Let's Go Some Place Where We Can Sit Outside! Alfresco Lunch in Greenville

The weather is so nice!  It’s such a beautiful day!  Let’s not waste it indoors, shall we?  Below you will find some of our favorites for lunch in Greenville, all offering outdoor seating so you can watch the world or the clouds go by.  Enjoy those balmy breezes!  Don’t you love how pretty the wine looks with the sunlight shining through the glass?

Asada - Latin American

What started with a food truck and the best tortilla chips and fish tacos in town continues to draw the crowds.  An eclectic and inventive (many would say genius) menu of truly authentic Baja fare mixed with Peruvian and Nicaraguan revelations - and the occasional, total surprise like “grilled chimichurri wings with crispy rosemary potatoes” will have you planning to come back to try what you missed. Only drawback is that you’ll be so busy exclaiming over the deliciousness of the food that little else will get discussed with your lunch companions.  Oh darn!  Seek them out at 903 Wade Hampton Blvd.

Open: Tues - Weds  11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Thurs - Sat 11:30 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Caviar & Bananas  - Gourmet Café/Deli/Market

Much anticipated recent addition to the downtown chic/urban lunch scene, the owners won’t be upset if you mention it reminds you of Dean & DeLuca of New York fame, they are unabashedly influenced by that concept.  And Greenville can’t get enough!  Everything is on trend, tasty and stylish.  It will be hard to leave without picking up some goodies for later.  At 1 N Laurens St.

Open: Mon - Thurs 7 a.m. -  8:30 p.m.

Fri 7 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Sat 8 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Sun 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Gringo’s Cantina  - Baja/Tex Mex

The rooftop patio is the place to be to order up pitchers of specialty margaritas, platters of tacos, and dish the details with your besties about EVERYTHING!  Apparently a lot of business lunches go down here but I honestly don’t know how anything would ever get accomplished.  With Muertos painted on the walls and colorful décor, everyday could be Cinco de Mayo. One block up from the park at 11 Falls Park Dr.

Open: Sun - Thurs 11:30 a.m. - 12 a.m.

Fri - Sat  11:30 a.m. - 1:50 a.m.

Ink N Ivy  - American Bistro Bar

Again with the rooftop bar!  Greenvillians like a view of their downtown.  Ink N Ivy has its flagship location in Charlotte and thereby a strong following for it’s upscale but edgy, tattoo aesthetic.  They do American.  They do Bistro. They do Bar.  Familiar fare with flare and some tasty twists including the creative cocktails which can turn twist to twisted on all four floors of fun!  Adding a lot of social to the scene.  Pull up a barstool in the sun at 21 E Coffee St.

Open: Mon - Fri 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.

Sat - Sun 10 a.m. - 2 a.m.

Lazy Goat  - Inspired Mediterranean

When the leaves of the ginkgo tree on the patio turn yellow (right about now) there is no more sublime place to be for lunch in Greenville (or cocktails at dusk for that matter).  Something about the ambiance here increases one’s sense of élan.  Perhaps it’s the serene view of the river and people strolling along Riverwalk.  Ah, but isn’t the sky a beautiful blue?  They have a delectable menu to match, so breathe, reinvigorate and indulge!  Ease into the perfect spot at 170 Riverplace.

Open: Mon - Thurs  11 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Fri - Sat  11 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Luna Rosa - Gelato Pasta Panini

These folks opened a restaurant with the firm belief that food should be fun and pretty.  The word “delightful” comes to mind when anticipating a trip to Luna Rosa (“pink moon/blushing moon”).  Everything is homemade with a level of heart and soul reserved for Italians alone.  Go for the gelato, start with the lasagna.  Scrumptious menu through and through.  It’s a place locals take visitors for something special!  Grab a seat under the umbrellas at 9 W Washington St.

Open: Mon - Thurs 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Fri 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Sat Noon - 10 p.m.

Sun Noon - 8 p.m.

Mac’s Speed Shop - BBQ Bar

Looking for a place to park your Hog and tuck into some Southern grub?  Mac’s was made with you in mind.  Many an ice cold brew (beer or Arnold Palmer) has been guzzled at the picnic tables on the side patio accompanied by satisfying platters of burgers or Q.  If you skipped breakfast you can make up for it here.  If you come back in the evening you will find the bar is a cranking, lively nightspot as well.  Kill the motor and roll on in at 930 S Main St.

