Best Italian Restaurants in Greenville Kudos

Restaurant 17 sits at Hotel Domestique, the boutique hotel George and Rich Hincapie built into the Blue Ridge foothills a few miles north of downtown Travelers Rest. The dining room looks out toward the mountains, and the property carries the European-countryside feel the Hincapies brought home from years of travel and racing abroad. Getting here means leaving the Upstate's busier roads for a quiet stretch of Road of Vines, which is part of the draw. The kitchen, led by chef Haydn Shaak, works a seasonal menu rooted in the land around it, with a European and Mediterranean lean rather than anything fussy. Much of the plate is grown close by, drawing on Stage 22, the hotel's own farm along the North Saluda River, plus neighboring farms and nearby streams. Because the menu follows what is in season, it shifts through the year, so two visits months apart rarely look alike. That local sourcing is what reviewers keep returning to, along with a setting that stays relaxed rather than stiff despite the polish. If you go, leave time before dinner for a drink at the hotel's Bar 17; starting the evening there, then moving to the table as the light drops over the foothills, is how people who know the place tend to do it.

Perched on the second floor of Falls Park Place where Main Street meets Falls Park Drive, this Table 301 concept trades on one of downtown's best vantage points: a wraparound veranda and tall windows that open onto the Reedy River and the park below. Executive chef Michael Kramer, a James Beard Award nominee, named the room after a San Francisco restaurant run by an early mentor, and the kitchen carries that lineage into a modern read on rustic Italian cooking. An open pasta station turns out hand-rolled gnocchi and cut-to-order noodles while the raw bar runs oysters flown in from both coasts alongside sliced-to-order prosciutto and crudo. A 40-foot bar anchors the room, pouring craft cocktails and an Italian-leaning wine list built by a resident sommelier; most pastas can be prepared gluten-free on request, and outside bottles are welcome for a corkage fee that is waived with a purchase from the list. Reviewers most often single out the squid-ink fusilli with lobster and truffle, the burrata, and a floor team known by name for walking guests through the menu, with live music on the balcony some evenings. Recognized in the MICHELIN Guide to the American South, it sits firmly at the special-occasion end: there is no private dining room, the main room caps parties at ten, and larger groups book a full buyout rather than a reserved table.

The real pull here is not having to pick a side: one kitchen turns out red-sauce Italian and Greek plates alike, so a table can split a stromboli and a gyro without anyone settling. More than one regular cops to ordering manicotti and baklava in the same sitting. Build-to-order pizzas anchor the menu, with the all-meat version tucking its toppings under the cheese, and the lineup runs deep from there: calzones and strombolis, baked pastas like lasagna and eggplant parmigiana, meatball subs and the Italian combo, plus a Greek bench of gyros, Greek salads, and baklava. Wings, cheesy garlic bread, and tiramisu round out an order, with a real vegetarian selection and catering for group functions. Portions are the recurring note in reviews, usually some version of "too much food" for what diners keep calling fair money. The from-scratch tomato sauce draws specific praise, the eggplant parmigiana has its own devotees, and the Greek salad gets singled out again and again, while the room itself reads casual, kid-friendly, and easy with groups. The honest caveat regulars raise themselves: service can run slow even on a quiet night, and a few dishes land less consistently than the standouts. Lean into the pizza-and-pasta core or the Greek plates it is known for, and it tends to reward the trip.

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.

Tucked into a historic Main Street storefront where handcrafted gas lanterns glow against rustic brick walls, Trio has been a locally owned downtown fixture since the mid-1990s, run by two owners who have been friends since childhood and have cooked around Greenville for decades. The wood-fired brick oven anchors the kitchen. Sauces are made fresh daily and turn up in inventive combinations like roast chicken with basil pesto, though the menu reaches well past pizza into blackened carbonara, sauteed crawfish and rotini, homemade lasagna, calzones, and starters such as wood-fired wings, mussels, and lobster bisque. Desserts lean on that same oven, from a chocolate-filled cake to house-made tiramisu, and the wine list runs to more than 25 pours by the glass alongside a full bar. Gluten-free and vegetarian options are on hand, and large-tray catering covers parties and events. Regulars and visitors alike single out the thin, crisp crust, generous portions, and the warm, familiar service from a staff many reviewers mention by name. One practical note before you go: Trio is not listed on an online reservation network, so tables are walk-in or arranged by phone, and its long-running popularity means prime dinner hours downtown can fill up fast.

Indaco sits on the corner of West Broad just off Main, close enough to the downtown action that its covered patio opens toward the Main Street sidewalk. It is the Greenville outpost of the Indigo Road group's regional Italian brand, and the room reads the part: airy and Italian-inspired, elevated but not stiff, the kind of place that works as easily for a weeknight dinner as a night out. The cooking is rustic Italian built around house-made pasta and wood-fired pizza, with an in-house salumi and pastry program behind it. Executive chef Josh Begley leans on local farms, so the menu reads with names attached: Providence Farm pork, Storey Farm eggs, and pastas like a squid-ink linguine nero with shrimp and Calabrian chile or a braised-lamb casoncelli. Much of the piatti is meant to be passed around family-style, with an Italian-forward wine list to run alongside it. It suits a table with people at it: a group splitting pizzas and pastas, a family dinner, or a relaxed date downtown when you want good Italian without a special-occasion price tag.

Limoncello anchors a stretch of the RiverPlace district in downtown Greenville, a short walk from Falls Park and the Reedy River, with an open-air patio that reviewers frequently compare to a European bistro. Cooler months don't shut the patio down: individual table fire pits and a large communal fireplace keep the outdoor seating in play, and a location steps from the Peace Center and Centre Stage has made it a well-worn choice for pre-theater dinners. The kitchen takes a contemporary approach to Italian cooking, pairing produce from local farms with products imported from Italy across house-made pastas, hand-built pizzas, and salads. The bar backs it with a deep Italian wine list, craft beer, signature cocktails, and the namesake house-made limoncello, with fresh gelato to finish. Gluten-free diners are unusually well served, with gluten-free crusts and pastas plus zucchini-noodle swaps called out directly on the menu. Recurring touches like Prosecco Tuesdays, weekend brunch, and Restaurant Week specials round out the calendar. Dishes that reviewers return to most often: Sacchetti — a pesto-sauced pasta that comes up repeatedly as a favorite Lasagna, chicken parmesan, and eggplant rollatini among the entrées Arancini, calamari, and meatballs leading the appetizer mentions Chocolate-covered cannoli and limoncello cake to close, alongside the house-made gelato The complimentary warm bread draws steady praise, as do the friendly service and the patio atmosphere, and the space handles private dinners and larger groups. Feedback isn't uniform, though: some guests describe uneven kitchen consistency, with a dish occasionally landing over-salted or a chicken portion running lean, and the dining room can get loud once the back rooms fill. Reservations are worth making on busy show nights.