Being the foodies we are in our family; my baby girl and I took my hubby to this amazing restaurant to celebrate Father's Day last year. All I'm going to say is that this place is called "El Cielo"(Heaven) for a reason and that we had a "religious culinary experience" when we were here. Absolutely amazing, unparalleled and like nothing we've ever experienced before. One restaurant you have to visit at least once. read more

Would love to tell you about how awesome this restaurant is, but.... I made Valentine's Day reservations 5 weeks ago for 7:15. I called the restaurant on January 13th to confirm my reservation and it was confirmed. Now, 4 days before Valentine's Day, I get a call that there will be no 7:15 seating and only 6pm is available. We both work in West Palm until 5pm, so we will not be attending this restaurant and every place else is booked for Valentine's. Really sucks. We had been looking forward to this experience for such a long time and we are very disappointed in the way the ElCielo conducts business. read more

If you really love spending you $$$ on presentation and glitz, this is your place. The food is good and interesting but not earth-shattering. The guava ribs were dry and over cooked and too sweet and the rice they serve it with is kind of subpar. I tried the parpadelle ropa vieja which was great as was the salmon tartar but overall I felt the food was just not worth the price tag despite the elaborate presentation. I feel the presentation is a very fancy smoke screen to mask the fact that you just paid 65$ to eat over cooked ribs and rice that could just as well have been Uncle Bens... They are offering a menu they are calling "Spice all year round" which is 65$ a person but when I called to see if they were offering Miami Spice, they said they were until October 31st (since Spice was extended due to the hurricane) Well, by that they meant their 65$ menu not 39$ which I thought was tacky of them. They don't list their wines by the glass they just offer you a house wine and then it's 18$ a glass....for Trapiche Broquel Malbec. A bottle that cost 15$ if that. It just doesn't sit well with me and reinforces the feeling that they aren't actually charging for the quality of food and drinks but are charging arbitrarily and because they know people in Miami will fall over themselves to overpay. The service was good but again, not great. They were a bit slow and scattered despite the restaurant having very few tables. Overall, I wouldn't go back so I likely wouldn't recommend unless you are a sucker for theatrical presentations and you have a few hundred to throw down on a tasting menu. read more

Hands down the absolute best meal I've ever had in my 60 years of life! We chose the 10-course meal which I recommend highly. Each dish that came out was like a work of art. They perfected modernist cuisine to the T. Not only was it beautiful It was truly delicious, each and every morsel. I consider myself a foodie and rarely write reviews but I had to let you all know that this is THE place to go. It's hard to describe, you just have to go and experience it. The chef, the wait staff, all of the employees were so lovely. It was truly an experience I will never forget. Thank you all at El Cielo! read more

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Yo estuve en El Cielo.... This has been one of the most interesting culinary experiences that I've ever had. I wanted to try this place and finally made it in February 2017. I went on a wednesday night and made reservations three weeks prior to my visit. This restaurant offers different types of tasting menus. One is called "Journey" and another one is "Trip". The Journey, I would say, it´s about tasting plates than the Trip, and that's the one that they suggest for the people who visit the place for the first time... so here I go... that is what we chose and we did not regret it. Inspired in Colombian food, Juan Manuel Barrientos (the chef) makes sure to include every one of your senses into the experience. At the beginning of this wonderful experience I saw myself enjoying chocotherapy... oh my... I wish I was there right now! I don´t want to ruin the "surprise" to the ones who would like to try this unique restaurant. All I could say it was all delicious, being the pork belly and the shrimp one of my favorite dishes... At the end of the journey, the server literally gave us colombian coffee just the way you would have it on a authentic colombian morning. Me sentí en las montañas cafeteras de Colombia. Qué lindo. The wine list is very good as well, and the service was impecable. In terms of price, it was pricey but worth it for the experience. I´m coming back to try "The Trip". read more

