Essential Greenville, SC Restaurants

Discover some of the area's most beloved classic restaurants with our 2024 Best “Off The Grid-Worthy” Restaurants in Greenville, South Carolina.

For 2024’s list, we’re focusing on nine timeless restaurants that have proven themselves—through the years and global catastrophe—to be essential to Greenville. Without them, living here would lose a good bit of its luster. And we don’t say that lightly.

So when someone new to or visiting the area asks you, “Where should I eat?” we envision this as the go-to starter guide that reflects impeccable quality and wide-ranging diversity. Each small, family-owned business on this list continues serving up delicious meals and cherished memories, which instills in us the confidence to recommend them to any one, any time.

Disclaimer: Greenville is loaded with great restaurants we love and deserve support. We will continue those efforts and urge you to do the same! These few, however, have an extra special place in our Off the Grid-loving hearts and are the epitome of what makes Greenville’s culinary scene vibrant.

Our guide is based on our "Off The Grid-Worthy" (OTGG) standards, ensuring you'll discover hidden gems worth both the time and expense of exploring and trying. Whether you're a newcomer or a lifelong resident, we encourage you to visit these heavily vetted and adored spots. By doing so, you'll support locally-owned businesses and invest in your community—a win-win for everyone.

So, make it your 2024 duty to explore these amazing restaurants and join the community that loves and supports them.

We’ll check back to see how many of you have checked each of these Essential Greenville Restaurants off your list! 

Pita House

Our friends at the Pita House are ready to make you what is considered the best Middle Eastern food in the region at what we believe is one of the TOP restaurants in the Upstate of South Carolina.

A tri-family affair, Pita House has been a staple in the Greenville community since 1988. Fresh pita and menu items are made daily for the most consistent, tasty dishes that make their cult following want to shout: all hail the PITA HOUSE!

And it’s true, they still accept cash only. No exceptions.

Asia Pacific

The perfect host, Alva Mak, is feeding the Upstate hot, delicious, perfectly-done-her-way Chinese food. Asia Pacific Restaurant prepares its duck, pork, fish, and vegetable dishes all in-house.

Along with the three-course Peking Duck (order 24 hours in advance) that rivals any you’d get in a major China Town, she’s got us hooked to the whole fish, char sui pork noodle soup (and all the soups), salt and pepper everything (shrimp, fish, doesn’t matter), pea tips—and honesty, all of the greens. Keep an eye out, and you’ll see Chef running through the market to grab another bunch!

15-20 minutes is the average time needed to order from Asia Pacific

If you’re in the mood for food but want to keep it casual at home, 15-20 minutes is the average time needed from phone call to pick-up at Asia Pacific. Be it an egg roll or a meal for 12, remember, this gem can handle a feast!

Their flavor-rich soups are served family-style. Our strategy? Start at the restaurant and take home what’s left.

Asada

Bringing the best part of San Francisco’s Mission District to the Upstate, Gina Petti and Roberto Cortez’s brainchild, Asada, is a staple we couldn’t imagine living without. They continue to challenge themselves and us with new dishes found on the specials board while keeping the classics, like two-hander burritos, just as tasty as they were when they were introduced on their food truck a dozen years ago.

Along with some sangria, island beers, and hot AF sauces, you’ve got a winning combination of talent, hospitality, a funky environment, and a take-out system that has tested time. You can truly feel the love in every dish sent out of their kitchen. Cheers, friends!

Zorba Lounge

Known for those massive steak sandwiches on an onion roll with the fattest pile of steak fries and that bacon-heavy club sandwich with chips, Zorba Lounge is the place to go for lunch and late-night munchies.

While you can order from Uber Eats, there’s nothing like experiencing the laid-back (as the name suggests) and old Greenville vibes of this dive bar.

Maria’s Kitchen at The Drop-In Store

Maria Gomes is a Greenville gem, making the food she turns out in the unassuming back of North Main’s Drop-In Store that much better. From Goan specialties reflective of her Indian heritage to the best shrimp tacos (challenge officially accepted if you can find better!) in Greenville, she infuses flavor in every layer.

While dishes served in plastic diner baskets don’t often receive major accolades or mainstream awards, we’re on record saying hers are deserving of the spotlight. There’s no restaurant we’d rather eat for lunch any day of the week.

The Trappe Door

Duck as you head down the stairs to this subterranean, Belgian-inspired pub that will transport you to Europe until the southern American English accents surrounding you snap you back to reality.

With steak frites that’s been described by a former Belgian resident as “more Belgian than the ones in Belgium,” a kids menu that respects the elevated palates of younger diners, an aioli selection that will have you ordering multiple orders of fries to sample them all, and a beer and cocktail program that has the bar packed by 5:30 p.m. daily, we’re hard-pressed to find fault.

A favorite order: classic moules frites mariniere, extra fries, six aiolis for dipping, and an old-fashioned with house bitters.

OJ’s Diner

Since 2005, OJ’s Diner has had a lock on the Upstate’s best fried chicken. The secret seasoning in the flour continues to tantalize our palates. What’s not a secret, however, is that scratch-made dishes using quality products, infused with a whole lotta love, make this Greenville staple one for the regular rotation.

Inside, you’ll run into everyone from local government officials to neighbors, and everyone is welcome all the time.

If you’re looking to make any ol’ Tuesday feel like a Thanksgiving feast, this is the place.

Greenfield’s Bagels & Deli

Robin Greenfield couldn’t be more of a cheerleader for Greenville and its Jewish community, and the bagels, spreads, and anything else coming out of the deli make it really easy to cheer right back at her.

Since 1999, she’s been the bagel dealer of the Upstate, and without those perfectly boiled dough rings, a large number of New York transplants (and everyone else!) wouldn’t know what to do with themselves.

Beyond the bagels themselves, quality lox, pastrami, and many other spreads make Greenfield’s a singular dining experience we feel lucky to have in Greenville.

Sushi Go

Perfect, every time. That’s the commitment of a sushi chef to their diners who’ve entrusted their consumption of raw seafood to a near stranger. In Max We Trust!

Owner Max Godo, for more than a decade, has delighted diners with sushi and specialty Japanese dishes that go above and beyond what the name might suggest. A take-out business that clips along is only one part of the experience. Dine in for the option to request recommendations of authentic dishes you might otherwise pass over, and don’t turn down the warm, unfiltered sake when suggested.

This corner spot at the tippy top of Main Street proper deserves top billing on your dining list.