2022 Best "Off The Grid-Worthy" Restaurants in Greenville, SC

We said it last year, and who knew we’d need to say it again:

Every local restaurant navigating these challenging times deserves an award. 

But, even so, we’d be remiss to not pay tribute to some of the best Off the Grid Greenville-worthy restaurants that operate at a consistently high level of quality and customer service and enrich our local dining community. Plus, you all wait all year for this list, and we wouldn’t leave you hanging.
You’ll see some old-timers here that are repeated year after year, and they're classic for a reason – they've withstood the *test of time, even despite seemingly insurmountable adversity.
This year, we’re excited to welcome several new names to the list who really wowed us visit after visit, and we hope you’ll take the chance to support these restaurants too.

What makes a place “Off the Grid Worthy”?

  • Creative signature dishes

  • Memorable standout flavors

  • Everyone always feels welcomed  

  • No matter when you go, it’s good

  • Culturally diverse recipes steeped in tradition

Photographer: Jackie Shapiro Brooker
Digital Post Production: FishEye Studios, Greenville, SC
*must be open a minimum of six months

Irie Caribbean Cuisine

Pack your bags and transport yourself to Jamaica at this bonafide oasis on West Antrim Drive. What to order: A variety of perfectly cooked traditional dishes (brown stew chicken and small beef oxtails pictured here) served with equally delicious accompanying sides. Grab a few Jamaican beef patties and a couple of sodas/beverages for the trip home.

Order to go or take a seat and get ready to sit back and enjoy the taste of the islands.

Empire Deli
UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP 10/2023

Owners Jen and George are not looking for fame, but their food certainly deserves an award. Just behind Haywood Mall, this winner that opened in 2021 is a New York-style deli with housemade pastrami, freshly sliced meats, subs, clubs, melts, and salads all made to order. You can taste the dedication to their craft and love for serving delicious food to their guests in every last sandwich – each one well-balanced and beautifully executed. With a huge menu and a daily special board, we have a feeling this is just the beginning of a good thing.

Good food takes time: Expect to wait. If you do not like to wait, try visiting during off-hours. We ask you to please not rush perfection and understand that at the time this story was reported, there was no room in the kitchen for additional help. The owners are the only employees. Let’s help keep them around.

Taquería Mixtapec

The International House of the Tlayudas
Looking for some actual south of the border specialties? Head to Taquería Mixtapec on North Pleasantburg Drive for tlayudas. They’re not pancakes or quesadillas– they’re more like "Oaxaca pizza.” Pronounced, clayuda, this authentic Oaxacan cuisine is a handmade dish with a large, corn tortilla toasted crisp and covered with refried beans and loaded with your meat choice and a variety of tasty traditional toppings.

Instead of slicing like a traditional American pizza, you take a knife and crack the tortilla in a few places and dive in. Have extra napkins on standby. Prefer a neater delivery method? Skip the abierta (open) and opt for the dobladas (folded/bent) version. When it comes folded, it has fewer ingredients and costs a little less.

Pssst… Don’t miss their unbelievable tacos.

Sushi Go

Pictured: Hamachi Kama - grilled yellow tail

You truly will not find authentic, traditional Japanese dishes like this anywhere else in the Upstate. What owner and chef Max Godo has managed to maintain for nearly a decade is not only a dedication to quality sushi but also the commitment to serving specialty items unknown to that average sushi diner. With one of the best weekday lunch specials downtown, the points of entry are many. In other words, if you haven’t visited the corner restaurant on North Main yet, you have no excuse. Sushi Go is so much more than sushi.

Asia Pacific Restaurant and Supermarket

Long-time Greenville residents remember the original Dragon Den in this South Pleasantburg location, and newcomers often pass by the nondescript shopping plaza for months until someone does them a favor and tells them what we also learned four years ago – inside, you’ll discover a little bit of Hong Kong in GVL. It seems much of Greenville is catching on and agrees with us that this is the BEST Chinese food being served in the Upstate. There’s really no competition in terms of variety and quality.

Learn more about Asia Pacific Greenville

Stella’s Southern Brasserie

There’s a dream team situation happening in Hollingsworth Park that has landed this Charleston-reminiscent restaurant on the map.

Executive Chef Anthony Gray, formerly of Bacon Bros. Public House, joined the Stella’s family mid-pandemonium, and just last spring, his former Bacon Bros. pastry chef – who happens to also be a former South Carolina Chef Ambassador – Tania Harris came on board. Together, they’re creating savory and pastry offerings consistently respectful of regional ingredients and cuisine with their own unique twists, as you’d expect if you’ve ever dined at one of their previous establishments.

Expect the menu to have dishes like The Lions Mane Mushroom “Crab Less Cake” with basil aioli, tomato-cucumber salad, blistered shishito peppers that will trick everyone at your table into ordering another round. It happened to us.

Pictured here is Tania’s top appetizer pick, the Crispy Fried Brussel Sprouts, served with gochujang aioli, bourbon-tamari glaze, jalapeno, peanuts, cilantro & scallions (pictured with egg).

Pita House

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know it’s been six years in a row, but how do you NOT include the Pita House? It’s a Greenville favorite. Why? Always consistent, incredibly tasty, and fresh. The grocery store is always stocked with a variety of Middle Eastern products we love to take home, including buckets of olives, fresh pita, cheeses, and an impressive variety of spices.

Most importantly: #cashonly

Bar Margaret

The fries and house Thousand Island dressing dipping sauce.

That’s really all you need to know about our favorite quirky restaurant and bar combo in the Village of West Greenville. But we’ll tell you more because there is so much more to love. For one, very important thing, the kitchen stays open slightly later than typical restaurants, which is important if you’re looking for a snack to balance out the cocktails, which are a delight. Secondly, there isn't a bad bite on the menu from the tacos to the Damn Good Burger (we concur). But thirdly, we’d like to give a special mention to the new vegan nachos (yes, they taste like the real deal) making late-night bar food accessible to all, which happens to be a hallmark of this love-affirming and an inclusive haven for everyone.

Jackie Brooker