Juniper

After passing this gem for many months and finally finding the time to stop and go in and check it out, I was not disappointed! The food is so fresh and simply delicious! I have now eaten there twice in the past two days and currently anticipating the next visit to try another wonderful item on their lunch menu! I love the retro décor brings me back to my childhood at my grandmothers kitchen. The staff are very friendly and the service was great! This is now my new found gem that I intend to frequent weekly if not more!

My mother & I love going to Juniper for Sunday Brunch. This place is absolutely amazing. The Vieles have done such a wonderful job of converting a building in Downtown Ridge Spring into a fun restaurant with food (sourced from local farms) & service that are always spot on.

Beautiful eatery… off the wall and unexpected… Everything was made from scratch… loved the vibe! Oh… and Dwayne was great… you could tell he loves his job…

Juniper is such a great place. So quaint yet elegant. The food was outstanding and I love the fact that their menu changes based on local availability of the ingredients. The staff were pleasant and quick. I will definitely be going back!!!

I would give this place 10 stars if it were possible! I had the herb crusted chicken with grits and it was absolutely amazing. They let us try their corn chowder and it was just as good! The atmosphere is very homey and the staff is very friendly. Loved this place and I hope I visit the area in the future so I can eat here again.

This little place in a little town was excellent! We went there for lunch one Saturday, and all four of us loved our meals, and the delicious tea which was self serve in mason jars! Very charming and top quality food!

The perfect lunch. The staff was so friendly and the environment rustic and welcoming. We had the special herb crusted chicken and we both had soup. Corn chowder and tomato basil which were so fresh and delicious. It’s hard to find places that really care about the food that they are creating and serving, this place tops most of the «5 star» places in SC. Period. A truly amazing experience.

Really good sandwiches but a little pricey for what you get. May try again to see if the menu changes. Worth a try if you’re in the area and like to support local.

I Was passing thru on a sunday afternoon and stopped by on a whim. my stop turned ed out to be a delightful sunday brunch experience.
The building and interior is artsy meets rustic chic. The brunch was served buffet style and was loaded with thick bacon, eggs, grits, sausage, shrimp jambalaya, vegetables, salads, desserts… everything was fresh and slightly gourmet… not a greasy spoon buffet yall.

Great place to eat! Our church group (24) went today the food and service was fantastic!

Another great meal. A really nice place for date night. Corn chowder is excellent. Menu is small, but everything is great. Need a nap now.

Lunch portions very small. Meatloaf was just ok, served with canned corn and white rice. This was the daily special. Very poor quality. Dining room was a disaster, board nailed over a hole in the floor and chair was full of holes. The place looks very rundown and not very clean. Ice was in a bucket for everyone to access at the beverage station also not very sanitary. This was our second visit and last.

Had the Herb Crusted chicken for lunch and about fell out!!! This place is a must if you find yourself in the area! And it’s reasonably priced to boot!

My wife and I visited from Philadelphia and stayed with her aunt and uncle in Johnston. Even before we arrived, her aunt touted Juniper as a place that we HAD to go. We had reservations for last Thursday night, 7/​3, and it lived up to expectations!
The atmosphere is casual, relaxed, yet sophisticated. The wait staff is terrific; friendly, knowledgeable, and made great recommendations.
I’m not much of a bread person when it comes out for the table, but there was no way that I could resist fresh biscuits with cinnamon butter spread! Our waiter also brought out some sort of cold bean salad. I’m not sure exactly what it was but it was delicious.
For dinner, I really enjoyed the SC shrimp with grits. The shrimp was so flavorful and the grits were creamy and charming.
My wife had the bacon wrapped quail and was still talking about it on the trip back to PA.
For the touristy portion of this review, I had my first glass of southern sweet tea and I loved it!
Juniper for dinner is highly recommended. I wish there was a place like it in Philadelphia. I also hear that their brunch menu is outstanding.

I have always enjoyed my meals here. Rather it is the 5 course dinner service or the Sunday buffet. What a wonderful charm for ridge spring.

Worth the trip out to Ridge Spring. Creative, careful. Manages to feel comfortable yet special. The tasting menu is a wonderful value, especially if you add in the wine pairings. I’ve caught the brunch before as well, and it is pretty good. Try making a day of visiting local antique stores (they all close at 5, Juniper at 6, so be prepared to kill an hour), followed by dinner and a drive-​in Movie over in nearby Monetta.

