Colombia en DC: A Visit to Elcielo in Union Market

While my blog tends to focus on beverages, every so often I like to talk about a restaurant experience as a whole. Recently I had the chance to visit Elcielo, a new South American concept restaurant by Juan Manuel Barrientos, and I'd like to share my observations. Juanma, as he is known, is an accomplished chef, business leader, and entrepreneur who's managed and opened almost a dozen restaurants across the world. Elcielo is actually part of a small chain, with two locations in Colombia, one in Miami and the newest in Washington. Elcielo earned one MICHELIN star in 2021, and in this year's rankings, retained that star. 

Union Market, with humble beginnings, seems to be the newest place for high-end concepts, and so it's no surprise Juanma chose to open his latest iteration of Elcielo here. Warehouse districts, as Union Market is/was, provide wide open spaces for restauranteurs to truly craft to their liking — Elcielo is open and airy, with lots of natural light, blonde wood furniture, smooth lines, and gold accents. 

Above the building there are condos, and I'd need an extra zero at the end of my paycheck to consider living there. 

There are a series of small tables sprinkled throughout the dining room, however I choose to sit at the bar, front and center, to watch the magic. 

To my left, a couple around my age enjoying a romantic evening. To my right, two spirits professionals representing several families of Scotch whisky brands, chatting about fancy Ardbeg offerings. Orlando and Andres are the experts behind the bar, and Pedro is managing the house. Everyone is gracious, welcoming, and attentive.

The cocktail program is heavily influenced by Central and South American spirits, flavors, and textures: agave spirits like mezcal share a menu with herbal flavors and fruits like soursop and yuzu, alongside more familiar "tropical" flavors like coconut, tangerine, papaya, and passion fruit. Distilled spirits by the ounce are available on the menu, and scanning the bar, there's a well-curated stock which I'm sure I could try neat if I so desired. 

But this isn't the place to "do shots" - it's a place to appreciate some of the most refined mixology DC has to offer. 

Elcielo's centerpiece is the Experience menu, which is a gastronomic adventure that courses through countries, cultures, land and sea — 22 small courses in all. This menu weaves through crab empanadas, blood sausage, cocktails, squash, duck, halibut, lamb, salad, yuca, apples, rockfish, and much more. At $228, with an additional $150 wine pairing menu, this is the crown jewel of Elcielo's menu and even includes sensory experiences like, believe it or not, washing one's hands in chocolate, or eating fresh-baked bread served on a wire bonsai tree. 

If that is a bridge too far, a few of these offerings can be ordered from the bar experience: a pared-down program which costs $120 per person and includes four handcrafted cocktails (or mocktails if one prefers NA versions) a pairing with some snacks and small bites, and a dessert. 

I opted to order just one dish off the bar menu to start, and was promptly delivered this dish of yuca gnocchi:

The yuca gnocchi are served with mushrooms, honey and cilantro, and topped with foamed Appalachian cheese and queso fresco. Honestly, this is one of the best pasta dishes I have had. Honey is the dominant texture here, with the foamed cheese and natural oils delivering a mouth-coating array of flavors. I would have licked the plate if Pedro wouldn't disapprove. 

The wine list is quite respectable, with some rather high-end offerings and prices to match, and as much as I'd like a glass or three of wine, I'm sticking to cocktails.

You may recall, in the picture of the bar above, Orlando is expressing something into these little cups. This is a soursop sorbet, over which is floated Champagne, and accompanies this mistela, a little vial filled with aguardiente and passionfruit, meant to be taken on its own. It's served in a wooden bowl on a bed of coffee beans and rosemary, and accompanies my gnocchi.

I like the dichotomy here: the soursop puree is light and airy, with a hint to vegetal flavors, whereas the mistela is assertive, almost like a Colombian digestif. I would much prefer this to Underberg. The puree is almost like a dessert, and actually perfect for me as I don't eat sweets.

As this is digesting and I'm enjoying the interplay of flavors, now it's time to test the skills of Andres and Orlando, and so I order a cocktail off the menu: the "Chimberito."

The Chimberito is a cocktail made with two sugarcane spirits: aguardiente and cachaça. Although the term has been used to refer to a general class of sugarcane spirits, modern drinkers will be familiar with this beverage as something truly Colombian. DC drinkers, in particular, would be familiar with Dan Zeigler's "Chacho", a jalapeno aguardiente made locally and quite delicious.

Cachaça is likely less familiar. It's produced in Brazil, and in fact is one of the most popular alcoholic beverages there. Water-white and pungent, it's frequently used in tropical drinks and the most famous Brazilian cocktail, the Caiprinha. It's catching on here in the US and is available in unaged (prata) and aged (ouro).

So these two spirits form the base for the Chimberito, which is then built by the addition of yuzu, soursop (guanábana), and thyme, garnished with a dried lime and served over cracked ice. It's quite sublime - a little grassy, a product no doubt of the cachaça, with a dash of funk and banana creaminess that I suspect is from the soursop. The cracked ice prevents gulping, which you wouldn't want to do anyways — this is to be savored.

For my final cocktail, I ask Orlando to make me something off-the-menu. Dealer's choice, I call it. I challenge bartenders to get creative, make something fun and off the wall. This gives them a canvas to test out a new recipe, maybe. 

Orlando challenges me. What kind of spirit? What textures? What ingredients do I like? He's asking me the questions he needs to. I choose mezcal, and he goes from there.

Here's what we settled on:

• Fidencio mezcal (base spirit of the cocktail)
• Dolin blanc vermouth
• Ancho Reyes poblano liqueur
• Cappelletti Elisir Novasalus (red vermouth)
• Chile syrup
• Lemongrass
• Saline solution

I don't know why I said "we." I had no part in the creation of this masterpiece other than the choice of mezcal.

The cocktail is built then strained into a rocks glass, but not before the ice cube is briefly heated with a culinary torch. Then, a heated press is applied to the top of the ice, melting it just slightly to deboss 'elcielo' onto the top. Then, cherry juice is dripped into the letters to provide contrast. The whole cocktail is then smoked with cherry wood under a glass bulb.

The aroma is of smoke and wood, sort of like the inside of an antique dresser. Smoking cocktails is a big thing these days, and mostly serves to enhance the presentation — a common concern here. The cocktail itself, for having so many ingredients, is remarkably well-built: the root flavors of the Novasalus pairs nicely with the sweet spice of the Ancho Reyes, and the mezcal provides a salty and powerful finish. A perfect sipper as I compile my notes about the visit. 

For fun, I was given a small plate of jam to try, along with a super-secret salt and herb blend. Even something as straightforward as a plate of salt is complex, crafted, and serves a sensory purpose. It's very neat to see the craft displayed here and how great energy is expended in refining very minute parts of the menu. 

Elcielo is part of DC's newest generation of finest-dining, and I heartily recommend it. No, it's not an every day spot, but a great place for a romantic dinner or special occasion. The craft, the food, drinks, and service are well worth the price, and their MICHELIN star is well-deserved.