River Falls Cafe has the feel of a place run by people who actually want to know you. It is a small, owner-run spot on East Main in Duncan, where the chef often comes out from the kitchen to check on tables and the counter staff walk newcomers through the menu. Diners describe a warm, unhurried room, the kind of place that is as comfortable for a quick weekday lunch as it is for a long, catch-up dinner.
The kitchen works from an eclectic American menu that leans into comfort: hand-cut steaks, fresh seafood, and pasta on one side, and a full cafe of good coffee and house-made desserts on the other. Shrimp and grits is the dish reviewers name most, often calling it the best they have had, and the French dip, Cuban, and chicken-fried steak come up nearly as often. Save room for the banana pudding or the Biscoff caramel cheesecake.
Prices sit in the everyday range and portions run generous, and the cooking stays consistent enough that people who live nearby keep coming back. The same kitchen caters gatherings around the Upstate, and plenty of travelers passing through Duncan make a point of stopping in on the strength of the reviews.