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Sly's
686 Linden Ave, Carpinteria
Phone: (805) 684-6666
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Sly's writes: James and Annie Sly and crew spent months remodeling the charming structure located at 686 Linden Avenue in Carpinteria, making the historic 90-year old yellow brick building into one of the Central Coast's finest restaurants.
The menu features a wide selection of fishes and seafood, aged, USDA Prime hand-cut steaks, a la carte vegetables, and more than just a little bit of Chef James Sly's forty years of experience in kitchens around the world. From the crusty bread at the beginning of the meal to finely crafted desserts at the end, your food is made right at Sly's.
Sly's features old-fashioned cuisine - James likes to say he specializes in "tired old favorites" - prepared in the traditional way by an experienced kitchen crew - and served by a professional and enthusiastic service staff.
From the iced seafood towers and oysters to the steamed mussels or clams, there are some real seafood treats. Dover sole, grilled or meuniére, challenges Local Sand Dabs for the title of "most popular".
In addition to the impeccable seafood, char-grilled steaks, and daily specials like fresh local abalone and oysters Rockefeller, Sly's features some fascinating pastas - Spaghettini "Caruso" with Marsala and chicken livers, an extremely popular Spaghettini Carbonara, with chunks of bacon, onions, cream, eggs and Parmesan cheese, Linguini with fresh clams, and an ethereal Fettucine "Alfredo" made the traditional way, without a trace of cream.
Desserts are notable, and homemade, too - from the warm, tart apple crisp to the shortcake featuring fresh local berries, you're bound to find a favorite. Of course, James' famous sundae is here - "That" sundae with caramelized pecans from his aunt's recipe, homemade caramel sauce, and chocolate sauce made with Santa Barbara Chocolate Company's incomparable chocolate. In season you might be fortunate enough to find a warm Raspberry Cobbler.
Sly's offers a choice of comfortable dining areas, with the shiny varnished Douglas Fir of the bar contrasting to the exposed yellow brick & glassed-in wine cellar of the dining rooms white table cloth covered tables.
One of the most striking things about the decor at Sly's is the collection of photographer Jesse Alexander's photos on display. This artists eye and lens captured the European racing scene in the 50's and 60's. The images that fill the walls of the dining rooms at Sly's are a timeless glance at a far different world of racing.
Ann and James, and the team at Sly's look forward to your trying our cuisine, cocktails, & wine list at Sly's, and an opportunity to experience the ambiance that has made Sly's an instant classic.
- Specials: Sly's is all about specials, with two tiers of specials - our daily specials and our rotating regional French fixed price menu. The daily specials include seasonal fresh fish specials, a daily pasta special, and wonderful USDA prime steak specials. Typically, the daily specials feature 8 or 10 local vegetables and one or two of Sly's wonderful homemade desserts. (In winter, the Brioche Bread Pudding with Caramel sauce is one example). The French Menu offers 3 courses at $35. per person, with 3 choices for each course. Specialties are chosen to represent a particular region of France, right down to a cheese choice from the experts at C'est Cheese. Also available with French wines at $55. A great value and interesting selections make this a favorite with regulars and visitors alike.
- Happy Hour: We think that the best thing about a Happy Hour is when you leave happy. At Sly's, happy hour is from 4 to 6 pm each day. We feature some interesting Local and French wines at $6 a glass, a cocktail special of the day at $8, and an interesting selection of small plates from $5 to $8, including oysters on the half shell, steamed mussels, those amazing onion rings, and an absolutely delicious French Hot Dog with Gruyere. You will leave happy!
- Brunch: Saturdays & Sundays Sly's adds a Brunch Menu from 9 am to 3 pm with a wide selection of traditional brunch specialties. From waffles and Dutch Baby pancakes to Huevos Rancheros, classic Eggs Benedict, and even Abalone and Eggs, Sly's has your brunch covered. Particularly favored is our Seafood omelette in Lobster sauce. The full lunch menu is also available, so there is no shortage of great choices.
- Private Room: The Monaco Room at Sly's, so named because of the 8-foot print of the famous Jesse Alexander photograph of the start of the 1962 Monaco Grand Prix, is available for small groups up to 30 people. It is semiprivate, but affords you the opportunity to hold your group celebration with Sly's extraordinary food and service. Please contact us for more information.
