elcielo in Washington, D.C., Juan Manuel “Juanma” Barrientos’s tasting-menu flagship, channels Colombian heritage and modernist theatrics across 18 courses, mixing iconic rituals with seasonal dishes and ingredients. Michelin-starred since 2021.

The Heart of elcielo

“I’m not building restaurants; I’m building a brand,” says chef Juan Manuel “Juanma” Barrientos. “We are a philosophy. We are a purpose: to bring Colombian cuisine to the world.”

At elcielo—his ambitious tasting-menu restaurant in Washington, D.C.’s Union Market District, with sister locations in Miami, Medellín, and Bogotá—Barrientos stages an 18-course showcase of Colombian heritage, techniques, and flavor.

Longtime signatures include Chocotherapy, where guests rinse their hands in liquid chocolate; the Tree of Life, yuca bread with a bubbly, crisp cheese top served on a copper “trunk”; and the Coffee Field, a coffee service with liquid-nitrogen “smoke” evoking Colombia’s misty mountain mornings.

Alongside these ever-present classics are seasonal dishes that change frequently. The restaurant also offers an à la carte menu with exclusive items, such as beeswax-aged steak with fermented fries.

Woven throughout the meal is a bounty of Colombian ingredients—lulo, an indigenous citrus; chontaduro (peach palm), which tastes like sweet potato; and aguardiente, Colombia’s cane-based national spirit. Diners will also encounter key American products, including Maine lobster, Montana bison, and Colorado lamb.

Throughout a dinner at elcielo, luxury and extravagance are front and center, so it’s no surprise that a major source of inspiration for Barrientos is high-end hotels and the visionary architects behind them. “I’m always watching what’s happening in the super-extreme one percent of the one percent to get inspired by the unique experiences they’re creating—and then figuring out how we bring them to a restaurant,” he says.

Barrientos’s unwavering focus, heartfelt intentionality, and whimsical creativity are paying off. In 2021, elcielo earned a Michelin star—the first restaurant serving Colombian cuisine to receive the honor.

The Chef

Colombian chef Juan Manuel Barrientos, known as Juanma, is the founder of elcielo, blending tradition, modernist techniques, and Colombian ingredients into an award-winning, Michelin-starred global restaurant group.

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