While there is a time and a place for fine dining and healthy living, sometimes you just need to go where nobody knows your name and the food always tastes the same. Greenville, South Carolina may be located in the Upstate region of the state, but it is close enough to jazz for some down home southern cooking. There are plenty of cheap restaurants in Greenville offering tasty eats in a no-frills atmosphere. The best of these little dives let you feel free to be yourself, enjoy your meal and leave without thinking twice about the whole affair. My favorite such cheap restaurants in Greenville, South Carolina are Memo’s Family Restaurant, Hot Dog King and Duke’s Sandwich Company.
Memo’s Family Restaurant
Whether you’re looking for a greasy breakfast or a satisfying hot lunch, Memo’s Family Restaurant just might be the best little place in town for southern style diner food. The homely restaurant only opened a short time ago, but it has already garnered the loyalty of many Greenville locals. The family staff of Memo’s are friendly and approachable with charming old world accents from their home country. Memo’s Family Restaurant is located at 1506 Laurens Road in Greenville, South Carolina. This little joint is pretty easy to miss, so keep an eye out for the adjacent Enterprise car rental lot. Hours of operation are from 7 am to 3 pm Monday through Saturday and 11 am to 3 pm Sunday.
Hot Dog King
No discussion of cheap restaurants in Greenville, South Carolina would be complete without a nod to the landmark Hot Dog King located right downtown. The Hot Dog King is something of a cultural institution around here and is a must stop for anyone familiarizing themselves with Greenville. During my first time popping my head in, the place reminded me of the cheesesteak houses of Philadelphia, complete with poker faced customers goose stepping in line toward the Hot Dog King’s equivalent of the Soup Nazi, memorized orders on the tips of their tongues. Be sure to ask for the Hot Dog King’s specialty, Pan Seared Seabass with a Redcurrant Reduction Sauce.
Duke’s Sandwich Company
The casually proletarian Duke’s Sandwich Company is about as salt of the earth as cheap restaurants come Greenville, South Carolina. From 11 am to 1 pm every weekday, Duke’s Sandwich Company is filled to the gills with a predominantly male crown of customers on their lunch break munching and chatting away. The staff still manages to get the food out quickly, with great prices ranging from $1.50 to a few bucks. The sandwiches are about the size you’d find in a brown bag lunch, so you might want to pick up a side of potato or pasta salad (they’re both good). Duke’s Sandwich Company has the typical selection of beverages; I usually waddle out of there floating up to my eyeballs with ice cold sweet tea.
