Selva Grill

YUM! Great place for That Special Evening. Plan on splurging. Try the wonderful appetizers. They are all delicious and presented artfully. The entrees are great. No complaints on every dish our group tried. The server’s recommendations were terrific. Pretty place, great location. Take a walk after dinner and enjoy downtown Sarasota,

We made reservations for a Thursday night and they were definitely needed. We had three appetizers and two starters. I highly recommend the trio ceviche and the wahoo ceviche. They were awesome. The scallops were some of the best I’ve eaten and spring roll were good. A lovely place with great service.

We have eaten at Selva 3 times. The first time we had a wonderful experience, enjoyed the food and couldn’t wait to come back. The second time we came, they tried to seat us in some back corner off of the bar although we had made the reservation months before.
This time we came with our son, again we had made a reservation months in advance. They took us to the table in front of the kitchen/​work station. We immediately objected both times they tried to seat us in substandard tables. They then gave us tables in the ¹⁄₃ empty room. The food this third time was not as good as it was previously. We ordered 4 different ceviche, the whole fish, the lamb chops, the duck, and the skirt steak. As I said, the food quality has declined, and as the lamb chops are $ 43 dollars, they should be better than I can make at home.
Selva is off our list now.

Tried Selva for the first time last night and it exceeded our expectations which were high because it came recommended. We tried several different ceviches and they were all excellent. Not only was the food great, the service was excellent. Joanna, our server was very helpful and knowledgeable with the menu. I would definitely recommend Selva for anyone in the Sarasota area.

Great food but like pulling teeth to get a Gift Certificate. Very inconvenient! Initially, problems ordering through site — they never received it — coupled with excessive delay even after we directly contacted the manager. I’ll never do this again!

Great Peruvian eclectic menu with an Asian flare. Our waitress was very attentive and friendly and super professional. The ceviche, lomo saltado and skirt steak are always good choices. So is the Chilean bass. I love the friend plantains as an appetizer but just wished they weren’t always cold. Nice trendy cool bar with cool martini concoctions. The lounge area by the bar is nice and cozy and the DJ is awesome who plays nice lounge music.

We celebrated a friend’s birthday here and it was 5 stars! The Trilogi Ceviche was to die for, although I prefer the white fish and the shrimp ceviches over the salmon because they had a more distinctive lime flavor, but they were all good. The La Buena Causa was also excellent — just like you can get in Peru — where I was last year. There are 2 reviews of this on the menu and the reviewers are not experienced in Peruvian cuisine, so don’t go by them. I usually don’t do reviews, but after seeing what they wrote, I was compelled to set the record straight — they are authentic and so delicious! In fact, I was quite full after these two dishes and I even brought some home for lunch leftovers! Ahhhh!!!

Amazing food, great drinks! Mica in the bar is awesome! Try the grapefruit basil martini or mojito.

Went there last night with my adult children in town for the Christmas holiday. Reservation for 7:30, sat down at 7:30. NICE.
We ordered a martini, mojito, Cosmo and beer. All good.
The three meat eaters had the braised ribs, fall off the bone tender.
They were served asparagus and couscous. Delicious they said.
I ordered the snapper special, oh no, learned they were out of the snapper while eating my appetizer. Got the tuna, came rare as ordered.
Very good but would have loved that snapper…
Mention appetizer anyone? A delicious crab cake, spring roll, and shrimp appetizer off the regular menu was enjoyed by all…
Service, as usual, very good.
It was noisy, a full house on Tuesday evening. But this remains my favorite restaurant in Sarasota…

Super friendly hostess greeted us as we walked in. Excellent cuisine and service. Cocktails were great as well. Ordered a variety of Tapas; Ceviche, spring rolls, empanadas, spicy shrimp, chopped Caesar salad. Every tapa was delicious and presented beautifully! Loved this restaurant!

