American Grocery Restaurant

Look, AGR is all about the food. There is an evident devotion to preparing an adventurous dining experience using the freshest, regionally sourced produce.
The little touches like homemade jams, and bread are just a bonus.
There is no other restaurant in Greenville that I know of that compares to AGR, not even closely.
AGR is a restaurant that chefs go to dine at, as evidenced by the many framed autographs on the walls.
This is as good as it gets for fine dining in Greenville. You would have to go to Charlotte, Atlanta or Charleston to do any better. That is the honest truth.

I’ve had at least 15+ meals at this restaurant over the past 3 years. I thought it was time to write a review. It’s interesting to see the mixed reviews given by past guests. For me, every experience has been consistent. Solid, professional service you would expect from a fine dining restaurant. The menu is interesting and potions are adequate and the dishes are clean (not smothered in sauces). I generally get the seafood dishes. Mussels, trout, or fish special. Pimento cheese appetizer is good. As well as the roasted brussels sprouts and cheese board. The roasted shisito peppers, when in season, are yummy. Wine list is good. Only thing I don’t understand is why no complimentary bread. Restaurant is on the pricy side, but the quality of food is worth it. I have never experienced a rude reception. Maybe I’ve been lucky? I don’t know. We seem to get the same server each time. I can’t remember his name, but he is very professional. If you haven’t been to AG, I think it is worth a try.

Went for drinks and hoping for an appetizer. Stinks their food service does not start until 6, as bar opens at 5. No snacks at bar. Had to nibble a bar from my purse as I drank a cocktail
The tequila Rosa drink too smoky. Their shrubs looked great and wish I had one of these instead. Menu liked interesting but needed Vegetarian options!

After being interested in AGR for years, we finally sprang for a nice dinner out to celebrate our anniversary. I made a reservation with Unilocal’s SeatMe service, which was an awesome experience. They gave us a great corner table, and all the staff wished us a happy anniversary!
And then there was the FOOD! Beautifully composed dishes, packed full of flavor. We started with the pork belly and braised lamb, top notch. For the entrees, beef tongue and quail. This was our first experience with beef tongue, and the preparation was amazing. The quail was lovely too, just a lot of work to cut around the bones. Hubs asked for the bartender’s choice bitter cocktail, which resulted in a white negroni that made him feel like 007 in Casino Royale. I enjoyed the Twisty Oaks cab, and I really appreciated the somm’s suggestion to pair a Sangiovese with the quail. For dessert, the carrot cake was delicious, and the chocolate-​chile semifreddo was rich with a brilliant kick of heat.
I have to say, I think AGR is Greenville’s best-​kept secret. This was the tastiest and most elevated meal we’ve had in Greenville. The portions were generous without being too much, and there was no fussiness to speak of. A perfect place for a celebratory meal!

American Grocery offers the most exquisite dining in Greenville. You can taste the amount of discernment that exists in every particle of this place. The mixology, wine selection, cuisine and staff offer an unparalleled experience. I could wax poetic but you must experience it for yourself-​you wont be disappointed. If you want to enjoy the finest ingredients treated with the utmost respect… this is your spot… and mine.

American Grocery is amazballs! Beef tung croquets, salt crusted ribeye, and siracha chicken skins are just the beginning. If you see the word pork belly on the menu get it. The staff was friendly, attentive and quite knowledgable about the ingredients. My guess would be that anyone in the Greenville area that enjoys wine pared with food would not leave disappointed. If you haven’t tried this place… go…go now… stop reading and get some pork belly.

Unfortunately rude hostess staff ruined this restaurant for me. A friend and I did have a reservation, and a party of two were seated before us because they had requested a seat by the wall. Two open tables later (one of which was by a wall!) we were finally seated, about 15 minutes after our reservation time. The hostesses were insincerely apologetic and actually acted annoyed that we were frustrated about the seating situation. Our waiter and table staff were great, but the stage had already been set by the hostess staff.
We were very happy with the food, although it took a long time for entrees to be served after the first course. I had the wild mushroom gnocchi and it was some of the best pasta I’ve ever had– but I was disappointed enough in the hostess issue that I had less than a stellar experience here. I won’t be back.

Why ever go any where else? That’s what my wife and I ask every time we come to American Grocery. 4 courses for New Years Eve were fantastic and the service was great as always. For me, hands down the best restaurant in Greenville. Keep it up American Grocery!!!

