Selva Oaxaca Cocktail Bar - 68000 Oaxaca de Juárez

Gorgeous space. Top notch, inventive, well thought-out cocktail menu with an emphasis on local mezcal. Excellent service and not as expensive as one would imagine for this type of atmosphere. One of the highlights of our trip to Oaxaca.

As many have mentioned, the decor and atmosphere are one of the great features of this bar. If you are lucky enough, try to get seated at the balcony; there is a nice breeze and you have the opportunity to people watch. Drinks were not my cup of tea, but regardless I enjoyed my time there.

Here is the thing, we got there right at 6 which is when it opened. We got sat at the bar. Everything was cool until cruella de vil aka the bar manager started her stare down. This bar is pretentious but if you like that you are in the right place. The bartender was really nice. Drinks were okay not amazing but okay and not overpriced. The place is quaint and decorations are cool, BUT this woman ruined our entire experience. She was mad at the waiters, mad at us. Literally made us leave. But as we were leaving she wouldn’t stop staring! Thank God for the evil eye ? she was down right mean and not cool! This bar sells the oaxcan experience and our experience was terrible, I would rather go to criollo or danzantes or even the meZcaleria Los amantes down the street where service was 10/10 Save your money not worth it!

Beautiful place with good vibes. Oscar aka Rudy was absolutely amazing!! Private balcony + perfect view + great music = a perfect night out in Oaxaca!

Probably one of the most beautifully decorated places that one can have a cocktail on the planet. The drinks are outstanding. I can't really say enough about this place. If you're ever in Oaxaca City, you need to go here.

The ambiance has a NYC vibe. Nice furnishing, creative and interesting cocktail menu and nice snacks. Unfortunately, for a cocktail bar, the drinks we tried were not very balanced, so that was disappointing. The service is amazing and the place has many instagrammable spots. Also, be warned, it is a little hard to find...you have to go inside a building, up the stairs and through the curtains on your right. You won't see the name Selva anywhere until you're in the bar.

The cocktails I had here are the best I've had since I arrived in Oaxaca. First I had the "Selva", then I had a Mojito made with rum distilled in Oaxaca...delicioso! But it was made better because I enjoyed the drinks sitting next to the most interesting man in the world!

I must say that I did not expect the cocktails to be as bland as the ones we were served. I understand that a lot comes down to personal taste preference but there are some principles that go into composing cocktails. It's almost as if some of the ingredients were never added to the cocktail: or perhaps too little. The "Smooth" (pic 1) cocktail was just a bitter mess that was somewhat smokey. No sweet pallets. The "Alphameric" (pic 2) tasted like a non ripe avocado, no citrus. I could not find any traces of the St. Germain or the Chartreuse. Again sweetness was almost nonexistent and the cocktail fell flat. The third drink I ordered was their signature drink "Selva" (pic 3). It was perhaps the best composed drink of the three, but in no way a top-notch cocktail. There was just more going on in this one. As others (everyone) note the interior is wonderful and well-thought-out. Staff is very friendly and welcoming.