Whistle Stop at American Cafe

I can honestly say… we will be back! We showed up on a Saturday night and there was a 15 minute wait but the staff was very friendly and suggested drinks while we waited because it was happy hour — good deal. A wait means good food in my opinion. We ordered the cheeseburger in paradise pizza, the shrimp and grits pizza and then the pulled pork with ribs combo that was served with fried okra and bacon Mac and cheese. All of these items were delicious and like nothing we have ever eaten. And for dessert we shared the peach flat car topped with ice cream and caramel! While they were busy, our server Danielle was very attentive and took great care of us.

The Whistle Stop gives the impression that it can’t decide what it wants to be — Décor and atmosphere is Pub Like, the menu wants to be upscale but doesn’t quite make it. We have been 3 or 4 times and probably won’t go back. We went in for supper about 6 PM and I wanted a cheeseburger. They could not accommodate stating that they didn’t have the ingredients in the kitchen, but when I had been there for lunch the week before, there were lots of burgers on the lunch menu. Very disappointing.

Always look forward to stopping at this place whenever we’re in Traveler’s Rest. The service is great and the food expertly prepared. Love the burgers. They also have a great selection of craft beers. Try the fried green tomatoes, too.

This is a fantastic stop. Day or night.
Dinner & drinks upstairs is such a good time.
The chefs here really see to care about what they serve.
They have lots of crazy cocktails.
Desert cakes are perfect
Lunch is also a good time
Each day they have a new special
Lots of parking around
Always friendly and helpful staff.
It’s worth a trip to TR.
Located right on the SRT
It’d be fun for kids too

Amazing service, awesome atmosphere, great food! Our waitress was incredibly friendly and efficient!!! Food was brought out very quickly. The lettuce on the hot burger was ice cold and actually crispy! We had pecan pie for dessert with a scoop of ice-​cream, it was fabulous! Can’t say enough good things about this place! Would highly making it a point of stopping in if you are passing through the area!

I was really looking forward to revisiting Whistle Stop and exploring more of their menu. And since we were there for a long weekend, we planned multiple visits. But after this visit we drove out of the area to find alternatives. I had the «Big John’s» Iron Horse ribeye, which contrary to my request for medium was served well done without a hint of pink to be found. I can handle well done if I have to, but it was a poorly executed well-​done being very tough, dry, and flavorless. The accompanying spinach was bitter and had the texture like it’d come from a can and I couldn’t stomach it. The mashed potatoes, however, were excellent and full of flavor. My wife built her own pizza and loved it. It was sad to see the train along the ceiling is no longer running and the guest WiFi did not work. The food and service just isn’t good enough to fight for a spot in their tiny and dangerous parking lot. We’ve got more trips to TR planned, and I may give Whistle Stop another chance, but was pretty disappointed this time.

They have a neat concept, but good American food. I’ve had their burgers, wood fired pizza, and hotdogs and chili.

Good burgers and fries. Travelers Rest is a great up and coming town next to Greenville. This is a good stopping place for a cold beer and bite to eat.

The whistle stop meets all of my expectations for a small town joint. Specializing in a variety of foods, I found myself appreciative of their fish and enjoying the atmosphere.

This is an Incredible place to eat! The Wait staff was friendly and kept drinks filled and food was fantastic and filling! I definitely recommend them to others and I will go back again as well!!!

Not only was the food absolutely amazing but the customer service was excellent best eating experience this year hands down.

This was seriously one of the weirdest dining experiences I have had in a long time. It seemed there were too many leaders and not enough followers. They had just started selling liquor and it was a little slow on making drinks but that is to be expected with a new menu. The food menu is also all over the place. It has a variety of cuisines and didn’t seem to specialize in anything in particular. I assume what was the owner was sitting next to me getting a lesson on varietals of wine. It was just overall a very weird experience. I left feeling confused about the identity of this place. And why the need for so many managers many of whom were standing around anyways.
The location of this place is awesome. Right in downtown travelers rest and right off of the swamp rabbit trail. I’m sure it gets busy and I think with the right combination of management, food, and identity this place could really excel. I love travelers rest and hope this place gets it together to make it for a while!