One of the best spots in Greenville. Great food prepared creatively with fresh, seasonal ingredients, and attentive service, if a little slow, but this is the south. Nice wine list. And they had 10 yr. Rip Van Winkle! Will be back for sure.

I guess you have to be a certain type of person to enjoy this restaurant. I made the mistake of not throughly going over the menu and just reading a general overview of the restaurant.
None of the food selections appealed to me and the restaurant was so small we didn’t want to get up and leave immediately. So we ordered a cheese and meat board. One of the cheeses was so hard I almost mistook it for a rock. We had already ordered a bottle of wine, so we drank it as quickly as possible because we didn’t want to stay in the restaurant any longer than we had to.

It’s the best restaurant in Greenville and proves it every time we go. The cheese plate alone is incredible. We snuck in for foodie fest and loved it. The meatball was fantastic and every single course, finishing with the smores dessert was fantastic. Do yourself a favor and give it a try!

Eh, a bit contrived if you ask me. I do respect the attention to deal the servers have. I was actually quite awestruck at their precision in every thing they do (from putting down forks, folding napkins, etc), but their focus at perfecting details left them to forget about the big picture. being friendly, timely, and making sure their costumers are enjoying their experience at this restaurant. I remember liking the food, but it wasn’t too memorable for me. I think it’s worth checking out once but it’s not a place I would go to again.

It took us eight hours to get from Denver to Greenville, South Carolina after a rather lengthy delay at O’Hare airport in Chicago. We had made a wedding anniversary reservation here a month in advance based on local recommendations and our Unilocal research. The evening meal here was definitely the best part of our day.
Highlights: obviously Chef cares about his food. The ingredients were all very fresh and we could almost picture Chef parked at the farmers market or driving out to local farms to get the most fresh produce possible. Favorite items of ours were the pork belly appetizer, the rabbit pâté, and a very soft and delicious triple cream cheese served with pepitas. The trout seemed fresh and carefully prepared, though the flavors of the accompanying veggies did not work great with the fish.
Lowlights: our waitress was friendly but not very efficient. It seemed that it took hours to bring out the food. Maybe this is a cultural difference in that we are more used to speedy service. We did have a question about where the delicious cheese was made. Our waitress said she would find out and let us know later. Two hours later we did never hear another word about the cheese production location. We were here to celebrate our wedding anniversary but the restaurant either didn’t recall that or chose not to mention or acknowledge it. Also we were seated directly in front of the kitchen at one of the least pleasant tables in the place. Not exactly what we had hoped for when we made the reservation a month in advance.
Overall, this is a good restaurant with a nice wine selection and interesting food, but we felt it was clearly a notch (or maybe 2) down from as good as it gets. We expected more given the high ratings and relatively high prices.

Went here with a group of nine on a slow Thursday night. Service was quick and friendly. The dining room is smallish, but not cramped. We could actually hear each other, which was nice. The rainbow trout was very nice, and others in my group enjoyed the beef tongue and rabbit. No one thought much of the salads, though. The espresso mousse dessert was lovely and light– citrus and esoresso went together surprisingly well.

I took my boyfriend here for dinner for his birthday this past Tuesday. The restaurant was slow, not many tables at all. Our server was Ian, who was an excellent server (btw). Service wasn’t the issue… it was the food.
I expected AGR to be delicious, as I have wanted to try them ever since I discovered the restaurant below the salon I frequent. The Violet Hour is a great drink and the Fried Deviled Eggs are delicious but that’s all I would agree that is enjoyable. I ordered the Sunburst Trout and my boyfriend ordered the Rabbit Confit… both taste as if someone poured a large amount of S A L T all over our food. Seriously? NO. That is an amateur mistake and I expect much more from a restaurant that brands itself as a higher end restaurant. Very DISAPPOINTING!
Needless to say, I will not be returning. Ian should go work at another restaurant where the chef doesn’t cover the food in salt.
Sassafras & Soby’s are much better options, I would suggest either of those!

