house – 302 Pettigru Street, Greenville, SC., 29601
Pettigru Place Bed and Breakfast is in the historic district of downtown Greenville. The tree-lined street is mostly businesses and other B & Bs in the older large homes. The Federal-style home has 6 guest rooms that come with breakfast every day. They alternate between sweet and savory days but are 2 or 3 courses with very generous portions. They were so lovely I thought I’d include them in this blog. Here are 3 mornings’ indulgences. Sorry, Frankie didn’t make an appearance – she likes to sleep in. Continue reading →
Scoundrel was opened in October of 2022 by Greenville native Joe Cash. He wanted to create a French bistro like he’d find in NYC or LA. It’s a good-sized place that’s divided in half by curtains, with the bar and its seating on one side and a long bench seat facing small tables on the other side. Opposite those tables are semi-circle booths with larger tables and padded seating. Music was in the background and lights were lowered, supplemented by spots on some of the tables. Wood floors, exposed ductwork above, and art featuring the ‘scoundrel’ cover the walls. they have 2 unisex bathrooms and one is marked with a warning that it is not ‘family friendly’ due to the provocative photos on the wall. I’m betting the notice was posted after several comments were posted about it on the trip advisor reviews. The full bar offers lots of options but the wine list was mostly uninspired. Noise was not a problem here maybe due to spacing or design but that was nice as was the excellent and friendly service. Continue reading →
back entrance – 550 S Main St, Greenville, SC 29601
Hall’s Chophouse was started by the Hall family in 2009 in Charleston. They now have 5 locations in this area of the country with Nashville set as the next to open. They bill themselves as serving the finest steaks money can buy, offering an extensive wine list and serving hearty family-style sides all with great service. The Greenville location is located in the refurbished part of downtown overlooking the water feature. Parking is on the street as well as in several city-owned parking garages. It was a fairly large place with huge windows taking in the view with an equally huge bar available for drinking and dining. At lunch, they had some different menu options but the entire dinner menu is available too. Be advised that portions are large. The nice sized tables were cloth covered but I found the service to be a bit overdone bordering on intrusive and pushy. We were there for a relaxed visit with a longtime friend and the constant picking up of plates we were using to replace them with larger ones, changing out flatware after plates were served and the pushing of extra orders did not endear their service to me. Continue reading →
The Anchorage was a small place in the Village of West Greenville serving an eclectic menu. Partnered with Horseshoe Farms the restaurant brings the farm-to-table concept to life by having a variety of vegetable dishes on the menu. Executive Chef/Owner Gregory McPhee opened the restaurant in early 2017 and the place was a semi-finalist for the 2018 Best New Restaurant James Beard Award. Carlos Baez, Chef de Cuisine has cooked in many places but joined the team in August 2020 and was in charge of the kitchen the evening we dined. It’s a small 2-story place with a dining room and partially open kitchen on the first floor and dining and bar area on the second floor. Next door is a tiny wine shop where you actually enter the restaurant, but wines are available for purchase. We were a little confused about where to enter and some of the regular patrons found us wandering and showed us the way in. They were local people who said it was their favorite place and I can see why. Parking was on the street, music was in the background, wood and brick made up the walls, and lighting was lowered with a bench seat lining one wall. The guests were made up of a range of people but it never got too noisy to talk. The service was fabulous. The menu offers 9 plates a la carte but there is a tasting option where you get to try all of the dishes in 3 groupings, with scaled portioning. It is the way to go, which you should – as soon as you can. Continue reading →
Comal 864 is the creation of Brownsville, Texas native Dayna Lee Márquez, who wanted to bring South Texas food to this region. It started in July 2019 as a pop-up operation and in Nov. 2022 opened a storefront operation that also offers catering. Chef Márquez was nominated in 2023 for a James Beard Best Chef Southeast Award. The little house has parking on either side and picnic tables out front. Inside a long counter with stools runs in front of the kitchen and order area and the rest is filled with tables and chairs. You order at the counter and they’ll bring it to your table. Chef Márquez was in the kitchen and you could see her preparing plates along with her helpers. For 2:00 in the afternoon, it was surprisingly busy but they are open all day. The counter person was helpful in choosing what to order and the portions are very generous. While the dishes may be novel to this area I found them very lacking in spice, but I admit I am surrounded by and love spicy Tex-Mex. If I were closer I’d try the place again because the ‘bones’ of it were great but for me, the end result missed the mark. Continue reading →
exterior – 654 South Main Street, Greenville, SC., 29601
Coral was a large place in the West End district of downtown. It’s basically divided into 2 rooms, one bar and one dining. The kitchen is under the helm of Joshua Dill and Addison Stone, both South Carolina natives but it is owned by 3 friends who all were born elsewhere and ended up in the Greenville area. It’s a busy and loud place that stresses the bar and cocktails as well as local seafood. Painted brick walls are lined with booths and small bare wood tables. The lighting is quite low but spots set in the black ceiling shine intensely on the outer ring of tables. The floor was carpeted and there were sound panels on the walls, the only music was in the bar that blended slightly into the background but the crowds made noise an issue for me. Service was friendly and helpful but it’s hard for servers when plates are large and tables are small. The food was mixed but it’s definitely a happening place. Continue reading →
