location.
1055B Fernwood Glendale Road

what they are known for.
fresh cut and charcoal grilled steaks, seafood and burgers

menu.

features.
​outdoor dining

Dudleys celebrated its 7th birthday in July, and boy am I glad about that.  This restaurant was exactly what the East Side needed when it arrived on the scene.  The atmosphere is simultaneously perfect for a date night or for the big game, and I regularly enjoy it for both!  When you walk in, you’ll immediately notice the large bar surrounding the grill where you can saddle up, enjoy a beverage, and watch your steak being cooked to perfection.  There is also ample seating on the front patio, plus a back porch which is more for sports-watching.

Also from the Starters menu are the wings, which are perfect to order from Hub City Delivery if you are having a group of friends over.  Try the Garlic Parmesan dry rub!

When I’m craving a really good steak, Dudleys is one of the first places I think of.  Whether you go for the 14oz Ribeye or the 8oz Filet Mignon, each steak is seasoned and grilled to your liking, plus the garlic butter they put on top doesn’t hurt!

​On my last visit, I went for another of my favorite entrees: Low Country Boil.  You rarely see this on a menu because it is quite complicated to serve so many types of seafood and meat that are each cooked properly, but Dudleys has it figured out.  There is plenty to share between two people, if you’re willing: 4-5 oysters, 6 mussels, 4-5 shrimp, 1 cluster of crab legs, served over sausage, corn, onions and potatoes in a delicious broth.  Served up with melted butter, lemons, crackers, hot sauce, you name it, this meal is sure to please!

The sandwiches are great for a smaller meal, and if you’re there on a Thursday, they are ½ off.  One of my husband’s favorite is the brisket sandwich which is to die for with the melty cheese, caramelized onions, and savory au jus complimenting the smoked-in-house brisket. ​

Be sure to check out the Dudleys Facebook page for food specials and other special nights such as Wednesday’s Ladies Night: ½ priced drinks and appetizers.  Dudleys is a staple for the East Side that we are glad has been around for 7 years, and we hope will be for many more! And if you want more Spartanburg Restaurant Reviews, look no further!

location.
910 East Main Street

what they are known for.
fresh, authentic greek food

menu.

features.
outdoor dining

Cuzina in Greek means "kitchen", and I always feel like I'm walking into someone's kitchen when I walk into Cuzina Grill.  The open feel allows you to see what is going on behind the scenes, which I always find refreshing.  When it first opened, you ordered at the counter, but now you can just have a seat and wait for a server!

​On a nice day, the shaded front porch has several tables for lunch or dinner, and inside you'll find TVs for watching the game with a beer or glass of wine on the weekends.

Cuzina is one of my go-to's for weekday lunch or also ordering in from Hub City Delivery on a weekend night.  My favorite rotates from the salads, to the gyros, to the meat platters.  If you want to share (or not), I suggest ordering the appetizer platter and add a couple of meat skewers - you get a little bit of everything!

I love the meat platters for lunch because you can get them with a salad (or fries) and just enough warm pita bread with tzatziki sauce - arguably one of the best sauces on the planet, and they do it great justice at Cuzina.  The salad is always fresh with a light greek dressing that compliments the veggies and feta, and the meat is hot and tender, whether you get lamb, beef or chicken.

The hubs went for the steak gyro which is also a favorite of mine.  It comes topped with onions, tomatoes and tzatziki sauce, and the steak is one of the best meat choices you can make.  The fries are hot and dusted with a cheese and seasoning mixture that takes them up a notch.

Cuzina Grill has been around for a few years, but I get the sense that a lot of folks have overlooked it, so make sure you get in to try it soon! And if you want more Spartanburg Restaurant Reviews, look no further!

Cribb's Kitchen started out as a small sandwich shop on Spring Street that quickly became one of the most popular lunch spots downtown.  It evolved into Cribb's Kitchen, which is known throughout Spartanburg to provide excellent meals for lunch and dinner. They have won several local awards, most recently the 2016 James B. Thompson Small Business of the Year Award, and they are known for the Annual Burger Cook Off!  The winning burger is featured on their menu for one year after winning the competition.

Because of all of these accolades, you will most likely find the restaurant quite busy if you arrive during peak hours, but there are lots of tables.  When the weather cools down, get there early to snag a table on the patio!  The decor is funky with graffiti art and produce signs, and definitely check out the sweet background behind the beer taps - its the Spartanburg skyline! If you remember when this was the Salvation Army building, you know how impressive the space is.

If you're there for dinner, it's a great place to bring the family or out-of-town guests, or even go for date night!  Occasionally they have live music, so check out their facebook page for special events.  This particular day we were aiming for a workday lunch, which is a very popular thing to do.  I'm not sure what is typical, but we did end up waiting a decent amount of time for our food (45+ minutes), so if you only have an hour for lunch, try to go a little early or a little late...i.e. not right at noon.  They made up for it by offering a free app and dessert for our next visit!!

