Daniel Humm’s new restaurant is an all-out fantasy, thanks to the help of some very important friends

Not too long ago, Daniel Humm got a text: ‘I’M FREAKING OUT,’ it read, in all caps. The note was from Italian artist Francesco Clemente, whom Humm – one of the world’s most acclaimed chefs – had commissioned to paint the ceiling of his first-ever standalone Manhattan restaurant.

The friends had collaborated on plenty of projects before. There were the hand-painted murals at Clemente Bar, the enveloping lounge tucked into the second floor of Eleven Madison Park, Humm’s three-Michelin star restaurant, not to mention cherished personal works like Humm’s own portrait and a painting that the chef used to propose to his wife. But this project, a 1,200 sq ft fresco, may have been a bridge – or at least scaffold – too far. ‘For like three weeks he didn't speak to me,’ Humm jokes.

Still, Clemente pressed on with the painstaking task. Over the course of two months, the vast tray ceilings came alive with whimsical images of stars, animals, trains and ticking clocks – one mesmerising allegory for passing time. Indeed, clocks seem to stop within the transporting interior of Humm, which opens to diners for the first time 10 October. Nearly two years in the making, the restaurant marks its namesake chef’s most personal project yet. ‘This place was really created by my friends,’ Humm says.

‘My friends are my story. [I wanted] to create a home, and you keep things in your home that are personal to you. Working with people that are in my life seemed like the way to do it,’ the chef adds.

As soon as you enter Humm, located in the former EN Japanese Brasserie space on Hudson Street, that convivial feeling is already apparent. Just beyond the host stand, a red textured sculpture designed by Rashid Johnson, you catch a glimpse of a roaring wood fire, contained in a monumental tile-clad oven that sprouts from the open-plan kitchen like a tree trunk. ‘I said, I want to open the door and I want to see the fire,’ Humm says.

No surprise, another friend brought Humm’s vision to life: New York and Paris-based designer Pierre Yovanovitch. ‘The thing is, it’s very hard to work with Daniel because his taste is better than anyone,’ Yovanovitch says. ‘His house is so nice. Every detail, every piece of furniture, every piece of art, I want to take.’

The project marked Yovanovitch’s first New York restaurant, so the city was naturally his muse, alongside Humm’s vision of elevated, wood-fired cuisine, and Clemente’s vibrant ceilings. So the designer got to work translating the colours and shapes in the artwork, as well as the spirit of Manhattan, into each space.

The 5,000 sq ft space unfolds as a series of soaring rooms. At the front of the house, you can choose to have drinks in a light-filled bar with space for about 30 guests, or opt to sink into mustard-coloured velvet banquette in a more intimate burgundy-doused lounge opposite the maître d' stand. The playful language of postmodernism is a clear touchpoint throughout, as is the theatre of New York’s grand hotels, like the Carlyle. In the bar, for instance, geometric tables and chairs evoke the towers of Philip Johnson and Kevin Roche, with a dash of Sex and the City for good measure. ‘Sometimes you miss the spirit of New York in new design,’ Yovanovitch says. ‘I wanted to go back, but not a pastiche.’

The primary dining space, flanked by a lively open kitchen, though, is Humm’s pièce de résistance. Yovanovitch brought the hues and shapes of Clemente’s murals down to the diners, through saturated hues like gold and burgundy, and contrasts in textures and materials. Lacquered red partitions create more intimate zones – where diners will encounter comforting dishes like charcoal-grilled fish and roast chicken for two – while table lamps and frosted glass chandeliers accentuate the residential feel. Clemente’s Sistine Chapel-worthy artwork will have guests looking up, but Yovanovitch created a surprise underfoot as well: intricate stone floors are bordered with the same whimsical creatures found in Clemente’s painting.

Art, as in Eleven Madison Park and Clemente Bar, is another throughline. Guests will discover works by Louise Bourgeois and Roni Horn in corners. Yovanovitch’s interiors are equally artful, as with a scenic tile mural that evokes a dreamy sunset landscape; a red acoustical ‘mushroom’ light fixture that hovers above the lounge; and twisting rope-like tablebases. More works by Clemente can be found, including in a private dining room, swaddled in a fabric tent.

‘It's a labour of love,’ Humm says, reflecting on his collaborators. ‘Because we all respect each other, everyone rises higher together. I think that's what I feel has happened.’

Clemente’s freakout, as a matter of fact, turned out to be a good thing: ‘I saw the room with the lights and almost everything in place,’ the artist typed, ‘and it's beyond.’

Humm is located at 435 Hudson Street New York, NY, 10014, USA