The Best Restaurants in Greenville SC from a Local

In this blog, I will be featuring some of the best restaurants in (or close enough) to downtown Greenville that are definitely worth checking out! We will start with by far the coolest experience in Greenville.

Keipi

A large Georgian toasting feast called a "Keipi" hosted at Keipi near downtown Greenville.

For those looking for a true experience in downtown Greenville, I highly recommend Keipi. Although you can perfectly enjoy your food and company during regular hours, every Friday night they host "Keipis" which are traditional Georgian feasts featuring a lot of toasts. The food, as you may expect, features Georgian cuisine including kchachapuri, kebabs, and different soups and salads. They also offer a variety of Georgian wines. Many locals refer to this place as their "hidden gem" and it can be an amazing experience when you want a fun night out. As someone who has always had a fascination with the country of Georgia, Keipi will be seeing me often.

Sushi Yama

To get to Sushi Yama, you must travel north of Greenville to a small town called Travellers Rest. And the reason you will make this drive is because it is by far the best sushi and Japanese cuisine you can get near Greenville. They import many of their ingredients frozen fresh from Japan. And as someone who has spent some time in Japan, this is by far one of the best places for Japanese Cuisine and one of the regular places I visit for lunch or dinner. It is hard to go wrong with anything on the menu, and instead of talking about the food, I just recommend you go.

Farmhouse Taco

Also based in Travellers Rest, Farmhouse Taco offers Tex-Mex food with a variety of creative taco choices along with some large dishes to enjoy or share. You could keep it simple and get a steak taco, which is very good by the way, or play a different game and get some of their more creative tacos featuring Nashville hot chicken, brisket, BBQ, fish, and other tasty combinations. The food here is very unique and they use high quality ingredients which leaves your gut happy after every meal.

Monkey Wrench Smokehouse

A great spot to bring the family with comfortable outdoor seating and sometimes live music. Everytime I go there are always kids running around the mulched area having fun. They serve food everyone can enjoy from burgers, BBQ, and American meals. I personally enjoy their philly cheesesteak. If you are looking for a great place to bring the family enjoy food everyone will love, this may be your place.

Sidewall Pizza

This list could not be complete without mentioning a great pizza place. This is not your traditional style pizza, these are creative works of art. They have a variety of pizzas to choose from that soothe the soul. Or you can build your own. I have been to the one in Travellers Rest a few times and it always hits the spot. The atmosphere and pizza always hit the spot and it is right by the Swamp Rabbit trail, so you can burn those calories off once you are finished eating.

Conclusion

There are a lot of great food options in Greenville. And although most of these restaurants are not downtown, they are worth the drive north to Travellers Rest to visit. Some final thoughts:

• Keipi offers the best experience and is the only Georgian restaurant nearby.
  
• Sushi Yama offers the highest quality Japanese cuisine.
  
• Farmhouse Taco offers unique Tex-Mex style food with quality ingredients.
  
• Monkey Wrench Smokehouse has food everyone can enjoy and a great environment for the whole family.
• Sidewall Pizza offers creative pizzas that seem to always hit the spot.
  

I hope you enjoyed reading this food review. Let me know what you think in the comments. Are there any places I missed?