American Grocery Restaurant

Only a week ago my wife and I dined at American Grocery for her birthday. We wholeheartedly support local food suppliers and expect the price of these products to be higher than your normal fare. However, what we didn't expect was to order the prix fixe with wine pairing and end up paying $28 for what amounted to about 1 1/2 glasses of wine, if that much. And each wine was poured from almost empty bottles. The food was good but portions were small and surely not worth the $150 plus tip that we spent on our meal! more

This really is the best restaurant in Greenville. I've been multiple times and am always pleasantly surprised by what's on the seasonal menu. The use of fresh, locally grown produce really makes a difference. Simple dishes, not overblown as well. Try anything (I actually very much enjoyed the sweetbreads), but one of my favorites was a simple, humble beet salad that I had with my wife last December. All I can say is it tasted like Winter. The prices aren't cheap, but I'm always happy to pay for quality. Try this place out! more

This restaurant is terrible, and I have not even eaten a meal there! I am a college student and called to talk to the owner because I am writing a paper on Southern cuisine, and wanted to know if she would be available for an interview. The female owner answered the phone and when I asked for a few minutes of her time, she was incredibly rude. She said that she had no time to speak with me, and even reprimanded me by demanding to know why I would expect her to drop everything to speak with me. The final slap in the face from our 1 minute and 36 second phone conversation was when she said that she was already busy enough with Furman students coming. She also said that I should have called a week earlier, and when I tried to explain that a hostess last week told me to call back a week later, she cut me off. As a business owner in the service industry, I was shocked that anyone would have any success with her attitude. more

I'm not the type of person to write reviews, but this place was so bad and the service was so poor that I could not help myself. Sadly, it doesn't even deserve 1 star. To start, we sat at the bar during happy hour for 30 minutes before we even got a drink order. 15 minutes into the wait and older gentleman sat down the bar from us and had his drink before we got ours. 15 minutes later another older gentleman sat down and had his food before we even go menus. As a side note, when ordering the waitress told me she couldn't give me a bowl of soup, because it was on a special menu. I'm still not sure what that means. Finally the food came and every bite tasted like propane. I couldn't finish half of it. We had 5 drinks, an appetizer, a hanger steak, and a salad on the bill for $110.00. She didn't even deduct the happy hour prices. I hope the owners read this and get their gas leak fixed. Hands down the worst restaurant experience I've ever had and the bill just makes me feel like I've been molested. It's hard to think about... more

We visited Greenville with another couple - all of us are really into food and wine and live in Atlanta, so we love to go out to special restaurants. We were really looking for something special - great, inventive food made from local ingredients, a great but reasonable wine list and an inviting atmosphere. AGR hit the ball out of the park on every front! \r \r First, the drinks were perfect and unique - I had a bacon-infused Manhattan. Hello - perfection!! The appetizers and even the salads were all so fresh and good it's hard to pick a favorite, but I will go with the poached farm egg over tender crisp asparagus. I had soft shell crab for dinner - others had local rabbit, trout and duck. Dessert was a great combination of berry and chocolate treats. \r \r The wine was perfect and when it was time for the second bottle our waiter recommended a bottle that was cheaper AND better. Speaking of waiters - you must ask for Jay - he's been there since the beginning and really steered us through a great meal.\r \r I also must say to the poster who complained about the menu and service - REALLY?? If you don't know what sweetbreads are, why don't you ask? I consider myself a foodie and I ask servers to explain things all the time. I think you should stick to the basics - fine dining establishments like AGR probably aren't for you. Pros: Exceptional menu, stellar service, wonderful drinks Cons: That I don't live in Greenville to go back weekly more

Tonight was my wife's and my second visit to American Grocery. After our first visit, our opinion was basically $75 a person for a meal consisting of mediocre food and small portions. After our second visit, I swore never to return. During our second visit, my wife alerted the waitress that she was a vegetarian and ordered a sweetbread appetizer. Neither of us realized that sweetbread is actually the internal organ of a baby cow. It would have been helpful for the waitress to have pointed this out to us since we pointed out to her that my wife was a vegetarian. The sweetbread arrived, my wife took a bite and realized that it was far from what we would consider a sweet bread. I'm not sure if you can appreciate that for a vegetarian to discover they unintentionally ate part of a baby cow organ is very traumatic. The waitress and manager certainly didn't appreciate this and were less than sympathetic. In our disgust, we left before our main courses arrived. If you want to spend $75 and up per person at a downtown Greenville restaurant, you can do a lot better. Pros: We left before our entrees arrived. Cons: They served my vegetarian wife a baby cow organ. more

