Crown shyness, or canopy disengagement, is a form of adaptive behavior in forests, where the crowns (tops) of tall, mature trees avoid touching each other, creating mesmerizing, mosaic-like patterns against a bright blue sky.
When explaining why One-MICHELIN-Star Crown Shy was named after the phenomenon, Chef Jassimran Singh says, “It kind of was the reflection of New York City. The buildings are high, and then there’s just enough space for sunlight to come through.”
Nowhere is this truer than in the city’s Financial District (FiDi) in Lower Manhattan, with its mix of historic towers from the 1920s and ‘30s and iconic modern-day skyscrapers, such as Frank Gehry’s wavy, stainless steel-clad (and aptly named) 8 Spruce Street. A short walk away at 70 Pine Street (another coincidental nod to a type of tree), Crown Shy follows suit with its bold setting inside a landmark, 67-story Art Deco building completed in 1932.
Crown Shy Dining Room and Kitchen – ©Chris Payne/Crown Shy
MICHELIN Inspectors describe the inviting space as “an undeniable feast for the senses,” with its striking lobby leading to a modern dining room with soaring ceilings, marble floors and expansive windows. It’s through those windows that the light filters into Crown Shy, which Singh refers to as “a concrete jungle where like the crown shyness is happening.”
For Singh, who took over as executive chef after the sudden passing of Chef Jamal James Kent in 2024, Crown Shy also deeply embodies the multiculturalism and immigrant culture of New York City, which is infused into every dish served on the menu. From the early days of the New American restaurant, which opened in March 2019, Kent and Singh collaborated on culinary concepts with the entire kitchen staff, who come from many different cultural backgrounds and are all essential to its success.
“This will just be the best representation of New York,” says Singh. “I just want everyone to have a voice. I didn’t get all these accolades. James didn’t get all these accolades. We got all these accolades.”
The signature “Grilled Citrus-Marinated Chicken,” which was originally perfected by Kent and the team early on, is the restaurant’s most sought-after dish and continues to be on offer for dinner. However, a new signature dish, in the form of tandoori flatbread, has quickly become a highlight on the lunch menu and reflects Singh’s Indian heritage as well as that of Anushana Sharma, his executive pastry sous chef and co-collaborator.
Himself an immigrant, Singh has his own coming to New York story. He was born in New Delhi, India, and then left for Melbourne, Australia, in 2006 at age 19 to study culinary arts at Holmes College. After working in kitchens, such as the former Maze by Gordon Ramsay and No. 8 by John Lawson, he moved to New York in 2014 to work at The NoMad under Kent, who asked him to lead the Crown Shy kitchen as chef de cuisine when the restaurant opened and later as culinary director of both Crown Shy and sister restaurant, Two-Star Saga, and then as chef partner of Crown Shy.
However, despite now being rooted firmly in New York, Singh continues to honor his original roots, often incorporating Indian techniques and flavors into internationally inspired dishes.
Crown Shy Tandoori Flatbread with short rib, horseradish, and black pepper – ©Crown Shy
To make the flatbread, or kulcha in Punjabi, Singh and Sharma teamed up and experimented with around 50 different doughs — which needed to be properly laminated, tempered, stuffed and stretched until they got it right. For Singh, that meant matching the quality of the traditional North Indian bread he grew up eating.
To perfectly nail the cooking process, Singh installed an Indian-style tandoor (cylindrical clay oven) inside the restaurant’s open kitchen. Diners can look towards the back, passed the shiny custom Hestan cooking suite and rangetop, to see him sticking parcels of stretched, stuffed dough to it’s hot clay sides and then pulling them out after a few minutes, fully baked, with a “hook and sweep” motion he likens to using chopsticks.
The flatbreads might remain true to tradition in terms of technique, but Singh has updated the flavors while giving them a multicultural, New York twist. Of the two types available on the menu, the vegetarian version is stuffed with potato like it is in India but is livened up with a brown butter espuma (foam) and green Thai chili. The other is made with arugula, horseradish, black pepper and short rib, which is intended to evoke pastrami, a popular item at Jewish delis in New York.
Crown Shy Dining Room – ©Chris Payne/Crown Shy
Singh balanced the flatbreads ingredient-wise so that they weren’t too filling and would entice diners to want to take just one more bite. “We thought, hey, how about we do something which is light and refreshing, and which is also very unique to us,” says Singh.
Crown Shy’s lunch menu is designed in consideration of FiDi’s busy office workers, who have limited time for a large sit-down meal. While a prix fixe option is available, diners can order just one or two savory items a la carte, while they can take their dessert — such as a key lime sorbet with a coconut crumble — to go (it comes in a convenient to-go cup fitted with a disposable spoon).
Ultimately, Singh hopes that the tandoori flatbreads will attract repeat diners looking for an upscale yet easy-going atmosphere. There are no tablecloths or other formalities like mandatory tasting menus, while images of hip hop artists and an upbeat soundtrack ensure cool city vibes.
In contrast to the more luxurious ambiance guests experience at Saga (now run by Executive Chef Charlie Mitchell), which is located high up on the 63rd floor of 70 Pine Street, both Kent and Singh wanted diners at the more grounded, street-level Crown Shy to be relaxed and feel like they can be themselves whether they come for lunch or dinner.
Singh says, “We want it to be just the best neighborhood restaurant in New York City.”
Crown Shy Tandoori Flatbread with potato, brown butter, and green Thai chili – ©Crown Shy
Crown Shy
New York, NY, USA
$$$
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Contemporary, American
Hero image: Chef Jassimran Singh – ©Jonathan Mannion/Crown Shy
Dining and Cooking