I have been here twice, first time I really liked it and second time I went in April and this time it was ok... delicately feel quality was lower the. Last time. I would have liked to give 3.5 stars to this place. The quality of food was good - not as good as when it initially opened....The menu is small and changes regularly which is nice. I had the fried and they were nothing special, lots of little parts and tasted like they were fried in fishy oil.... the aioli was not delicious ( I make it better). The rock shrimp was mainly just greasy- no Silvio or anything on it.... The halibut main and clams were good. Service was friendly. Nice atmosphere. Nice wine selection. read more

Friend and I had a very unpleasant experience with the hostess this evening. We walked by around 8:30pm this evening (10/07/21) and the hostess scolded us for not wearing a mask when entering... totally understandable. But the ironic part of all this was she was not wearing a mask herself. Cervo's get your act together - do not reprimand people for not having a mask if your own associates are not wearing a mask themselves; especially the hostess. There's also a polite and respectful way of asking your customers abide by your policies. This place used to be cool and the people who worked here used to be too. What happened? read more

Small and charming place with the most authentic Portuguese food you will ever in Manhattan. Amazing service. My only complain is the lack of Portuguese wine by the glass and Porto to have with my delicious chocolate mousse dessert. I also wish they had pastel de nata, but I guess there's not a demand for it, besides brunch?! Focus on doing wine tastings and you'd see how profitable your restaurant can be. Portuguese wine is high now and you want to establish your business as a place people travel to go to. read more

See all

This was our second visit and I'm finally compelled to write a review. The first and recent visit was a year apart and the quality of the food and service has not gone down. Every dish is simple and fresh, with a zing! The wines are thoughtfully curated to match the menu - highly recommend going with the Orange wine options. We got the clams, fried monkfish, whole porgy, chicken, mushrooms, and the garlicy bread. read more

The Mrs and I were looking for somewhere hip and fun to eat for our anniversary dinner. After having met Chef Aaron Crowder at an automotive event a few weeks earlier, we decided to give Cervo's a try. Being that it was a Saturday night, and I'm a last minute Larry, I called to see if any reservations were available, and I was informed that the reservation book is closed by 5:30pm each day. The lovely individual on the phone however, informed me that their policy is to only reserve 50% of the restaurant, and leave the other 50% for walk-ins. I thought this was a little odd at first, but it made sense once we got there (more on that in a bit). Firstly, Cervo's is on Canal St. so it's very easy to get to, and if you're not careful, it's also very easy to walk by. It seems a little out of place on Canal, but I think that adds to it's draw. Upon entering you can't help but feel you're in a luncheonette, with the kitchen immediately to your right, followed by a full bar with stool seating. The establishment itself is very small and narrow, so be prepared to be a little tight. Again, different, but very cool. The lighting was dim and music loud enough to add ambiance, but low enough to allow for ease of conversation. Our server was very engaging, hospitable, and generous. When he found out via conversation that we were celebrating our anniversary, he ensured to comp us with some celebratory champagne. He brought over champagne flutes, and had us taste the champagne selection for our toast. A gesture that goes a long way with us. The appetizer and main course (I can't recall their names, but they were absolutely delicious), were to die for. All in all an excellent experience. We will certainly be back! read more

I've lived in the neighborhood for a 10 years now (across the street from Cervo's) and never really entertained going here. Last night I did and I won't be coming back. Food post covid here was unmemorable. The seafood seemed overly flavored and a bit unfresh. The swordfish was especially unpalatable. The rear server hostess (spanish accented) was extremely rude to me. I attempted to use the bathroom ahead of other patrons, I did not see them on the line. The rear server / hostess promptly and rudely shouted at me that I should wear a mask and wait my turn. I apologized and walked away. No one in the restaurant however was wearing a mask and there are no more mask restrictions so I did not know why I was singled out so rudely. read more

Cervo's has a bunch of tables along the street. You order inside, and they call you when your food is ready. The food tonight was excellent. My husband, who is vegetarian, didn't have many options, but he had a salad with fries. The salad was tasty, fresh, and well-dressed. I had the calamari and lamb burger. Both were excellent. The calamari came with a really good cucumber salad. The burger was topped with shaved celery and fennel, with a lightly minty dressing. All was superb. read more