I visited Juniper for lunch around 1pm on a Saturday. The atmosphere was lively, but not crowded. You order at the front, get your own drink, and find a seat. I waited 10 – 15 minutes for my food but it didn’t feel like an unnatural length of time.
The food was great. I had the build-​your-​own sandwich. Smoked turkey, pepper jack cheese, tomatoes and mayo on a toasted hoagie roll. The turkey was shaved finely and the tomatoes were very fresh. They loaded on the mayo — fortunately I didn’t mind, but just a word to the wise. The side of potato salad was delicious and homemade as well.

Came on a Saturday for lunch. Arrived at 1 pm. Stood in line for a half hour to order. They only serve soup, salads and sandwiches. It has now been an hour since I ordered. I got my soup a half hour ago. I don’t care how good the sandwich is it cannot possibly be worth the wait. My wife said the pics of dinner on Facebook looked good. I don’t care and I’ll never know because I’m never coming back.

Friendly staff good food. My wife and I spent the day browsing the antique shops, getting a snack at the Nut House, and stopping by Cones Meat Market on the way home. Great small farm town.

Run by chef/​owner Brandon Velie and his wife, Jeanne, the spot is called Juniper.
Velie, who got his start as a cook in the U.S. Marine Corps and worked at the Green Boundary Club in Aiken before opening Juniper three years ago, has a simple approach to food. He emphasizes locally grown ingredients while offering a range of comfort foods with a slightly European flair.
Juniper’s eclectic style charmed me immediately. Mismatched chrome-​legged dinette sets from the 1940s and ‘50s make up the seating in two large rooms. Strings of holiday lights and brightly painted walls covered with artwork from local artists create a cozy, hip environment.
The lunch menu features daily specials ranging from meatloaf on Monday to shrimp and grits on Friday as well as a wide array of sandwiches and salads. Juniper also offers two choices of soup, its signature sweetcorn chowder and a soup of the day.
A taste of the sweet corn chowder ($ 3.25/cup, $ 4.25/bowl) started lunch off just right. The creamy soup base was enhanced by a generous amount of whole kernels of sweet corn.
It was obvious a lot of thought had been put into the presentation and preparation of this soup, as all the other vegetables were cut to the size of corn kernels so that nothing overpowered the key ingredient.
I also tried the grilled Cuban sandwich (roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese, spicy mustard and a pickle on a hoagie roll, $ 6). The side of black-​eyed pea salad, with its slightly sweet taste and crunch of chopped bell peppers, paired well with the lightly seasoned pork.
I’ll have to return for the smoked salmon on toasted pumpernickel with Boursin cheese, cucumber, red onion and sprouts ($ 7).
In the evening, white tablecloths cover the dinette sets, and candlelight transforms the diner to a true dinner spot. The menu also changes, always according to the season and availability of fresh ingredients.
On my visit, the choices included locally farm-​raised striped bass, barbecue duck quesadillas, a rosemary and red wine-​braised chicken and prime rib.
The menu, divided intriguingly into Little Plates and Big Plates, also offers the option of ordering a little plate as a big plate and vice versa, all depending on your appetite. I found this a charming accommodation to the diner’s desires.
My dinner companion ordered the chicken ($ 18 large). The chicken practically fell off the bone, and the rosemary and red wine reduction was flavorful without overpowering the meat. The dish was served with a wild rice pilaf and wilted spinach seasoned perfectly with garlic.
I had to order the Chef’s Five– Course Tasting Menu ($ 35 or $ 45 with wine pairings). This is a great way to judge the chef’s creative range.
To start, a sampling of crisped Old Shoals Farm striped bass over shredded collard greens. The fish was done perfectly with the crispy skin adding just a bit more intense flavor. The shredded collard greens mimicked the look of pasta noodles and paired well with the fish.
Second course was crab cakes accompanied by creamed corn grits and spinach. Much to my delight, the crab cakes were way more crab than cake. And the Adluh grits contained just enough sweet kernel corn to push them into the category of «best side of the evening.»
Third course was a house salad with bleu cheese vinaigrette. Next came a playful take on meat and potatoes with a thinly sliced, perfectly grilled flat-​iron steak over a sliced baked potato with sour cream and pico de gallo.
Dessert, the fifth and final course, was a triple chocolate cake with peppermint ice cream. The cake, not as heavy as it might sound, paired well with the ice cream, creating a great finish to a wonderful meal.