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Reviews by the General Public
Disapointment at it's best, 7/4/2010
Reviewer: Alan
from Montecito, CA
The service was welcoming an friendly. Cute place, but will never return. The food was absolutly terrible. If that. For a steak house to serve dry over cooked braised short ribs with a bland tastless sauce, past the date tournade veggies. And soggy fries for my kid. Wow. I'm supprised there still in buisness. Especialy with those prices. Over priced bad food is such a disapointment. I have never written a review but thought this should be heard. Nothing more to say
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Couldn't have been better, 1/5/2010
Reviewer: Robert
from Santa Barbara, CA
My wife and I finally made the long drive out to Carpinteria to have dinner at Sly's and I can't tell you how happy we were. First of all I didn't remember Carp being such charming little beach town. When we arrived at Sly's and I opened my menu it was like traveling back to a better time when restaurants were welcoming and served REAL food. It was easy to see that we were going to have a hard time not ordering half of the menu. After painful deliberation we settled on Spanish mussels to start and to follow with short ribs and th Dover Sole and I got to tell you they were the best we've had. Our waiter was a true professional and it was such a treat to find French wine on a list and if you're not sold yet they bake their own bread and desserts. Do yourself a favor and make that long drive to Carp you will not be disappointed.
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Classic. Authentic. Very impressed!, 11/16/2009
Reviewer: lemonjelly
from santa barbara, ca
Sly's is the kind of place inspired by the tried-and-true classics that need no improvements. Well, they've improved one thing - the declining quality pervasive in our food through industrial and commodity agriculture. I spent an evening at the bar sharing drinks and food with friends and we were continually pleased to learn they make their own orgeat, their own tonic water, and they use real Marasca cherries in their Manhattans.
The bartender really knew her stuff, including the food menu. She could name where the beef came from, where the lobster and abalone came from, and pointed out the farms where the fresh fruit and vegetables came from, especially when they were grown in Carp itself.
I had no idea what to expect from Sly's, and hadn't even seen the menu before walking in, but there are a few items I have a weakness for. One is a steak *with green peppercorn sauce* and french fries with freshly made mayonnaise, the other is profiteroles. And Sly's had it, prepared perfectly. The steak is a sensible 4 oz. portion, and the steak frite combination is a correspondingly sensible $14 price. We also had the Spanish style mussels, with firm chorizo and caramelized onions, also $14 and we didn't dare waste the wonderful juices thanks to the fresh bread from the kitchen. There are two distinct dining areas: the bar/bistro area in the front that's very casual, and the dining room in the back with the linen tables and a view of the wine cellar. A third dining option is your own home - you can easily order your food for pick-up.
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upscale dining 10/17/09, 10/19/2009
Reviewer: dpa
from Thousand Oaks, CA
We had reservations and were ushered to the back of the restaurant where the formal dining is located (carpet, white table cloths); however we asked to be seated in the front where it was bright, had windows, and was less formal. The owners James and Ann Sly were very gracious and accommodating. The food had excellent flavor; you got what you paid for. Everything is a la cart, which does make it an expensive dining venue. We went specifically for the abalone and I was disappointed that several pieces had rubbery/grissle edges especially for the price. The menu is not correct for the abalone; it lists 3 piece appetizer and 3 piece dinner entree but the dinner costs 2x as much. The waitress thought it was the same portion so I asked Ann and she assured me the dinner portion was twice as much. I informed the waitress of this fact. While the wine by the bottle is quite an extensive list, the wines by the glass are somewhat limited. The only item we did not like was the raspberry cobbler, which was a piece of cake on top of very tart mashed raspberries with a small dollop of ice cream. We will probably not return as we prefer a restaurant with more of a view and more relaxing; this reminded us of a Ruth Chris restaurant.
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Chilly wine and wine service, 9/9/2009
Reviewer: Richard Fuller
from Goleta, CA
Three of us had dinner at Sly's last night. The food was wonderful, and the waiter was good. However, the wine service was terrible. I ordered a Margerum Pinot Gris. With no explanation, the wine guy brought a Carr Pinot Gris, said he liked that better, plopped it down on the table, and left. The wine was frigid, but we asked our waiter to open it and let it warm up. Then it was passable. Later, when I could finaly get his attention, I asked the wine guy about the temperature, and he said he maintains whites at 40 degrees! I don't know what wine planet he's from. I, along with wine experts I know or read, prefer whites at 52-57 degrees. At 40 degrees, one doesn't get any of the flavors of the wine, just the chill. So even though the seafood we had was wonderful, next time I'd order a steak and red wine, or, if hungry for fish, call in advance and get a bottle of white warmed up.
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gross
Reviewer: Rebecca
from Carpinteria, ca
My husband and I went to lunch here. It looked like it would have good food, but it was awful. The flavors were really bland and the bread on my openfaced sandwich was soggy. And for the price of our lunch, we really should have had better quality food. We won't be returning.
