Elcielo Restaurant Washington D.C. Tripadvisor Reviews - Elcielo Restaurant Washington D.C. - Buy Reservations
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Elcielo Restaurant Washington D.C. Tripadvisor Reviews
Latest Reviews On Tripadvisor
13 Reviews
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Underwhelming Food
We came on a Friday night for the 20-course El Cielo experience after seeing El Cielo's superb reputation for their restaurants in Columbia. Especially for the price point, the experience was disappointing and underwhelming. The dinner took almost 3.5 hours, and likely would have taken longer if we had not requested a speed-up in service. There was no reason for the pace - some courses had a ridiculously long wait time in between. Kitchen was not prepared for timing. Highly recommend just going for the smaller course menu if you do want to try El Cielo. Many of the desserts and snacks were not worth the extra time/cost. 2 of the courses on both menus are not food - just be aware. The one shining star was the front of house staff and the lead server for our table - Alexandra. She was remarkable and it was fun learning about the culture and history of the dishes. Each snack course was essentially a bite, with the mains being small dishes and desserts being a combo. Some of the courses were delicious and delightful, others were very disappointing. The tapioca and foie - there was no taste of foie and the tapioca was dry. The quail was way too salty - kitchen basics! Most of the desserts tasted similar - overly sweet/syrupy and little character. We didn't finish 3 of the dessert courses because they were so disappointing. They did bring out a thoughtful edible chocolate candle to celebrate the occasion - that was probably the best dessert. Lastly, not sure why the restaurant is prepay/nonrefundable. The restaurant wasn't full the entire night we dined.
Be the first to ReplyStylish Columbian Cuisine in Casually Elegant Atmosphere
I wasn't sure what to expect, but did not leave disappointed. Granted, not every dish was to my flavor palate, but I enjoyed the tour of Columbia and certainly appreciated the quality of the cooking and the presentation. Similarly, the wine pairings were thoughtful and brought out the flavors of the food. Although I was more than a little envious of those who ordered the beverage pairing which included cocktails. I'm not sure how the drinks tasted, but they were beautifully presented. I also liked the casually elegant atmosphere. Fellow diners were incredibly diverse - in all ways - and dress went from nice shorts to dresses and platform heels. A nice evening out for a special occasion or just because.
Be the first to ReplyMeh
I went for the “bar experience” & Twas a lackluster experience imho. After paying $200 for four drinks & food I neither had a bus nor was overwhelmed with great food which is what I expected after a hefty bill & this place being Michelin started. Nothing was min blowing but then again nothing was bad either. I doubt I’d return for the tasting but the chocolate hand wash seems cool I guess
Be the first to ReplyFell short of Michelin-star expectations
I dined at Elcielo with 3 guests (4 of us in total) on Saturday August 13. The purpose of the occasion was to celebrate my mother’s birthday. When we arrived at Elcielo, I informed the hostess that we were celebrating a birthday and she responded that she would take note of it. We arrived a few minutes past our reservation time. I noticed our meals came to us out of order and we were rushed in between courses just so that our table could catch up with the other tables as the kitchen was preparing one course at a time and sending it out to everyone at once. We were trying to follow the menu to understand what we were eating and what would come next, but it was confusing when they brought out the 3rd course. We barely finished the 3rd course when they brought out the 2nd course. Then immediately the 1st course. And then the 4th course. It felt messy and I was annoyed that our table was rushed (fail #1). During the “Tree of Life” course, I noticed that every table of 2 had received 1 order. Our table of 4 also received 1 order, but that did not seem fair. If there is 1 order per 2 guests, then our table of 4 people should have received 2 orders of the “Tree of Life” (fail #2), especially given the high cost per person the Elcielo charges. We came to the end of the meal and received the check for the drinks we ordered. The restaurant did NOTHING for a birthday celebration (fail #3, and the biggest mistake). I assume the hostess neglected or forgot to inform the restaurant we were celebrating a birthday. Meanwhile, the table behind us received a candle on a dessert. For the cost they charge and level of service & attention to detail that I expect from Michelin star restaurant, Elcielo fell short of providing an exceptional dining experience for a special occasion.
Be the first to ReplyPerfect
It was my first restaurant with a star Michelin and it was awesome. This place is fancy but really chill in the same time and this is perfect 😄 All the dishes was really good and with story behind them so just perfect :)
Be the first to ReplyExcellent and theatrical, but not quite michelin yet
Loved the food (though the assortment of spices was slightly lacking), the theatrical presentation of the dishes, the flow of the various flavors -- definitely a great addition to the DC scene. A few weaknesses though, which should be avoided when you pay more than $400 per head for a meal: - no intelligence in the wine pairing (is there even a sommelier? never saw him) -- the veuve clicquot paired with the first 4 dishes was a plain choice, same for the rest of the wines, which were also generally too young and unsophisticated - the service was not up to par -- like in a cheap cantina, at the end of the meal, waiters started cleaning tables around us and switching on the lights to signal it was time to go...
