Selva Grill University Town Center

"The South American dishes were really very good such as the ceviches and lomo saltado. Their NY steak was excellent, even the children loved it. The atmosphere and service were also good. The only thing missing for us is there was no children menu and $51 NY steak is a little bit too pricey for a children’s meal."

"Loved the scallop appetizer and the sea bass. The salmon is good too but not as good as the sea bass. Small portions, high prices but totally worth it."

"Went for a 10 year anniversary but it was too close to New Years that no one asked what we were celebrating. I even put it on my reservation. Put a slight damper on the experience. Have had such nice service for previous anniversary celebrations at other establishments. Our first time dining and we wanted to try the ceviches. Decided on the octopus - it’s a hard dish to get right. Overall taste was citrusy. The menu said it had olives but barely tasted that as the lime dominated the dish. The texture of the octopus was okay to me. I’ve had more tender octopus before. Perhaps it was the lime that altered the texture a bit. The avocado balanced the zesty lime flavor. Did not care for the toast. The entrees were good. My husband’s steak was more on the rare side than medium rare but he said he didn’t mind and that it was preferable than being overly done. My rack of lamb was cooked nicely. I’m happy that there was not a lot of that brown sauce on the asparagus. The sauce to me did not go well with the lamb nor the risotto. It was overpowering the lamb. In my opinion, good meat deserves to stand on its own. The flavors in that dish actually clashed rather than complemented each other. I wish they had suggestions on wine pairings with their entrees. I don’t think my server knew about what to pair lamb with when I asked. I just went with the Malbec which was a nice, dry wine. I would compliment their operation as being run as a nice well oiled machine. Felt that our dishes came at a timely manner. They were well staffed and seemed prepared for Saturday night and a holiday weekend night to boot. They did lose our leftover but they were able to retrieve it."

"You eat with your eyes first 100% when you dine at Selva. Truly every plate is the chef's work of art, even the humble salad. At a fine dining restaurant, the expectation that every aspect of the experience should be elevated is satisfied, with little surprises along the way. There was not a single wrong or less than ideal element that we could find with our fancy meals. Do yourself a favor by working out and building up your appetite before you come here, because you still do get a lot of food on your plate - none of that "tiny bit of food on a huge white plate" presentation that you see on tv. The pictured ribeye steak is 16 oz! You WILL want extra room to enjoy all that warm, luscious buttery bread, plus that fancy dessert."

"Went for Friday dinner with a colleague and her husband. We sat in a booth in the bar area. Love the seating, being able to face all the activity of the bar. Our server was very attentive and the food was very good. The atmosphere and the vibe added to the evening. The Lakewood Ranch location is definitely much nicer than the Sarasota location. Will definitely return."