1. A plate is presented with an Orchid and a little pill in the center. The server pours warm water on it and once the towel has sprouted, you use it to wipe your hands. 2. Take a shot of iced Limoncello and chase it with 3 drops of tart fruit reduction sauces. This will awaken your tastebuds. 3. This one's very messy and fun! The server brings a large bowl and asks you to put your hands in it, palms up. He pours warm thick white chocolate and tells you to lick it off. Feels like being a kid again! He then covers your hands in coarse cocoa powder and asks you to scrub your hands. This exfoliates your skin while the coconut oil in the chocolate moisturizes them. He pours water over them until they are completely clean and soft. 4. Seafood morsels: You eat each one in a single bite. There's crunch and flavor and yumminess. I only remember that one of them was a perfect round pearl of crab cake with squid ink and a drop of lemon on top. 5. Black & Yellow soup. This one's also hands on. It's presented as a poached egg covered in black dried lentils. Then the server pours a warm yellow beet soup over it and instructs you to mix it all together. After stirring all of it together, the consistency was very creamy and yellow, with little black dots floating around. It had a mildly sweet flavor, similar to sweet corn chowder and charred, black rice crispies. 6. Tree of Life: A pretty copper tree that holds a green flat bread made of yucca flour. It's very similar to the Brazilian Pão de Queijo- crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. It smelled delicious- like fresh pesto pizza out of the oven. The dip was creamy and mild. 7. Green apple fettuccini and salmon tartare: I loved this play on noodles, making them out of thinly shaved apple. The delicately flavored salmon tartare was sweetened with apple jelly- then it was accentuated with truffle oil and pomegranate for a little symphony of flavors dancing on your tongue. 8. Potato Milhoja w Curried Red Snapper: Picture an eggroll, with just the outer layer laid out flat, then filled with spicy curry and fish, then another egg roll layer, then more fish. I guess it was like a seafood lasagna with layers of very thin crispy potato and then pungent, Indian curry flavor. The cream on the side was made of goat cheese. I feel like curry and goat cheese are very powerful flavors so I didn't really understand why they were paired together. It felt a bit much. But individually, each component was delicious. 9. Crispy Prawns & Coconut Rice It was actually a Langoustine, like a cross between a shrimp and lobster. The corn batter was really crunchy and tasty. When I bit through, I could taste the firm langoustine and a little curry. The bed of coconut rice smelled delicious. It was creamy and sweet. 10. Scallop Tiradito: This dish was lovely. I loved the way the texture and flavors were balanced. The scallop was sliced thinly and served raw with little colorful potatoes and truffle cream on the side. The scallop's texture was very smooth while the potato was a bit more coarse in contrast. I dipped the potatoes in cream and they tasted like bites of baked potato w sour cream. When scallop was good on its own but once I put the cream on it, it took me back to the Paris cafes that served smoked salmon w crème fraîche and lemon. This was another favorite. 11. First Dessert: This one was beautiful to photograph and eat. It reminded me of going on snow trips with my family, walking under pine trees and getting in the car. Snow is a little messy but beautiful. My dad's car is black and would be cold and frosty on the outside, like the dish it was served on, The snow would stick to our shoes and clothes in little clumps and there would be pine needles mixed in there sometimes. The white Soursop sorbet was served like fresh powdery snow with scattered dill weed with crystalized sugar and dried apple powder on top. The imagery it evoked for me made this almost too beautiful to eat. 12. The second dessert was served on an icy blue plate that looked like a lagoon with colorful rocks. It was like the top of an apple crumble à la mode with little drops of grape reduction sauce that tasted like sips of brandy in between each bite. It was topped with a coconut crisp. 13. The THIRD dessert was the most decadent- Nutella ganache covered with mango, mango sorbet, anise pound cake and raspberry jelly. It was topped with a very thin wafer that tasted like a fortune cookie. 14. I don't want to spoil the grand finale... so I'll just say, This was REALLY REALLY COOL! You get authentic Colombian coffee served the way a farmer in Colombia would drink it. You also get three tiny treats that are arranged in ascending flavor notes: macaroon, chocolate, and mango jelly. 15. Like something from a romantic movie scene, you get rose petals and lotion. You rub it into your hands so that when you leave, the scent still lingers. read more

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I mean you must go here !!! Amazing amazing amazing ! I won't spoil the details with a review just trust me and GO !

