Oh. My. God. The food is divine. You must try this place. This was the best meal of our entire trip. (Directions at the end.) Our original pick was closed for the month of May and by happenstance the owner recommended Sylvia's.
We walked in and the place has just the essentials. There's a bar on the right and then the kitchen, tables on the left, and bathrooms in the back. The menu is on a white board with a cash only sign right below. There were about 6 mains and each came with two sides (4 options, the 5th sold out). Sylvia took our order and between the 4 of us we tried 3 of the mains and all of the sides. I had the fresh fish of the day, grilled in butter sauce. It came out head, tail, scales and all. Sylvia explained this as I ordered and let me know it was to keep all of the flavor. She also showed me how to slice it to avoid the bones and it was flat out delicious. We shared the sides among us, my favorites being the mash and spinach; though all were good.
My boyfriend ordered the jerk chicken and it had some serious heat. He asked about the recipe and Sylvia mentioned that everyone on the island had the same request but no one ever got it. My friend ordered the homemade key lime pie; best she ever tasted.
Some quirks: There's a bar and the restaurant that operate as two different businesses, so you'll get your drinks on one bill and the food on a second. Also, they are CASH ONLY; It cost us about $150 to get out the door for dinner for 4, drinks, and a generous tip.
Sylvia serves her food in Sputnik Bar. If you're approaching from the northwest on Rte 10, keep straight instead of turning into Coral Bay (at the 107 split). It'll be about 1/2 mile down the road on the left. read more