I have been to this restaurant a few times and really enjoyed my dining experience each time. The staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. The food is high end quality and the environment is very relaxing. I highly recommend this place! Pros: Delicious Food and a Comfortable Atmosphere more

I think the food is amazing and I love the people that work at AGR. I highly recommend it to anyone in the Southeast! Pros: High-end food with friendly service more

The food is amazing, the service is amazing and the dining experience is like being at home. Just pure enjoyment. Pros: Best Food in Town... more

Great place ... quality local food. Probably one of the best places in Greenville to eat. Original to the area, great service. Highly recommend. Pros: Quality Food and Service Cons: Pricey more

I thought this restarunt was simply amazing and if you love great American food I would highly recomend this restarunt more

Have been many times to this newish restaurant in Greenville & I always leave feeling satisfied & happy. The chefs take exceptional care in preparing the freshest local food they can find & preparing it all in a refined yet straightforward manner. Their staff told me they change the menu daily based on what they get from local farmers & it's simply awesome! Love the pork belly app (must try!), always love the fish & the cocktails are the most creative in town. To add, the staff is very knowledgable about the menu (that's a refreshing approach for Greenville rest.) & the atmosphere is warm without being pretentious...no stuffy white table cloths here. Disagree with the last reviewer about portion size...it's perfect, not too much, not too little, just right!! And for the coffee they serve it's Leopard Forest (the best locally roasted coffee around) brewed to order in a french press. And I don't recall it costing $8 a cup...please, get your facts straight! more

We had high expectations based on other reviews, but frankly we were disappointed. The prices were outrageous ($8 for a cup of coffee), the portions were extremely small, and the food simply wasn't anything to rave about. The best part of our dinner was the cheese platter that we ordered for dessert. Skip this restaurant and try some of the real fine dining in Greenville. more

American Grocery is the total package. It is so exciting that a restaurant like this has come to Greenville. It has the highest quality, most passionately and perfectly prepared food in our area. Not to mention that the owners/chefs are staunch advocates of the slow and local food movements, so all food that you eat there has gone from the farm to your fork in the matter of a day or even just a couple of hours. The amazing thing about them is that their food has nothing to hide behind - no gimmicks, no haute cuisine smoke and mirrors, it is not tortured into tasting a way it shouldn't. Their food is about taking the freshest and most pure and perfect ingredients and not hiding them, making them sing, making them reach their full potential, in the simplest way possible, showcasing what wonderful things our local purveyors produce. So, what the menu says you are getting, is exactly what you get. But don't think they skimp on flavor. For instance, their fresh pecan wood smoked North Carolina Trout with vegetables brought in from their garden that very day - this will totally make you rethink what you may have previously thought about ""boring"" fish and vegetables. And another great thing is that their menu changes DAILY based on what they have fresh in that day, and what direction their creative juices are telling them to go. It is simply amazing. If you love food and truly appreciate what goes into to preparing it from the seed to a beautiful presentation on your plate, this is the place for you. Pros: great ambiance, service, and the best prepared and tasting food in the Upstate Cons: None at all more

We visited American Grocery in December 2007. The food is always excellent quality, innovative and interesting. However this time, as with our previous visit, the service was unacceptable. The waiter was overly friendly, inattentive and arrogant. Our very light meal took frustrating 3 hours. I considered using my cell phone to inquire about getting bread, desert and the check to our table. The restaurant was not busy and many of the other waiters were sitting at the bar with the manager. No one came to check on us or assist the waiter. Whilst I applaud the restaurant?s effort to use local purveyors and organic where ever possible the menu is entirely overpriced and for the second time we have left feeling somewhat fleeced. Also the restrooms could do with a thorough cleaning. I recommend you try the goat cheese salad if you go. Pros: Food Cons: Service, price more

I visited American Grocery Restaurant and I can tell you that the food and service was equal if not better than some of the highest rated restaurants in Los Angeles (which is where I live). I could not believe the talent of the multiple chefs and their passion toward the food and dining experience. If you enjoy amazing food and excellent friendly service you would not be disappointed in American Grocery Restaurant. I also loved the fact that at the end of our meal we received a listing called ""The Grocery List"" telling our table exactly where the ingredients for our meal had come from. To my knowledge this is the first I've ever seen this... I give this experience two forks up and a hearty CHEERS!\r \r Don't miss out on a unique and wonderful dining experience in Greenville, SC... something I'm very impressed with! Thank You AGR for opening such a great place in Greenville... we are a growing city and love to see this kind of Elegance. My compliments to the amazing Chef's. Pros: Amazing food & service Cons: I'm still trying to think of one... more