Calhoun Corners Restaurant

Billed in the better dining experiences around the area, the ambiance imparted by their vintage 1893 brick building is a high point. The history in these old bricks and wood floors makes for an elevated evening of dining. The place is simply handsome. Tastefully decorated. Quiet and orderly. Nice seating. White cloth everywhere. Nothing left wanting in the appearance of the place. So far, so good.
They use the phrase «fine dining» and charge accordingly. When you do that you have to impress. Unfortunately, first experiences are hard to erase and this first experience saw execution fall short of expectation. Our waitress was extremely polite and well mannered so it’s hard to find fault with her. We ordered two glasses of wine, a mojito and a beer. The beer arrived in a bottle with no glass. That just doesn’t feel right. It’s not right. I get a frosty glass anywhere I eat that’s at least indoors. This was a foreshadowing of things to come…
One of us ordered crab cakes after being assured that the cakes were mostly large chunks of crab meat and that the sauce would be on the side. They arrived covered in sauce and were returned as our waitress apologized profusely for the error. The replacement cakes eventually materialized with sauce on the side. They were not lump crab meat but rather some sort of rather stringy crab like product… no doubt real, similar to something you can find in the frozen food section, not anything near the meal promised and certainly not anything one would expect to find inside this fine old building… So one of four meals was a total fail. (The crab cakes were removed from the bill… at least there was some justice served in the place of food)
Two of us had the shrimp and grits which we were assured was a staple at the establishment. this dish did not disappoint. It was flavorful with just a hint of bite from the andouille sausage. Rich but not overdone. Filling but not too so… All considered, it was about as good as shrimp and grits get. …and I have to confess that I have eaten a shameful quantity of shrimp and grits in my tome on this planet. Score the place ahead 2 to 1 thus far. Not good but better than even.
Lastly, my wife ordered duck. She ranks it as «I didn’t feel that it was that good.» The presentation wasn’t that great, the duck was just not that appetizing. All this is great news for our dachshund who will be tasting the duck tomorrow… I will let you know if he doesn’t like it. (if that proved to be the case I may have to cut the ranking a bit more.) I’m going to score the place ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ thus far in the review.
So here we are with one of us underwhelmed and one still undernourished at the end of the meal. As we urged her to order something to eat, our still smiling and charming waitress asked if anyone would like a dessert. Ah! Some calories and enjoyment for our crab cake starved companion… she took advantage of the opportunity to go home without an empty stomach and ordered the Key Lime pie. She took a bite and offered one to my wife who had to ask what it was. I am going to leave that as a serious indictment of the pie and draw into question the entire desert menu without any other information… Guilt by association. Seriously, Key Lime is so distinctive; to serve a version that is unrecognizable has to be some sort of gastronomical barbarism…
Yay! Yay! Meh. and Eek! What a mixed review. You pick what you think it should get. I’m gong to have to come down a bit harshly on them. 2 stars — «Meh. I’ve experienced better» certainly for the price and fanfare, I have to say I am underwhelmed. I would be willing to overlook any one of these faults, maybe even two and give them 4 stars… I just can’t support more than two with the poor showing.
My ultimate test… will I return? Not unless I get a coupon in the mail.

The place to go in Clemson for a special occasion. Food is always great and the ambiance is very high class. The 100+ year old building makes for a special dining experience.

One of my all time favorite restaurants. My boyfriend goes to Clemson and every time I visit I make him take me here. I usually order the Sherry Cream Shrimp & Lobster Bake on Puff Pastry and I have to say it is phenomenal. My absolute favorite dish. If you get the chance to go, you will be extremely pleased with the food and pleasant service.

One of our favorites in the area. Great food, great service, great atmosphere. It is a little on the pricier side for the area but overall good value for the money.

Great place for a date night. Decent wine selection, although the craft beer selection could be upped a bit. The food was fresh, beautiful, and delicious!
Service was great; our waitress was very helpful and attentive.

The ambiance is the biggest selling point. The Cajun shrimp was good but the roasted asparagus and artichoke was fair, but the artichoke was from a can. The entrees were good but the recommended duck breast was over cooked, I prefer medium rare. The risotto was also over cooked. The brownie dessert was disappointing the pecan pie was better. A bit overpriced for what was delivered.