Open: Mon - Thurs 11 a.m. - 12 a.m.

Fri - Sat 11: a.m. - 2 a.m.

Nose Dive - Gastropub

The prime people watching real-estate on Main for the business lunch crowd hands down!  And a better example of gastropub fare cannot be found in these parts.  Freshly face-lifted in the last year and ready for its close-up, Nose Dive gets kudos for it’s burger and these five little words: Dark Chocolate Candied Bacon Brownie.  You could make a reservation just to be safe.  Ask them to save you a brownie too.  It’s that popular.  Stake out a space for your posse at 116 S Main St.

Open: Mon - Thurs.  11 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Fri 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Sat 10 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Sun 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Rick’s Deli and Market - Deli and Market

Need to get in and out lickety-split?  These folks serve the business lunch crowd reliably and efficiently (and deliciously), day in and day out with solid deli favorites in a crisp, clean, breezy and bustling atmosphere.  The club sandwich is a credit to its category.  The potato salad is definitive. The patio is a calm respite in the midst of the metro scene.  Find the hustle and flow two blocks up from the park at 101 Falls Park Dr.

Open: Mon - Sat 10:30 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Swamp Rabbit Café  Locavore Bakery, Café and Market

One of Greenville’s signature spots, local hubs and vanguard member of the Upstate foodie renaissance.  If you have been to Greenville before, go here and you will bump into someone you know.  You won’t be able to pass up the baked goods so why try?  Bring a cloth grocery bag for impulse buys or wish you had - up to you!  Ride up the Swamp Rabbit Trail and park your bike at 205 Cedar Lane Rd.

Open: Mon - Fri 7:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Sat  - Sun 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Takosushi Sushi and Asian/Latin Fusion

These quirky kids have a good thing goin’ on, and on, and… Nonstop, pretty much from open to close, this house rocks the raw fish, and the teriyaki, and the… tacos.  Yep, and tamales, and green-chile-cheese-fries… They have some really fun, creative, yummy rolls for every taste, and cooked stuff for the raw-avoidant in your crew.  Bright and boisterous atmosphere to compliment the raw-cous menu.  Tako-ver a few tables and chairs out front at 34 S Main.

Open: Mon - Thurs 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Fri 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Sat  Noon - 11 p.m.

Upcountry Provisions  - Bakery and Locavore Café

Best herbed flatbread in the state -  not exaggerating.  The fillings in the sandwiches are jealous of the bread that contains them.  Do the cookies melt into your mouth or do you melt into them?  You be the judge. Pick up treats to go if only to avoid the pouty face you will get when you tell someone back at work or home that you went there but didn’t bring them anything!  Sometimes there is live music on the front deck as well.  Lots of places endeavor to be “artisanal”.  These folks answered a calling.  It’s that good.  Just off the main drag in the middle of Travelers Rest at 6809 State Park Rd.

Open: Tues - Sat 7:30 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Café at Williams Hardware  - Homemade goodness taken to the next level

An anchor establishment that has been serving up your mum’s and auntie’s cooking on overdrive in Travelers Rest since before all the hubbub with the Trail began.  Sisters Joyce and Nancy McCarrell are working’ it for the community.  The place is, frankly, beloved.  The patio/porch is large with enclosed and open areas.  The gift shop is filled with well chosen items both indigenous and befitting the season.  Have a great meal and find that perfect thing for someone special all in the same place. And they are situated right on the Swamp Rabbit Trail at 13 S Main in Travelers Rest.

Open: Mon - Thurs  11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Fri 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Sat  8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Sun 8 a.m. - 3 p.m.

This is merely a smattering of the restaurants that feature outdoor dining for lunch in Greenville.  Just go for a stroll up/down Main and you'll encounter many more!  If you’re heading out for lunch from the Swamp Rabbit Inn, don’t forget me!  Just dance a jig on the front steps and I’ll join you.  I would love to be your cottontailed guide.  You can call me Al - Al Fresco!

—Percy