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The kitchen builds a new three-course prix fixe most weeks around whatever the restaurant's own farm and neighboring Upstate growers are harvesting, so the menu shifts with the season rather than sitting still. Dinner runs three courses for $65, Thursday through Sunday. It occupies the old Williams Hardware building on Main Street in Travelers Rest, with a screened, heated porch that looks out over the Swamp Rabbit Trail. Live jazz plays on Thursday evenings and select Saturdays bring a bluegrass brunch, which gives the room the feel of a neighborhood gathering as much as a special-occasion table, though it handles both. Beyond the weeknight prix fixe there is weekend brunch, a full bar with a curated wine list and craft cocktails, and a Sunday chef's tasting that changes weekly, five courses with an optional wine pairing. Plant-based cooking gets serious attention, from a deep vegan lineup to a Plant Based Supper Club that runs a few times a year. The attached kitchen and market bakes bread to order and carries local produce and chef-prepared meals. Chef Adam Cooke, a 2020 James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef Southeast, leads the kitchen, and much of what comes out of it traces back to the restaurant's own 16-acre farm and named local growers like Bradford Farm and Barbee Farms.

Stella's has been cooking on Fairview Road for more than fifteen years, long enough to sit near the top of most Simpsonville diners' lists. The room manages relaxed and polished at the same time, easy enough for a weeknight dinner but put-together enough that people book it for anniversaries and other special occasions, with service that stays attentive without turning stiff. The kitchen works from scratch and leans Southern, with coastal-Carolina influences and a real commitment to sourcing close to home. That is not just a line on the wall; the menu credits its growers by name, from Tyger River Farm greens to Split Creek Farm goat cheese, so a plate here traces back to Upstate and regional farms. Around the food sits a full wine list, a bar that takes its cocktails seriously, and a Sunday brunch worth planning for. Larger gatherings have the Indigo Room, the restaurant's private space, which seats up to fifty for anything from a plated dinner to a full event.

L'INCANTO was built for elegant comfort, and the details carry it: frosted-glass rose emblems, a bar washed in cool blue light, and an intimate dining room made for a slower evening. It sits on East Poinsett Street in downtown Greer's walkable historic district, the kind of dinner-only spot you settle into rather than pass through. The kitchen belongs to Chef Carlos Echeverri, who runs it alongside his wife, Kristi. Their cooking stays rooted in Northern Italy while leaving room for a modern hand, and each plate is built with real attention to how flavor, texture, acidity, and pairing come together. The menu shifts with the seasons rather than sitting still. Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free diners are looked after, and the staff know the wine list well enough to guide you through it. Reviewers keep returning to specific plates: the bolognese, a pork belly osso buco, Chilean sea bass, and lamb that guests call out by name. Beyond the regular menu, the restaurant hosts seasonal wine dinners and keeps a private room for larger parties and celebrations. Because the menu turns with the seasons, the dish people are raving about one month may be gone the next, so the favorite you leave with is likely to be one you find on your own.

Rick Erwin's Greer brought the Rick Erwin name, a fixture of Upstate fine dining, to downtown Greer in 2023, taking over the East Poinsett Street space locals knew for years as Strip Club 104. It is the group's newest room, and it runs on the same idea that built the name: a serious steakhouse that stays warm instead of stuffy. The setting is intimate and dressed up without tipping into formal, with private and semi-private areas for larger parties. Executive chef Ben Arendt's kitchen is built on premium cuts of beef and fresh seafood, backed by a full bar and a deep wine list, along with chef's features written just for the Greer location. Diners keep pointing to the she-crab soup, the shrimp and grits, and the crab cakes, and to the Saganaki cheese flamed table-side, while the steaks pull the kind of praise a steakhouse lives or dies on. It is a reservations-first kind of place, and the occasions guests describe tend to repeat: an anniversary, a milestone worth marking, a date night, or a business dinner where the pacing and the service carry as much weight as the food.

Patterson | Kitchen + Bar is the dinner restaurant at Hotel Hartness, an upscale American kitchen and bar in Greenville. It sits toward the higher end of the local price range, the sort of place set aside for a slower, special-occasion evening out rather than a quick weeknight meal. Dinner is served Monday through Saturday from 5 p.m., and the kitchen is closed on Sundays.

Scoundrel is one of the upscale dinner spots along North Main Street, the walkable heart of downtown Greenville where much of the city's restaurant and evening life sits close together. It plays toward the higher end of the local scene, the kind of table you plan an evening around rather than wander into, which makes it a natural fit for an anniversary, a celebration, or a night out when the meal itself is the occasion.

Kilwins is the sweets stop on North Main in downtown Greenville, the place you duck into for a scoop, a piece of fudge, or a box of chocolates while you are out on Main Street. It fits neatly into a downtown afternoon or an after-dinner walk, an easy stop when you are already in the middle of things.

Handmade chocolate is the whole point here: truffles, chocolate-dipped confections, bark, and boxed assortments meant for giving rather than something grabbed off a candy aisle. You will find it on the older, walkable stretch of Main Street in downtown Simpsonville, an easy stop for a small treat or a gift while you are out in the Upstate.

