Where to eat & drink around the lake

The Cabana

Drive the boat right up to their dock, grab a drink at the bar, and let the afternoon do its thing. Lakeside casual, done right.

Pro tip: The Orange Crush is the move.

🛥️ boat-up dock · 🎸 live entertainment

Brooklyn Style Pizza

Brooklyn-style pies worth leaving the lake for — some of the best pizza in the area, full stop.

Pro tip: The wings are the sleeper hit: 10 juicy wings for under ten bucks.

Vangeli's Bistro

White tablecloth on Ram Cat Alley. Where you go when it's an anniversary, not a Tuesday.

California's Mexican Grill

A food cart that kept leveling up — now with a patio, full bar, stage, and margaritas on draft. Locals, lake people, game-day crowds: a total vibe.

Pro tip: Weekly live music. It's near the lake but there's no public dock access — arrive by road.

🎸 live music · 🍹 full bar

Keowee Brewing Co.

The de facto clubhouse. Dog-friendly patio, rotating taps, everyone you know is already there.

Pro tip: Trivia Mondays, Music Bingo Wednesdays, burger & beer special Thursdays, live music Fri–Sat — and growlers to go for the dock.

🐕 dog-friendly patio · 🎸 live music Fri–Sat · 🍺 growlers to go

Keowee Shores Grill

Decks hanging over the lake, draft beer in hand. The best part: you can dock right there.

Pro tip: Tie up at the dock, order a draft, stay longer than you planned.

🛥️ dock & dine · 🍺 draft beer

Ram Cat Cellars

Wine bar meets date night with a show: you sear your own steak on a hot plate at the table, sourced from the butcher shop upstairs.

Pro tip: Higher end, big fun. Book it for date night and come hungry.

🍷 wine & bourbon bar · 🥩 cook-your-own steak

Sisters Cafe

The breakfast gem of Salem. Great biscuits, great prices, zero pretense.

Pro tip: The biscuits. That's it. That's the tip.

💰 easy on the wallet

Jocassee Valley Brewing

Coffee in the morning, beers on tap the rest of the day — plus weekly food carts and live music.

Pro tip: Last stop before Lake Jocassee, or the first one after.

☕ morning coffee · 🎸 live music · 🚚 weekly food carts

Crave Kitchen

The fancy one — a seasonal menu that actually changes with the seasons, and food worth dressing up (a little) for.

Pro tip: Dinner Tuesday–Sunday, brunch on Sunday.

🍂 seasonal menu · 🥂 Sunday brunch

Daydrinkers Coffee

Third-wave coffee downtown. Grab a cup and wander, or post up with a laptop — half of Clemson does during the school year.

Pro tip: They rotate roasters, so the cup you loved last month has a new rival.

💻 laptop-friendly

Free Hand Coffee

Pendleton's coffee stop — they brew Filigree Coffee out of Florida, and it is exceptional.

Dimas Brothers Cafe

From the founders of Vangeli's — a breakfast-and-lunch cafe with the same touch, minus the white tablecloth.

Pro tip: Order the Breakfast Armageddon. Trust the name.