Tucked next to The Inn at Patrick Square on Market Street, SunnySide Cafe has quietly become the breakfast spot every Clemson local swears by. 🥞
Since opening in 2015, the cafe has built its reputation on a “farmhouse chic” approach to Southern comfort food, blending locally raised meats and produce with a menu that ranges from classic biscuits and gravy to crab benedict.
It’s a short drive from campus, but it feels worlds away from the typical college-town breakfast spot.
How SunnySide Cafe won Clemson’s hearts
SunnySide Cafe describes its own food as farmhouse chic, and that phrase does a lot of work explaining why the cafe has built such a devoted following. 🌾
Rather than sticking to a purely rustic diner formula, the kitchen blends Southern breakfast staples with more polished, chef-driven touches, drawing on what its own team describes as years of travel, collaboration with skilled chefs, and a genuine love of unique ingredients.
That combination has earned the cafe recognition as one of the best breakfast experiences in the Clemson area, a distinction voted on by the local university community year after year.
Part of what keeps regulars coming back is the menu’s sheer range.
SunnySide Cafe serves everything from a ribeye steak and eggs plate to fried chicken and waffles, giving diners a reason to return again and again without ever getting the same meal twice.
The cafe also leans into locally sourced ingredients, incorporating regionally raised meats and produce into dishes that feel more elevated than a typical morning stop.
Add in a laid-back, welcoming atmosphere just far enough from campus to feel like a genuine neighborhood secret, and it’s easy to see why SunnySide Cafe has become the kind of place people build their weekend mornings around. 💛
Food Highlights
- Fried Green Tomato, Egg, Cheddar Bacon Biscuit: A Southern-style biscuit sandwich served with a choice of home fries or local cheese grits.
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Breakfast Sandwacho: A brioche bun stacked with bacon, an over-medium egg, sliced tomato, melted cheddar, arugula, pickled red onion, and hollandaise sauce.
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Breakfast Cubano: Sourdough bread layered with pulled pork, melted Swiss cheese, ham, pickles, a fried egg, and mustard.
- The Appalachian: Three eggs cooked any style with local pork sausage, applewood smoked bacon, home fries, a fried grit patty, and a biscuit with gravy.
- Bearly Benedict: A grilled English muffin topped with eggs, onion rings, cheddar cheese, and hollandaise sauce.
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Crab & Avocado Benedict: An English muffin topped with poached eggs, crab, avocado, grilled tomatoes, arugula, and house-made hollandaise.
- Pecan Praline Stuffed French Toast: Mascarpone and apple butter stuffed French toast topped with roasted pecan pralines, raspberry drizzle, and powdered sugar.
- Oregon Omelet: A four-egg omelet cooked in butter with mushrooms, cheddar cheese, bacon, and cherry tomatoes.
Atmosphere
SunnySide Cafe leans into its self-described farmhouse chic identity, mixing rustic charm with a slightly more polished, put-together feel than a typical diner. ☀️
The space stays casual and unhurried, making it an easy fit for both a quick weekday breakfast and a longer weekend brunch with friends.
Its location next to The Inn at Patrick Square gives it a quieter, more residential feel than the busier spots closer to campus.
It feels like a well-kept local secret, even with its steady stream of regulars.
Bottom Line
A genuinely local, “farmhouse chic” breakfast menu, standout dishes like crab benedict and chicken and waffles, locally sourced ingredients, a relaxed atmosphere, and a track record of local recognition make SunnySide Cafe worth the visit. 🍳☀️
Address:
101 Market Street, Clemson, SC 29631
📞 (864) 653-9532
🕔 Open Mon-Fri 8 AM–3 PM, Sat-Sun 7:30 AM–3:30 PM