Whistle Stop at The American Cafe — Restaurant in Travelers Rest

Let me begin by saying I can only rate the experience not the food due to arriving almost an hour prior to closing time on Friday night (8:37pm…online hours as well as hostess confirmed their Friday night hours are open until 9:30pm) and being advised by the hostess they were closed after driving close to 45mn to have dinner there. Whistle Stop Cafe was our choice for dinner based on the variety shown on their online menu and looking for somewhere different to go…somewhere new to us. We arrived anticipating our first dining experience at Whistle Stop and having in mind what we wanted to order for dinner. You can imagine our disappointment when arriving 53 minutes prior to posted close time, the hostess advised they were closed. When asked how late were they open she looked at someone else (manager on duty maybe) and advised 9:30 but we close early sometimes if it’s slow. If this is the case at least make that notation on the internet so someone making a longer than usual drive for dinner, knows to call to confirm if you’re going to seat them upon arrival within your posted open/close time. You’ve heard the old cliche’ first impressions are lasting impressions. This was our first experience going to Whistle Stop and my boyfriend is adamant we would not go back. I said all that to say this, if you’re planning to go and your arrival time will be close to an hour before closing time, you might want to call to confirm you actually will be seated and given the opportunity to order from the menu. There were people seated and dining in the restaurant and we were not even given the opportunity to order takeout 53mn prior to the posted closing time after making the drive to have dinner. We would have declined but at least that offer could have possibly softened the blow of being told they were closed. My suggestion to whoever posts the restaurant hours on the website would be to include a notation with the posted hours of operation stating, “hours could differ depending on business volume”. It could have saved us an unnecessary and disappointing trip especially considering gas prices are...

I would give this place 0 stars if given the option. I ordered food for lunch from here and used the menu on their website as a reference. When I brought the lunch back, I compared the price that I paid with the prices on the menu, which did not align whatsoever and everything had increased. I called the restaurant and was told that their charges had recently gone up and I had explained that this was not reflected on the online menu. The owner's response to me was "well, when you go to a gas pump, their charges are also always changing."

Additionally, a coworker, who is Muslim, ordered a chicken dog plate. The description on the menu states "two deep-fried chicken tenders, cheddar cheese, and honey mustard." Come to found out, when the sandwich arrived, it had bacon on it. As Muslims, we cannot eat pork. When I said this, the owner's response was "he can't just take it off?" and I told her that this is not how it works. All she did was continue to apologize and advise me to ask if any charges have changed the next time I call anywhere to order food.

My coworker called expressing how insensitive the owner's comment was in regard to the bacon issue above and requested a refund that reflects the prices that we had seen on the menu. The owner proceeds to say, "well, it's not like you would come back anyways, I know how you people be." WHO IS "YOU PEOPLE?"

This was a highly unpleasant experience. This place should no longer be in business and I will make sure that everyone in the TR area...

WARNING: Read before you celebrate a birthday party here! We came here Thursday evening to celebrate a family birthday. Bad decision. There were 11 of us total - 6 adults and 5 kids. The place was pretty empty which is odd these days for great restaurants in Greenville on Thursday nights. That should have been a sign. The only reason I'm giving this 2 stars instead of 1 is because the food and service was not bad. But it also wasn't great and everything was overpriced. We sat at a table beside the kitchen and the smoke from the pizza oven was overwhelming. I am not sensitive to smells, but it was making me feel sick and when we left we reeked of the smell. But this is the clincher...because it was a birthday celebration, we had brought a cookie cake. The waitress informed us that there would be a "plate charge" for the cake (they charged $10). WHAT?!?! I have never heard of such! Especially not at a restaurant like this. They obviously do not want people to have celebrations here. We told them we didn't need plates, but of course they charged us anyway - ON TOP of the included gratuity. Also, the person with the birthday wasn't offered nor did she receive their complimentary birthday dessert. I'm not sure what kind of restaurant they think they are but it certainly doesn't match up to the dining experience. It's a shame because this is a great location. There are many more great spots to eat in TR these days. We will not be back...