Skylines Cafe

The location is on a strip mall on Bus. HWY 70 in a brick building across the Sears..maybe that should've been my first clue. \r \r Had the Jambalaya (or what they said was Jambalaya) - chunks of chicken and sausage (trust me it wasn't andouille) in a spicy tomato sauce over orzo (ORZO!?!) - needed salt. \r \r We also had the chicken parmesan - a small piece of breaded chicken over linguini and bland tomato sauce (needed A LOT of salt to mask the almost burned/bitter taste of the tomato sauce). \r \r One of the kids had the kids pizza...more of the burned/bitter tomato sauce with a small amount of some cheese...sauce and cheese slid of the crust with no provocation whatsoever. \r \r Lastly, the flank steak was ok but not excellent - and certainly not worth the $18 they were charging. The only thing we enjoyed were the bleu cheese chips. \r \r Total bill was $60++...$70++ with the tip...wasn't worth it even with the $15 off certificate I had. \r \r They need to revamp the menu with simpler and more flavorful fare if they want to keep charging the outrageous prices or concentrate on the few things they do good and lower the price. Try to not be soo pretentious. Hype must support food or you won't have repeats.\r \r Should've gone to the chain steakhouse close by. \r \r more

When ever I go out to eat at a new place..there's only two categories Winners and Losers. This one was a winner...for dinner.\r \r I found this place by chance on Groupon and was absolutely and pleasantly surprised. \r \r I was wary at 1st because this place was out of the way, in a strip mall, and had only a few patrons around 8:00 p.m., although it was a Thursday.\r \r From the inside, the restaurant was very contemporary in design...very modern and classy, but since the weather was so nice..it was good that they had outside seating.\r \r The service was awesome, friendly staff. Staff members were knowledgable in their wine recommendations. Patrons were also nice enough to inform us about Wednesday 1/2 off wine bottles, and tasting specials.\r \r What we ordered: A bottle of wine, an artichoke dip appetizer, the blackened grouper, and medallion pork tenderloins. Everyting was excellent, high quality fair, and I was taken off guard. Portions were not petite, but not overly filling. They were just right.\r \r 1st. The artichoke dip was light and fluffy, and you could taste real artichoke in it. Presentaion was beautiful star shaped, with lightly fried tortilla chips. It was incredibly good.\r \r 2nd. Wine was Pinot Noir, and was an excellent recommendation with the food.\r \r 3rd. Grouper was cooked just right, served with I think some rice, and lightly seasoned vegetables. \r \r 4th. The pork tenderlions were served with a light, salty, and savory asian sauce. Sweet potatoes mashed, and a side of the zuchinni/mix veggies. I have an appetite, and this was very delicous and filling. \r \r The best thing about all the food was that it was NOT over seasoned. You could still pick out the flavors of each ingredient and it tasted fresh. Our waiter was very friendly and educated us about the chef, also devulging the secret that the pork was well marinated.\r \r Over all...everything was a very good experience. Prices for an entree would range from $14-20. And wines $24-36. This is reasonable for the quality of food you're getting. \r \r I highly recommend this place...it's one of those tucked away little jewels, that could be a close held secret, but when the word gets out....the wait will be longer. more

Had lunch today and the experience was wonderful. The fish and risotto was delicious; full of flavor, and served hot.\r Portions were generous and the pricing terrific.\r Recommend the creme brule which was creamy and full of vanilla flavor. Learned that this restaurant makes its own desserts with a banana cheesecake a customer favorite. Can't wait to return to try the chocolate flourless torte.\r This restaurant was a delightful discovery. Give yourself a treat and discover this cafe for yourself. Pros: terrific service, interesting menu, resteraunt made desserts more

Skylines is a wonderful little restaurant with a changing and always interesting menu. The service is excellent and the food delicious. Lots of excitement there as well. Tina (manager) has regular fun activities and special events such as wine tastings, music, football parties. I admire the way the restaurant is and has invested in being a part of the community...and I appreciate having a really excellent restaurant near my home. I assure you there is a limited number of dining opportunities so Tina and Skyline really are a gift to Clayton, Smithfield...and the area. Pros: Food is delicious and the food's presentation is lovely more

My mom and I have been dying to eat at a nice restaurant together when she comes to town -- Lord knows you can't find any here in Clayton ---- until we discovered Skylines Cafe. We were greeted upon entrance, led to a great table in the middle of a very ""hip"" litte restaurant. The food was incredible. We shared the artichoke and spinach dip (DELISH!), the tenderloin sandwich on ciabatta bread (the beef was so tender and so tasty accompanied by carmalized onion) and a spinach salad. It was such a wonderful experience and I am planning on going back for dinner for with my husband for our anniversary. The service was impecable (thanks so much to Valorie for her sweet demeanor and attentiveness). We had a wonderful experience at Skylines!!! We also found out that at the bar they have a tapas night on Wed night with 1/2 price bottles of wine and $5 martinis on Thursday. Will be checking that out as well!!! Pros: Awesome atmosphere, service and food more

My wife and made our second visit to Skylines Cafe. As with our 1st experience, we found the food, atmosphere and serive excellent. If you want a great meal at a restaurant with a very friendly staff, visit Skylines. more

