Cielo restaurant in Brindleyplace no longer trading - Birmingham restaurant closure confirmed

Brindleyplace has confirmed that one of its landmark restaurants is no longer trading at the canalside development.

The doors at the popular upmarket Italian venue Cielo have been shut for a number of months, leaving many wondering if it was reopening.

But a spokesperson at Brindleyplace confirmed that the award-winning eatery was now closed. It is no longer featured on their website and it is no longer possible to make bookings - although its Facebook page states that it is ‘temporarily closed’ the Cielo website now states that it is closed.

The closure is announced as fellow Brindleyplace retaurant Pulperia has also stated that it has closed. The Argentiean-inspired steak venue, ran by Michelin star chef Aktar Islam, said that the cost of living crisis had impacted his business.

It is not clear when Cielo finally closed, but a number of diners previously expressed frustration after booking tables at the venue only to find it had closed when they arrived.

Leaving reviews on the OpenTable app, numerous Cielo customers claimed that they were given no notice by the app or the restaurant that Cielo had closed prior to booking, and they were left furious after turning up in February, March and June this year to find it had closed down.

BirminghamWorld contacted OpenTable, but they declined to comment.

‘Absolutely disgusting, we were left with nowhere to eat’

One reviewer wrote on the OpenTable app in March: “We arrived at the restaurant to find it was closed after speaking to another restaurant - it had been like that for a few days and other guests had turned up to find it closed too. I understand these things happen but there should have been some notification.”

Leaving a review on OpenTable in June 2022, one woman said: “I made a booking at Cielo in February. It was only by good fortune that I checked a few days before we were due to visit and discovered that the restaurant is closed and has been for several months now! We received nothing from the restaurant to indicate that the restaurant was closed. If anyone else has a booking there I would suggest that that make alternative arrangements ASAP.”

One unhappy customer wrote: “I had booked at this restaurant for my husband’s birthday, Sunday 6th March at 7pm. We arrived and it was in darkness. The place was closed and I hadn’t even been contacted so I would know. Absolutely disgusting.”

Another review in March, read: “Having used your extremely good booking app, we arrived at Cielo to find it closed! We tried phoning, no answer, checked opening times and checked online, which showed the restaurant open.

“Along with several others in the same position we felt very let down. The manager from the adjacent Piccolino restaurant saved the day for us all and provided an excellent alternative. Cielo set such a poor example by not even contacting people to save all the inconvenience and disappointment. Won’t be booking again! I ticked scenic view in recommendation only because I had to select one.”

‘Our weekend was ruined’

Another review in March, read: “What can I say a wasted and ruined weekend. It comprised part of a mini birthday break, lunch, concert and overnight stay. Cielo was closed, we were not the only disappointed customers.

“It was cold and in our 70s no desire to wonder aimlessly trying to find an alternative decent restaurant, all of which I expect would have been fully booked. It proved better to attend the concert and forfeit the money we spent on the room for the evening at the nearby hotel and head directly home. What a waste of money!! Had Cielo let us know they were to be closed then we could have reviewed the situation at home and enjoyed our break, as it was just a total disappointment.”

Another review read: “The restaurant was shut. It has closed down. We were left with nowhere to eat at 6pm in centre of Birmingham for a birthday. Poor service that you still allow bookings at this place Opentable.”

See the reviews in full on the OpenTable website, here.

A bit more information about Cielo

The award-winning eatery was one of the most popular Italian restaurants in the city, serving classic Italian and Mediterranean dishes. The restaurant hasn’t posted an update on its social media pages since August, and the exact reasons for the restaurant’s closure are currently unclear.

You can no longer book a table at Cielo through the app.

A spokeswoman for Cielo, said: “As soon as we were made aware of the closure, we stopped accepting reservations on OpenTable. Unfortunately, a small number of reservations were made in that intervening time.”

Cielo have also been contacted by BirminghamWorld for a comment on this story.

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