Chocolate Artworks made its name on Dubai chocolate. Back when that bar was the thing everyone in the Upstate was hunting for, this small Mauldin shop kept turning up on local forums as one of the places actually making it well, and its Strawberry Dubai Cups have become what a lot of people drive over for. The storefront sits off Miller Road near downtown Mauldin, unassuming from the street. It works as much like a small studio as a shop: alongside the handmade truffles, chocolate-covered strawberries and bananas, and gift boxes, owner Peggy runs monthly kids' chocolatier workshops, summer camps, and family storytime sessions. There is also a dessert truck that turns out made-to-order frozen bananas and smoothie pops. Reviewers keep coming back to the quality: silky truffles, chocolate that tastes like real cocoa, and staff they describe as warm and welcoming. The shop also earned a 2025 Best of South Carolina regional win in the candy-store category.

The Nomadik Few is a dessert shop in Piedmont, in the Upstate southwest of Greenville. It runs wider than a standard ice cream counter, pairing frozen treats with confectionery and other sweets, which makes it more of a stop for dessert or an evening treat than a place for a full meal.

The draw is the ice cream itself: more than 75 flavors of Hershey's, scooped to order in generous portions. It is a brand a lot of people around here say is hard to find elsewhere, and with that many options on the board, half the fun is standing at the case trying to narrow it down. What sets the stop apart is where it lives. The ice cream counter is tucked inside That's Karma, a roomy consignment and gift boutique of some 4,000 square feet, stocked with local artisan goods, toys, and imported finds, so a cone comes with a browse through the shelves. Reviewers tend to describe the shop as friendly and a little nostalgic, and the owner has been known to step out and chat with visitors. Past the scoops, the menu stretches to sundaes, milkshakes, ice cream flights, and made-to-order creations, along with fresh-squeezed lemonade and a candy counter, with dairy-free and gluten-free options that customers with sensitivities are quick to point out. It sits right on West Main Street in the middle of downtown Easley's shops and restaurants, an easy stop while you work your way down the block.

La Abejita Michoacana is a Mexican ice cream shop in Taylors, carrying the paletería tradition that takes its name from the state of Michoacán. That heritage runs on bright fruit flavors, paletas, and other frozen treats made in a style you will not find at a standard American scoop counter. Beyond the frozen case, it works as a dessert and sweets stop for the east side of the Upstate, with confections and snacks to round out a visit. The name means "the little bee," and by the reviews, it has built a loyal local following in the Taylors area.

Houni's Italian Ice serves Italian ice from a storefront on North Main Street in Simpsonville, the water-based, dairy-free frozen treat that stays lighter than a scoop of ice cream and holds up well through an Upstate summer. Beyond the Italian ice, the shop works as a small neighborhood dessert stop, with ice cream and other sweets on hand. It keeps afternoon-into-evening hours Tuesday through Sunday and closes on Mondays.

Ice Cream Station has been scooping in downtown Simpsonville for more than a decade, working out of the old train depot beside the Main Street clocktower. The name is not just branding: the rail line still runs right past the building, and half the fun is taking a cone outside to watch a train roll by just steps away. The menu goes well past a plain vanilla cone. Soft serve is the backbone, but the counter also turns out thick milkshakes made with local Happy Cow dairy, floats, fruit smoothies, and a long list of build-your-own sundaes. Dole Whip comes in pineapple and orange for anyone skipping dairy, and reviewers say the non-dairy soft serve holds its own against the regular scoops. The sundaes are where it gets playful: a Dirt Digging Sundae buried in Oreos and gummy worms, a Hound Hog stacked with bourbon-roasted bacon and hot fudge, and a rotating Hot Cobbler served warm in a waffle bowl. When fall arrives, the seasonal SkyTop apple cider slushie is the one people wait for. Lines can get long on a warm evening, but customers keep pointing out how fast they move and how generous the staff are with samples and toppings.

Pop's Cabin Creamery works out of the historic Gosnell Cabin on the grounds of the Mauldin Cultural Center, a log cabin relocated into downtown Mauldin and given a second life as an ice cream stand. You order through the cabin's front windows and pick up where the front door used to be, then carry your cone to one of the umbrella-shaded tables set out under the trees in front. Alongside scoops there are snow cones, Italian ice, milkshakes, sundaes, coffee, and pound cake, plus cornhole and a few yard games to keep the kids busy. Reviewers tend to single out the friendly service and the generous portions, the kind where you feel you got your money's worth in the cone. A few also note the ice cream is a familiar Southern brand rather than churned on site, which is fair to know going in. The shop is named for Pop Dorsey, the owner's wife's grandfather, who ran a small ice cream shop over in Marion, South Carolina.

