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.
Product availability from local farmers and growers informs much of the rest of the menu. “Whenever possible, we try to source locally,” says Swarzendruber. On a spring visit, that meant grilled salmon served with farro from the nearby Anson Mills, and Manchester Farms quail with butter bean ragout.
Swarzendruber’s other driver is the wine list. “With the level of wine and wine service we’re offering, we know the food [has to be at] the same level.” For specialty wine dinners and private events, the planning often starts with the wine selections before tailoring the menu to fit. “It translates to us being more aware of the customers and to give them what they want,” says Swarzendruber.
Wine has always been at the fore at Soby’s, which garnered Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence for its list within its first full year of operation and stepped up to the Best of Award of Excellence in 2003. The cellar expanded slowly over the years until 2020, when it began to grow by leaps and bounds, going from 1,200 selections to 3,100 today.
Swarzendruber and wine director John Mitchell feel that the recent uptick in the wine list reflects the rapid expansion of Greenville itself. “The growth of this city is tremendous. We’re bringing people in from all over the country,” says Swarzendruber.
“A lot of European companies have staked a claim in this city,” adds Mitchell, mentioning both a BMW outpost and Michelin’s U.S. headquarters. “It’s helped to move wines on our list that don’t always move. Austrian and German wines [for the BMW execs] and Beaujolais or off-the-beaten-path Rhône wines for the Michelin customers.”
Beyond the restaurant’s international clientele, Mitchell uses the wine list’s breadth to help all guests explore the world of wine while showcasing the wines he and his team love.
“We’re huge on experience here. Whether you travel or not, you can travel by way of a wine bottle,” says Mitchell. “So many regions are having a renaissance right now, with new growth, new generations [in the winery], new directions. We taste those wines, and we want to represent them. We try to include as many offerings in each category that we know guests are comfortable with, but also things we’re passionate about. And always building on the vintages we already have.”
The dedication to vintage depth is apparent. Most sections include listings with at least two or three vintages of the same bottling, and the restaurant’s sommelier team happily dives into a discussion about vintage conditions for a given wine. Standout vintage depth begins among white Burgundies, with eight vintages of François Raveneau’s Montée de Tonnerre, and ranges to two pages of large-format Paolo Scavino Barolo going back to 1998, 15 vintages of Screaming Eagle and vintages of Château Latour through to 1949, among many other impressive offerings.
Like the restaurant’s unfussy but still detailed attention to service, the wine team allows guests to access information at their own pace. The tome that is the wine list is only delivered on request after the server has highlighted its many offerings and noted that a sommelier would be happy to provide advice. There are two somms on staff every evening, ready to walk the guests through the list, decant as instructed, answer questions or recommend wine pairings for the meal.
“For [entry-level consumers] who are passionate and excited about wine, even if it’s a less expensive wine, we can create talking points and experiential moments,” says Mitchell. “And then for the experienced guests ordering an incredible bottle, who know what they want and ask for it, we try to never say no.”
Soby’s
Address: 207 S. Main St., Greenville, S.C.
Telephone: (864) 232-7007
Website: sobys.com
