Starlight Cafe and Farm — Restaurant in Greenville

I think I built up this restaurant in my mind and it didn't live up to my expectations. I ordered a $30 NY strip with house-made steak sauce, béarnaise compound butter, served with Frites.

I appreciate a farm-to-table establishment serving grass-fed beef and local vegetables. The price here is higher than other area restaurants, but I expect to pay more for high quality locally sourced foods.

When the steak came to the table, I was instantly disappointed. I received a steak and fries. The plating looked like any steak with a pile of fries that appeared to come out of a freezer bag. The fries occupied 2/3 of the plate and there were no other vegetables included. Even some steamed seasonal vegetables would have really improved the dish. Furthermore, the "Frites" should be more than a French word for fries. I expected a chef/cook to start with a whole potato and not drop something from a freezer bag into a fryer.

After the first impression of the $30 steak and fries I just ordered, I realized the butter was not melted. Typically, steak is served hot enough to melt the butter resting on top. In this case, I had solid butter for my meal right up to the last bite of steak.

My guess is the steak sauce is applied to the steak chilled, protecting the butter from the heat of the steak.

I don't know if the dining experience has been changed due to the pandemic, or if this is the typical experience. Another thing that stood out was the paper tablecloths. There were white tablecloths protected by paper laid across the table. Given this restaurant is one of the more upscale options in the area, paper tablecloths were not expected at this price point.

Ultimately, I had very basic dining experience at an upscale price point for the region.

------ Below, added in response to reply from the business -----

"But that's not included on our menu, so why would you think they would be?"

I never said I thought seasonal vegetables would be included. I said they would improve the plating which was 2/3 fries with a small NY strip steak. The presentation did not match with my expectations for a $30 dinner. It did match the description on the menu, so that is not something I feel should be argued with the staff/manager/owner. Your restaurant provided what was stated on the menu and my expectations were too high. This is not your fault, it is my own fault for having such high expectations of a $30 steak and fries dinner plate. Photos online show, Steak Frites does not require 2/3 plate of fries and does not exclude other vegetables.

"Those "paper tablecloths" are butcher paper that we have always utilized on top of our white tablecloths. They keep our linen costs down, the tables clean and the kids just LOVE it when we bring crayons over for them to be able to color on the tables while their parents enjoy a delicious night out!"

I am sure that parents love having their children draw on the butcher paper at dinner. This is why restaurants like Denny's offer coloring placemats. It is also why a T-Bone steak and two sides is only $17 at Denny's, or a sirloin is only $13. When the price is roughly 2x, there is an expectation of higher quality and ambiance. Paper tablecloths are not the upscale ambiance I expect from a farm-to-table restaurant offering $30 steak and fries on the menu.

"Unless you ordered your steak "blue" I highly doubt it never melted."

You're welcome to question my honesty in this review. Perhaps I should have documented the meal with photos and video. However, I will not return to collect evidence with another trip to this restaurant. As I said, I had higher expectations because I built up this restaurant in my own mind. I now know that this dining experience is not worth the price for my money. Other people are welcome to arrive at their own conclusions. There are many positive reviews on here, so it seems that I am in the minority with my opinion. This single review will not impact your average very much, so I was simply being honest in my review. There is no need to argue with me or claim that I am not...

I have a long history with this restaurant. When I first interviewed for a job in in 2008, my prospective employer took me to Starlight as part of my interview. I fell in love with it then. Over the years, I have always considered it the place to go in Greenville. I loved going there for lunch, and hated it when they decided to close for lunch and only open for dinner.

For a few years now, I have hosted a group event there once or twice a year. My budget is usually $100 per person (with gratuity, and no alcohol is provided) so I think I have been a very supportive guest in terms of paying market prices without argument or haggling.

This year as we planned our February event, I first received some very rude and snippy correspondence from them. It did not sound like Kelly, the person I have always dealt with. I have had this event there at least three times in the past, so I was quite taken aback by the rudeness.

We reserved the back room near the bar for a 30 person dinner. Once we started our meeting (which featured an Emily Post-trained etiquette instructor) a group of loud and exceptionally rude women interrupted our event. They interrupted the speaker!

They said they wanted to have a picture made on the staircase and for me "not to worry about it." My guests were all looking around trying to figure out what was happening and it created a lot of chaos. I was clearly not happy. When I objected suddenly another woman appeared who identified herself as "an owner" and effectively said "deal with it." She did not care what they had done, and seemed offended that I had a problem with my private event being interrupted.

I am quite sure if someone would have just come and asked me ahead of time, "Could we interrupt for a photo?" I would have accommodated the request. But that's not what happened, and, the "owner" seemed to not care, at all, about our satisfaction with the event.

The server managing the event seemed very uncomfortable with what had transpired. I told her after being a loyal repeat customer for over a decade I was never coming back. There were some other service issues that were minor, that I was going to discuss with them. She was sure someone would reach out to me, as they valued my business. Nope, didn't happen.

The servers there are sweet and attentive. The bartenders are friendly, accommodating and efficient. Chef Tobias is extremely talented and creates lovely food. His wife Kelly is charming and a joy to work with. But..."I'm-An-Owner" alienates customers. Because of her intolerably rude attitude, I refuse to go there again. I hate missing out on the delicious food, but I will not patronize a place that doesn't treat me with courtesy and respect, especially when I'm dropping several thousand dollars on a...

Made my first visit to Starlight today, and while I may go sometime for dinner, I won't be going back for brunch.

Right to the point - I picked up the chicken and waffle and my date selected the huevos. My waffle, being both cornmeal and saturated with honey butter had no mouth feel other than mush; no airy spring, no bite, and nearly unable to fork into mouth. There was only sweet coming through to the palate - the chicken was incredibly thin, and barely enough to make it through the one half of the waffle when taking bites of each. The chicken added almost nothing to the plate when it's job is to add that savory factor you need in order to enjoy the fact you're ordering fried chicken - it somehow managed to bring more sweet into the mix.

My plate was simply not enjoyable.

My date wasn't feeling well so I opted to finish her meal, and I can't say too much negative about the huevos aside from they need to offer toast with it. It would be great to use as a vessel for the eggs, they are a pain to eat with just a fork.

$25 for two entrees (water for drink). For the portions and the flavors, I would not go again FOR BRUNCH. I have not been for dinner.

Service wasn't great, but I'm not sure where that fits into a review simply because of turnover rates with staff. The two stars doesn't factor this in. Don't offer a two seater table next to a wall or ledge to a six foot one, slightly larger guy and his date. Really don't offer it twice. I had to ask for a four top and was only rarely tended to even though we picked a spot that was easily the most trafficked table in the building. I received a single refill after we were finished by a guy who just happened to be...