Vote now! What's Greenville County's best shrimp & grits? Help us pick in the final round

• 16 of Greenville's most popular shrimp & grits restaurant dishes will square off in a weekly voting battle beginning on March 11, ending April 8.
• We encourage our readers to visit each of the highlighted restaurants and familiarize yourselves with some of the best shrimp and grits options in Greenville County.
• Our March Madness Foodies winner will be profiled and showcase an inside scoop on their Greenville voted best shrimp & grits dish.

Welcome to the championship round of our March Madness Greenville: Shrimp and Grits edition.

In the spirit of the four-week college basketball tournament, we have pitted some of Greenville's most popular and favorite shrimp and grits dishes against one another to determine the county's favorite Southern delicacy.

In seeding this battle of shrimp and grit restaurants, we ranked each local establishment by popularity, centralized location to downtown Greenville, and of course the unique spin on each dish available.

Our Final Four bracket was filled with an upset and a close battle as more than 46,000 votes were cast to reach one step closer to naming the best shrimp and grits dish in Greenville County. In total, our March Madness pool amassed over 49,000 total votes.

Road to the championship game

Sweet 16 Matchups

(1) Soby's beat (16) Gray Moon Breakfast & Brunch, 155 to 31. (7) Local Cue beat (10) Ink & Ivy by 20 votes. (3) Larkins beat (14) Eggs Up Grill, 113 to 41. (5) Smoke on the Water beat (12) Stax Omega Diner, 86 to 53. (6) Southern Culture beat (11) Southern Fried Green Tomatoes by five votes.(13) Shortfields beat (4) Sassafras by more than double the votes. (9) Roost Restaurant beat (8) Adams Bistro, 76 to 56. (15) Low Country Shrimper beat (2) Stella's Southern Brasserie by two votes.

Elite Eight Matchups

(1) Soby's beat (7) Local Cue by 14 votes. (3) Larkins beat (5) Smoke on the Water by 20 votes. (13) Shortfields beat (6) Southern Culture Kitchen & Bar by more than double the votes.(15) Low Country Shrimper beat (9) Roost Restaurant by one vote.

After an outstanding voting total for the Final Four matchups, it is now time to duplicate those efforts and crown a champion in our March Madness Greenville: Shrimp & Grits edition.

(1) Soby's vs. (15) Low Country Shrimper

Final Four Matchup: (1) Soby's beat (13) Shortfields by 4,437 votes.

Maybe the most popular shrimp and grits dish in Greenville is at Soby’s. The trio of tomato creme sauce, Granda Padano cheese and hints of tarragon make their shrimp and grits a rich bowl of warmth and goodness, so good, they’re served on the menu all day long. 

Final Four Matchup: (15) Low Country Shrimper beat (3) Larkins by 139 votes.

At a great price point, Low Country Shrimper offers an affordable and delicious bowl of grilled shrimp and a special andouille sauce that accompanies all that comes alongside. Well worth a trip to the Golden Strip.

– A.J. Jackson covers the food & dining scene, along with arts, entertainment and downtown culture for The Greenville News. Contact him by email at ajackson@gannett.com, and follow him on X (formally Twitter) @ajhappened. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.Sign up today for a digital subscription.