Great experience, food and service, a couple things can be perfected but overall 5 stars.

It's an experience that everyone needs to try at least once. Everything about this place was excellent! Food, waiters, ambiance.... read more

Elcielo - Colombian Near Me - Miami, Florida

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We were dropped off here by our Uber driver. We walked in , no one was waiting for table . The waitress who barely spoke English "shooed" us off and said she is nothing available . Don't bother ! Service sucks already! read more

Was eager to try this restaurant, hyped as an innovative and palate-stimulating dining experience. Took advantage of Miami Spice for an inexpensive sampling before spending north of $200 a person on "The Experience" (the lavender lava cake was the tipping point that sold me on the Miami Spice menu, so I went with the promotion and eagerly awaited the lavender dessert). In short: Upsides included the ambiance, the "Don't Give Papaya" cocktail, and the fact that nothing on the menu was flagrantly bad, just mostly basic and uninspired. Much to my chagrin, I'm relieved I didn't pay full price for this lackluster dining experience. Extended version: The food--from the first course to dessert--was generally decent, but more on par with a reliable neighborhood takeout spot, rather than a bastion of gastronomic reinvention. - The tree of life was probably the most interesting and tasty item we sampled--something I'm partial to as a fan of mochi/tapioca-like textures. - The crab in the crab arepas was smothered in dairy and overcooked beyond recognition, reminiscent of a chain-restaurant menu that compensates for a lack of quality ingredients with over cooking/processing/frying. - The guava ribs in my entree were overly sweet and one-dimensional. The rice that accompanied it was mushy and wholly unremarkable, flavor-wise. - The branzino and quinoa risotto were marginally better. - The lavender lava cake was not the grand denouement I had awaited, but tasted like a white chocolate basque cheesecake of sorts (quite agreeable) without the faintest hint of lavender (which I was particularly excited to try). The service was also subpar from the moment we called for directions to the valet parking. -We were told valet was on SE 5th St and Brickell (the intersection from which we called) when the valet entrance was in fact closer to the other end of the block, near SE 5th St and SE 1st Ave. Surely it's not unreasonable to expect that staff could refer patrons to the appropriate entrance. - Moving on to the dinner itself, our server seemed rushed, repeatedly fleeing at the first sign of a pause while we placed our order (promptly disappearing when we still had additional items to request). - She served our main course prematurely and inaudibly mumbled the dish descriptions while we were still chewing on the last several bites of our previous course. - I've rarely experienced such unengaged service at a fine restaurant, so I was ultimately more baffled than frustrated by the end of the evening. All-in-all a surprisingly substandard experience for an establishment of this caliber. I have better hopes for the DC location, and may still consider giving it a try within the safer confines of the tasting menu. read more

My wife and I visited el cielo restaurant for her birthday. The restaurant decor is very nice and staff was friendly and welcoming. The dining experience was unique on its own. The course menu was intriguing and different. Eleven small tapas designed to play with head and taste buds. Our favorite part of the course was the chocoterapia. Aka wash your hands with chocolate and then drink it. Sounds bad but its not! And then at the end the coffee experience with nitrogen fumes over the table was very cool. The desserts were truly delicious. One drawback id say of this restaurant is the price being a bit steep. In our table four of us spent $800,00 total eating and drinking each a course meal and a few cocktails each. read more

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If I could give negative stars I would. This "experience" was an overpriced joke. Everything they served was worse than the next item. I was so embarrassed that I took someone there and so disappointed. I'm a very adventurous eater but the was no good flavor to any of the dishes served. read more

Please can I give it more stars !!! This is hands down the best dining experience I had in a restaurant in US hands down. The service was magnificent , they really know what they are doing. But the real prize here is the grips and the presentation , you can't really beat this . Kermit up el Cielo !!! read more