Dillard's is a longtime Greer fixture, an ice cream parlor that shares its lot with a working farm stand, so a scoop and a flat of just-picked strawberries come from the same stop. The building itself is small, with a covered porch and picnic tables out front where families settle in on warm evenings, and in summer the line runs long but moves quickly. The flavor list is deep and shifts with the seasons, and the staff hand over spoonfuls to sample before you commit. Reviewers keep circling back to the banana pudding and the Charleston sea salt caramel, and there are a few Splenda-sweetened options for anyone watching sugar. Past the cones, the counter turns out banana splits built for sharing, hot fudge brownie sundaes, thick milkshakes, and seasonal treats like apple cider doughnuts once fall arrives. One practical note before you go: it's cash or check only, no cards. Come in warm weather and you can pair dessert with whatever the farm has ripe that week, from spring strawberries to late-summer melons and tomatoes. With a list that deep and spoons on the counter for sampling, the real question isn't whether you'll land on a favorite but which one, and that's yours to settle on the next visit.

Pink Mama's sits right on the Swamp Rabbit Trail in downtown Travelers Rest, the kind of stop you roll up to on a bike or wander into after a walk down Main Street. The shop leans all the way into its name, done up in pink inside and out, with a selfie wall that gets plenty of use and rocking chairs by the front window for working through a cone. The scoops are Hershey's, with more than two dozen flavors on the board alongside floats, milkshakes, and dirty sodas. What sets the place apart is what comes around the ice cream: the pink waffle cones are made in-house and carry a faint cinnamon note that reviewers keep mentioning. There are vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free options too, and dogs get their own Paw Sundaes, which is a rare thing to find at a scoop counter. The building is small and the lot fills up on warm weekends, but the line moves quickly and the scoops run generous.

Dillard's is a family dessert spot on Mauldin Road, the kind of place you go for ice cream after dinner rather than something you grab on the way past. It reads more sit-down than a walk-up window, which makes it an easy call when the kids want a treat and the grown-ups want to sit for a few minutes. Evenings are its natural window. It stays open well past dinner through the week and a little later on Fridays and Saturdays, so it fits the after-supper run more than the midday stop.

Houni's is built around Italian ice, the fruit-forward, water-based cousin of ice cream that stays lighter and brighter on a warm Upstate afternoon. That is the real draw here, and it is what sets the shop apart from a standard scoop counter. The counter does not stop at Italian ice, though. It also runs to ice cream, dessert-shop treats, and confections, so a group that cannot settle on one craving can still walk out happy with something cold and sweet in hand.

Walk in and the case does the work: rows of gelato in bright colors lined up behind the glass. The room is well-lit and kept notably clean, with enough seating that a family can spread out and linger rather than grab a cup to go. On a hot Upstate afternoon it works as much as a place to sit and cool off as a quick sweet stop. The gelato is made in-house the traditional Italian way, from a brand that began in Rome before opening in Poland, Dubai, Egypt, and Texas. It runs small-batch and seasonal, and customers describe it as balanced rather than overly sweet. Beyond the gelato there is a real spread of Italian sweets: cannoli, tiramisu, affogato, milkshakes, crepes and waffles, plus espresso drinks. A large cup comes as four scoops, enough for three people to share. A few things come up again and again in reviews: the Dubai Chocolate flavor, the cannoli that one visitor swore beat the ones she had in Italy, and the affogato, a strong shot of espresso poured over a scoop of gelato. Several people mention the chunks of dessert folded through the flavors, so most bites turn up something extra. It sits right on Woodruff Road near Five Forks, an easy stop on a shopping run or an after-dinner treat when you are already out that way.

Clare’s Creamery sits right on Laurens Road, an easy pull-off for a scoop on the way home or after dinner. It runs as more than an ice cream counter, with a dessert-and-confection side and a few sweets you can carry out. The shop stays open until 9 most evenings and until 10 on Friday and Saturday nights, so it holds up as a late treat, not just an afternoon one.

In Greenville's Overbrook neighborhood, an easygoing residential pocket just east of downtown, Clare's Creamery makes the kind of ice cream that started life as a downtown cart before it had any walls at all. Sisters Caitlin and Molly grew up scooping at a shop back in Ohio, and after Caitlin spent about a decade away in digital marketing and then went through Penn State's Ice Cream 101, the two circled back to what they loved and began selling small batches from a cart around town. It caught on fast enough to earn this storefront. Everything is churned in-house in small batches, and the care lives in the specifics. The base is super-premium, running around fourteen percent butterfat, and each batch takes roughly two days to make. They rotate through sixteen core flavors alongside seasonal specialties, keep the recipes their own rather than a supplier's, and carry dairy-free options for anyone who needs them. It plays as a genuine family spot, unhurried and easy with kids, the kind of place people fold into a weekend without much planning. Ask around and the lavender honey keeps coming up, rich and lightly floral without tipping too sweet, and it is the one worth ordering first.

Hester Store & Co. is a general store and cafe out on Hester Store Road in Easley, the sort of country spot that shares its name with the road it sits on. Come in early for coffee, browse the general-store shelves, and stay for ice cream, confections, and dessert, all at country-store prices.

Pistachio Cakery is a cake and dessert shop in Easley, turning out cakes and sweets for everyday treats and the occasions worth marking. It keeps a short, focused week, open Wednesday through Saturday, so a visit is worth planning around those days. For anyone in the western Upstate after something made fresh rather than pulled off a grocery shelf, it is an easy local pick.