Selva unveils fall menu & cocktails, uplifting Colombian cusine in Long Beach

It is extremely difficult not to fall in love with Selva’s trajectory over the past two years. Chef Carlos Jurado—alongside his front-of-house leader, Monica Canelos, and newly minted bar manager Chris Serrano—has created what has become a truly unique dining destination in Long Beach (and, for that matter, across the whole SoCal region).

The food is unmistakably his, embodying the depth of Californian culinary expression paired with the humbleness of proper comida Colombiana. His fall menu gorgeously reflects that.

selva fall menu long beach — Selva’s ceviche drizzled with butterfly pea tea. Photo by Brian Addison.

Immensely warm, intensely smoked, perfectly Selva: Going into fall with Long Beach’s exemplar Colombian restaurant.

Few foods are as warming as squash in autumn, but in the same vein, few foods can feel as redundant as squash in the fall. Chef Carlos takes a honey nut squash, slivers it in half, and brushes it with granada-infused panela. Hints of cinnamon come with its slightly charred interior, sliced with salty housemade cheese and smoked pepitas dusted with merkén, the goat horn chile condiment common in Chile.

It is such an inviting way to experience fall at Selva. Add onto this their classics—ceviche with seasonal fish drizzled with butterfly pea tea, mushroom croquettes that never tire, perfectly concocted arepas with or without chicharrón…—and you have yourself the perfect beginning to a meal as (or so it seems) our days finally cool down.

But surely, it is Chef Carlos Jurado’s masterful handful of proteins that make Selva one of our finest.

There really is no protein Chef Carlos is unwilling to work with. But he also understands that something like the humble chicken or steak can become extraordinary with three key things: salt, fat, and smoke.

His picahna? A steak-and-onions lover’s dream, where fried onions, caramelized onions, and an outright magical burnt onion jus bathe chanterelles and beef. His chicken? Smoked to perfection and a signature dish since day one, this time brushed with an achiote chimichurri before being crisped. And then placed atop some of the best lentils in the city, a hyper-savory blend of tomatoes, onion, scallions, and garlic.

selva long beach prix fixe — The incredible Spanish octopus from Selva’s fall menu. Photo by Brian Addison.

This isn’t to say that other, less basic proteins are dismissed. His duck confit—the best in the city—is a year-round wonder whose accompanying garnish switches with the season. For fall, it is a mazzamora con pesto, a hominy-like corn nixtamalized in-house. That same mazzamora (without pesto, giving it a sweeter tone) sits below gloriously smoked spare ribs that ooze with woody saltiness.

And his pulpo? Nothing short of a work of art: a wild Spanish octopus, braised and then grilled, paired with fermented market vegetables, chlorophyll aioli, and red chimi oil.

And the corresponding cocktail menu proves to be one of Selva’s strongest yet…

Newly minted bar manager Chris Serrano—you might remember him from his work at The Ordinarie—has crafted a cocktail menu that could make an incredible flight of tastings.

The first portion of the menu—plays on a margarita, a negroni, a mule, a French 75…—reintroduce the classics we know in wildly fun ways. His fancy mule is appropriately dubbed a “Fancy Ass” while his play on a negroni melds aguardiente, cucumber, and Benedictine to give it a distinctly Selva vibe.

The second set reflects what I like to call Properly Selva Cocktails. These are concoctions that feel inherently tied to the restaurant’s base. Cachaça. Palo santo. Pisco. Sotol. Selva pork-fat-washed pineapple rum. These ingredients make up the second section, fitting Chef Carlos’s protein plates with ease. A particular star? A play on a 19th-century variation of “Turn of the Century,” where Chris (in the name of sustainability) uses old red wines to make a reduction paired with Rhum Agricole, chocolate liqueur, and lemon. The result is a wildly balanced, deep-but-bright drink that goes mightily well with the picahna.

And the end is really the chef’s kiss: boozy heavyweights that are perfect with dessert, including a Fernet-based riff on an espresso old fashioned that feels tailored for those in the industry.

How to start your evening at Selva during the fall…

Chef Carlos’s array of starters and vegetables are perpetually warming, if not some being outright nostalgic at this point. His papas criollas bravas—confit potato balls drenched in a queso fresco foam—is everything you want from a cheese-and-potato dish…

Panela Glazed Market Squash ($15): Roasted squash | house queso fresco | smoked pepitas | Chilean merkén

Ceviche a la Selva ($18): Fish of the day | coconut leche de tigre infused with lulo | piña | fermented ají amarillo | citrus

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Papas Criollas Bravas ($12): Confit Colombian potatoes | ajo negro | queso fresco espuma | fermented chiles amazónicos

Scallops con Ají Colombiano x3 ($22): Scallop crudo on the half shell | ají vinaigrette | champagne espuma | fermented Amazonian chili

selva long beach spring 2026 menu — Photo by Brian Addison.

Arepas con Chicharrón x3 ($18): Colombian queso arepas | housemade queso fresco | smoked Niman Ranch chicharrón | ají Colombiano

Croquettas de Long Beach Mushrooms ($16): Long Beach Mushrooms | chili jam | sliced prosciutto

Smoked Wings ($18): Oak- and mesquite-smoked wings | fried and served in a sauce of achiote panela vinegar | fermented Amazonian chili | dry rub available

And, of course, the platos fuertes at Selva during autumn…

Chicken. Steak. Spare ribs. Duck. Octopus. Selva’s main entrees run the protein gamut.

Pollo Ahumado con Lentejas de Mama ($39): Smoked chicken brushed with achiote chimmi | Colombian-style lentils | fino y spicy +$3

Smoked Picanha & Roasted Chanterelles ($55): 8–10 oz oak-grilled steak brushed in granada panela | roasted chanterelle mushrooms | ají Colombiano | blistered Bonita Farms sweet onion | burnt onion jus