Where To Eat And Drink In Greenville, South Carolina
Read original story on Forbes.com
The approximate halfway point between Atlanta, Georgia, and Charlotte, North Carolina, Greenville is a charming Southern city that’s seen significant restoration and growth in recent years and continues to flourish. It’s home to the gorgeous Falls Park on the Reedy (located just steps away from a revitalized Main Street), standout festivals like Artisphere (an annual 3-day festival highlighting more than 250 artists from around the world representing 17 different mediums), and a diverse restaurant scene that goes beyond Southern comfort fare and champions local ingredients. From a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best New Restaurant to a vegetable-forward restaurant fueled by an on-site farm, here are some of the best places to grab some grub in Greenville.
The Anchorage
A vibrantly colored mural of a vegetable garden that takes up the entire side of the building’s facade ensures you won’t miss this buzzy eatery helmed by chef Greg McPhee. The Anchorage, a semifinalist for Best New Restaurant in the 2018 James Beard Awards, is situated in West Greenville—the city’s former hub for textile production that’s now home to a growing number of artistic and entrepreneurial endeavors with this restaurant acting as an anchor of sorts. The ever-changing menu of small plates showcases simple ingredients in understated, yet flavorful, ways, including a plate of French Breakfast radishes served with green garlic hummus, mustard seed oil and roasted pistachios.
Saltwater Kitchen
If you’re craving seafood, look no further than Saltwater Kitchen, a Lowcountry-inspired spot under the culinary direction of French Laundry alum Josh Thomsen. Oysters are just $1.50 each (raw or grilled) on Tuesday nights, and on Friday and Saturday nights they serve baked Maine lobster with crab stuffing. Raw bar offerings also include chilled jumbo shrimp and a tacklebox filled with seafood on ice and accompaniments.
Soby’s New South Cuisine
Housed in a sprawling brick-walled building that was formerly a Shoe Mart, Soby’s is a Greenville institution in the heart of downtown Greenville that’s been around for more than 20 years. Part of Table 301 Restaurant Group, there’s a physical table 301 you can request located on the second floor mezzanine level which offers prime views of the kitchen and dining room below. The menu is contemporary cuisine meets traditional Southern ingredients and signature dishes include shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese, and crab cakes.
Luna Rosa
Family-owned and run, Luna Rosa is a contemporary Italian cafe serving housemade gelato (including their signature, chocolate velvet) and sorbetto plus Italian plates for lunch and dinner. The restaurant boasts a full Italian bar program which includes an afternoon aperitivo hour and gelato-infused cocktails. On warm days you can dine al fresco on their patio.
Oak Hill Cafe
This unique venue set on 2.4 acres of land is a restaurant, farm and market all in one. The farm, an organic permaculture no-till farm, includes a mushroom farm which boasts 12 varieties of cultivated mushrooms grown on white oak trees. The cafe serves a vegetable-forward menu emphasizing hyperlocal ingredients, with a 20-course tasting menu making its debut tomorrow night for three scheduled seatings.
Husk Greenville
The Greenville outpost of the iconic Charleston restaurant (with other locations in Nashville and Savannah) made its debut in 2017 and remains a popular dining destination thanks to daily changing menus highlighting indigenous ingredients. Stop by for brunch on Saturdays and Sundays for a house Bloody Mary (made with 22 ingredients) and their famous fried chicken with seasonal sides.
Kitchen Sync
Greenville’s first and only Green Certified restaurant, Kitchen Sync is a neighborhood restaurant with a low-key vibe dishing up farm-fresh, scratch-made fare. It’s owned by a brother/sister team, Kevin Feeny and Karin Farrell, and Karin’s husband John; three food industry pros who sought to create a gathering place for friends and family. The menu covers everything from banh mi to pizza (with gluten-free crust and vegan cheese available), happy hour deals and sweets like Miss Betty’s chablis cake—butter- and wine-soaked cake baked with pecans and served with fresh fruit.
