Elcielo Washington DC

“10/10 experience! I was treated The Experience for my birthday and it did not disappoint! From the moment we were seated until we left I was so impressed and delighted by the service me and my mother received. Alejandro was amazing! You can tell he loves his position and he’s passionate about showing guest a true fine Colombian dining experience. I won’t add too many photos so future guests can be entertained as I was, but keep your camera ready! My mom had the mocktails and I selected the 5 wine pairing. Her drinks were so creative and delicious! Mine were smooth,robust and paired perfectly with my dishes. Everything was not only deliciously complex, but also aesthetically beautiful!! I’ll be thinking about this meal for the rest of the year! The chefs, staff and venue were all immaculate!”

“I don’t know what rock I’ve been living under, but I just tried Elcielo this past weekend - and I have certainly been missing out on some of the most amazing food I’ve had in DC in a long time. The restaurant and interior design is beautiful. The staff are friendly and deliver outstanding service. And the food is amazing. We were a table of four and had an outstanding time and delicious dining experience from start to finish. We started with the warm salad, the tree of life, the ceviche, and the wagyu tartare. OMG. The wagyu tartare blew my mind and everyone at the table. It’s one of the most memorable dishes I’ve had in recent history and I’m including recent trips to Lyon (okay, there’s a Blaquette de Veau I can’t get out of my mind, but that’s a different story). I feel like the wagyu tartare changed my life. I’m a better person because I ate it - and I was able to share my feelings with the chef, who visited our table. We also had the New York Strip and potatoes (so fluffy and delicious!!), the lobster and the bison. The bison is apparently one of the specialties and it was jaw-droppingly good. They apparently prepare in by wrapping it in cloth and throwing it in charcoal to cook - a Colombian style - soooooo delicious!!!! All of it was. I highly recommend Elcielo and can’t wait to go back!”

“We went for restaurant week, spent $100 per person overall. For restaurant week, it’s a good deal but I don’t see myself coming back. The carimañola, truffle buñelo, and warm salad were all great and super flavorful but I’m so glad we also got the tree of life. My favorite course and so delicious. The yucca gnocchi was good but the cream was so heavy and overpowered everything. Dessert was great too. Just not sure it’s worth coming back for vegetarians. Also, service was incredibly slow. There were 5 diners in the whole establishment and we had to wait 20 minutes for our check.”

“We came here for restaurant week, & we’re not disappointed with the food. Every bite was outstanding. I’d highly recommend the tree of life. That was definitely a showstopper and absolutely delicious. The wagu, lobsters, and tuna crudo are also delightful. Our service throughout the meal was also attentive. I’d have given El Cielo a 5 star review but there was some confusion with our bill. The waiter had to come back to our table three times and charged my card twice before getting the amount right. The food was still delightful, but the confusion surrounding the bill and getting charged twice put a slight damper on the evening.”

“What an incredible dinner experience. The venue has a warm inviting theme. I felt like I was in a home rather than a restaurant. You forget the that you just walked through an industrial area. I took my wife for her birthday and the food was very delicious. My wife does not eat seafood and they cleverly modified their menu to accommodate her seafood aversion. I definitely recommend getting the birthday add on so that there is something to blow out during the experience. We were both overall happy with the food and experience. Cons: I preface this by saying this was very expensive experience so I am being overly critical as I expected perfection at this price point. First, it was very cold in dining room. I know it maybe difficult to manage the temperature in a building like that but after the first hour of being blasted directly by the AC it was uncomfortably cold. Secondly and slightly related to the first, it was very difficult to hear the attendants over the AC fans. Just being a little louder would have made it easier to understand what we were eating as the food did not all come in the same order as listed. It was not far off but it would have been more enjoyable if I didn't have the server repeat themselves as it was difficult to hear them. Lastly it was just passive aggressive behavior by the chefs where in an attempt to leave early on a Sunday night they started to mop the kitchen floor while patrons were still eating. So essentially my last courses had a stench of bleach overwhelm my nose as they cleaned the kitchen while several parties were still eating.”