Seviche

We're going there for the first time tonight (Bardstown Rd). Robin, I read your review and am excited to try some of the things that you mentioned...

You will not be disappointed

the food is good at seviche, but honestly, it's not the best seviche I've ever had although they did have interesting choices. I felt that the trio of seviche, for $25, should have been a little more generous and we shouldn't have had to beg our server for more crisps to eat the seviche on. (had to ask three times before they finally remembered.) our server was super nice tho. and got us lots of bar drinks as soon as we needed refills.

we went with four friends a couple of weeks ago. the total bill per couple was about $150 to $175 with a 20% tip and that was with one appetizer per person (and two of the seviche trios) and two of the guys drinking beer and everyone else having 1-2 cocktails each and 4-5 desserts for six people to share.

but it's worth trying for yourself. I normally don't complain about restaurant prices, but it was expensive. My entree was good - it was salmon and very spicy. Almost too spicy to eat, but worth the pain of the heat.

we won't go back, just because of the pricing. I like to be able to get appetizers for the table to share, a cocktail and entree and still spend around $100 to $125 a couple max. the $175 price range seems more suited to adding wine to the dinner. two mojitos for me and two beers for my husband shouldn't put us in that price range unless we were at a more upscale restaurant.

the $175 price range seems more suited to adding wine to the dinner. two mojitos for me and two beers for my husband shouldn't put us in that price range unless we were at a more upscale restaurant.

I thought the Seviche (on Bardstown at least) was an upscale restaurant.

Seviche is one of the absolute best restaurants in the city. Its price range is not any higher than most of the elite, and not so elite, restaurants in the city. Every penny I have spent at Seviche has been well earned. And it is an upscale restaurant.

Seviche is priced appropriately for their stle of menu and service. You would pay $50 more per couple at a larger metro area. Even in Indianapolis, you would pay more for less.
Seviche still gets my vote for one of the best in the City.

[Robin Garr]

Seviche is priced appropriately for their stle of menu and service. You would pay $50 more per couple at a larger metro area. Even in Indianapolis, you would pay more for less.
Seviche still gets my vote for one of the best in the City.

I've got to pile on here: Seviche is one of my top ten, maybe one of my top five Louisville restaurants, and one that I'm particularly inclined to recommend to adventurous visitors to help them break any lingering stereotype of our city as a boring, meat-and-potatoes place.

Well, we did spend quite a bit BUT we had a wonderful meal. I especially loved my tuna special entree (it was huge) with pureed white beans. The flan for dessert was excellent, too.

We really loved the service. Friendly without being too familiar and hovering. We had all of the time in the world and the food was spaced really well.

One of the things that we talked about is that we could go back more frequently if we made meals out of 2 or 1 1/2 appetizers. They are large and I'd be happy with just the mussels and some bread for a light meal.

Seviche is my #1 favorite in this or any town.... but I will say, their drinks can be pricey. $10 is not abnormal (the mojito's ARE $10 each). 1-2 cocktails per person can easily add $20-40 to your tab, taking you from the $100 meal into the $150+ meal. Note - the drinks are really good and top shelf stuff, but I go there for a meal, not apps and drinks.

It's not really a place I would stop in with a group for apps and drinks before going out, unless you have lots of cash to blow.

My wife and I usually split an app, each have a salad and entree and split a desert. With a reasonable glass of wine for me and water for her, it's easy to get out of there in the $100 a couple range.

But yes, if you blow it out... you can hit $200 with no trouble.

It's worth every single penny of it. I'm not sure how much more "upscale" you can get, in service, quality, atmosphere and yes.. price.

I went to the Westport location this past Saturday for my 40th birthday with a group of 20. It was fantastic and everyone loved it. The apps to the drinks (love those oyster shooters) was first class.

The staff, especially Meg, handled my very loud Italian Aunts with perfection!

Bravo Seviche and staff,

Tony Boombozz

There is clearly alot of praise on this forum for Seviche and I will just relate my experiences.

My wife son and I ate at the Goose Creek location the first week it opened. We went largely based on praise here. On balance it was ok...my son and I had the Mahi Mahi Tacos and they were ok but a bit dry and not outstanding. My wife had the escargout appetizer and did not like it...she thought the snails were too oily - they were served in a small cast-iron affair (honestly this is not what she expected). A special Florida grouper seviche was too acidic, rubbery, and astringent for me to eat. The Mohito's were good but not as good as the establishment that bares the same name. Service was good but a tad slow in a dining room that wasn't busey at the time. I decided most of this was a new location trying to find it's footing and this style of cuisine not to my personal liking. Given the almost universal praise for Seviche I decided that I would go back again at a later time and give it another go.

Round 2 last Friday night: Just the wife and I this time. Started with a duck breast appetizer that I really liked - my wife didn't care for it. For dinner I had the Ahi special - grilled tuna over spicey veggies. Very spicey...almost too much so but in the end very tastey. My wife had grilled skirt steak with chimichurri...per her report (I got one small bite) it was excellant and fired on all cylinders. We found the tres leiche (sig) ie. three milk cake desert a bit of a let down. The cake was a bit dry and I don't care for chocolate in this particular sweet...I generally prefer a simpler version of this dessert. Two glasses of a wonderful Cline zin and we were out, including tip, $120. Service was flawless.

So in the end the place is definately growing on me...we will go back. To honest this is not my favorite style of food - so it may not be a totally fair assesment. It's pricey, but didn't strike me as way out of line. After a couple of recent reviews I thought I'd chime in with my thoughts.