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Best meal I've ever had!
Reviewer: Sean
from Santa Barbara, CA
Honestly the best steak I've ever had, and those skinny onion rings..... Good service, great atmosphere, too pricey though.
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Over Priced!!
Reviewer: Taylor
from Santa Barbara, CA
We went there for dinner and were seated right away. Our waiter was very very frinedly almost too friendly. I felt like he was hovering over the table kinda wierd. We had a great steak but not sure if I would go back for the price. The feel of the restaurant was more like a casual resturant didnt feel like a $40+ steak restaurant.
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Great Gumbo!
Reviewer: Preston Marx, III
from Carpinteria, CA
Had the gumbo on a Tuesday night. As a New Orleans native, I can say it is very good.
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A la carte...
Reviewer: Claire
from Santa Barbara, CA
The food was great...the service was fab! I had salmon and greek salad and my bf had steak and potato... it was his birthday so we also orders the apple crisp a la mode...which is better then sex! haha
Altough I'm not happy about the menu being a la carte... where you order your meat and salad seperate and pay double for it but despite the overall costIT WAS DELICIOUS! I probably wont be back unless I strike it rich tho. (This was the most expensive meal I ever paided for!)
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Don't go!
Reviewer: Jerry
from Santa Barbara, CA
Second time we went here for lunch. We will never go again. Both times the waiter was awful(he was our waiter on both visits).We both ordered turkey burgers with fries. Cold soggy fries, dry unapealing burgers. Plus we waited 45 minutes because the turkey was frozen. The bill,which included l ice tea and 1 coke came to $30.Only one other table was filled during our entire lunch. This was true on our first visit too. The first lunch salty french onion soup and my husband had a uninspired cobb salad. Pricey, terrible but plush surroundings.
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I hope she'll give me a second chance...
Reviewer: David
from Carpinteria, CA
I went on a date to Sly's and we were both less than amused. The evening started out with under par wine and segued into a mediocre appetizer. My date had a cesar salad, which looked like was from a bag, and appeared to have Kraft Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. My garden salad consisted of spinach, romaine, and 1.5 croutons. Was that an accident? When dinner arrived we were starving because the appetizers were not eatable and we had been there already for an hour and a half. My date ordered the salty, flavorless ravioli while I devoured the dry, salty, flavorless Salmon. On top of all of this our waitress had something stuck in her teeth the entire time. I was thoroughly embarrassed for exposing my date to this experience, and I hope she will give me a second chance...
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enjoyable dinner at Sly's
Reviewer: Kat
from Santa Barbara, CA
Had dinner at Sly's last night. The menu is great - I love the way they list the classic cocktails with the year they were created. Very clever and original. The restaurant smelled like bleach when we first walked in - they must have done some heavy duty cleaning yesterday. A bit of a turn off but it wasn't too bad where we sat. The hostess was beautiful and friendly. Our waiter was a bit of a goofball and seemed pretty inexperienced. He could use some more training. The onion rings are to die for and the salads we had were tasty. Cocktails were fantastic. All in all, it was an enjoyable evening. I think Sly's is a great addition to Carp and will go there again.
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Food good, Service needs lots of help
Reviewer: Jim
from Santa Barbara, CA
We've been here twice, both times early on Saturday evening.
The first visit was pretty good, with the food being fine, although at the high end of the price scale for what you get. The service was friendly, but not exceptional for a restaurant of this expense.
The second time was probably our last as there are just too many alternatives in Santa Barbara that can match the food and beat the service.
It started with the hostess asking where we wanted to sit, and when we told her "in the back room" , she replied, "You can't sit there". That happened twice and we said, "So you tell us where we can sit". She said the front area was the only place open, but one table was reserved so we couldn't sit at it. It never was occupied the time we were there.
The owner's wife came by as we were trying to figure out just what was going on and told us that they had a wine tasters dinner going on that night, so the back would get filled later. It actually never did get filled either. She also mentioned that we should be glad that they were so busy. I'm not sure why I should be glad if it makes my dining experience less enjoyable.
No bread or water for many minutes. Friendly waiter, sounded knowledgeable . We then had a good meal, but the waiter kept going into the back room to help the other waiters. So he forgot my second glass of wine, although I flagged him down twice. I got it when they were clearing the table! He gave us the dessert menu and again disappered so long that we changed our minds and decided to skip dessert. Got tired of waiting for my card to get picked up, so I just left cash ($165)and left.
Lot's of chatter and people that seemed to know each other at the door. Maybe it's just the locals or Lucky's transplants. Neither the hostess nor the owners wife ever stopped by to see how we were doing.
