My wife and I went for dinner and were promptly greeted at the door and taken to a table.  Love the decor with exposed brick, nice lighting, cool/hip style.  Nice music playing in the background.  I didn't feel I was in Greenville, but more like NYC or Toronto.  Started with the Lobster Mac  & Cheese as an appetizer to split with my wife.  Good portion size and the flavor was awesome!  I had the crab cake special for dinner and my wife had the shrimp and grits.  Both were amazing!!!  The food here is top notch.  Service was excellent.  Food came quickly. Â
What I liked about 21 East is the quality throughout, from decor to food to even the bathrooms. Â It's not the typical restaurant. Â They have broken out of the "Southern Style" same type of place that you expect to see in Greenville. Â 21 East is upscale and really cool. Â Plenty of menu selections...I can't see myself getting bored with food options.
21 East has shot to the top of Best of Downtown restaurant options. Â I will have Lobster Mac & Cheese cravings until my next visit."
By the way, the style here is not "Retro 80's" and the food selection is not "Tapas". Â Very modern style with a full dinner menu. Â There are appetizers and burgers, but there are also full dinner plates. Â Whatever you choose, you're sure to LOVE it!
Hint, make a reservation.
Returned with a Groupon on a Monday night. Â The manager seated us, and told us that our server was one of the best servers and bartenders in the area, and they were lucky to have her. Â Well, there's all kinds of luck...
She didn't know what was on tap. Â Our meals were not hot when they arrived (after a long wait). Â She had to be flagged down twice for beverage refills, and she repeatedly disappeared into the basement. Â
The manager told us that burgers are $5 every Monday, so we ordered them. Â When the bill came, we presented the Groupon, and when the already rang credit card receipt came back, the burgers were suddenly no longer $5, but $10. Â When we asked, we were told they were excluded because they were a "Promotional Menu Item." Every Monday? Â The manager said, "Well, I guess it's just semantics." Â Sounds more like Bait-and-Switch to me. Â If they were not going to honor their Groupon, they should have told us BEFORE running the card through! Â No offer to make it right; just tough.
The burgers are not quite as good as Blackstone on Woodruff, and certainly not worth $10; especially since they cool down to room temperature before they are served. Â The fries that accompanied them are limp, cold, and supposedly drizzled with truffle butter and Parmesan. Â Tasted the parmesan, but that must be a very light drizzle of truffle butter.
There are just too many reputable places to eat in Greenville for me to patronize these jerks.
Valentine's night, greeted warmly by hostess and wife immediately got a rose. Table next to us chatted us up and just gushed over how good the food was, and it was their most favorite new restaurant. They were not wrong - chicken and sweet potato waffles with whiskey butter was awesome. Fried chicken was lightly battered and waffle melted in your mouth. Shrmip and grits were awesome! Tasso gravy baked into a grits cake and shrimp, lightly grilled and delicious. Pound cake with light lemon-cream and fruit sauce was tasty. Â Reasonably priced and Corie our server was great. Nice micro-brew selection as well! Decor is retro-eighties-hip and comfortable. Tables near the window are nice to gaze at vibrant Greenville pedestrians and street. Tables in the interior looked cozy and romantic. Great job!
Review Source:I can understand the Yelper who said she was confused about this place, as was I. It is more of a bar atmosphere than a restaurant. And if you like 80s music, this is your place. It was a bit too loud for conversation tho, giving the place that bar feel...but then when you look down at your food and then taste it, you think you're at an upscale restaurant.
I was impressed with the look and size of the spinach salad but the taste was not what I was expecting as there was no warm bacon dressing flavor. The shrimp and grits makes a beautiful presentation with the shrimp on top of a 'grit cake', which looks like cornbread, with the gravy underneath. The shrimp are large and taste like they are seared in bacon drippings. This is very savory at first bite, but by the time I got to the third piece it was becoming a bit too much. It's a dense and heavy dish. My husband tried the mahi-mahi, which on the other hand was very light and flavorful with veggies and a citrus sauce. Neither of us cared too much for the choice of wine, the Bollini pinot grigio.
I'm giving this place a 4-star review because I appreciate what they are trying to do and the food is of excellent quality. The wait staff was friendly and service was timely. We'll definitely be back to try the burgers, meatloaf, and chicken and waffles.
