Local listings, alphabetical, with a guide to hiring.
The best places to look for restaurants in Columbia, SC are Main Street, The Vista and Five Points, with more options in Forest Acres, West Columbia and along Devine Street. The restaurants listed below are sorted A–Z, not ranked. Hours and menus change often, so check the restaurant's own website before you go.
Listings are alphabetical and are not endorsements. Details were checked against each business's website on September 26, 2026. Listing policy.
Every restaurant in Columbia has a public food-safety grade. The SC Department of Agriculture inspects about 24,000 retail food establishments statewide, including restaurants, food trucks and grocery stores. Routine inspections are unannounced and happen one to four times a year, depending on the establishment's risk category. Each is scored out of 100, and a letter grade is posted at the restaurant: A for more than 87 points, B for 78 to 87, and C for under 78. Full reports are on the state's SC Food Grades search.
For where to eat, our brunch guide goes neighbourhood by neighbourhood, Soda City Market guide covers hours, parking and dogs, and date ideas runs from cheap eats to special dinners. On home football Saturdays, plan around the Williams-Brice game-day guide. For more ideas, see things to do this weekend and the October–November events calendar.
Official lookups: SC Food Grades (inspection reports)
Downtown along Main Street, in The Vista and in Five Points near the University of South Carolina campus. Forest Acres, West Columbia and Devine Street in Shandon have more neighbourhood restaurants.
For Friday and Saturday dinner and on USC home football weekends, book ahead where the restaurant takes reservations. Check the restaurant's own website for current hours, because they change often.
The SC Department of Agriculture inspects restaurants and posts a letter grade at each one. Full inspection reports are on the state's SC Food Grades search tool.
Inspections are scored out of 100. A means more than 87 points, B means 78 to 87 (food safety needs improvement), and C means under 78 (needs significant improvement).
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Brunch in Columbia sorted by area — the Vista, Main Street, Five Points and West Columbia — with addresses and weekend hours checked on each restaurant's own site.
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