Be the first to ReplyWhat a great experience! A real star!
My sister/friend and I spent our Mother's Day at El Cielo last night. What a fabulous experience! We had so much fun! The food was tasty and wonderfully presented. I strongly believe the eye needs to be pleased as well. I loved the washing our hands with chocolate..what fun! Let's talk about the food, tasty, original and really flavorful though at times on the sweet side, yet never overwhelming, actually a pleasant surprise. It is one surprise after the other, original and creative molecular cuisine - all our senses were engaged. Fruits and starch from Colombia were all part of the experience. Our experience included also innovative cocktails prepared by the fantastic and creative Bolivian creators/barmen Andres and Orlando. The atmosphere of the restaurant is elegant and classy but not overwhelming. The staff (in particular Alejandro and Camila) very present and attentive! I am pescatarian and the chef immediately accommodated the experience to my restriction and often came to visit us at our table. We spent almost three hours at the restaurant and it was all worth it..
Be the first to ReplyDisappointing...at best
On Saturday night (1/15/2022), my partner and I visited El Cielo for dinner. We booked our reservations weeks ago and were very excited to be celebrating our 5 year anniversary there. In fact, we got engaged a few hours before dinner and thought it would be an incredible way to close out a day we'll never forget. Unfortunately, we were sorely disappointed. When you spend over $1,000 on dinner for two, you expect a certain experience and this was worse than I could have expected. An overview: - When we were first seated, our waiter checked in on us and asked if we wanted to order a few drinks while we waited. We had to tell him that we had actually ordered the wine pairing. I feel like this is something they should know and not something that needs reminding. We actually made an error when booking and only added one pairing - once they let us know ,we were easily able to adjust and ad a second. - The pacing of the food was just really bad. After being seated for a few minutes, plates started coming out left and right. We'd get a quick overview from a server and before we could taste or discuss the food, another plate was coming (we were hoping that maybe this was just the case for the small plates that kicked the experience off, but unfortunately not). It was very obvious that they were pushing food out for the three tables that were seated in our section (ours included). While I know that this is how a kitchen works, I don't think it's over the top to expect a personalized experience for fine dining. The pacing was so off that at one point, I had three, full wine glasses in front of me at one time - I couldn't keep up with what drink was paired with what item and felt rushed to eat and drink to try and keep pace. - It was FREEZING and I don't mean a little bit chilly. I noticed a few people wearing coats when we entered, which I thought was odd, but I soon realized why. We were seated in the main room which was , at a minimum, 15 degrees colder than the back room and had one space heater (which obviously did nothing). It was so cold that I had to put my Parka to try and stay warm. This was a winter day in DC, sure, but I truly cannot think of an excuse to not have sufficient heat in a restaurant in winter. I've been warmer at Waffle House. - At the end of the night, once we had finished the meal our waiter was nowhere to be found. After waiting for a bit, we (and the folks at the table beside us) had to get up and find staff to get the final checks. While the food wasn't out of this world, it was interesting and well presented. But, I have had much better food and MUCH MUCH better experiences for a fraction of the price. We walked away feeling like we'd been scammed. It's hard for me to believe that this is the experience that gave El Cielo a Michelin Star. Could not, in good conscience, recommend this restaurant to anyone.
Be the first to ReplyMolecular cuisine and extremely artistic.
I have never experienced something like that before. It was magical, and I loved the chocotherapy experience.
Be the first to ReplyOff-the-chart creative
We truly enjoyed our dinner at El Cielo Restaurant. We had the Journey, the smaller tasting menu, which was more than enough for us. Dinner takes about two hours. The creativity of the dishes is off the chart. I won’t describe all the details here, but some of the dishes such as the tree of life, lick me an chocolate therapy are truly unique and fun. But all dishes are innovative, exquisite and delicate (one of the seafood dishes was a bit salty for our taste). For a non wine drinker like me the beer selection is a bit limited, but they have two nice light beers. Service is friendly, relaxed yet timely. You never feel rushed. The restaurant has a upscale and pleasant vibe, tables are well separated. Dinner at El Cielo isn’t cheap but surely worth the cost!
Be the first to ReplyMichelin can't be wrong, we had great expectations, we left disappointed.
