Furman Dining Hall — Restaurant in Travelers Rest

EDIT 8/10/2025: Dinner is now $15.66. Inflation! Food and atmosphere are still awesome.

EDIT 9/11/2024: Dinner is $13.85 this year.

EDIT 9/24/2023: Dinner is now $13.34. Still a steal.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: I'm a regular here. Daniel Dining Hall feels like one of Greenville's best-kept culinary secrets. This is an all-you-can-eat cafeteria, open to the public and serving a wide selection of quality foods in a fun, laid-back atmosphere. The cooking and ambiance are on par with any casual restaurant in town, but the value proposition is unbeatable. Dinner is just $12.84.

There are lots of stations in the cafeteria, some manned, some self-serve. The former include the home-cooked dinner station, the build your own stir fry bowl station (they fry it up for you), the international cuisine station, and the vegetarian station. The themes stay the same, but the selection changes from day to day.

Self-serve stations offer burgers and fries, pizza, pasta, breakfast foods all day (including a waffle maker), and the best selection of desserts my sweet tooth has ever encountered. There are also soda fountains, a salad bar, and an ice cream machine.

The clientele is 99% Furman students, 1% Furman faculty, and sometimes yours truly. I don't understand how there aren't more visitors eating here. There's practically a line of sight to the Swamp Rabbit Trail. That's how I discovered the campus. Visitors can also park at the admissions office or in the small parking lot at the south end of Swan Lake. A walk around said lake is a great way to whet the appetite before dinner.

One thing to bear in mind here is that operating hours are affected by the academic calendar. The dining hall is currently closed for spring break and was closed during the Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. Recommend checking the schedule online...

This is the best dining hall I’ve been to. I am not a student, but we came to walk around to enjoy the lake and the tower chimes every 15 minutes. Really beautiful options for pictures! It was just around lunch time so we decided to try the dining hall. It was a flat fee per adult (around $14) and it’s all you can eat dinner. There is coffee/tea station, desserts, many food options, including salad bar and you can try everything if you wish. You can seat outside as well, but we found a good table by the window. It was a great experience considering the convenience and the fair price. I will be back to eat there once visiting...

I would like to thank Chaka for his incredible generosity last Thursday, 8-18-22 I had got in late with my son the night before on a 2 plane flight from California. We barely ate and then had to unload storage and move in. I realized I hadn’t drank any water or had anything to eat towards dinner time. I felt like I was going to faint and we went to go get ice water and Chaka quickly handed me and my son bottles of water and ice. I think he may have saved me from fainting and I truly appreciate him recognizing the look on my face. Thank you CHAKA! You are a lifesaver and truly represent Southern...