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Greenville has a lot of restaurants — some say 200 or so — how do you decide where to go?
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You could look to Open Table, which creates a list each month of the most reserved places by analyzing reviews from people who have dined in restaurants over the previous month.
Here are the top 10 most-often reserved restaurants, seven of which are located in downtown Greenville.
STIR
STIR is located on McBee Street in downtown Greenville and is known for seafood — the seafood tower, especially — and its oyster bar. It was the most reserved Greenville restaurant in July.
Open for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch, STIR offers made-from-scratch meals and is known for craft cocktails and artisanal ice.
They carve 300-pound ice blocks into custom sizes and make their own cordials and syrups.
Soby’s
Soby’s was the second most reserved restaurant.
The restaurant credited with ushering in Greenville’s foodie scene beginning way back in 1997, it has also been the Open Table’s 100 best brunch restaurants in the country.
Carl Sobocinski founded Soby’s New South Cuisine when downtown Greenville became a ghost town after 5 p.m. and restaurants mainly catered to business people needing lunch.
He took what was once Cancellation Shoes and turned it into a cozy brick-walled space with a richly hued wooden bar and a glass front that can be opened during good weather. There is also a special table — 301 — that overlooks the kitchen.
As Sobocinski grew the business, opening new concepts around downtown he took the name Table 301 as the parent company.
The Lazy Goat
Another Table 301 restaurant, The Lazy Goat is a Mediterranean-themed restaurant featuring influences from Spain, Morocco, Italy, France, Greece, Africa and the Middle East.
It’s located in downtown Greenville beside the Reedy River and bills itself as a place to “linger and share.” The riverfront outside patio also overlooks portions of downtown Greenville.
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The menu includes meat and cheese plates, small plates and main dishes such as Chicken Tagine, Gambas Al Ajillo and Striped Bass.
It opened in 2007 and is known for the dozens of clocks, offering a message to relish the moment.
Firebirds Wood Fired Grill
Located on Woodruff Road, Firebirds is true to its name. If you can grill it they will cook it, from steaks to seafood.
They also offer signature cocktails, mocktails, and curated wines.
They say they offer “elevated cuisine at an approachable price.”
O-Ku
O-Ku on Broad Street downtown offers authentic Asian cuisine. “From temaki, nigiri and sashimi to hot plates and signature rolls, O-Ku’s chefs showcase the freshest fish from the world’s finest markets alongside local sustainable sources,” the company says on its website. It has 12 restaurants in the Southeast. Travel + Leisure named it among the best sushi restaurants in the United States.
Fork & Plough
Fork & Plough is in the Overbrook neighborhood on East North Street that says you won’t find a “restaurant anywhere near Greenville doing what farmer Roddy Pick and Chef Shawn Kelly set out to do: provide both neighbors and visitors alike the Upstate’s freshest and most plentiful meats, produce, and products, both as a dine-in and carry-out option.”
Tupelo Honey
Begun in Asheville in 2000, the restaurant opened on Main Street in Greenville in 2013. It calls itself “a revival of Southern food and traditions rooted in the Carolina mountains we call home.” The farm to table restaurants now has 27 locations in the South and Midwest.
Don’t forget the biscuits.
Juniper
Located in the AC Hotel in downtown Greenville, Juniper calls itself Greenville’s only urban gin bar. It has a rooftop garden and views of Main Street and the Blue Ridge Mountains and has won OpenTable Diners’ Best Hotspot in SC and Best Scenic View + Best Ambiance in Greenville.
Some of the menu items are swordfish, steak, and peppercorn crusted tuna.
The Peddler
This is an oldie but a goodie. It opened in 1969 and is a Greenville steakhouse tradition. The Peddler also has seafood, a full-service bar, an extensive wine selection and desserts. They call their salad bar famous and it truly is. It’s included with every entrée.
You can also have the in-house meat cutter hand-cut your ribeye tableside.
“Generations of Greenville families and visitors have made The Peddler part of their special moments,” Open Table said.
Sassafras Southern Bistro
Located in downtown Greenville, Sassafras serves steak, seafood, salads, and desserts, all with a little bit of Southern sass.
Their appetizers include spicy pork tenderloin and blue crab and pepper-jack nachos. Entrees worth noting are shrimp and grits or the filet with house made pimento.
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