What a unique and amazing meal! Most of the menu is smaller plates, which I honestly usually find a waste of money. At many restaurants you order a few, find yourself paying almost regular portion prices and you're still hungry. Here, we ordered 4, were completely full and satisfied and came out paying less than we normally would at many restaurants these days. We ordered first the spicy mussels escabeche which I am told is a signature dish. Excellent cooked mussels, one of my favorites. We then got the Tuna conserva, which, honestly, I was initially not thrilled about when they told us it was like tuna you eat on the sandwich with mayo but was pleasantly surprised when it was delicious with a slight vinegar flavoring along with radishes and smoked cheese. We also got the Louisiana White Prawns a la plancha which were delicious and even the shells were edible. Finally we got the lobster rice. Top to bottom this was an excellent meal. I washed this all down with one of their delicious cocktails. I have a tiny complaint that the waitress insisted we get bread which i thought was just an unnecessary upsell and not necessary, but all in all this was a spectacular meal. read more

Cervo's - Mussels - Seafood Near Me - New York, New York

See all

To celebrate our anniversary my wife and I were fortunate to snag two seats at the bar at a decent dining hour, right at the chefs' station at Cervo's. Boy did we have fun. The wait staff showed patience and expertise in explaining the Spanish ingredients and food prep methods, which helped us pick three appies and a main to split. Navigating the costly wine list was also made easier by the waitress; ends up the less expensive, i.e., cheapest, red option was more than fine for us ( truth be told, I must not get out often, or am just plain cheap to not want to spend nearly $100 for a bottle of wine to accompany a good meal). We can't have a Spanish meal without olives, so that was a no brainer picking the large helping of spiced, firm green olives. We followed up with the arugula salad with shredded horseradish and if I'm remembering correctly, touched with the essence of shaved cod roe. It was not for the faint of heart, but appealed to our love of arugula and strong taste sensations. After some miscommunication, we had the clams in garlic sauce, thinking we were going to get the whole shrimps instead. No worries on our end, as the clams were great and the winey, garlicky broth was mostly sopped up by the order of toasted, crusty sour dough bread, which was a $3 extra, but no biggie. We finished up with the fried fluke fillet, covered with meaty, exceptionally cleaned mussels, a delicious broth and an aioli. We could've gone a few different ways ordering, with the large half chicken order or mackerel and will definitely order the fried mushrooms next time; but watching the bowls of French fries being prepared, seasoned and then each batch personally tasted, I'm sure, with the aioli, they are a fry to behold. A table in the back would not have been nearly as much fun and interactive with the staff. It's a great show at the bar, watching and getting imbued with odors from the kitchen, made the memory of Cervo's stay with us, even after our departure. read more

We went last night and had an incredible food and wine tour of the coasts of Portugal and Spain. Our server led us through the menu and wine, cava and sherry offerings...our only deviation started at the raw bar when we spotted Shigoku oysters from Washington State. From then on it was Squid escabeche with heirloom tomatoes; an entree of Roasted mackerel with fingerling potatoes and olive; Sweet cabbage with shell beans and horseradish; all wonderful. Here is the dish that blew our minds - Beef tartare with littleneck clams. What? Amazing! read more

Cervo's - @Cervo's! Yes! - Seafood Near Me - New York, New York

I have to agree with some of the reviews that say this restaurant is confused. I went there thinking that it was primarily a Portuguese restaurant, but the wine list is dominated by Spanish wines, and in fact, the menu itself was very, well....Spanish. I love Spanish food, but I think the restaurant should claim some focus. The food itself is relatively solid, but I found the menu to be limited. Most of what my guest and I ordered was decent, but in all honesty, none of the tapas really had a wow factor. Also, in my opinion, the wines were random and overpriced for what they were. However, the main reason for the 3 stars and not higher, is that I took my guest here for her birthday. We had ordered a fair amount of food and drink, totaling over $250 with tip, so we took a pass on ordering dessert. Since I had noted in my reservation that it was my guest's birthday, they brought over a plain, white plate with a small birthday candle and wished her a happy birthday. In all honesty, it came off very anticlimactic as well as rather low rent. Given what I had spent, couldn't they have even put ithe candle in a scoop of vanilla ice cream or paired it with a single cookie or a piece of chocolate?? In some ways, it would have been better if they had not recognized her birthday at all. Given my above observations about the restaurant, this final weak gesture left me with a really bad taste in my mouth. Decent tapas and solid restaurants at this price point are a dime a dozen in our fair city, I see no real reason to ever go back. You Have All Been Warned!! read more