We been here many times and haven’t been back for 3 years since we moved. The food is still Phenomenal as we remembered it.
Pros: everything is fantastic here. The dishes are truly innovative in taste and flavor.
Their salmon chileno is amazing with rice wrapped in some sorta of a leaf cooked with red pepper tamale (so good).
The house made hot sauce is also fantastic but not quite as good as the housemade hot sauce from el peurto Argentinian steakhouse in Ybor City.
The lamb chops– delicious and perfectly cooked and seasoned well.
Chilean Seabass croquettes were also fantastic.
They also have happy hour in their bar area from 4 – 6 daily with some of their most popular dishes to try.
The servers and bartenders are very friendly and extremely attentive and helpful.
Cons: I would give this place 5 stars if their first impression isn’t two high school girls or freshman college girls more concern with their appearance then greeting and checking in people. The hostesses are NOT pleasant or friendly, they seem irritated that they had to check us in, not a smile, not how are you, nothing. (*We saw them multiple times staring at themselves in the mirror while we waited in the bar for our table). Not a good choice for such a good restaurant — you need to hire friendlier hostesses).
First impression is very important.

Prepping for my trip to Peru (now since past), I was happy to see this place with high marks. My daily meal allowance doesn’t qualify me to eat here without going into my pockets but Groupon to the rescue — 19 for 40.
The location is in an upscale neighborhood and the décor is what I would expect of a $$$ place. Since It’s only my first visit, it is hard to tell if this place gets busy and if it does what time. We arrived to a pretty empty restaurant but it was close to 6 so, either we got very lucky or we didn’t…come onnnnnnnnnn glass ½ full.
We were greeted and sat by a very pleasant hostess and the waitress came over immediately to discuss specials and drinks. Since I’m a fan of the Miller beer of Peru, I opt for a Cusqenia. Going through the menu it’s a fair mix of South American regions, not just Peruvian.
I opted for the Tuna and watermelon ceviche and the pork tenderloin.
The ceviche, isn’t what I’d quite qualify as ceviche, but non the less very tasty, cool, and crispy. I’d order again and again. The massive portion of tenderloin with purple potatoes comes out and I start to rethink my appetizer. Unfortunately, it is just OK. The presentation is amazing. The pork is a bit dry and the potatoes add to the dryness. I can chalk it up to bad luck on my part. I’d would love to come back but would likely opt for another main course.

I’ve been wanting to go to Selva, but heard it was pricey. So, we decided to try it during happy hour.
We tried 6 – 7 dishes. The bartender was great. There was no bar back, so our dirty dishes sat a while.
We tried lamb chops, ceviche, croquettes, mussels, wasabi shrimp and one or two other things. Oh, spring rolls…
Everything was good. I don’t think that it was so amazing that I want to go back, but it was good. And like I said, the bartender was very good with a great personality.

Incredibly tasty and well done fare. We were here from out of town and very pleased we stopped in. Tuna and watermelon ceviche made a believer out of a friend of mine who despises seafood, the skirt steak was divinely tender and flavorful, and the wine and bread were excellent. Skip the parmesan truffle fries, not really as good as they sound. Go for the pot of mousse, doesn’t disappoint. I’ll drive back to sarasota for this food.

This is my favorite restaurant in downtown Sarasota. The food is fantastic — lots of fish, veggies, and some creative entrees. We’ve been several times over the past year and it’s always been a pleasurable dining out experience.
The service staff here is fantastic — cheerful, professional, and knowledgeable about the menu and ingredients.
My only complaint is that on one side of the restaurant the lights change colors very slowly and this, unfortunately, makes me dizzy. Not a big deal as they always sit me away from these rainbow lights when I ask. It’s a great spot in Sarasota!

Best ceviche I’ve ever had. What I recommend:
Wahoo ceviche
Lobster ceviche
Tuna tiradito nikkei
Whole fried snapper

Top notch presentation and delectable food.
Reasonably priced ($ 30 – 40) and good size portion (very important as many fine-​dining places think I’ll be pleased with a baby portion meal).
As shown in the pic, I wasn’t sure the pink center in pork tenderloin was safe to eat. However the server assured me they meant to serve it slightly pink in the middle.

