Less than a week remains in Black History Month, but there is still time to enjoy some of the cultural traditions that epitomize the celebration — most notably the cuisine.
Some of the best soul food and southern cuisine recipes were born in the region and defined by Black chefs, families, and influencers. It makes the Upstate a hotbed for good cultural eats.
The history behind soul and southern food is dependent on the recipe and who makes it.
Charlene and Mike Davis own soul food restaurant Charlene’s Home Cooking, which serves up dishes based on her grandmother Ma Bessie’s recipes. Charlene makes a peach pie at the restaurant in Moore, Monday, February 28, 2022.
While fried chicken, biscuits, and macaroni and cheese are menu favorites, many chefs and restaurants in the Upstate have renditions of soul and southern food recipes that are generations old but are evolving to feed our minds, souls, and of course, bellies.
Here are 10 restaurants that have among the best soul and southern cooking in the Upstate:
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Nana’s Kitchen
Shontell and Tony Walker created Nana’s Kitchen in memory of Shontell’s grandmother, Bessie, continuing the southern cuisine tradition of scratch-made breakfast and lunch items.
Some of their signature dishes? Chicken and waffles and salmon patties for breakfast, with a lunch menu that includes hamburger steak and gravy, croaker fish, and one of the best-fried pork chops in the Upstate.
Nana’s Kitchen, located at 5 Owens Ln, in Mauldin, S.C.
In keeping things Southern, “cooking with love and putting God first” is Shontell Walker’s mantra. The executive chef makes nothing from a can or a bag, in true soul food and southern kitchen fashion.
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Location: 5 Owens Lane, Mauldin
White Wine & Butter
While Chef Mike Sibert isn’t creating traditional soul food at White Wine & Butter, his cooking methods derive from New Orleans, which feature Creole flavor profiles that capture the essence of what progressive southern cooking can be.
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At his new restaurant in Greer, Sibert offers a lamb and grits option that identifies with traditional and progressive southern cuisine along with freshly made pasta, tapas, and more in a showcase of his world-class culinary talent.
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Location: 2299 East Gap Creek Road (Greer)
OJ’s Diner
OJ’s Diner takes the culinary traditions of Greenville native Miriam Johnson and serves up some of the best homemade breakfast, lunch, and catering options in the Upstate.
Donna Brown of Greenville ate a breakfast plate with eggs at OJ’s Diner in Greenville, S.C. in 2023. “You have to have eggs for some things,” Brown said.
This longstanding Greenville soul food brand has existed for nearly 20 years, banking on food served cafeteria-style that boasts some of the best traditionally fried fish, salmon patties, cheese grits, and homemade biscuits with apple butter.
For lunch, chicken pot pies, baby back ribs, meatloaf, and squash casserole are some of the weekly popular items.
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Locations: 907 Pendleton Street, Greenville; 5284 Calhoun Memorial Highway, Easley
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M&J’s Wings & Plenty
This comfort food restaurant does it all: chicken and turkey wings to hamburger steaks, meat and three plates, and even take-home seasonings: the star of southern dishes.
M&J’s has been a staple in the West Greenville community for years and is one of the best places to satisfy that craving for fried chicken wings.
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Location: 1000 Easley Bridge Road, West Greenville
Bobby’s BBQ
Barbecue is southern cuisine, and Bobby’s BBQ is the restaurant that delivers the tradition with meat by the pound, brisket sandwiches, and a section on the menu dedicated to barbecue tacos. However, the house-made all-purpose seasonings and homemade side dishes are what sets Bobby’s BBQ apart from other restaurants.
Octavius ‘Tay’ Sarah Nelson are the owners of Bobby’s BBQ in Fountain Inn. Here, Bobby’s BBQ Pit Master Joshua Moore uses an apple cider vinegar to spritz the meat. Spritzing the meat, adds moisture, texture, and helps develop the smokiness of the meats.
Recently, The Food Network named Bobby’s BBQ Texas-style barbecue joint the most charming small-town restaurant in South Carolina, further cementing Tay Nelson’s importance to the Black southern culinary scene in Upstate South Carolina.
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Location: 1301 N. Main Street, Fountain Inn
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A Taste of Detroit
Robert and Michelle Webster have graduated from a single food truck to a food truck park in Mauldin, offering many food options, including Colombian, Jamaican, and American cuisine.
Robert Webster, owner of Taste of Detroit food truck, located at 711 Mauldin Rd. in Greenville, cooks lunch for customers on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024.
The “coney dog sauce” is the restaurant’s contribution to the Upstate’s cultural eats options. The sauce originates from the Detroit food scene, giving the Upstate a taste of what Midwesterners may enjoy as comfort food.
While coney dogs are not traditional soul or southern, the special sauce is served on Tuesdays only and is part of the growing melting pot of Black cultural foods that now exist in the south.
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Location: 711 Mauldin Road, Mauldin
Low Country Shrimper
Owner Don Deas operates one of the best fresh fish establishments in the Upstate. Low Country Shrimper offers seafood in many forms, including oysters, scallops, and a crab cake sandwich with Creole preparation methods.
The shrimp and grits are among the Upstate’s most popular and is served with a special andouille sauce. Deas’ menu also features hush puppies, fried okra, and other southern-inspired side dishes. It’s well worth a trip to the Golden Strip for good-tasting, southern-style fish.
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Location: 105 East Butler Road, Mauldin
McClellan’s at Monarch Cafe
In a twist between American and Southern food, McClellan’s at Monarch offers breakfast, brunch, and lunch that blends traditional soul food cooking with progressive recipes and cooking methods.
For example, McClellan’s offers traditional shrimp and grits, buttermilk fried chicken, and smoked turkey legs while also offering collard green wontons and southern fried lasagna, alongside a wide selection of creative vegan dishes. McClellan’s is a mix of an old southern diner with cooking that has continued to evolve with the times.
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Location: 498 Howard Street, Spartanburg
Pierre’s is a Soul Food restaurant now opened in Spartanburg. The owner is Chef Pierre Salmon I from Dillon, S.C., who now makes his home in Spartanburg. Here, the chef works in the kitchen.
Pierre’s Soul Food
If you’re a lover of side dishes, Pierre’s is well-known for their macaroni and cheese and collard greens, but many can vouch for Pierre’s Soul Food’s sweet potatoes.
This southern comfort food space revolves around the welcoming dining space and a soul food menu featuring favorites such as fried, grilled, or smothered pork chops, oxtails over rice, and even a vegan hamburger steak.
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Location: 404 McCravy Drive, Spartanburg
Charlene’s Home Cooking
Everything is scratch-made at Charlene’s Home Cooking, including their sweets menu, which features a “crack cake”, orange pineapple cake, and a “Papa Smurf” blue velvet cake.
Charlene and Mike Davis own soul food restaurant Charlene’s Home Cooking, which serves up dishes based on her grandmother Ma Bessie’s recipes. Charlene makes macaroni and cheese at the restaurant in Moore, Monday, February 28, 2022.
Mike and Charlene Davis’ restaurant opened in 2013, and since then has delivered many traditional Southern favorites such as fried ribs, fried chicken, and pork chops served in all styles.
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Location: 1136 E Blackstock Road, Moore
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– A.J. Jackson covers business, the food & dining scene and downtown culture for The Greenville News. Contact him by email at ajackson@gannett.com, and follow him on X (formally Twitter) @ajhappened. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers. Sign up today for a digital subscription.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: 10 South Carolina soul food restaurants to try in Black History Month