This place is more of a bar atmosphere than a typical restaurant. The food here was very good. We went with the lobster mac and cheese as an appetizer, which was delicious. Mushroom Swiss burger was very good. The gourmet tacos were so so good and well worth the price. Unfortunately our service was abysmal. We were here on a Monday night when it was about 1/2 full. Waited 25 minutes to be greeted and 35 minutes for our check after we were done eating... It was laughable how bad the server was.
Review Source:A group of us came out for a friend's birthday. Reservations were made several weeks prior. Owner greeted me with no hesitation. Great look...loved the layout...The menu was soulful and satisfying. Everyone was satisfied with their choices. It also has a nice dance area with bar upstairs. Music straight techno....good concept because you have drink to listen to that. Overall the birthday girl loved it and was still enjoying the moment with her man after we departed. 21 East you are a refreshing change to Greenville's downtown.
Review Source:My husband and I dined here a couple of weeks ago with another couple.
We had the spinach artichoke dip as an appetizer, was a bit soupy in consistency but nonetheless good. My husband had chicken and waffles for his entree, LOVED them. It was a sweet potato waffle which gave it a bit of, well, sweetness. I had a burger which unfortunately was overcooked, which I should have expected, there is only one place in DT Greenville that actually cooks my burgers to medium rare when I ask for it. The other couple split the Lobster Mac and Cheese, as others have said it was a hit.
Drinks- house white wine, both pinot grigio and chardonnay, were good. Martinis were good. Beer selection was good.
My biggest beef here was service, our waitress in particular. She never smiled, she took forever to check on us, take our orders, etc. We went on a weekday night and it was not super busy, so it was hard for me to validate why she was like that. I will compliment the gentleman that I would assume was the manager on duty, I saw him checking on all tables, he chatted with my husband and our friend about the beers they ordered, etc. So bravo there, just not sure what happened with our waitress.
We went upstairs after dinner- cool loft, there was a band playing (can't remember the name) and my husband was really into it.
Overall, I think we'll be back, especially when my husband is craving those chicken and waffles! Maybe even more likely to stop back in for drinks and live music.
NOT WORTH THE TIME AND MONEY!
I went on a Tuesday night at 6pm. I learned about this place thru experiencing them at Fall for Greenville. The gourmet tacos and lobster mac n'chesse were just amazing.
Eating at the restaurant... a whole other experience.
IT SUCKED.
One server/bartender was working. I was in a party of TWO and we were 2 or 6 people in the place and waited well over an hour for food. Then when food FINALLY cam e out - it wasnt prepared right. The spinach dip was average, they over cooked the pita chips and they were a crunchy mess. The signature "grandapa" burger was awful. The burger was well over done. Soggy lettuce. Burned bun.... This was delivered with COLD fries. My wife ordered the 3 chicken tacos. They must have been distracted and not heard chicken - they brought out one of each flavor. Steak, chicken, crawfish. All 3 were over cooked. The meats were tough and hard to chew. The tortilla shells even had burn marks on them.
I would return if this place was having a "free drink nite" but would never consider returning for the food. It was a waste of my time.
21 East left me a bit confused when we stopped in for dinner Saturday night.
The decor and feel is a bit like an upscale nightclub or martini bar...including a "no baggy clothing" warning on the door. The bar chairs were all full (quite a few of the "sundress with cowboy boots" type ladies), but the tables, almost empty. A previous review had me expecting a "tapas style" menu. This was not the case. The menu is very 'home style' (meatloaf, steaks, burgers, chicken and waffle)...not what I'd expect from the atmosphere.
However, after we ordered and received our meals, we were pleasantly surprised. Our appetizer and entrees were all very good. Our plates all left our table empty...compliments to the chef! Good selection of beers on tap. Our waitress was very friendly...and rooting for the correct football team :)
So although I'm still confused by what maybe they're going for, I guess I can't complain because whatever it is, I like it!
Ok...one thing I can't let slip by. They need a menu editor. On the lobster mac and cheese it is described as "main lobster". The state is spelled "Maine". Sorry...I'm from New England ;)
Great experience, great food. The atmosphere is very urban chic, with contemporary lighting and decor.
I had the Lobster Mac and Cheese....OMG! So,so good. The cheese sauce is homemade and there are huge pieces of lobster...my dining partner had the flank steak. Beautifully presented and perfectly cooked.
I will, without hesitation, return. This restaurant is top notch. Go to 21 East for a wonderful meal. You will love it!
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