Their food is amazing. One of my favorite places to eat. Dined with my friends last night for Savor Sarasota. Considering that we had an awful experience at Vom Fass Sarasota up the street, Selva turned the night around with such great food. Like many people, I love the skirt steak. Ginger martini. Yum! The service is good too. My only regret is that I didn't order some plantain chips last night too! (Oh. One thing to watch though is on NYE they don't tell you in advance but all the menu prices are higher.) Other than that I say, "Go get some Selva!" read more

First time eating here as we were vacationing in Sarasota. My wife picked the restaurant cause she loves ceviche. They have many options, we had the mixito which was excellent (octopus, shrimp, fish, scallop). Our main courses were sea bass which was OMG tender. Never had a better prepared sea bass before. The other course was paella which was non-traditional version but still very good. If you like good food and service i recommend this restaurant. read more

Ordered drinks and the empanada with plans to eat dinner there. The empanada was greasy yet dry. I'm not sure that was possible, but it was. We clearly did not eat it and we let the server know (nicely my son is in the industry in that immediate area and has relationships) but he charged us the $13 for one empanada. Don't waste your $. read more

Outstanding food and service! We were a party of 16 all seated in our own room. Every single person was thrilled with their order and impeccable service. Way to go Selva. Can't wait to return. read more

I love, love, love Selva's happy hour! Both their bites and their drinks are amazing and are at a great price, not only for the quality of the drinks and food, but also for the upscale atmosphere and very friendly staff. However, when I ate here for dinner with my partner on our anniversary, the food was truly overpriced for the quality, which is why this review gets 4 out of 5 stars. read more

Couldn't get a reservation on a Friday night so we went to the bar early and our awesome bartender coordinated 2 chairs together for us. Dirty Goose and Espresso Martinis were excellent. Beef Empanadas were a bit dry and the Selva Ceviche was a little too acidic and definitely more than enough for two. However the Duck Breast was fantastic and so was the Inca Cod. We would absolutely go back but probably skip the apps and jump right into the amazing entrees. read more

Simply amazing food. Definitely takes a good while to get your entree once ordered, but it's well worth the wait. This not to mention that that atmosphere greatly supports a long conversation while enjoying some amazing ceviche over a bottle of wine. read more

I really enjoyed the food there tonight. I had two appetizers: the tuna tartar and the spring roles and was very satisfied with the presentation and the flavor. It was on the expensive side, especially the drinks. My date had the seared tuna entree which was also very ood and full of flavor. The tuna was cooked through a little too much, but who knows how fresh the catch is. read more

Outstanding! Definitely go here for the food, the service, and the atmosphere. I'm going again and bringing friends!

Love the food here - never disappointed. The Maya shrimp ceviche is as good as it gets, I kid you not. SO very good. Service was great, though not terribly interactive. Decor is a little "young" and annoying (do we really need that much light stimulation to keep our heads from flopping down into our plates??), but I forgive them for trying to be New York and keep coming back because of the food. read more

My favorite Sarasota restaurant the food is always incredible and the late night menu offers great dishes in small tapas servings at a great value. read more

Well, I still gave this 4 stars because on previous occasions the food was very good. This last time it was way off. Hopefully, the usual chef was simply on vacation. Otherwise my next rating might drop considerably. read more

We've been here twice and the food, service, drinks, and ambience have been excellent each time. Love the menu - something outstanding for everyone's taste in our group from wonderful ceviche to decadent chocolate dessert. Wait staff was both (appropriately) friendly and efficient. Great location and room - love the art extending all along one wall. We will be back! read more

It's hard to trust a restaurant's food when what you get is not what is described on the menu. Case in point: the seafood paella. It is described as being served with saffron risotto, but it was really just tomato sauce(and vaguely burnt at that). There was no saffron flavor at all. The seared beef ceviche was very good, keeping the rating of this place off the compost heap. read more

Dinner for two! Great Wine selection! The food presentations were as good as it gets and they tasted wonderful! We will definitely go again the next time we are in Sarasota. Our waiter was very attentive too! read more

Great food and Ceviche. Wait staff was excellent. Bring some money becuase it is not cheap. The food is worth the price, but it definitely is special occasion pricing for most people read more

