at Eleven Madison Park and to create one-of-a-kind moments for select customers. One winter evening, for example, a family from Spain dined at the restaurant. The children were mesmerized by the snow falling outside the windows — having never seen such weather before — and Guidara made a snap decision. After the family finished dining, he presented them with newly purchased sleds and sent them in a chauffeured car to enjoy sliding down the hills in Central Park.

Put Your People First

Early in his career, Guidara encountered the concept of “enlightened hospitality,” a philosophy espoused by restaurateur Danny Meyer. Meyer upended traditional restaurant-industry priorities by putting his team first — reasoning that if he hired the best people, invested in their growth, and treated them exceptionally well, they would in turn treat guests well, benefiting investors as a result. This perspective led Guidara to adopt practices such as listening to his people, discovering and nurturing their strengths, and providing them with the support they needed.

Two things happen when the best leaders walk into a room. The people who work for them straighten up a little, making sure that everything’s perfect — and they smile, too.

Guidara credits collaboration as the foundation of Eleven Madison Park’s success, incorporating it into everything he did. Even before agreeing to become general manager, he met with chef Daniel Humm to ensure they could work as equal partners — a rarity in the fine-dining world. Then, as Guidara and Humm defined the restaurant’s goals, they invited all staff members, including bussers and dishwashers, to participate in a planning meeting. That meeting generated energy and excitement because people felt they were helping shape the restaurant’s future.

Guidara also established an “ownership program,” assigning staff members to oversee aspects of the restaurant that needed improvement. One employee took on the challenge of elevating the restaurant’s coffee program; another — a kitchen server — adopted the beer service and turned it into an award-winning program within a year.

Wonder and Magic

Any business can offer Unreasonable Hospitality, Guidara asserts. In every industry, he argues, opportunities arise to provide extraordinary experiences — making people feel heard, seen, and valued while creating a sense of surprise, wonder, and even magic. He offers the example of a New York City barbershop where, at the end of every haircut, the barber presents customers with a mini-shot of gin, whiskey, or vodka in a small paper cup.

Whatever you do for a living, you can choose to be in the hospitality business.

Guidara makes a powerful case for inspiring and genuinely caring for customers, one experience at a time. In a world where sameness and disconnection are on the rise, embracing this approach can be a transformative, game-changing choice.