There are a lot of great options for lunch, but I'm not sure it gets better than the burgers.  I went for something I hadn't tried yet: the Barnyard which was the 2015 winner of the Annual Burger Cook Off! Aptly named because the patty is made with lamb, beef, and bacon, and it's topped with a fried egg, goat cheese, jalapenos, horseradish creme, shaved cabbage and tomato.  While quite messy to eat, it was delicious.  Tons of flavor to the burger, plus the tangy goat cheese cut by the spicy peppers, and you can't go wrong with an egg yolk running throughout. Pictured here with the side of cold cucumbers & onions with dill - a great fresh side for these hot summer days.

The hubs went with one of the most popular burgers, a Cribbs creation: the Fried Green.  As the name would suggest, this is a burger topped with a fried green tomato, pimento cheese, bacon, chipotle ranch, lettuce, tomato and mayo.  There's a reason it is popular y'all. That crispy fried green tomato is a genius burger topping, and of course is paired perfectly with the pimento cheese.  Pictured here with the side of parmesan fries - a classic that won't do you wrong.

Other notable menu items: the Moroccan burger (my ususal), the Pear salad (tarragon vinaigrette is out of this world), and the Squirrel Nuts (peanuts boiled in RJ Rockers beer!!). 

Cribbs is great for lunch and dinner, an after-work drink or check out their weekend brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.  And always check the facebook page before you go for the creative food specials they are coming up with on a daily basis!!  And if you can't get away from home but want an awesome meal, you can get Cribbs Kitchen delivered with Hub City Delivery! ​And if you want more Spartanburg Restaurant Reviews, look no further!

Fratello's opened in the space that was formerly Rita's, and before that Mexico Lindo, next to Dudley's on Fernwood Glendale Road.  If the front parking lot is full (there are only about 4 spaces), just head around the right of the building to the back parking lot.

Spartanburg doesn't have many purely Italian restaurants, but we should be proud to have this one.  All of their sauces are homemade, and you can absolutely tell.  I just recently got into their pizza menu, and it's amazing as well!  They did  a wonderful job redecorating the space.  It's clean and dark and moody (in a good way) with a long bar and very cool wine bottle wall.  Lots of booths = right up my alley.  Great for a romantic evening! 

I'd be remiss not to mention Fratello's Famous Pasta.  It's sausage, chicken and shrimp on farfalle with roseli sauce, which is a creamy marinara.  It's first up on the entree menu so you can't miss it, and you really shouldn't.  Heads up: it's difficult to finish any of the pasta dishes without taking some home, but it can be done (trust me).

Head to Fratello's on Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays for buy one get one 1/2 off pizzas, or Thursdays if you'd like to enjoy house wine for $3 a glass!!

Or if you can't peel yourself off the couch...order in with Hub City Delivery.

​And if you want more Spartanburg Restaurant Reviews, look no further!

location.
129 W Main Street

what they are known for.
noodles!  and other yummy pan-asian cuisine

menu.

features.
outdoor dining, hub city delivery

Monsoon Noodle House has been around for many years now, but in 2011 suffered fire damange.  Rumors swirled that they may not reopen and my heart, and tastebuds, were broken.  How could I live without their coconut soup??  There was a collective sigh of relief through town when rebuilding began, and now it's better than ever.

It has tons of seating inside and is one of the several downtown restaurants with sidewalk seating, although it wasn't set up this day (perhaps the 85+ degree temperatures?!).  Very popular with the downtown business community, so you can expect lines out the door on a nice day.  Good thing they are fast!

Now my usual go-to is the Thai Coconut Noodle Soup with shrimp, but like previously mentioned, it was almost 90 degrees outside so soup wasn't exactly what I wanted.  Instead, I went for the classic Pad Thai with shrimp.  Monsoon's "spice scale" goes from 1-5. I love and can tolerate fairly spicy food, but I went for the 4 once and it lit me up, so now I rarely venture past 3.  Those levels can also be inconsistent over different dishes, so don't assume because you can take the Triple Delight at a 3 that you can also take the Wonton Noodle Soup at a 3.  Personally, I think the soups tend to be spicier, so I might dial it down to a 2 with those.

Okay back to the Pad Thai - as you can see, great portions...I took home one spring roll and about 1/3 of this noodle dish.  You're not going to find a lot of egg as you would at say, Bangkok, but you will find saucy noodles complimented by the crunchy peanuts and bean sprouts.  You can order most dishes with your choice of shrimp, beef, chicken or tofu.  They do tofu really well, so if you're a vegetarian (or not!) it's worth a try.

The rebuilt Monsoon Noodle House is more modern with colorful decor.  Order at the counter when you walk in, make your drink, and sit down at your table where you put your number card in the metal holder so they know where to bring your food.  I always find it clean and bright, and the service is quick and reliable.  For example, it took probably 1-2 mins after I sat down for my spring rolls to come out, and I hadn't finished one before my Pad Thai arrived.  

Lunch or dinner, this place is great, and I've even brought out of town family! Huge plus: you can also get it delivered with Hub City Delivery.

​And if you want more Spartanburg Restaurant Reviews, look no further!