One of the worst service experiences in the past 12 months.
Having heard some good comments on this place since moving to Greenville, I was excited to try it out. I have been to and sampled over 25 restaurants in just the past 2 months since moving to Greenville and I was amazingly shocked at how bad the service was here. We sat at the bar (because we did not have a reservation). We sat down and it took over 10 mins for our bartender (Kurt) to even acknowledge us (and there was only 1 other person at the bar).
Let me help paint the scene:
We arrived at 7:15pm. The place was empty except for 2 tables and one other patron at end of the bar. We had to ask for food menus, drink menus, and his attention. He never greeted us, welcomed us, or as it turns out, spoke to us the entire 90 mins we were there. He never checked in on us, offered us another drink when our glasses where empty for 15 mins, offered us water, or asked how we were doing — once… not even once. We had to stand up and get dressed after asking for our check several times.
We ordered a drink each and then when I asked a question «tell me about the fried deviled eggs» his response was, «it’s exactly as it reads». I followed it up with, «can you tell me what the reviews are? Do people enjoy them? Do you like them? What do they come with? etc. .etc.» No response.
In short, let me say in fairness, that the two items we ordered were above average. The fried deviled eggs were excellent and worth ordering. The grilled shrimp too was great. Unfortunately, we stopped there, as we were so turned off by the service we canceled our dinner order and went to another spot — Soby’s…which was both fantastic service and food.
I’d suggest if you go, do yourself a favor and try sitting a table and leave quickly at the slightest hint of bad service. The food is very pricey here and if you are willing to pay for pricey food, we should expect excellent — or at least average service.
On the bill I left a note expressing my dissatisfaction, my name and phone number should anybody inquire as to why I felt so. If I hear from anyone, I’ll reply here with how the conversation and outcome turned out.
Good luck.

Food was excellent. Atmosphere was good. Only concern was that the service was not executed as well as I’d have liked.
We were seated at 6:00. It was the first seating, l think, and there were only a few others in that early. Our waiter was pleasant, polite, and available without being intrusive. However, it was 28 minutes from when we were seated until our cocktails arrived (a martini and a Manhattan, so nothing fancy). Our salads arrived well before we finished our cocktails and without an opportunity to order an alternative drink (wine) to go with them. There was then a long gap between the salads and the main course. We skipped dessert b/​c of time constraints (close to 2 hours at that point).
Again, excellent food and we will go back. Hopefully service will be a little more crisp next time.

Impeccable restaurant! One of the most flawless and delicious meals I’ve ever had.
Service stood out above the food. Not a knock on the food though. They do simple dishes extremely well and timed perfectly to be brought out so as you’re not rushed. It makes the food that much better. Dishes don’t sit under a heat lamp for 15+ minutes and brought to you piping hot. American Grocery sets the standard for how restaurants should operate.
The menu won’t break your wallet either. You could spend $ 40 and walk out a very proud glutton knowing you’ve been to one of the best in Greenville.

Rabbit confit, Salt-​crusted grass fed ribeye — Oh my!
Wonderful meal at American Grocery. Drinks, Food and Service is all fabulous.
I started my experience with the bar tenders choice cocktail — just told them I like it sour. What a great decision — got to try something new that was perfect. 3 bottles of wine later, some good conversation with friends, wonderful food and we left fully content.
The price point of American Grocery — makes for a special occasion and not a weekly visit but when you do go, you will be extremely satisfied.

Ok, so it was a rough night at AGR. My dinner guest ordered the duck pâté which came with charred bread and a cheese that was bitter. When she complained, there was not much resolution as she had to wait an additional 10 minutes for a different cheese and then the same bread that was served at the start of the meal. They offered us more bread and nothing came.
I had ordered the ricotta cheese starter with mushrooms which was great but not for 12 dollars and not at that portion size. I then had the kale salad which came almost completely bare. It was barely dressed up and maybe had enough cheese to feed a mouse. I have to give a compliment on the one starter that was priced right and well executed which was the pork belly.
I would say if you really want to experience this restaurant and all it has to offer i would get the prix fixe meal, which is what I originally wanted to do, but they insist if you get that then everyone at the entire table has to get it. How would you convince an entire table to spend 55 dollars on a meal that may have a dish or two they aren’t even interested in.
Update: I did the prix fixe, and the kale and beef tongue were out of this world. There was nothing special about the trout and unfortunately there wasn’t enough dessert on the plate to even qualify for a tapas portion. Me and my dinner guest were so hungry that me and my dinner guest had to fill up on frozen yogurt immediately afterwords.
Would I come back here, yes, but only because there are no other restaurants in town of this caliber.