Mediocre, did not live up to expectations. We came here for Miami Spice, and it wasn't until we complained about the poor quality of the food that we realized this was a Michelin Start restaurant-- at that point we were shocked. The service was OK. The food was like what you'd eat at a Bar Mitzvah or your average wedding; inconsistent, subpar, enough to keep your appetite at bay. Halfway through, we lost our appetite, left about 75% of the entre on the plate, and cancelled desert. Their "Truffle Quinoa Risotto" genuinely had NO truffle in it, and it's actually what we were most looking forward to. The "chicharron" was tough, cold, and chewy. Their corn arepas were dry and crumbled apart. It felt as if the chef and staff had gotten together and ultimately decided that anyone doing Miami Spice simply wasn't worth doing anything special for. How you do one thing is how you do everything, we will not be coming back. We thought this would be a good intro (what Miami Spice is all about) but we were wrong. I had a chance to speak with and express myself to the chef and several staff members, who gave us the chance to leave without paying, which we appreciated. read more

What an experience of a lifetime. If you want a 40 or love food or or is she just want something special to do for dinner this is the place to go is hands-down the best experience in Miami that I've ever had. Great Colombian food from beginning till the desserts every day change the menu every few months but I fell in love with the whole concept of making it an experience instead of just a plain dinner . The service is awesome they come and explain to you each plate. They tell you about a crown how does separated it and why and the story behind each night. I really like the floor in the restaurant it's very simple very organic feel to it. It's a very upscale and cows are all sending. When you give us a nation so you must cloth and I had a time and they did a submission. And if it's in the menu get the chocolate on your hands experience read more

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If anyone has seen Netflix's documentary series "chef table", this is it right here! I'd been dying to try one of these restaurants and had an opportunity to thanks to my friend, Borys. El cielo is secretly tucked away, facing the river, so be on the look out for direction signs! We asked for the tasting menu and went with "The Journey", a selection of 10 or more courses. The owner, Juan, is all about creating a dining experience with all your senses, and each course delivered just that. They started us off with the coconut panna cotta and a sample portion of peach Bellini. Now I'm not complaining about dessert first since I have a huge sweet tooth, instant points gained right there! Then, the server poured warm, melted, dark chocolate on our hands and told us to rub it around and eat it. Okayyy! No one ever tells you "hey wash your hand with chocolate", that was pretty crazy... but cool, and makes you kinda nervous haha. Another one of my favorites from The Journey was their tender pappardelle paired with roast duck, powder truffle, and mini droplets of plantains. Presentation wise, the scent/sight experience from the corn cream based filled cheese balls was delightful since they burn real sage in front of you and it's served in the plant pot. Feeling slightly cave-man ish now! The ceviche is swimming in lemon juice, just the way I like it. Oh, and say aloha to this cute dish I forgot the name to but I think looks pretty! (Refer to photo) Fresh Colombian coffee is served as one of the desserts towards the end of The Journey, and the very last one was incredibly elegant. Our fine dining ended with a two pairs of rose petals for each of us rub in our hands, as lotion lathered up our palms from in between the petals. Super romantic! I advise all men to consider this a valentines date option haha. Even after The Journey (pfft I'm so punny hahaha jk), our experience didn't stop there. There are comfy sofas and lounge chairs in the outside area right on the river with a beautiful view of brickell's signature buildings, where we sat for a chat and for me to digest my food before dancing! This is by far the coolest and romantic gastronomic experience ever! SIDE NOTE/WARNING: If you are allergic to corn, then this tasting menu may not be the best option for you as the food is truly inspired by Colombia which is great, but that also means the courses are also mostly corn based. read more

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As a previous server from this location and floor manager I will never recommend this place to anyone. The chef Juanma doesn't even know how to cook I really wonder how he got his michelin star. Very rude and could put myself in a big problem. Always bringing teenagers and asking me to serve them alcohol which I refused and the next day he fired me after 4 years of working in this place. The prices are very extremely expensive and not even worth it a quarter of what you will be ending paying. Save your money and I really hope that they will bring the star down he doesn't deserve it at all!!! Many chefs went to collaborate and I could clearly see how they laugh at him. Pathetic individual. Going for a lawsuit pretty soon! read more

