El Cielo

At the young age of 23, Juan Manuel Barrientos made waves in 2007 by opening the first El Cielo in Medellín, which employed former guerrilla fighters and ex-military members recovering from years of civil war. The Bogotá location followed in 2011, and since then, El Cielo has expanded to Miami and Washington DC. The restaurant is renowned for its unique tasting menus that offer sensory experiences such as “choco-therapy,” where guests wash their hands in liquid chocolate to awaken their senses. With over 15 courses on the menu, everything at El Cielo is super creative, including dishes like corn tempura with sweet potato and coconut and a grapefruit lollipop with vermouth and white chocolate.

Juan Manuel Barrientos has come to be the face of celebrity chefdom in Colombia, appearing on television shows and advertisements everywhere. His relatively affordable tasting menus tend to show off molecular techniques whenever possible and do not shy away from employing sensory displays throughout the meal (washing hands tableside with cacao, coffee served in a liquid nitrogen fog to represent the cloud forest, etc). While the original El Cielo is in Medellín (and they have since expanded to Miami), the Bogotá location is the most modern outpost.

Every capital needs a restaurant that takes a scientific approach to its food and Juan Manuel Barrientos is Colombia’s rising star when it comes to molecular meals, transforming the taste and texture of his cooking with the arts of chemistry and physics. The chef was in his twenties when El Cielo burst onto the scene and became one of Latin America’s hottest and most original restaurants. Barrientos says his aim is to make diners feel as they feed and taste the emotion behind his clever take on Colombian cuisine.

A culinary odyssey that takes diners on a journey through the senses, El Cielo is a must-visit for those seeking a truly extraordinary dining experience. Chef Juan Manuel Barrientos’s creative avant-garde dishes are presented theatrically, using molecular gastronomy techniques to create appetizing masterpieces. Guests can choose from a tasting menu that takes diners on a gastronomic journey, with each course telling a story, showcasing the chef’s most innovative creations or opt for a la carte options.

Una publicación compartida de Elcielo RESTAURANT (@elcielorestaurant). Ubicado en el puesto 74, El Cielo hace parte de esos restaurantes de lujo del país a los que hay que ir al menos una vez en la vida. Su puesta en escena, su concepto gastronómico y la creatividad que se respira en el ambiente solo se puede conseguir de la mano del chef Juan Manuel Barrientos, quien empezó con un concepto de cocina molecular y a partir de allí creció y se transformó a una cocina de autor.

At El Cielo, baby-faced owner and chef Juan Manuel Barrientos’ inventiveness and his constantly changing experimental tasting menu will challenge your preconceptions about food. El Cielo is all about creating emotions and reactions to the dishes. Recent tasting menus focus on Colombian ingredients and traditions mixed with international techniques.

El Cielo: Es el restaurante insignia de Juan Manuel Barrientos, chef colombiano con Estrella Michelin. Su menú es una experiencia de degustación, que propone un viaje de diferentes momentos para explorar los sabores colombianos, en platillos que combinan las técnicas tradicionales con las más vanguardistas.

While celebrity chef Juan Manuel Barrientos’s original El Cielo location is in Medellín, the Bogotá location is the one that’s listed on the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list. The two tasting menus, using avant-garde techniques like a bed of mist on the table to resemble the…

Prize-winning chef Juan Manuel Barrientos amazes with his avant-garde molecular cooking at El Cielo. He offers tasting menus of 12 or 15 dishes at dinner and a short...