Drink = awesome Food = Awesome Staff = awesome So good , tasty and chill. I Recommend the lamb burger and the clams... scallops and tartar.... OMG! Can't go wrong read more

I am only giving this place a 3 because I guess it wasn't horrible food wise for my husband. That being said it wasn't amazing either. Immediately while you are outside waiting to get in you are greeted by the cool kid with a holier than though tude... you know where I'd continue to go with this lol. So I'll stop there. And let you fill in the blanks. I get it. It's LES. Cookie cutter cool kid syndrome Even after checking vaccine card along with I.d. They ask you to wear a mask to your table. Even though the hostess is unmasked. The bartender and kitchen staff and waitstaff unmasked. Lol. I had a shard of ice fly in my eye from some crazy girl who took over for the Bartender at one point and was slamming drink mixers down like she was in the WWF right in front of my face. I didn't say anything because it would've fallen on deaf ears with this reality bites crew. And rotted olives. If olives smell like cheese curds. They are rank. k?! Oh also yes I heard my waitress say. She'll just be drinking wine to the bartender. Um yeah honey so for one you serve cheap wine here so I'm not just drinking wine. I'm drinking your over priced fruit juice. So let's not be rude. While the couple next to us had there water poured constantly and we poured our own I also waited a lifetime to get a second glass of wine. While it was literally in front of me. The vibe and energy of this place are awful. If you want to eat lackluster food and be submitted to dealing with the staff projecting their depression on you. join the line at Cervos! Your table in hell awaits. read more

The food is really quite good, but I found the servers and staff to be haughty, inattentive, and inconsiderate. Save yourself the emotional abuse and get your oysters elsewhere. read more

I'm so sad about all the newer restaurants I've tried in NYC lately because they all suck but I would definitely say this place was of the worst. How the heck is this restaurant so highly reviewed? The food is so terrible and basic. I'm sorry. And I'm thinking this is an amazing seafood place and they don't have a clue about flavor, texture, food temperature. Need I say more? Honestly the restaurant does "look" nice but who cares if the food doesn't live up to it. Ordered the crispy shrimp heads which I thought was adventurous, but they were just that; crispy shrimp heads. No flavor, not even salt. Then we ordered the fried summer squash which was flavorless, soggy and lukewarm. We asked the waitress to take it away because of the above reasons and her reply is "this is exactly how the chef prepares it." I almost died. Like don't take it as a personal insult. Also totally inappropriate. The manila clams I thought were supposed to be the star dish. Again, no flavor. Literally all you need to add is salted butter. HELLO! We also ordered the shrimp a la plancha.. very few shrimp and didn't even taste like A LA PLANCHA! At this point we had a couple of drinks/wine and our bill is well past $100. We're still starving and no wear near drunk. We contemplated ordering a main but for what? Next, next, next. We ended up at Joe's pizza. read more

WOW! Cervo's nails it all. Impeccable food, delicious flavors, vibrant ambiance. Everything about this meal is memorable and worth it. The shrimp, mussels, and chicken are to die for. Dreaming about this meal ever since I went and can't wait to go back! read more

Extremely rude and judgmental service, will never go back! Unacceptable treatment by manager.

I'm so annoyed at myself. I live in the neighborhood and Cervo's has been around for a while now, why did I wait so long to try it??? I finally made it there last night for dinner. Everything was amazing. The seafood was so fresh and the flavors of every dish was gastronomically perfect. We had the shrimp/prawns, clams, the heirloom tomatoes, branzino, trout and the milk pudding for dessert. The trout was melt in your mouth delicious and the milk pudding OMG i want it in a go-gurt bag. The service was excellent and relaxed so we could really relax. The ambiance was elegant but fun. I can't wait to return. read more

One of the best restaurants I've been to in a while. Everything was so flavorful and the menu has both simple, delicious items and some more creative and surprising dishes. Service is friendly and the atmosphere/vibe is great, fun but comfortable. Will definitely be back. read more