My boyfriend and I were looking for somewhere good to try for dinner. This restaurant was recommended to us by a friend who lives locally (we are not residents of Miami ). I wanted to go somewhere nice for my last night in town. We both absolutely loved the restaurant and it was a fabulous recommendation. We had a 14 course dinner that lasted about 3hours. Everything about the dinner was perfect my date being one of the things but the service, atmosphere, food quality was all top notch. We enjoyed everything from the beginning to the end. Our table was covered in rose petals which gave our dinner more of a date night vibe. We loved the chocolate getting poured on ours hands, tree of life, each course was unique, the coffee presentation was fun and at the end the rose petals with lotion that was given to us for our hands just made it an amazing dinner experience all around. Our server was very kind and informative about the food and it's culture. My boyfriend eats anything but I am a vegetarian and they made sure they cooked food that I could eat. I enjoyed the intimate atmosphere even with other tables around. The food quality was top notch. The restaurant is a bit pricey $500 for two people however we expected that. There is also valet which is a must for us. I would love to go again when I return back to town and bring friends and family. I highly recommend this restaurant for and intimate evening! read more

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What a fantastic place! The experience was outstanding, the presentation of the moments (food) were absolutely amazing. The waiters create a story for each moment, make you use different senses according to the dish they bring, make your evening exceptional. El Cielo is perfect for special dates, highly recommended! read more

Recommendation: don't do the wine pairing/tasting. My boyfriend and I came to El Cielo on a Valentine's day date. They were offering a fixed Valentine's day menu with a special wine pairing. We decided that this is what we would do. We has a glass of Champagne to start. Next we were given chocolate to massage our hands. This was a WEIRD experience. I have never rubbed food all over myself in a restaurant this way. We had little corn bites next. these were really awesome! Probably my favorite thing the whole night! YUM! Then we had a corn soup/ravioli dish which I also really enjoyed. Followed by the "tree of life" that came paired with a tomato soup type sauce. I was so so excited for the tree of life because I had seen pictures of it in reviews. However, I was very disappointed. This tree was gummy and very hard to chew. I don't know if we got a bad one, but I didn't think it was cooked very well. Next, we had a prawn with squid ink. This dish was very very good! I loved the dried crunchy tomatoes that were dusted on the side of the dish. Next, we had a quinoa/redsnapper/spinach bite. Followed by a pork belly dish, Yummy watermelon slices, Ice cream chocolate dessert, and chocolate truffles. (see pictures) Over the course of the meal we had a glass of white wine, rose, and a red. However, the waiter did not even know what exact wine he was giving us.... My boyfriend asked him more than once to tell us about the wine and our waiter didn't know where the wine was even from. We were expecting that the wine pairing would go along with our meal, but this was not the case. For the $140 that they charged for this wine pairing, we would have certainly been better off just picking a bottle that we liked (and actually knew what it was) and drinking that with the whole meal. My overall experience with the night being wonderful, I fear, was because I was in such a good mood because it was Valentine's day. The food was great for the most part, but the wine and service not quite what I was expecting. Hopefully if we go to this restaurant again we can see if the service is better on a more calm night? read more

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One of a kind experience while on vacation in Miami. It's worth the wait if you can't get reservations right away. "The Experience" had so many surprises and our taste buds we're in shock also. From the start to finish you'll enjoy every moment. read more

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Dear Juan .....as a man who has dined out in some of the finest restaurants in America I would tell you the concept of your restaurant is unique in Miami but needs a few tweaks .... first I would like to see you dim your lighting to a more romantic setting .....your wine list is limited and you could use more choices. The presentation of your cuisine is exciting but some of the choices do not make my palate explode .....I think this could be one of the greatest destinations in Downtown ....wishing you the best read more

