Slate's

4820 Candia St.

Cape Coral, FL 33904
(239) 540-6800
View Website Here

We planned a trip to Ft. Meyers a few weekends back to visit some friends, and they told us we absolutely have to visit Slate’s in Cape Coral while we were there. 

It is a very highly rated and highly recommended restaurant in the area, that pretty much requires reservations for a visit, especially on the weekend.

Slate’s is the newest addition to the long and lustrous restaurant career of Chefs and owners, Allan and Nancy Cotter. “Retiring” to Southwest Florida in 2010 from the island of St Croix in the US Virgin Islands, the Chefs Cotter soon found themselves quite disillusioned with all the free time retirement gave them.

Missing their passion for creating exquisite food featuring their much-heralded signature Cajun and Caribbean infused dishes, the Cotters set about the task of creating Slate’s. Their vision was to create a casual, fine dining experience that simultaneously evokes a feeling of pure enjoyment for friends and patrons.

Prior to their 2010 arrival in Cape Coral, Allan and Nancy were the Chefs and owners of the renowned Blue Moon Restaurant and Jazz Club on St Croix for 16 years. 

The food here is half Cajun inspired cuisine, and half Steak House. Jambalaya, Bayou Bread, Crab Cakes, Gumbo and Crawfish Etouffee all share menu space with USDA Prime Steaks, Fresh Seafood, Pork Chops and a variety of sides.

Reservations are highly recommended at Slate’s, as even the quaint bar that greets you with a very talented bartender fills up fast with pre-reserved seating.

A classic Hurricane with Cruzan light and dark rums and a Blueberry Rumshine Cobbler made with Wicked Dolphin Blueberry Rumshine, Florida sugarcane and blueberries with housemade sour mix, Cointreau and muddled blueberries to create this tart treat which is akin to a Blueberry Margarita. They also make a mean Pimm’s Cup here.

Crab Stuffed Mushroom caps were part of the daily special for Saturday at Slate’s and are not on the regular menu. These were savory and delicious.

The Fried Green Tomatoes were very thick sliced with a house made remoulade sauce topped with fresh gulf shrimp and they were quite enjoyable.

Bayou Bread at Slate's is made with crostini bread topped with cajun bacon, fresh pico de gallo and crumbled blue cheese that is a play on the restaurants Cajun roots with an upscale creativity.

The Cajun Gumbo here is a rich, smoky blend of chicken, crawfish and Andouille sausage, with steamed rice.

Country Boneless Short Ribs at Slate's features Slow-cooked ribs au jus served with a fried country cheese grit cake. The the au jus was quite flavorful, and the grit cake was awesome, but overall, it lacked seasoning.

Country Comfort Fried Chicken is a plump and rather large chicken breast breaded and fried then topped with pan gravy and served with cajun kernel corn and garlic mashed potatoes. All the flavors really did well for this and when combined together in one bite, it was quite extraordinary.

Filet Mignon, and all steaks at Slate’s, are served on a bed of fresh Parmesan creamed spinach and a mixture of roasted potatoes, onions, Andouille sausage and mushrooms and accompanied with two fried oysters, two fried shrimp, or one of each. The steak by itself was rather bland, but when combined with all the accoutrements it was much better.

The 16 oz. Boneless Ribeye was cooked to a perfect medium, and was served with the same accoutrements as the above filet, but once again, it was bland and lacked any flavor, a real shame for USDA prime cuts .

The main dining room at Slate’s.

On Saturday’s they have various live bands that range from Jazz to New Orleans style Zydeco music.

Overall, we really liked slates. The appetizers were awesome, the drinks amazing, and most of the entrees were very good. I just can't figure out the lack of seasoning on their meat, especially USDA Prime steaks that are in the $32.00 to $40.00 range.

It is worth noting they offer a variety of steak toppings or sauces such as Bernaise, Marchand de Vin, Worcestershire, Creamy Horseradish and Gorgonzola. Maybe I'm just a steak snob...good steaks need no extras.

Slate’s is open Tuesday to Saturday from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Sunday they are open for brunch from 10:30 am to 2:00 pm., they are closed on Monday.

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