My fav restaurant in nyc. Amazing food (seafood). Oysters are crazy good. Service is good. Everything was so fresh and nice. Loveeeee that place read more

We were excited to have the type of establishment taking over the thigh n pies space in LES...the service was nice but food lack a little and if you are going to charge me for bread, it better be some amazing bread..our bread was a little stale... read more

See all

Cervo's is a really solid spot for a nice dinner in the LES. The interiors are beautiful and the vibe inside is really nice - upbeat and nicely lit. The food is great, we ordered a few small plates and everything was nice. I've been twice and the service has been okay. The only complaint I have is that the last time I was in the waiter forgot to put in an entree. After waiting for quite a while we finally asked about it and by that point the menu item had sold out. Otherwise both experiences were positive. read more

This place was amazing every single dish was freshly made the kitchen basically was right in front of us we saw everything cook it and it was very very good read more

Got there at 5:45pm just when the rain stopped the early evening and was seated. I admired the simple and clean open kitchen and slick light brown wood interior with wall lights and little shades. I ordered a dry crisp cider with a little sweetness to it, was the only cider on the menu and was perfect with the seafood and tomatoe salad dishes. They had a variety of wines and lager and pilsner beers to choose from. I ordered a spicy plate of mussels that maybe could have been a little less spicy, but good nontheless. Then came the sweet yellow sliced tomatoes cooked in a light oil with sweet onions and melted cheese was so good. I orderd louisiana prawns split in the middle and saute in wine with paprika, so good. For dessert it was the best ricotta cheesecake ever with a glass of currant cassis liqueur. Waitstaff were attentive and kind. After an hour people started to file in. read more

Small place with a small, seafood-focused menu and friendly service. Would not have expected to find such a gem on this stretch of Canal. We were seated in the front of the house which had a handful of tables for two with high top seating; not the most comfortable, but it was fun to be able to watch the food being prepared. The small back room seemed better suited for groups, but somewhat quiet and lacking the same ambience. I was super excited to see crispy shrimp heads on the menu, as heads are the best part of any crustacean. These tasty little morsels did not disappoint. Coated in smoky pimentón aka Spanish paprika and fried to perfection, they were a great opener to our meal. The prawns a la plancha and manila clams with vinho verde came with a good amount of liquid that you definitely want to soak up with a side of crusty sourdough (grilled and served warm, yum). I was disappointed not to see the beef tartare with clams on the menu, but the lamb burger with anchovies more than made up for it. This was "bonkers delicious," as I told the waitress when we were paying our bill. I thought the anchovies would be a bit much but they somehow worked, making this legit one of the best burgers (lamb or not) I've ever had. I don't usually love fennel, but the fennel/celery/onion? slaw topping really tied it all together. A tad small for the price, but I was pretty full by the time it came out. I regretted ordering the fries; I didn't have room for them and they weren't anything special. In a city like NYC it's rare to eat at the same place twice, but I would gladly come back to Cervo's to see what else they'll be serving up. read more

I had read some lukewarm, if outright negative, reviews for Cervo's recently so I was a little apprehensive to go. But it's been on my list for a while and I really liked Hart's (their sister restaurant). The 2 down sides for me were that it is definitely out of the way to get there and the prices are a little steep for what they're serving. But that's really where the negatives end. The food was outstanding! We had clams in a vinho verde sauce that I wanted to drink off the plate. We had Louisiana white prawns that were delicious. We had a fried skate wing with preserved lemon and beans that has converted my husband into a lover of skate. Drinks were pricey, but I don't know that it was so out of line with other places in the city. The atmosphere was more casual than "classy" (as stated on Yelp), a typical wine bar vibe, dimly-lit, small NYC restaurant. We sat in a table off the bar area and while the restaurant is a little small we didn't feel too cramped. Great meal and would definitely return (if I can trek the subway ride and 15m walk). read more

Greasy over priced & rude. Waited a long time and was disappointed with food quality & service relative to price.

