by Fermin Dimmack on I've enjoyed reading the reviews of this club, and they seem to fall into two categories: 1) Those who like house music, 2) those who don't or don't care. First of all, I'd have to say, if you came to Cielo looking for hip-hop, you were misdirected by someone on a scale equivalent to expecting to finding General Tso's chicken on the menu at Burger King. Clearly, its hard to end up with satisfactory results given the expectation. Anyone who told you this, especially if they were bouncer staff at the venue has wronged you, and you should demand an apology. I'm surprised to read that the bouncers here have misrepresented this club, since it really does not need help from this type of partygoer. Second, if you are just going out on a bender around the meatpacking for whatever reason and you typically don't pay attention to the music you are dancing to other than it not being country or Chinese classical opera, you're probably not going to be satisfied here either. There will be no Rhiana remix, No calle ocho, no ac/dc, no boss, no living on a prayer, not even a biggie smalls throwback. If you come expecting this, you are either going to have to learn to like something else, or make the quick exit as noted on previous reviews. No BBQ pork spare ribs were ever served at Montrachet either. Again, I would agree with anyone's disappointment if the bouncer/line manager misrepresented this to anyone and directed them inside. Thrid, for those that enjoy house music, you know the key elements: 1) relaxed atmosphere 2) excellent sound system 3) The rest pretty much takes care of itself. I put this club in the same vein as Vinyl/Arch, Love, and other small House Music venues that have come, but mostly gone over the years in NYC. Its an intimate venue where a core group of people who all know each other can be seen regularly, mixed with the EU and International crowd that either knows the European/International DJs that are booked or has read that they can find this type of music from some travel book. If you want to go to a place that is even more new york than new york, head to the lobby at Hudson Hotel, the Gansevoort or any number of other places blaring "I KNOW YOU WAN ME! YOU KNOW I WAN CHA? QUIERE RUMBA?" at volume level 40, you will be a great addition to to all those loving skeet and gasolina drenched dancefloors! But I digress, I am generalizing a little bit. There are a number of other great dance scenes out there in NYC that also would not be satisfied with this place. For example, there is no Salsa or Samba night here. There's no swing, no jazz, no rock, etc. I think to write a negative review of the place and not even understand what it is you're reviewing is a little counter to the concept of a site like rateclubs, as absurd as decrying Five Guys Burgers for not having a good Peking Duck. I do agree that the cashier could use a little work with the attitude. As for the recent increase in security, those that are veterans in the dance/electronic scene know what that means, '"the NYPD see us rollin', they hatin'..." you know the rest. Lets hope Cielo can keep its doors open despite the pressure.
by Sydney Ceo on Minus one star for slow service and weren't all that attentive. Our waitress was nice so if I could i'd have a half star. Food and drinks were great, it can get a bit pricey but it's well worth it. It's Dominican food at its best with a lot of flavor and elegance. I had the salmon and mashed platanos in some kind of sauce it was all great, I inhaled that plate! My friend had the bacalao (cod fish) in a sweetened plantain which was really really good as well, kinda wished I ordered that ( next time), drinks are good we had the sangria, although one of my friends had a mojito (which was recommended by the waitress) and she didn't like it much. All in all a good time had by everyone. Gets pretty packed on the weekends though so get ready for a bit of a wait, and it gets a little bit rowdy, which isn't a problem for me ;-)