First of all, we booked this restaurant a month in advance, we flew from Costa Rica exclusively to dine here. Taking into consideration that it is a high class restaurant, the minimum expectation is to receive an extraordinary service. In our case it was the opposite. Upon arrival the hostess was badly presented and misplaced, the treatment was not the best, when we introduced ourselves she was surprised and apparently our reservation was wrong. They took a few minutes while they prepared our table. When we sat down, our table was at the exit of the kitchen, therefore they suggested that they could give us another table, so we had to wait even longer. It is a menu of 20 courses in which between plates we often had to wait for a long time, in total we lasted more than 4 hours in the complete experience, at the end we were rushed out and kitchen was closing. What I cannot forgive is that they omitted one of the dishes, specifically the Blood sausage blue cheese one of the most expected. I immediately notified the waitress and he told me that we were going to try it soon, we saw how he went back to the kitchen and argued about the error, To top it off, they didn't bring us the dish and the staff didn't apologize either. In conclusion the food was as it is supposed to be to for a one star Michelin restaurant (this was a $1300 tab), but Michelin is also not wrong by award them only one star to this restaurant, it is a good place in its category, but it is definitely not the place that worth a special journey or even a detour.
Be the first to ReplyExtremely Inventive Meal. The food is worthy of a second Michelin star now!
We were so pleased with our meal at El Cielo in DC. We have recently visited three of the new DC Michelin star restaurants and were less than fully satisfied with two of the others. However, El Cielo clearly deserves its star (and maybe more). We will discuss our usual analysis of food, service, and value (trading off price with quality). To start, the food really is fantastic, and we thought deserving of two Michelin stars (not just one). You are guided through “The Experience” (the tasting menu name) of 20 courses of complex and a definitely imaginative combination of flavors. Chef Barrientos deserves high praise for engaging diners’ palates. After each course, we were really excited to try the next course to see where our taste buds would go next. I will spare you (and save the surprise for each course), but I said after eating the halibut “If I smoked, I could use a cigarette about now.” Who knew halibut could be so seductive : - ). There are several seafood courses, and they are different and imaginatively executed with exciting flavors and textures. Also, the corn buñuelo both exploded AND melted in our mouths- a very unexpected surprise. Wine was well selected and enhanced each course. There is a little bit of schtick in the menu – washing your hands in chocolate, mounting the bread in the “tree of life,” and the rose petals with lotion at the end. Nothing was completely over the top that it didn’t have at least a little purpose and offered some enhancement to the meal. I realize it is a delicate balance. At this price point, lots of folks demand some production value, so you probably get just enough. After all, even the Inn at Little Washington has its mooing cow cheese cart. Service was friendly and definitely attentive. Spacing between courses was just right. Of course, to be fair, the kitchen knows in advance what to prepare, since they know what you are getting even with allergy modifications before you arrive. El Cielo beautifully executed our lactose allergy by making SUBSTITUTIONS not SUBTRACTIONS. This was a welcomed change given our disappointments at other recently reviewed Michelin-starred restaurants. There were a couple of small hiccups with service. We did have to explain our lactose allergy to the server, who I expected to know at our arrival (but the kitchen did know). Also, the restaurant is on the louder side. The combination of the servers’ masks and the music makes it difficult to hear. Even after asking to repeat several times, I caught about half of what our server stated, so we missed details on the food and wine. Wine was ALWAYS perfectly executed and was served before the food and tableware was always reset correctly and timely. The logistics of managing such a plethora of courses is something that cannot go unnoticed. Also, El Cielo gladly split our single wine pairing (some 2 & 3 Michelin-starred restaurants won’t do this), so they deserve that shoutout. Frankly, we love the play of food and wine, but we are both now too old YET too undisciplined to each be trusted with an entire wine pairing for one of these multi-multi course experiences. On balance, service was good and well executed. Now to the value, fair warning, El Cielo is not cheap. It’s probably one of the more expensive tasting menus in the DC area, and you prepay for food and wine pairings. Total price for two tasting menus and one wine pairing (tax and 20% tip are included in the prepayment) was $787.80. It’s a lot- no doubt. However, if you REALLY like food and don’t have to skip eating for the rest of the month or sell a spare organ to eat here, then we think it is totally worth the experience. We will return (just maybe not every day..since I like having two kidneys!), even though the food is crazy good!
Be the first to ReplyInnovative meets Delight!
The tasting menu at El Cielo is highly innovative yet very approachable and delicious. There were multiple courses at first glance, I thought: this is beautiful and certainly innovative but there’s no way this will actually taste good. I was enthusiastically wrong and thankful to the chef for pushing the envelope and wowing their guests visually and gastronomically. It’s great to see a Colombian-influenced concept enter the fine-dining market in DC.
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