Some good dishes, but way too many mediocre ones. We arrived late on a Friday evening, and maybe it was just too late in the evening, but the service generally was a little off--it wasn't necessarily about the timeliness, just the knowledge of the menu and the upscale, gastronomical experience they were trying to create. They were a bit slow in describing exactly what we were eating, and it just felt a little rushed and not as well prepared. I'd rather be told exactly what I need to eat and do, rather than be told what my options are. In terms of food quality, it was hit or miss--the pappardelle and the chicken were pretty good, the latter in particular was prepared very well, but the empanada surrounding the crab was a little stale, a little too much cream in the steak wraps, and the smoky beef sushi had way too much rice. The ideas were interesting, but the food execution was too inconsistent for a meal of this cost. read more

I found this place to be good food although super expensive "another word for experiential eating I hear". Was particularly pissed when I found out that after almost leaving because of sticker shock the waiter did not offer the Miami Spice menu at any point. When I got home I confirmed they were in Miami Spice and I called the Manager (Cristina) the next day who explained to me that if customers don't ask they don't give the menu out. I told her that is not how MIami Spice works (they need to advertise the menu) when people sit and she told me she will have the GM call me. GM never called so felt compelled to share the review the end of my "experience" with El Cielo read more

This is an update to a review I made two years ago of this place. I came back with a friend because my original experience was in fact heavenly. However, I was embarrassed the second time around, that my friend paid $500 for a dinner for two that was not deserving at all of the price or good reviews. The food was average, the service was overwhelming. Dishes were brought in one after another work the out any grace time to savor the previous. The highlight of this restaurant is the food and the way in which is delivered. It is meant to be an experience for all the senses, but the food was as tasty as I would have hoped. The choices of the chef this time around were not as interesting, and the service quality also declined. It is not a restaurant I wish to come back to, and it is a complete waist of money for the food is not up to par. read more

Beautiful restaurant interesting dishes and excellent customer service, Barbara at the bar makes fantastic drinks and she's extremely friendly! read more

to start we arrived 10 min early and sat 5min late we requested no alcohol and first 2 starters were alcoholic drinks then we tried 3 non alcohol pairing for price untold $175 not worth it second lavender drink bad food color dye not drinkable we did not received first amuse bouche for 35 min after sat down we were very hungry first offering was best of night second caviar ok bread was filling chocolate pour was silly after 10 appetizers we were full then lobster roll bread beet was gooey too much mayo we were so full we did not eat duck tried one of 4 pieces not good duck is tough to make ate one lamb chop was good popsicle mango with jalapeño aweful silly drops of ice cream then emerald ate one and hazelnut ate none we asked for desserts to take home crazy strong coffee at end of night 245 to eat too long. tired we asked to take home bread duck lamb and desserts they didn't give any extra departing amuse bouche we are bread middle of night threw away bad duck and lamb chop in am what a waste only 4 tables in whole restaurant and yet they can make money obviously not worth our bill of $850 we are staying at one hotel they tried to persuade us against your restaurant two prior days at at stubborn seed good causal and Joey roberchon out of your league much better and options are better we should have listen to one hotel we told them food was good but 10 appetizers too much drinks not good they forgot to give us desert not sure you are worth Michelin star some table servers spoke no English if they would have told us sit at bar we would have that no way we come back sorry but can't recommend this restaurant we told one hotel take off their list too bad less food faster serving decaf coffee option less alcohol wasted potential And food sent home in foam containers instead of eco friendly cardboard recyclable Joe read more

Entre a las 8 30 pm y sali a las 12:35 am, se necesita tiempo y paciencia. La comida es rica pero no es para gastar tanto! Hay mejores restaurantes al mismo precio, los platos se demoran mucho en llegar, el concepto es que es un menu para todo el mundo y basicamente te van dando pequeños aperitivos hasta completar 15 le dan el nombre de momentos. para que se hagan una idea éramos 2 y la cuenta fueron 360 dolares y de tomar tomamos 2 cocacolas 0 cocteles. Es una experiencia nueva pero no la repetiria. read more

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If we could give 0 stars we would! $187.00 per person with NO LIQUOR, they don't have their liquor license yet! Food was sub-par at best, a lot of creativity in their presentation, however, the food was funky and lacked taste to say the least. Do yourselves, your time and your wallet a favor and don't eat here. The "show" takes 4 hours from start to finish. read more