Wow, I am truly sad to have had dinner there. I used to go to Skylines frequently about a 1-2 yrs ago and the place was fantastic. I never had anything that made me feel unsatisfied. Their lunch menu and dinner menu was incredible with great taste and wonderful prices for what you get. However, i have not been there in about 8-10 months and i could not believe the changes. I dont know what happened but I recall eating dinner with rolls, salad and incredible entree to follow. Now, you only get an entree and paying the same price. The food was good but its not what I remember Skylines to be. I dont think I will be returning for dinner ever again. Im scared to eat lunch because im not sure what they are doing with that too. I have noticed a high turn over rate with Chefs which always creates changes with the menus. But what they did in the past was much better then what is happening now. I hope this all will resolve itself because i had great respect and appreciation for what skylines offered in Clayton. Pros: Its closer then raleigh Cons: not going in a good direction now more

For anyone in Clayton, Skylines offers a very creative and solid menu so we no longer have to drive 25 miles to have a nice dining experience. We visited last Friday with out 6 year old son and it was a very nice evening. I had a ribeye that was very flavorful and later found out they are aged over 20 days. You won't find that in any restaurant in Raleigh except Flemings or Ruth's Chris.\r \r Small but focused wine list at great prices. Pros: Downtown Raleigh menu at Clayton prices more

The staff is friendly, not stuffy....the food is worth the price, and is more creative than any other restaurant in town. High quality ingredients are used by a chef that obviously knows how to use them (while the chefs in the past have been hit-or-miss, they currently seem to have the best one yet). It is nice to actually see a wine list that, unlike every other restaurant in Clayton, does not look like a selection you can find on a Food Lion shelf. Pros: Best Wine List in Town more

My family feels fortunate to have such a wonderful place to eat close to home. We used to have to drive to Raleigh for such a fine meal. Very friendly staff, excellent food and an extensive wine list. We have friends who drive from north Raleigh once a week to eat here. Pros: Great food and great service more

The service was poor at best., it took a while to be seated but the place really was not busy. It has a limited menu and the prices high and uality of food was fair. I have eaten at all types of restaurants all over the country but this has to be the most pretentious restaurant I have ever had the Misfortune to be at. I would not recommend skyline to anyone. The location is in a strip mall the location fits the qualilty of the food Pros: I can not think of any reason to go to this restaurant Cons: poor service food and price more

I found this place on a search engine and didn't realize it was so close to my house so I decided to try something different. I took my 18 year old daughter, her boyfriend and my 10 yo son. I'm 47 but this place seems to cater more to the 20-30 crowd. It appeared very clickish or snobby without reason. It's a restaurant start up in a strip mall serving food of Golden Corral quality at double digit prices. I had a sirlon steak for 14.00 that only included a half salad and a ice cream scoop of some kind of rice ball. The steak and rice ball looked lost on the plate. If your hungry stay away from this place. The way I measure a good steak is whether I have to use steak sause. Good thing there was plenty of A1 around! The steak tasted like it was cooked in a frying pan. The salad was very average, dry and you get a thimble of salad dressing. My daughter had Marsala Chicken and said it was good but not for the money. Her boyfriend had a shrimp pasta dish that was not good. Since there is no child menu my son ordered a sirlon steak which added to the cost considerably. The total bill was 81.00 for the four of us and two of us only drank water. We had no alcohol.\r There were apparent other staff members socializing at several other tables making you feel as though you entered their private strip mall restaurant. A very awkward feeling.\r \r Unless things change soon at Skyline Cafe this place will just be another start up strip mall restaurant filing for chapter 11. It is still worth the drive to Raleigh or Garner to eat better for less! In fact the cost is in line with Kobe's Steak house in Clayton and Kobe's is MUCH better with enough food served you need a box to take it home.\r \r Pros: Our waiter, Dean was very good and was the ONLY highlight of the dinner. Pleasant indoor atmosphere (what your really paying for). Cons: Expensive and pretentious. Not very friendly unless they know you already, Food Quality and amount served for price is poor, LOUD! more

This little cafe in Clayton is a real treasure - especially if you live here. We were so tired of driving to Raleigh for a decent restaurant and were thrilled to enjoy Skylines the very first time we visited. The food is truly excellent and priced affordably. Pros: great food with a diverse menu Cons: somewhat noisy more

Having relocated to this area less than a year ago, I was about to give up on trying to find any restaurant that actually served good food and offered me a reason to patronize a second time. Then the dark clouds parted and the ""Culinary gods"" smiled down on me, a spanking brand new Restaurant opened its doors on Rt. 70 in Clayton. The name of this little gem is Skylines Cafe and it is far and away the best thing to arrive in this town since I moved here.\r They feature an eclectic menu of creative American Fare served by a professional wait staff in a casual and relaxed atmosphere. Both lunch and dinner are served with daily specials added to the regular menu. A full bar houses a fantastic selection of very reasonably priced wines by the glass as well as by the bottle, and if you prefer Martini's ask for the Martini Menu and try something totally diferent for a change. For those who prefer to dine ""alfresco"" there is a spacious patio area that features comfortable seating under brightly colored market umbrellas. After your meal don't forget to try one of the many hand crafted dessert's, even if you're on a diet, you will find them hard to resist. I believe if you find something good that makes your life better you need to share it with others so that they can enjoy it too, and Skylines Cafe is one of those rare pleasures that is a must to experience if you live in the area or are just passing through. \r Michael Pros: great food, great people, great ambience, great prices and plenty of free parking. Cons: Iv'e been there a couple of dozen times and have yet to find a down side. more