Yes, it is upscale, but not in the realm of upscale that I'm used to in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Manhattan. In those places, I spend $200 to $250 without blinking and the atmosphere warrants it. At Seviche, I was crammed with my friends at a tiny table and the decor was okay, but nothing fantastic. We had to wait about 30 minutes even with reservations, sitting in a very cold lobby (not sure why it was so freezing in there, but we had to keep our coats on) and then, one of the bathrooms was out of service so there was a line of about 10 people. There wasn't a coat check, at least none that the hostess mentioned to me, so I had to hang my coat on the back of my chair and, when I got home, there were stains on the side it where something was spilled by someone walking past. This was a brand new coat, cashmere, dry-clean only. So that didn't make me very happy and perhaps tainted my overall view of the place.

Nevertheless, I didn't intend to insult anyone who likes the place. It just wasn't a $175 per couple restaurant experience for me, personally. I am perfectly willing to pay that (obviously, I ordered the food/drink to get to that level) but I want the food to knock my socks off when it happens. And for the decor/environment to warrant it, too.

Give me a $100 dinner at Mojito's or $50 dinner at Havana Rumba any night and I'd be much happier and feel that my money was much better spent.

We had to wait about 30 minutes even with reservations, sitting in a very cold lobby (not sure why it was so freezing in there, but we had to keep our coats on) and then, one of the bathrooms was out of service so there was a line of about 10 people. There wasn't a coat check, at least none that the hostess mentioned to me, so I had to hang my coat on the back of my chair and, when I got home, there were stains on the side it where something was spilled by someone walking past. This was a brand new coat, cashmere, dry-clean only. So that didn't make me very happy and perhaps tainted my overall view of the place.

Tina,
I would like to apologize for your less than stellar experience at Seviche. I am the hostess who caused you to wait and then didnt offer to check your coat... for this, i'm sincerely sorry. I take alot of pride in Seviche and its always distressing to hear than someone was disappointed, especially when it involves my own lapse.

Working the front door, i always try and get parties seated as soon as possible. Especially when they have a reservation. Unfortunately, this is not always possible.
On a busy night it sometimes works out that your table is not ready right when you arrive for your rez. This is usually because of an earlier seating that lingered longer than expected at a table. Plotting reservations on a floor plan and keeping them on schedule throughout the night is not an exact science, and there is alot of guess-work involved.
Im usually pretty accurate as far as timing turns on a table and being able to adjust accordingly, but inevitably something will not go as planned. Im truly sorry that we were running behind that night!

I also understand your sentiment about the cold lobby... trust me, im posted there all night and it can definitly get drafty! Its nearly impossible to keep the open space warm on winter nights like those we have been experiencing lately. We know that this is a problem and thats why we have space heaters running in the lobby and throughout the restaurant. I cant imagine any other way to ameliorate that problem, short of a remodel of the building entrance. In any case, im sorry that you were chilly while waiting for your table.

Im afraid i must also take responsibility for not offering to check your coat. Its something that i usually do, and if i didnt when i seated you then i was probably just rushed to get you seated after having to wait. Im sorry, thats my mistake. On any other occasion i would have offered to take your coat for you. I do wish that you had asked myself or your server if we had a coat check available- then we could have avoided soiling your coat and sullying your experience.

Sorry for such a lengthy response but i really do take it personally when someone is less than satisfied, and i know the rest of the staff feels the same way.

Tina, i hope that you will give us another shot.. maybe come summer time? that way i know at least two of your complaints wont be a problem In the meantime ill try to be more conscience of the details. Thanks for sharing you experience, hope to see you again soon.

Well, we did spend quite a bit BUT we had a wonderful meal. I especially loved my tuna special entree (it was huge) with pureed white beans. The flan for dessert was excellent, too.

I think I sat next to you on Friday night! I couldn't help but notice your order since our tables were so close together... were you seated almost in the corner in the back half of the restaurant (near a wood dresser)? I could tell that the people next to us were first timers. My husband and I arrived before you and stayed longer. Does that sound familiar? Actually, the close proximity of our tables is the first ever less than perfect part of any Seviche experience of mine. It is my favorite restaurant in Louisville, but there should really only be two tables in that space where we were seated, not three. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed your food! As usual, ours was fantastic!!!

Oh, and on a side note, whoever complained about not receiving extra chips with the seviche will be happy to know that this problem has been fixed. When our seviche was delivered to our table, our server asked us if we would like extra chips and brought them immediately without us having to even mention it at all. It's nice to see that they are paying attention, able to handle constructive criticism, and improving the over-all experience!!

Oh, such an eloquent response, Madi. For any readers privvy to my previous employment, I no longer have a professional tie to Seviche, but I'd like to echo Madi. As a former planner for the frequently entangled reservation list, we've always strived to accomodate each guest in a manner so they feel individually catered to. I've so often been so proud of our successes that a glass of wine or coupla beers help celebrate our grace and finnesse under the fire as a way to recall and relish what we just went through. We have experienced table-turning intuition that an outsider could never accomplish, but since we all work somewhere, and succeed in some way seemingly impossible, I know I'm expouding on an emotion every reader can relate to. To summarize, Seviche has a very attentive coat check most of the time, so if you need it, please employ it, even if the skeletal staff (skeletal as a descriptor to explain that Seviche does not over-staff and that results in an energetic, well-compensated, and challenged bunch) fails on occasion to offer (believe me, coat check usually represents extra dollars for hourly paid hostesses, so if if they're not on top of it, it means they are working unselfishly in other ways). With each of everyone's efforts to ensure a top rated dining experience, something is going to fail on occasion. I'm thrilled that so many participants on this forum support Lamas. It is so well deserved and I'll faithfully stand by the integrity of Louisville's orginal upscale Latin Restaurant. It was my favorite spot long before I worked there. As an UPSCALE / PRICEY eatery, every penny spent is well worth it. I miss spicy chiles. mmm... It's my dream to own a cheaper version...