Selva offers an ample dining space spread across a dark, wood-lined primary dining room — complete with plenty of houseplants — and an attached bar area. Together, the two rooms feel understated and cool, with pops of color and leafy notes throughout; the kind of place that works for a sunset happy hour or date night, which is exactly what Chef Jurado intends.
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Born in Cali, Colombia, Jurado has worked everything from private cheffing gigs to Vespertine, Border Grill, and even the Catbird Seat and Husk, two of Nashville’s most acclaimed restaurants. “I am shocked [Jurado] has never been given his own restaurant,” co-owner Geoff Rau recently told writer Brian Addison of Longbeachize. So when the time came to close the Hideaway after several good years, the pair jumped at the chance to pull Jurado in as chef and partner. With Selva, the plan is to focus Jurado’s flavors inward, turning out personal dishes like arepas, ceviches, and a smoked chicken with ají salsa. There will be lots of smoking, grilling, searing, and general flame-licked goodness across the menu, backed by staple desserts like coconut panna cotta, buñuelos, and obleas. There are cocktails too, of course, like aguardiente sours, as well as local beer and wine.
​Written by Farley Elliott