- Product Rating -

5. February 2015: Restaurant El Cielo – Cocina Creativa

| March 29, 2015 | 0 Comments

The El Cielo is the third best restaurant of Colombia. Booking in advance is not only recommended but absolutely necessary. The moment you sit down, the first course is already served – in this case a “Carajillo (espuma de aguardiente y gotas de café)” which is very smooth and foamy not like a regular carajillo.

20150205-Bogotá-ElCielo-04

The next course is called “queso crema, cebollin, almendras in yuca chips” which is basically displaying the early morning in the forst (as there is smoke coming from the little box with butterflies on top of it and at the same time the song “Silence” by Beethoven is playing. The butterflies, which are the edible part of the dish, do not taste like much but the sight of the dish is definitely an interesting one.

20150205-Bogotá-ElCielo-06

The next course is more a game than an actual course as you do not get anything to eat or to drink – but something to play. To be more precise, “fecula de mais, almidon de yuca, rose water”. A large bowl is placed in front of you and the waiter asks you to put out your hands – and pours a pink liquid onto your hands which has a gluey consistency. You are then asked to play with your hands, to rub them with the pink thing inbetween and so on. After a couple of minutes playing with the texture rose water is poured over your hands so you can wash off the pink thing. Definitely a unique experience as I haven’t had any games at the table so far but just food and drinks.

20150205-Bogotá-ElCielo-08

The next course was also impressive – the “Alvaca Romero and potato bread with spread” was basically a piece of bread on top of an artifical little tree. Besides the fact that it looked absolutely great, it was also very tasty as the bread was still warm and the inside was very doughy while the outside was nicely crispy.

20150205-Bogotá-ElCielo-10

Only at this point in time you are asked if you want the short or the long menu – the difference being two courses less for the short version. I obviously went for the long one (approx. 155’000 COP) which started then with “gname, tomate espelo, como un plata de la costa” and was accompanied by the first glass of the wine pairing (125’000 COP), a glass of Friaul, 2011.

20150205-Bogotá-ElCielo-12

The dish was then finalized with stock at your table. The soup was creamy and had little elements of surprise which made it a good dish.

20150205-Bogotá-ElCielo-13

The next course was “arracacha, salsa cebolla, puntos de limón, pescado blanco” which was a white fish with some flavourful elements. The fish in combination with either of the elements, be it onion or lime, was good. But the fish itself really tasted like nothing much.

20150205-Bogotá-ElCielo-14

The next course was served with a “Lambrusco Rosado, Italy” – a “langostino en tamal con papa criolla adentro y salsa de almendra” which was interesting in its combination of different tastes.

20150205-Bogotá-ElCielo-19

Panela is something typical Colombian which is made of cane sugar and, therefore, a refreshing sorbet was served – “panela, cardamom y vodka sorbet” which was not only very distinct in its taste but …

20150205-Bogotá-ElCielo-22

… was also served in a very spectacular way which also explains why the dish was called “aire” (air).

20150205-Bogotá-ElCielo-23

The next course looked absolutely promising but was for a disappointment for me. The “polvo de acelgas, cilantro con puntos de mantequilla. Pollo cocido al vacio y luego terminado en la sarten con arroz y remolacha” was served with a “Saurus, Pinot Noir, 2010”. The chicken was cooked sous-vide which made it incredibly tender and smooth – usually something you would want in a chicken. But it was so tender and smooth it really had literally no taste. It was like eating butter without the butter taste. Too much for me.

20150205-Bogotá-ElCielo-33

Next in line was the “salsa de tomate sandia y fresa con chicharron cocinado al vacio luego al arten y luego al horno para quitar la grasa y pared de spinacas basado en la pared del restaurant y flores q representan el carnaval de flores de medellin, el nombre es el jardin del cielo” which was basically slow cooked pork belly to get rid of the fat with a bunch of flowers. The pork belly looked absolutely good at first and I was looking for something salty after the “tasteless” chicken. Unfortunately, the crust of the pork belly was too hard so it was pretty hard to cut and even harder to chew.

20150205-Bogotá-ElCielo-35

The next course was good again – the “beef tartar withi gulupa, arepa, mango y gotas de soya” was a good beef tartare which was equipped with possibilities to enhance the flavours.

20150205-Bogotá-ElCielo-39

The first course of dessert was a “pina colada chocolate with chocolate and a coco coat as well as gold dust” accompanied by a glass of port (Alegre). The chocolates were good but frankly I never understood why one would need gold on a plate. I mean, yeah, it looks shiny but there is absolutely no other reason why one would serve gold.

20150205-Bogotá-ElCielo-40

A dish I absolutely liked was the “oblea reinterpretado”. I had only tried an oblea the previous day for the first time in my life and I was happy that I did as else I would not have been able to understand this dish. The oblea in this case was dissembled into its own components making it a distinct experience to taste the single elements of the dish.

20150205-Bogotá-ElCielo-43

The last course of the night was “coconut icecream with a chocolate coat, cocos with arepa, mango, lychée, maracuyá and lime drops”. The icecream was flavourful but the little flavourful drops which were served with the rest were the elements which made the dish truly great and a good refreshing ending.

20150205-Bogotá-ElCielo-45

The interior of the place is absolutely nice – you feel like sitting in the jungle or close to it and the whole atmosphere is just very distinct and welcoming. The service is flawless – or very close to it. In most cases there was nothing to complain about but sometimes – as not always the same waiter took care of us – the dish was taken from the wrong side and the like. Not a biggie but in order to provide flawless service this is part of it. However, it must be outlined that the service is incredibly friendly and helpful (e.g. by trying to get a cab at 11:30pm which seemed to be quite a challenge).

20150205-Bogotá-ElCielo-01

When you are done with everyhing, you are served “a rose leave” in a shell. I was absolutely wondering what I was supposed to do with it – and the waiter explained that I should just rub it in my hand until it dissembles … to “wash my hands”. As simple as the idea is, as effective it is.

20150205-Bogotá-ElCielo-47

The price for the menu is very reasonable. The wine pairing is relatively expensive compared to the dishes and also a bottle of water (0,75L is quite pricey with 16’203 COP) which also applies to the double espresso with 9’260 COP.

Overall, I can recommend you to go to the Restaurant El Cielo as it is a unique experience for a very reasonable price in a beautiful atmosphere and exquisite, close to flawless, service. Booking in advance required.

Rating:

Atmosphere:
Service:
Dishes:
Price-Performance Ratio:
Overall Rating:

Contact Details:

Restaurant El Cielo – Cocina Creativa

Calle 70 #4-47

Bogotá (CO)

Cell: +57 32 06 81 73 31

E-Mail: juanma@elcielococinacreativa.com

Homepage: http://www.elcielococinacreativa.com

About the Author:

I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org. Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City.
496'146 COP (incl. tip) Filed in: Bogotá (CO), Restaurants
×

Post a Comment