In the original residence at the heart of the gardens. Sandwiches, salads, pastries, and a curated beer-and-wine list, served on the veranda or under the banyan canopy.
When Marie Selby left her eight bayfront acres and her botanical collection to the public in 1973, she left the residence she shared with her husband William too. That house is now the Selby House Café.
The original wraparound veranda, the lawn that runs down toward Sarasota Bay, the immense banyan tree the Selbys planted in the 1920s — the café occupies all of it, serving lunch and light fare through the day to garden visitors.
It runs at a different pace than the Green Orchid upstairs in the LEAF Building. Order at the counter, find a table under the banyan canopy or on the veranda overlooking the bay, and the kitchen brings it out.
The Selbys planted the banyan in the 1920s. A century later it covers most of the lawn between the residence and the bay, with aerial roots forming a natural canopy over the café's outdoor seating.
Order at the counter, take a table on the veranda or under the banyan, the kitchen brings it out. No reservations needed. Garden admission required.
The café shares the kitchen team and sourcing program of Michael's On East and the Green Orchid — local farms, Gulf fishermen, the rooftop garden upstairs.
The Selby House Café occupies the historic residence at the center of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. Garden admission is required to access the café — purchase tickets at the welcome center or online.
The Green Orchid is the sister destination on the Selby campus — a garden-to-table dining room in the new LEAF Building, with floor-to-ceiling glass walls overlooking the orchid conservatory and Sarasota Bay.
Lunch daily from 11 am to 3 pm. Reservations not required but recommended for parties of six or more.