I live in Brickell and a few friends have wanted to try this place. Our friend is moving to Chicago so a perfect time to meet for dinner. We decided to go for Miami Spice menu. We made a reservation for 6 people at 8 p.m. on a Tuesday evening. Four of us arrived and we were seated at a table. The other two were on their way. I noticed that my head was hitting the a floating shelf so I switched with a friend. Throughout the dinner I kept getting hit by the staff or other customers. It seemed very crowded where we sat. The four of us each ordered a drink. They were all delicious. The other two ordered drinks when they arrived. One asked for a drink that someone else already ordered. The drink came and it looked and tasted completely different. More or less the server did not know which drink was which. We asked for the correct drink and the server made a comment that three people took a sip of the drink so he should not bring a new one. The issue was he kept saying it was the same drink but it looked and tasted completely different. He brought the new drink and never apologized. Great drinks, poor service. The Miami Spice menu allows you to choose three courses. You get a total of 7 courses with the menu. I enjoyed the corn soup. The manager saw me looking at it and told me to stir it then enjoy. It was cold so not sure if that was right or not. I liked it. My main course was the steak and truffle fries. Both had a lot of flavor and tasted good. The fries and the steak were both cold. We decided not to say anything because it was taking a long time between courses and everyone was very hungry. Clearly the flow was off. No one explained the dish so not sure if the cold food was correct or not. They also seemed confused who ordered medium and medium well. The staff had a lot of trouble brining the food to the table. They did not seem to know who ordered what. I would expect for a restaurant of this caliber to have seat numbers, deliver all the food at one time, and give it to the correct person. That really never happened so maybe I have the wrong expectation. I probably should mention here we have not seen our original server for two courses. We are not sure what happened. We now have the manager and other staff working with us. The desserts came and it was wrong so four of us received desserts and the other two had to wait. The last two desserts came about five minutes later. I tried both desserts and the spicy cheese ice cream was excellent. The prosecco ice cream was okay. We really wanted to like this place but it was pretty disappointing. I decided to talk with the manager on the way out to give him some feedback. He was very nice and listened. He did tell me that they did not expect so many people tonight and two parties had extra people join them. Even though we had a reservation, they had to make more space because of the larger groups. That makes sense now why the restaurant did not flow well and we were put at a table that was placed wrong. I have never left a tip less than 20% in Miami so this is my first time leaving 10%. It killed me to do it because I know how hard the staff usually work at a restaurant. We decided that the service was so off that we had no choice. Unfortunately, I can not recommend this restaurant. I really wish I could have. A very disappointing night. read more

Upon entry it's lovely. Service is inviting and different than your typical 4-5 star experience. We were expecting to be blown away and were excited for the unique concept and presentation. We appreciate high concept, high execution dining and were hoping to be wowed as the Chef Barrientos was noted on top 50 chef's list for Latin America 2 years in a row for El Cielo Colombia. Sadly, the flavors just weren't there for the Miami location. Everything was good. At a higher level, sure, but for the price and expectation, it's mid level when compared to other 5 star restaurants in Miami. read more

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First let me tell you that the PR on this restaurant promise to take you to heaven whith the dining experience, for us it was a little bit of a hell as we where there for 3 and 1/2 hours with a promise of a 15 course expensive meal but all we got was a "course" every 15 to 20 minutes... some times the wait makes you want to RUN... if you are an business person don't come around here as you know how valuable time is. This restaurant DOES NOT serve 15 courses, is really 15 samples they start with mini empanadas and plantain and beef balls.."this you can have at calle 8 for a dollar... then all the samples are very common for Miami culinary life, things tha you can eat anywhere in Miami for maybe 80% less of the price. I give them 2 stars because their service is very good and they have very friendly staff. read more

From the location, the vibe inside, the service, to the wonderfully displayed plates that came out with a story that had us traveling to Colombia and back. I can truly say coming to El Cielo was an experience. And it was an experience that I will come back again for read more