Overall both the food and presentation was very good with the exception of the empanadas. I had the short ribs, very tender and juicy. The asparagus were perfectly cooked. The truffle risotto was average. I barely felt the truffle to be quite honest. My husband had the seafood paella/​rice. It had plenty of seafood and the presentation was elegant but in my opinion the it tasted too much of tomato sauce. The octopus and crab cakes good. For Dessert we had the banana flan and the bread pudding. I don’t live in Sarasota but if I lived there I would go from time to time.

Came here on a whim on a Thur night. I made reservations but I guess it wasn’t needed, hardly anyone here.
Situated in downtown Sarasota. Parking can be a bitch, hence why i don’t go to downtown places a lot, but tonight wasn’t bad.
There are two sides to this place. The right side is the dining room and it looks awesome. Like a contemporary classy look with a whole lot of yuppiness haha. The left side is the bar and they also have a lounge/​dining area as well. Decent amount of seating. We sat in the bar side because they have happy hour drinks and appetizers that seem a bit cheaper than just the regular menu.
There are some decent drinks available at the bar. I got a Victory Prima Pils, which tasted actually pretty fresh and went along great with my appetizer. My better half got some sort of martini that tasted gross to me, but I’m not a mixed drink guy and she liked it so that’s all that matters. The menu is extensive and has what seems like a lot of peruvian influenced fare. We started off with little tiny duck sandwiches, which were absolutely delicious btw, and classic ceviche. The ceviche had a nice, big juicy citrus acidity to it, of which I’m a big fan, and big chunks of fish. Really tasty.
The entrees were amazing. Totally worth the extra dolla bills. I got the chilean sea bass. It came with flan, I guess it’s some sort of custard? Whatever it is, it’s effing delicious and if you’re a self respecting seafood lover, you need to try this. The bass is sweet, fresh, and tender. Just lightly seasoned enough to bring out the flavors, not to cover the flavor. And you get a decent filet too.
My better half got the duck confit that came with a sort of polenta and pea side. The duck is seared medium rare, just enough of the fat to give a delicious, silky smooth texture, and man was it good. We destroyed that dinner. Nothing left.
So yeah. Do yourselves a favor and come here to eat. A solid 4.25 stars.

1^st Star — The waitstaff are friendly and attentive. We did not wait for drink refills or more bread. Each member of their team — from the hostess to the bus boys were polite and welcoming.
2^nd Star — The drink menu was good. They had quite a large selection of red and white wine, including one of my favorite Pinot Grigio’s Santa Margarita. Wine was available by the bottle and glass. Although we did not order a full bottle, several tables had so the wine selection was clearly stocked.
No 3^rd Star — The restaurant is listed as Peruvian and this is incredibly misleading. Having Peruvian heritage, I was disappointed. Yes, they serve ceviche and Aji de Gallina in an spring roll. However, nothing about the presentation, taste or combination of flavored accurately represents Peruvian food or culture.
No 4^th Star — Traditionally, Aji de Gallina is served with a bed of rice, pulled chicken and a creamy and flavorful Aji Amarillo sauce. The Aji de Gallina spring roll was lacking the Aji Amarillo flavor, had no rice, a very small amount of chicken and was tiny in portion size. Traditionally, ceviche is served on a plate or in a bowl with corn, potatoes and onions. Here it was served in a tall martini glass which makes it both harder to eat and also small in portion size. The corn and potatoes left at the bottom of the plate. I was not impressed with the presentation.
No 5^th Star — Although the atmosphere is beautifully decorated and outdoor seating is available — it is loud, crowded and not the type of dining experience you would expect or hope for at this price point. My boyfriend and I sat next to each other and could barely hear our own, private conversation. Even the waitstaff had to shout in order for you to hear their specials or about the menu.
Overall, I was disappointed in their modern twist of traditional Peruvian dishes and was unimpressed with the flavor and quality of the food.