Great Fried Green Tomatoes! I really loved the goat cheese and dipping sauce was perfectly tart and spicy! Great burgers! Great BLT! We loved the downtown location and the décor was so cute and perfect!

The ambiance and staff were great. However, the enormous amounts of smoke and general lack of restaurant experience is apparent. I ordered the snapper and while it was a nice piece of fish it want prepared with much flavor. The red peppers on it were tiny pieces like the size of pimento in an olive. My beer was warm, no biggie they got me another. The grit cake served with the snapper was raw in the middle. For a $ 30 meal in TR they better step up their game I think if they are also trying to be upscale dining with the menu. Next time maybe if it try it I should stick with a burger or a pizza?

So far this has been a great place to eat. The ambience is excellent the decorations are engaging in interesting. Great place to take the kids as well as the rest of the family.

The Shrimp & Grits are one of the best in town! And I have had shrimp & grits from just about any and every restaurant in the upstate lol
Also the service was wonderful! The place has a cozy atmosphere that is warm and inviting. The menu was a little higher than I expected but well worth the money! My husband and I will definitely be back and I recommend everyone stop by and try their food.

FIVE STARS!
This place is incredible!!! Ask for Roby to serve you!
It’s guys night out with my little man!
Totally kid friendly! Choo choo trains ery’where!!!
Got the cheeseburger slider for the champ and bacon Mac n cheese! I had to try it and it was a party in my mouth! Cheesy wonder!!!
Order the pork chop, lobster mashed potatoes, and candied red cabbage! SO GOOD I ordered extras to go!!! Not kidding!
God bless you Whistlestop! FIVE STARS!

This place is wonderful and just what Travelers Rest needs. When reading their menu, which we had stopped to do on a Swamp Rabbit Trail ride one day, the descriptions sound delicious. I was hesitant, wondering if it was going to be like airport food — wonderful descriptions, and more than sub-​par food. It took us about a month to go and try.
I’m ecstatic to announce that the food we got was exactly as described. I got a variety of different items because I couldn’t choose. The mozzarella sticks (I got mine done in the wood oven) are absolutely homemade and the fire roasted marinara was on point. I’ve never had a better mozzarella stick. We also got the Brussels sprouts, my boyfriend a chicken plate (he got mac & cheese as a side = awesome!), and my sister the Asian salad. I suggested they create a «sides only» entrée because there is such good variety.
The only reason you would find this place pricey is if you are from down south. As a Maryland native, the quality (and quantity) of the food was well worth the price — and I’ve lived down South for 7 years now. The atmosphere (we sat upstairs outside) is fun and unique and the service was excellent.
It’s clear there has been a lot of work put into the decorating as well as the food. Give it a try and support them because TR needs places like this to stick around!

The owners have done a nice job refurbishing this historic building. Our first visit was very good, my wife got the hamburger steak dinner and it was delicious. I got the pepperoni pizza, loved the thin crispy crust, just enough cheese and pepperoni over a very nice tasting sauce… loved it everything about it.
So decided to return for another pizza, invited some friends to try it out. Two of us got the pizza, what a huge disappointment… what we got this time was nothing like the previous one I got. This time the pizza was thick crust, chewy, and the flavor not nearly as good as what I remembered. I mentioned this to one of their employees and their reply was…“ah, well, we have two different pizza cooks and they make the pizza differently, will mention it though”.
I realize that some may like the thicker pizza better, but having two very different pizzas depending only on who cooks them that day does not seem like a good business model to me. Not knowing what pizza I will get next time will not be visiting for pizza again. Very disappointed as the first pizza was sooooo good.
We found the food a bit pricy.

We made reservations with a «manager» for 25 at this restaurant a month and a half ago for our dog owners group. Upon arrival we were told by the general manager there was no reservation, and we were not welcome to come back. The wait staff was friendly, but ownership doesn’t want our business. I will never go back here for any reason.