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Was an amazing experience! ! It was as unique as it was delicious - Miami hasn't seen anything like this EVER! They describe the menu as a "journey" and they couldn't have said it better!! read more

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We were pleasantly surprised by our dinner at El Cielo last night. The creativity employed in creating the various dishes not only gave out a complexity of flavors but also a pleasant sense of satisfaction. The service and attention to details were excellent, specifically we commend our waiter Juan and his staff for giving us such a unique high level of experience. This restaurant can be compared favorably to one of the other few Miami restaurants that offer a degustation menu, L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon. El Cielo provides a step in the right direction providing a unique high level of quality fine dining which Miami very much lacks when compared to other major cities around the world. We would like to make an observation and recommendation about the wine pairing as what is being currently offered does a major disservice to the degustation menu. Rather than offering pairings on the inexpensive side they should try offering two pairings with much higher quality wines, perhaps one at $100 for 3 glasses and another one at $150 for 5 glasses. That would be more consistent with the high quality degustation menu offered. We highly recommend El Cielo, whether is for a special occasion or at any time for those that enjoy fine dining. read more

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Made Reservations for Valentines Weekend. 3 days before they called me numerous times and left messages on my phone to confirm I was going after I had made the confirmation already. It seemed so desperate and annoying to confirm multiple times. After I finally spoke to a rep she told me that they raised the prices 3 weeks ago to $178 pp that is ridiculously expensive. The original price was reasonable. She then insisted on an alternative option for an A la Carte Menu. I said that was fine. Once we arrived they sat us down and we waited 30 min to finally have a waiter attend us. Once he shows us the optional menu there was less than 10 appetizers to choose from no entrees what so ever. We left. Very bad experience! read more

I was not impressed. Went there with a friend for an event and,while the locale is nice,the food was awful. I ordered a pizza only cheese and pineapple because I am vegetarian and my friend ordered a $32 piece of meat.It took 45 minutes to get our food,mine had ham all over it so I had to send it back and my friend's meat was raw.The "truffle oil" potatoes were basically your run of the mill frozen french fries from Publix and they were cold and bland. Prices are ridiculous, service is terrible (we kept having to ask the waiter to refill our wine glasses, and we were sitting at the bar (!),where he was constantly going past the empty glasses but never once thought of refilling them. Just a disaster. Go and have a drink but nothing else. read more

It's really hard to write a bad review about a restaurant that is owned by a fellow latin-american but this time and in my opinion, they got the concept all wrong. What works in our countries hardly works here for a long period of time, you really have re-define the service concept and much more, food-wise, the combination of ingredients. The service is outstanding in terms of kindness, you feel really bad telling your server he is not doing a good job explaining the food that comes to the table or even following the order (if there is any) of the dishes that come out of the kitchen. For example, this is the first restaurant of dozens of $$$$ restaurants that I've visited that NEVER one single server touch my bottle of wine to pour some. I had to do all the pouring for the table since anybody ever told them that an empty glass of wine means more wine, specially when there is a full bottle in the table. The fact that the restaurant starts its tasting menu with melted chocolate in a bowl is not a bad a idea since nobody is expecting that, but if during the course of the 15 dishes you put salt/sweet/salt/sweet and so on, there is no way to find neither an evolution nor a proper taste of the ingredients or the dinner itself. I understand that all the international projection of the Chef and the success that is having right now is mostly because of the support of the community here in Miami and the excellent work he has done in his country, but do not apply that idea success to the quality of the service or the food because here, in Miami, where there are plenty of options, it doesn't work for more than a few months. Ask Sea, Salt and Pepper! read more

The most terrible experience of my life. if so is heaven? i prefer to go to hell, a restaurant in which takes 4 hours to bring the total of snacks to the table. My pregnant wife was so bored and tired in the middle of the dinner place chose to leave. Music is nice and go with place.   Very small plates for such a high cost, but with very good presentation, pay per couple $ 360 us, each plate takes long an explanation and it becomes a little time to monotone uncomfortable. a very nice place to miami river. Changing experience every 3 months apparently not want to repeat, not know me like new. There best places to visit in miami. Donato Gunn read more