About Elcielo Miami
Elcielo Miami opened on SE 5th Street in Brickell in 2017 as the U.S. extension of chef Juan Manuel Barrientos's Bogotá and Medellín concepts, and in 2022 became the first Colombian-cuisine restaurant in the United States to win a Michelin star. The kitchen has retained the star every year since.
The menu runs a 17-course 'ritual' (approximately $235 per person) built around modernist interpretations of Colombian regional cooking — coffee-aged beef, plantain reimagined in five forms, a tree-of-life course served in a handcrafted ceramic vessel — interspersed with tactile moments like the signature chocolate hand-wash ritual halfway through the meal.
The Brickell dining room is styled after a contemporary art gallery: white walls, minimal decor, a central ritual table, and lighting calibrated to foreground each plate as it arrives. The restaurant is among the harder reservations in Miami and the ritual-style pacing — just over three hours — makes it a commitment rather than a casual booking.
Best Occasion Fit
Elcielo is a client-dinner and birthday choice that communicates that you choose restaurants for experience rather than the obvious steakhouse circuit. The Michelin star, the Colombian-cuisine distinction, and the ritualistic structure of the meal all combine to make the booking itself part of the message.
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