$20 for $40 Worth of Latin Cuisine and Drinks at Selva Grill in Sarasota
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- Exotic dining experience
- Fresh ceviche and Latin dishes
- Chill bar and lounge
- Open late
Though Latin cuisine is among the tastiest in the world, many Americans are intimidated by its complex system of verb conjugations, tenses, and vocative plurals. Give your tongue a crash course with today's Groupon: for $20, you get $40 worth of Latin cuisine and drinks at Selva Grill in Sarasota. Selva's chefs craft a Peruvian-inspired menu centering on a large variety of cool ceviches ($13–$19). Bold entrees culled from the land and sea will delight amphibious eaters with grilled ahi tuna crowned by a jaunty edible top hat of jicama salad and pomegranate vinaigrette ($32) or roasted airline chicken reclining on fingerling potatoes with baby bok choy and cabbage slaw ($26). A densely populated wine list of reds, whites, and bubble-makers will keep creaky conversations lubricated during late-night lounging by the bar.
Reviews
The New York Times and the Herald-Tribune featured Selva Grill. Zagat gives the restaurant an excellent rating. Yelpers and OpenTable reviewers give it a 4.5-star average:
- Darwin Santa Maria, the chef and owner of the Selva Grill, is originally from Peru, and the flavors of his country of mountains and coasts infuse almost everything on the menu. And everything on the menu is worth trying, as Selva serves quite possibly the best food in town. – Paul Schneider, The New York Times
- …Regulars recommend “sitting outside by the waterfall to people-watch” as you sip a “killer drink” (“don’t forget the pisco sours!”) and ask for “recommendations” from the “charming”, “knowledgeable staff.” – Zagat
Need to know info
About Selva Grill
At Selva, Latin America meets the United States atop plates splashed with "Peruvian cooking reinterpreted with polish and sophistication," according to the Herald-Tribune. Dubbed Nuevo Latino cuisine, the menu's signature ceviches and seafood entrees hint at eastern origins due to Peru's influx of Asian immigrants. The Maya Shrimp Ceviche is made with an orange marinade that includes fresh avocado, red onion, Peruvian corn, and cherry tomato. Joined by more familiar dishes such as the Chilean Salmon topped with blue crab and manchego accompanied by a mango buerre monte, and a macadamia nut encrusted rack of lamb with chive and truffle risotto. The wine list contains exotic offerings from Argentina and Italy.
The dining room vibrates around an aesthetic centerpiece, a wall glazed with chunks of color that conjure imagines of a swirling mosaic. With auburn walls and plush couches, the lounge area facilitates chatter and nickel-filled pillow fights as live DJs spin tracks until 1 a.m. on weekends. Outside, water spills over a wall beside the patio seating.