For the money they need lots of work on the "front-office". We'll go to Downey's where Liz really knows how to treat customers and the wait staff is fully trained.
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Blissfully perfect
Reviewer: Meridith
from Santa Barbara, CA
Went to lunch with frugal friend yesterday at Sly's. Although well off, she considers Taco Bell a bit pricey. But convinced her to have lunch at Sly's. Flawless service from entering the door to being seated in the fine dining room. Luxury of linen tablecloths and napkins, weighty cutlery. So difficult to decide what to eat, frugal friend (ff) ordered sand dabs with no hesitation. The owner's wife stopped by and suggested the crab and shrimp louie which I ordered. Perfect bloody mary's, ff delighted with her sand dabs, as good a louie as it can get. Splurged and split the apple crisp ala mode upon the perfect waiter's suggestion... so good that ff said, "this is better than sex!" FF will be back with boyfriend for Valentine's Lunch. I'll be back as often as possible.
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Maybe Our Expectations Were Too High For Fine Dining
Reviewer: Joyce
from Manhattan Beach CA
We went to Sly's for a gourmet dinner for my birthday. The hostess and waiter, Henry, were very cordial.....however:
- my husband ordered French onion soup, it came LUKE warm, asked to get a hot one - they obviously put it in the microwave as when the waiter returned the bread was soggy (know it gets this way with time)
- Henry said their "chopped salad" was enough for two people, well, it came - was not chopped, old iceberg lettuce with a trace of dressing, cheese tasted like Velvetta cheese, no fresh ground pepper offered for my salad (basic ???)
- My husband had "mac n' cheese" as a side dish - packaged Kraft does a better job
- salt and pepper shakers were less than half full (HMMM)
- I ordered the filet with pepper sauce medium, came almost raw in the middle, - I had to ask for a fork in order to eat my steak - no steak knife either
Their prices for what you get are HIGH.
BIG disappointment to say the least as we had eaten at Lucky's previously when Sly was at that location and had a wonderful meal.
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$14 artichoke at lunch?
Reviewer: Ron
from Santa Barbara, CA
Nicest place in Carp, good service but ordered the artichoke as an ap and expected something really special...just your ordinary restaurant choke, food was very good but some arbitrary ridiculous prices.
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Sly's to go
Reviewer: Preston
from Carpinteria, CA
Got some Sly's to go for lunch today. We ordered their hamburger. The service was prompt and we enjoyed a free soda at the bar - nice touch. The food was ready quickly, and was conveniently packaged. We asked for grilled onions on the side, but got them on the burger. The burger is top quality. The bun was poppyseed which was ok, but a more hearty bun is needed to match the hearty burger. Pricing was appropriate for upscale lunch. We will go back.
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Really worth it....but be aware of one thing
Reviewer: Andriana
from Tarzana, CA
Sly's is a wonderful addition to Carpinteria--good food, good service, good atmosphere. Recommend it highly. Just know though that if you order a cocktail with a name brand alcohol (such as Sapphire Martini) you will pay a steep price. Yes, plenty of other restaurants do the same, but they usually amount to 2 to 2 1/2 drinks with a generous pour. You're better off ordering a cocktail without the grand name cocktail.
Otherwise, well worth going.
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Food was excellent but service was very poor.
Reviewer: Andy M Gault
from Santa Barbara, CA
Arrived and they could not find our reservations. Bad start. Saw lots of old Lucky's customers there. Finally seated and we ordered. Forty five minutes later no food or explanations from our bewildered waitress. Finally they came to tell us that our food had been dropped on the floor and they had reordered for us. After an hour we had our food and it was good. HOWEVER they charged us for the food they dropped and the food we originally ordered. I discovered this when we got home. We will get a refund. I hope. The following week they called to find out why we hadn't shown up. They had put our names down on the wrong week. Guess we will go back and give them another chance.
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What a GREAT evening!
Reviewer: Michael
from Carpinteria Ca.
What a great time we had and we needed it!
Not only was the food great and menu extensive but the whole place was fun. Reminded me of a cross between
a neighborhood English pub and New York steak house. We came in at 7:45 and would have been promptly seated except that it took us 10 minutes to get to our table because we were saying hello to half the people in the place that we knew. What a delight! I had the Dover sole. Wonderful and boned at our table. Alice had the Italian steak which is filet mignon sliced and placed on a bed of arugula. Also delightful. We split a side of creamed spinach and then ordered another one.
We made a reservation to return on our way out and will be back again and again. It's like going to a party at Sly's house or having one and not having to clean up after is over. Just perfect for us.
Michael
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