Amazing food and wonderful atmosphere! Absolutely our favorite restaurant in Clemson when we want to celebrate!

4.5 stars
This is a charming place to go for a special occasion.
Great blue cheese dressing and salad.
I had the filet and it was good size with nice flavor.
Not the best steak I’ve ever had but overall it was a great meal with lots of food.

The best restaurant in town! The service, food and atmosphere are five star every single time we go there for dinner.

Adorable restaurant tucked behind a train overpass just off Old Greenville Hwy. We had a reservations for 12 at 5:30pm on Thursday ¹²⁄₂₀. It was graduation day at Clemson so the restaurant was well-​occupied. We were brought upstairs to a long table. The restaurant is an old house with a comfortable yet classy vibe. I loved the exposed brick on one of the walls. They also had a huge Christmas tree that filled the vaulted ceiling and was visible from the upstairs dining room.
Our drinks orders were taken promptly. beer and wine for the table, and water was brought quickly. We skipped appetizers and ordered entrees, learning from our mistake the night before. The menu was extensive — choices ranging from jambalaya, lobster tails, filet mignon, and vegetable pasta. I ordered the duck breast which was seared then roasted to perfection.
We enjoyed our meal without feeling rushed and our waitress was a real trooper with our group which got progressively rowdier as she kept refilling our wine & beer glasses. After a slight mishap which included beer spilled down my sleeve, she was super apologetic and comped the replacement.
After-​dinner drinks and dessert were enjoyed by all. I had a Toasted Almond coffee which was tasty! We finished our dessert and drinks and were still able to sit comfortably at the table and chat.
Great experience at Calhoun Corners and would love to return if I come to Clemson again!

Nice setting in an old building. Six of us went for dinner and all of us liked their meals… Among the entrees: Scallops Provencale, Prime Rib, Shrimp and Sausage on Grits, Spinach crepes, Duck Breast… everyone was very happy with their food.

Recommend by a co-​worker and I was not disappointed. The Shrimp and grits were delicious. I ate at the bar and had great service as well.

Just had a graduation lunch for 23. The service and the food could not have been better. I will be back. A++

Pretty good place, long time upscale favorite. Perfect for birthdays and special occasions. Steaks were good.

I’ve gone here multiple times for dinner and the food is great and the building is quaint– in a good way– partially rebuilt 100+ year old building with original brick walls. Plus it’s small-​town South Carolina so people who work there are very genteel.

While in town for work, was looking for a good meal while staying in Clemson and found myself here on a Wednesday night. The place looked very nice from the outside and was fairly dark, cozy, and comfortable inside. I sat at the bar and was greeted by a friendly female bartender who made a great Dirty Martini. There was no one else at the bar but there were many tables with large groups of people (aged 50 and over) sitting around.
I had the Escargot for an appetizer and although a bit too salty for me, it had good flavor. I liked the tiny pieces of prosciutto in it. I ordered the Filet Imperial– medium rare for my entrée. This steak had jumbo lump crabmeat on top with a berenaise sauce. The steak was cooked to perfection but I’ve had better (fresher) jumbo lump crabmeat and I would have liked more berenaise sauce (really couldn’t find it on my steak).
I opted out of dessert so can’t comment on that…
Appetizer, Entrée, and one drink came to about $ 45 without tip. Not bad. I was just glad to find pretty good food in a nice, fairly upscale atmosphere as it seems Clemson is pretty much full of fast food, college-​type joints.
I’ll most likely go back to Calhoun Corners the next time I’m in Clemson to try something else on the menu.

A great restaurant, the family that runs Pixie and Bill’s runs Calhoun Corners too, food is a bit more upscale.

Seemed like a very nice spot for a cozy dinner, although we showed up unannounced with a chatty professional group and found a place quite easily, too. They seemed very accommodating and helpful, and the food was excellent. I went with one of a number of filet options, and they did seem to have a definite thing for steak, but it looked like my dinner companions did okay with their seafood choices, too. The key lime pie for dessert? So worth it. Definitely worth a stop sometime.