My husband and I stopped by on a road trip for a lite bite when craving Ceviche. The atmosphere is really nice and service was fast and excellent (thanks Mario!) However, unfortunately some of the food left us lacking fulfillment. They give you warm French bread with a delicious truffle butter to start out. I had the Selva Wild Ceviche which was pretty yummy but slightly a little sour and unbalanced. He had the Maya Shrimp ceviche and maybe its just a type of ceviche we've never heard of but it was really sweet and not spicy at all like a traditional ceviche. For a second course I had the Selva's Crab Cake. Nice presentation topped with micro greens-but disappointed to see a good amount of breading mixed in to the crab and aioli that pretty much tasted like mayo to me. My husband had their Caesar that came molded into a cylinder which seemed to wilt the salad even more than the tasteless dressing did. If I understand correctly it was suppose to be a chili pepper Caesar dressing but it also just tasted like mayo. Overall I still gave this place four stars because I didn't think it fair to rate it three without trying an entree and because of the service. That being said...not sure if I'd go back to risk spending more money based on our experience. We had 1 cocktail, 1 beer, 2 ceviches, a salad, and a crabcake with a $75 bill. I think I'd rather go to a more authentic Peruvian restaurant to spend that money. read more

So, this was my fourth trip with my wife (and friends in the past) to Selva. Nothing new. That is the problem I have with restaurants like Selva. Nothing new. And that includes the worn and dated dark interior. If you like darkness and dim lighting as "ambience", this is your place. Thin "indoor/outdoor" type charcoal carpeting, otherwise, black, black and more black. It is in reality like dining in a cave with the only light coming from the street. The restaurant is open in the front to the same street. Could I say the owners are "milking" this place? Yes, absolutely. Same menu, same decor, looks like they are planning on leaving someday, just wearing out the menu and location. As to the food, well, it is somewhat tasty. The rack of lamb was good, but dry. The flank steak was well flavored but "chewy". I expect relative perfection since these items have been on the menu for years and the prices are high. Salads, ala carte sides and appetizers are overpriced on main menu. So, the value is no longer there and I will likely avoid this place in the future. The owners need to pay attention. There is really nothing about Selva (unlike historical restaurants like Commanders Palace in New Orleans, as an example) which would compel return visits. Just serving he same old tired menu in the same old tired place is not a recipe for future success. read more

The best restaurant in Sarasota -- food, wait staff, etc. Always consistently good.

delicious..try the ceviche, the Tina tiradito, the banana flan, skie.t steak, aye aye aye....delish.

Great Latin American food.We come here every year when we visit Sarasota and have never been disappointed. The food is based on Peruvian recipes but is distinctly different and is incredibly delicious. read more

Reliably good food at high but fair prices. Each meal is carefully prepared. The go to restaurant in Sarasota. My 2 year old granson love the special mac and cheese with the chicken sticks and sat still while we all ate. My 5 year old grandson says Selva is my favorite restaurant and had half a rack of lamb, my vegan 16 year old granddaughter loved her dish, my daughters, sons-in-law, my wife and I each had different dishes and all were ready to go back. Wonderful. read more

My cousins relocated to Sarasota a few years ago, and I finally made it down there for a visit. One night they brought us here, and it was OUT OF THIS WORLD! Everything from the atmosphere, the superb service, the food...it was all wonderful. My cousin has a lovely wine collection, and a lot of restaurants allow you to bring your own wine for a decanting fee, which we did. The warm bread and truffle butter was a great start. Several of us had salads, which we told them we would be splitting. They served it already divided on separate plates. Beautiful presentation, and everyone enjoyed them. I had the Chilean Sea Bass, served with bok choy, a corn custard and a black bean sauce. I'm not a big bok choy fan, but if I could get these guys to make it for me, I would be the biggest fan ever! Every bite was moan worthy....it was both a visual delight and a memorable taste sensation! I loved everything about this place. My table mates tried the Swordfish, the Skirt Steak and the duck, and big thumbs up all the way around. I wish they had a location in Boston!!! Just spectacular. read more

This gets better with age. Started with the tuna tiradito, which paired sashimi tuna slices with watermelon. There was perhaps too much watermelon to tuna, but the favors were complimentary, balanced and savory. The pork osso bucco had other diners jealous. The broth accompanying was hearty and rich. The pork was perfectly seasoned, perhaps it could have used a tad more cooking, but it was fall off the bone good. The grilled Cuzco corn is amazing as was the green pea risotto. read more

Really liked this place. One person ordered an entree of the menu and two of us ordered what they're known for; ceviche. Everything was flavorful and well presented. Couldn't ask for more. read more