Adorable, little gem on Canal street where Simplicity and Freshness are the keys. Seafood is cooked amazingly here! I tried the Prawns, the clams, the scallops, the sardines on top of a heavenly toasted bread and the oysters. All of the dishes were perfect! Pair them with a glass of vino verde! Service was attentive and nice. You want to go back here every day and try different things. Thank you for the kind hospitality! read more

Cervos has been top of my list for so long and was excited to try it. We were running late and called the resturant, we were told as long as we leave by 8pm then it's fine. Our friends arrived early and were also told to leave by 8pm. They begun ordering before we got there to make sure we had lots of time, the host came up twice more and again reminded them they need to leave at 8pm. We then arrived and were told by the host we need to leave by 8pm. We were interrupted throughout our meal told we need to leave by 8pm. At 8pm we were signing our bill and the waitress told us the other guests were running late so we had more time. The host came at 811pm and said "the other guests have arrived you need to leave now" in an extremely disrespectful tone, as was delivered the entire night to us. The host who worked Friday evening really ruined this experience for us. It otherwise would have been a great night. We understand cervos wants to seat guests on time and have their resturant at max capacity every evening, but this can be done in a very respectful and kind way. None of us (who dine out most nights) have ever been treated like this. Sorry to cervos owners to have a host like this fronting their resturant. read more

Great date place , awesome oysters, cocktails and great food we went before a music event and we had a awesome time !

Incredible food and amazing drink selection. This was my second visit, and the prawns are a must have. Admittedly, I don't drink much wine, but I have loved all the wines I've had here. Our server had great advice, and recommended some great orange wines. As a beer snob, I also loved that they had Other Half. The menu rotates quite a bit, but it's hard to go wrong with any of the seafood here. Subtle flavors with high quality ingredients. read more

Really uninspired food, served in a place straight out of the Brady Bunch Interior Design School. The waitress asked if we had food allergies. We said we were avoiding bread. And she didn't bother telling me the skate was encased in bread crumbs. Hey, thanks for asking, though! Note to self: next time, wait till there are more than 12 Yelp reviews before you waste a date night on a newly opened space. read more

Amazing meal with amazing service! From the host to the waiter, everyone was so sweet and professional! Loved the vibe and the food was delicious! Highly recommend this New York gem! The Porgy was delicious! read more

See all

Decided to try this since it was on Bon Appetit's shortlist of 50 top new restaurants in the US for the year. Not sure why it was on there based on our experience last night. The good: my reservation was accidentally cancelled and they were nice enough to accommodate us for a Saturday evening spot, even with an odd number of diners (3). The rest: I ordered their version of a negroni- admittedly it's the rare negroni I love, and this version was nothing special. We had the rock shrimp, fennel salad, sourdough bread, and peri-peri chicken. I can't speak for the shrimp since it was happily consumed by the kid in our party, but the salad was completely unimaginative, and the chicken was such a let-down. Soggy skin, completely bland inside, and I normally love Portuguese food too! The dominant flavor in everything seemed to be garlic and only garlic. Service was efficient, albeit not terribly friendly. I also didn't care much for the space, since we were next to a table of people with exceptionally loud voices, which meant we had to eat our dinner in silence since it was impossible to be heard over them. I recognize that's not the restaurant's fault, but just made the whole thing more sucky. It's probably a good spot for groups of raucous young folk. But overall, the biggest disappoinment was the food, since it seems honestly hard to make bland Portuguese food! read more

Had a great dinner experience here. Sat by the window enjoying the street view. Food was excellent. Ordered mussels (my favorite dish here), clams, french fries (which deserve a special mention), and monkfish. Everything was very tasty. Also tried orange wine for the first time, which went very well with the food. Service and ambiance were very nice read more

Nice place. Good food and drinks. Highly recommend! We were here on Saturday nigh. Came in without reservations and got a seat by the bar.

Good food but small portions. We had a group of six, and our table felt pretty cramped. The restaurant was also very loud.

Service, food and drinks are top notch. Had the shrimp, beef tartar and lamb burger with anchovy. I consider myself a burger connoisseur and this was one of the best! Run to this place read more

I've been here five times in the last couple months and everything is always excellent except for some of the seating. The steak tartar is my favorite. If this place was 20% cheaper I'd eat here every night. read more

Solid Portuguese restaurant with excellent service. The food is tasty, but better can be found by looking around some more. Don't get me wrong, this a well run restaurant, with charm, but perhaps as a one off, and not something I would visit over and over. Give it a try if you are in the area! read more