Greenville, SC Best Restaurants

Charleston, watch your back.  

While food lovers are still flocking to the charming, South Carolina port city, small but mighty Greenville is giving Charleston some serious competition. Not only is the hidden gem seeing an influx of new chefs, but it's also home to a nearly 20-mile greenway that's perfect for rebuilding an appetite between meals. Thanks to its prime positioning between Atlanta, Charleston and Asheville, it's close enough for a weekend trip, and it even has its own airport. The restaurants, bars and shops rival that of any travel magazine headliner, and we have your ultimate guide to the city's best spots. Get there before everyone else does.

Chefs who have worked at big-name restaurants are getting in early and establishing themselves as major players in Greenville's dining scene, joining longtime favorites like Soby's, where locals go for dishes like blue cheese fondue with blackened crab (see the recipe). Take Greg McPhee, who worked at Husk in Charleston when it first opened and just opened a highly anticipated spot called The Anchorage. And speaking of Husk: Get excited for later in the year, when a location of Sean Brock's always-popular restaurant will open on Main Street.

Greenville's craft beer scene is constantly growing, with more than a handful of breweries as of 2016, and more to come. As for liquor, a law that permitted bars to sell only airplane-size bottles was finally lifted in 2006, opening the door for bartenders to experiment. Now, you're never too far from a craft cocktail, whether it's at a downtown classic haunt or the city's first speakeasy. Park your rental car for the night and check out these five bars, breweries and more.

The stretch of shops and restaurants in the center of downtown is so perfectly quaint that it couldn't be called anything but Main Street. Less than a mile down the road, you'll find a bakery within a bookstore, gourmet popcorn and an old-fashioned jerky shop, and that's just a small offering of what the city holds. These are our five favorite places to stock up on freshly bottled juice, penny candy and growlers of craft beer: you know, the necessities.