There’s an undeniable neighborhood charm to Soby’s restaurant. It’s the kind of place you go to as readily on a weeknight when you don’t feel like cooking as you do to celebrate your anniversary. It’s an effortless blend of folksy comfort with a world-class wine list and a creative menu of elevated new Southern cuisine.
The restaurant comes by its local appeal honestly. Owner Carl Sobocinski’s opening in 1997, after an extensive renovation of a former shoe store in the then-seedy part of town, was a catalyst spurring a renaissance of downtown Greenville, South Carolina. Dining alfresco today on the restaurant’s outdoor patio, you take in a manicured view of well-maintained historic buildings, families out for a stroll, passersby stopping in to the local book shop and perhaps a musician playing on the corner.
The spacious brick interior offers seating on two levels, including tables on the second floor with a view down into chef Kyle Swarzendruber’s kitchen. The menu draws inspiration from classic Southern dishes, but the dishes have a fresher feel, with greater focus on the execution.
“My goal is to be innovative,” says Swarzendruber. “To create new Southern cuisine, not traditional.” The menu changes seasonally, although Swarzendruber admits there are three constants: a robustly flavored pimento cheese dip appetizer and two entrées—delicately seasoned crab cakes on a bed of corn succotash and a refined shrimp and grits dish punctuated by smoky andouille sausage and picante piquillo peppers…