El Cielo

Our waitress was excellent. Good knowledge of the food

Amazing food, service and presentation! I'd recommend it to everyone!

TLDR: Great food, service and experience. Not worth the price for vegetarians. A bit performative. Vegetarian perspective. My partner and I came here to celebrate our anniversary. We had the El Cielo Experience which has 20 “moments” (they are called courses when you make the reservation but the waiter refers to them as moments and a few aren’t really a course so that makes more sense). We are vegetarians, and they changed some items in the menu to accommodate us. We had a great experience and really enjoyed our dinner! Many of the courses were surprising, tasted amazing, and were fun, as was the whole experience. The service was amazing and super attentive, and we got an extra dessert as a anniversary treat. The appetizers were the highlight for us! Entree was also were good, and we loved the drinks!! The desserts were good, but a bit too sweet for our taste. However, at $289, I personally don’t think it’s worth it, specially for vegetarians. It’s hard not to feel that we were overpaying given that the vegetarian menu was at the same price point as the regular menu, which had much more expensive items such as duck, quail and crab. It’d be great to see a lower price point for the vegetarian menu (as an example, Oteque, a 2-star restaurant in Brazil, does this). Also, part of the experience is more about performance than actually good food. That’s the case for the Chocotherapy, which was a fun experience, and the last one when you get rose petals with hand lotion to rub your hands. The Tree of Life is really good and looks amazing, and the accompanying butters were delicious, but fellow Brazilians may find it like a very-well presented pão de queijo. Finally, the experience was great but felt a bit long. It makes sense as there were 20 courses, but sometimes we would wait 20 minutes to the next one. Overall, this was a unique dinner and I was happy to experience it once.

One of my favorite restaurant experiences anywhere.

I’ve eaten at a lot of lovely restaurants, all over the world - this was not one of them. I came into town on a Sunday afternoon and decided to treat myself to a high-end experience. I know that as a solo diner, I’m a little high-maintenance for a busy kitchen, but it’s a Sunday night, so I figured it would be okay. I arrived on time and was seated. I had to hang my coat over the back of the chair because no one bothered to ask to take it. The first course (a sorbet) was plunked on my table with minimal explanation. While I was eating that, they started laying the table for the next course. I felt rushed and unappreciated. The arepa was very good, as was the tuna with peanut sauce - and the wine pairing was good. But then… the chocolate therapy. I had to remove my jewelry and push up my sleeves so they could pour warm white chocolate on my hands, which I was instructed to massage in like a lotion. After a second step of scrubbing in coffee and sugar, the whole mess was rinsed off with warm water and whisked away. Seriously? It was not food, it wasn’t even a super pleasant experience to be all sticky and licking my fingers having paid a fair sum of money for the privilege. Talk about decadence to literally waste those ingredients. The bread service was delicious, but the lime in the ceviche completely overshadowed the paired Pinot Grigio. And during the main course (a pretty insipid smoked quail), they came around and scraped the crumbs off the table while I was eating. An hour and 15 minutes after I entered a partially empty restaurant, I was out the door feeling underwhelmed. The food was fine, but just fine. The service was poor, especially for a Michelin starred restaurant. It was a farce from start to finish and I’m sorry I wasted my money.

This is my favorite DC Michelin star restaurant yet. It's interactive, the dining experience utilizes all of your senses, they don't have too many seats so even when the restaurant is full it's not loud. The service was impeccable, every menu item was described and the Colombian inspiration story was explained. The decor was simple, clean, modern with clear touches of Colombia everywhere. We did the 10 course experience and I was full to the brim. Each dish was flavorful and delicious, with my favorite being the bonuelo (black stone looking one). I can not recommend this place enough. The price is great, the experience is amazing, and the food is out of this world!!

I’m writing this review for one reason - El Cielo doesn’t get the credit it deserves. I’ve been to a lot of great restaurants that charge a premium (much more than El Cielo), but very few offer an experience that’s on par with El Cielo. Chefs clearly put a lot of hard work and thoughts into the food. They truly communicated that they love Colombian food as well as Colombian culture. The food is beyond creative and just makes you happy. A lot of people writing unfavorable reviews don’t know how difficult it is to meticulously orchestrate a 20-course meal without making guests overwhelmed. The service is genuine and corresponds well with Colombian cuisine. When you ate at a really good restaurant, you hope it will keep it up for many years to come because you want to return and have the same experience. And that’s how I feel about El Cielo.

I can't speak highly enough about the wonderful experience! We had the Elcielo Experience with the Wine Experience and Anniversary Experience. Every tasting was a visual delight! Well worth the investment.