We had been here once before and things were wonderful so when we made plans with friends new to town I thought it would be great to introduce them to here. Wow was I embarrassed! Ivan, our server, seemed more interested in entertaining a table across the restaurant then actually serving us. We ordered a bottle of wine that was gone by the time the food arrived and he never bothered to come back to ask if we would like another and we sat for so long with our finished plates and empty glasses I ended up going to the hostess stand and telling her we are getting horrible service and I wanted to see a manager. She was embarrassed and said she would send him right over. He NEVER BOTHERED TO COME!!!! Instead he went and told our server to come over. Who just grabbed one plate off the table and said he would be back with our check. My husband and I were both horrified that we brought friends here and not only will we not go back but we tell anyone else not to bother! read more

One if the best restaurants in all of Sarasota, excellent food and service will definitely return....

The presentation of the food and attention from the wait staff all the while enjoying the open air connection to the bustle of the sidewalk was outstanding. I will return simply for the scallop starter option that was sufficient as a small meal and very flavorful. We were slightly cold near the street in Feb,. but the staff quickly turned the standing heater unit on and we were fine. Still definitely worth the open air feeling. read more

My husband and I have been going to Selva for a couple years now and have never been disappointed. We brought a large party of 19 people there last weekend to celebrate two birthdays and even though we have always been impressed by this restaurants, the food, drinks, and service exceeded or expectations. No one ever had an empty drink, the server, and wait staff were very kind and attentive, and the food timing was perfect. By far one of our favorite restaurants in Sarasota! read more

Really great restaurant, really great service. We had some ceviche which was really good. One of my favorite things was the Caesar salad. It's not your traditional Caesar salad -- it has its own flair, with a dry plantain on top that I crumbled up and mixed into the salad. When I asked about the steak with the chimichurri sauce, the waiter gave me a small sample of the chimichurri sauce to taste to make sure that it wasn't too spicy. read more

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! read more

This is one of the best meals I've had in years. We made a reservation for six on a Sunday night. We were seated as soon as we arrived. We started with an order of the Wahoo Ceviche and the calamari (special of the day). They were a perfect start to the meal. I highly recommend the wahoo. For a starter, I had the scallops with pesto and sweet potatoes. They were quite possibly the best scallops I've ever had. For my main course, I ordered the sea bass with corn flan. It was delicious! I couldn't get enough of the flan! For dessert, we ordered the Peaches and Cream Bread Pudding and the Tres Leches. Like the rest of the meal, the bread pudding was amazing. The Tres Leches; however, was very disappointing. We mentioned it to our waiter and was kind enough to take it back and remove it from our bill. From the decor to the food to the service, our overall experience was fantastic! We will definitely be going back. read more

Without a doubt, Selva is an excellent restaurant. During a recent trip to Sarasota we had dinner there based on a friend's recommendation. Our table was ready at the reserved time, the staff was friendly and professional and the food was great. The rack of lamb special was, well, special. I highly recommend it without reservation. read more

2nd visit and it was as good as the first. Great service and we were all pleased with our food. I had a new menu item, the pork shank and it was fatastic. Slight critique, my Martini was not cold and the wines by the glass could be better. Bar scene looks very interesting. We will return. read more

Had a great dinner at Selva. Service was excellent. Had the chopped salad to start which was fresh, complex and tasty. My husband had the Paella which was fantastic. It was different than the usual saffron only Paella but very tasty and hearty. I had the special Snapper which was cooked to perfection. Highly recommended. read more

Love the chop salad! Food and service always great!

Ate there Twice on a three day trip! YUM! No matter what you order you won't miss out. The host was also too sweet!! He was very helpful and generous. I loved the Fire & Ice drink, the lobster ceviche, scallops... I could just list the whole menu. But DON'T miss the Rey Brulee dessert. I am not one to order dessert, but this was like crack! So delicious. read more

Selva, is by far the Best Restaurant in Sarasota. Great Drinks, great food, great service. I hope the menu changes soon.

My most recent visit was truly disappointing in comparison to prior visits and will probably be my last. For the same type of food and price Darwin's on 4th was by far much more superb in quality and taste. read more

Has been for years our favorite dining place in Sarasota, but losing its edge. Menu has not changed in years. Kitchen execution is poor. Many of the staff have left and replacements are not up to snuff. Selva is not what it used to be, a shame read more