Soby's — Restaurant in Greenville

Not able to get a table here before closing one night, we returned at a less busy time another day to try the food our friends recommended. Sitting outside despite the chill in the air, the wind did pick up and pouring rain hit us and a few other patrons who did not choose to go inside for about ten minutes. Service was very slow. It took a half hour for my partner to get the martini which had one ingredient.

After waving down our wait staff to inquire about it a second or third time, she said it was due to their having only one bartender today. When a rum toddy took more than a half hour to appear after dinner we called her over to cancel it. A manager or assistant manager produced it within five or ten minutes and apologized for having only two bartenders on hand today. He did comp the drink. Apparently, inside there are two levels of tables which are often full.

Service aside, the food was very good. Three out of four of us wanted to share the mussels and calamari. Having these items all the time here in CT, I passed, but ordered the pimento cheese which appears everywhere on menus in South Carolina. I had to know what made this so popular. Asking our wait staff why pimento cheese was always offered at restaurants here, she looked surprised and asked us in a sweet accent, "y'all from here?" Obviously, no.... She explained they put this on everything in S.C.: steaks, toast, crackers, fish, chicken... The happy ending to this digression is, I can see why! Loved it. Our transplanted friends did not wish to try it...maybe one had a mini bite...they should rethink this if they are to become locals... but my partner and I ate the whole serving promptly. It's a soft cheese like Boursin. Flavorful. Good texture. Not as thick as cream cheese. More spreadable with a hint of heat.

All four entrees were delicious: The apple smoked pork chop with whipped potatoes and a pear chutney, a medium rare grilled Verlasso Salmon with rice and carrots, and two orders of braised beef short rib with cabernet black garlic au jus for our companions. They substituted mashed potatoes for the goat cheese grits. (One had originally ordered the duck confit, but waiting so long for our wait staff to return, she was told it had all sold out now.) When arriving, we were told things move at a much slower pace in S.C. Soby's restaurant on the main street through town is a good example of this. Check it out for the food and location. Just make sure you have a lot of...

What a disappointment! We finally had the opportunity to check out this supposedly great restaurant only to be walking back to our car with a bad taste in our mouth from mediocre food. Definitely a case of cognitive dissonance as the restaurant had a really pleasant atmosphere (rustic feel, fireplace, beautiful setting, open kitchen) and really great servers.

On to the food.. Our fried calamari appetizer was way too salty, flavorless, and not fresh squid and small pieces. The best part of it was the bed of kale it was on.

Pita chips app were overly fried, but pimiento cheese and pickled okra were good and made up for it.

Complimentary cheesy biscuits were good.

Wedge salad was tasty but nothing special beyond the bacon and roasted tomatoes. Blue cheese was not house made.

Main courses- total fail! I tried the Mac n cheese and NC fried chicken with green beans. The Mac n cheese was flavorless beyond the butter and honey sauce. The fried chicken was so salty that I was cringing to eat it after a few bites, no spice besides way too much salt. Green beans were decent and fresh.

My wife got the special- red snapper on Parmesan risotto with kale. The fish itself was tasty but so salty she had to pair it with risotto and water for each bite. I thought the risotto was terrible- salty and mushy with more cheese than any real texture and not creamy. Her kale was gross too.

The food was so salty our mouths hurt and we could both feel rising blood pressure by the end of the meal (we are young and fit so not our faults). We felt disgusting on the drive home and were chugging water all rest of the evening.

Felt like totally salted slugs in the morning until about midday from all the salt. Salt is a spice for someone who doesn’t know how to properly develop cuisine.

Only reasons I am giving 2 stars instead of 1 is the atmosphere and good waitstaff. Otherwise, Soby’s falls flat on its face and we recommend eating elsewhere. Couldn’t even honestly say the...

Soby's was a let down to say the least... After reading so many great things online we were excited to try this place for my birthday brunch while we were visiting Greenville. We arrived a few minutes early for our reservation on a Sunday afternoon and were seated in an awkward upstairs dining area that overlooked the kitchen. They had advertised on Instagram a Chicken & Bubbles Brunch special where you buy a bottle of champagne and get the bird for free. Perfect combo for my husband & I. We opted for the 2014 Perrier that came with a hefty $300 price tag, but felt it was worth the celebration. The bird part of the brunch deal included 2 sides - truffle mac n' cheese and haricots verts (subbed the latter for crispy breakfast potatoes). In addition to the brunch special my husband ordered himself a breakfast cocktail and I ordered the Fried Green Tomato Benedict. After placing our order things with our service went downhill fast. Our server disappeared for so long that my husband was contemplating just walking downstairs to the bar to order his drink. After what seemed like forever, our server re-emerged and let us know that he wasn't comfortable opening the champagne bottle and had to flag down another server for help. We finally got the champagne, but my husband's cocktail was still no where to be found. He asked the server again and after another 10 or so minutes he finally got his drink. Shortly after our food arrived. The chicken was cooked to perfection (moist inside with a crispy coating) but was noticeably under seasoned. The sides were good, but somewhat cold. My benedict was good, but also somewhat cold. The crispy potatoes that came on the side were the highlight of the meal. The service was friendly, but very slow, and the food left a ton to be desired. Maybe they were just having an off day, but there are so many other great options in Greenville that I wouldn't recommend having Soby's high...