Eclectic Chef

By far, the best Cuban panini in the area. The best value is the $ 9.99 whole sandwich and half salad. I got the julienned pear and goat cheese salad with raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Those two together coupled nicely and is quite filling. Excellent local quality ingredients and a great quantity for the price. AAA+++

5 star all the way! I had lunch here this week and it was worth the walk from the parking garage. Sorry no pics of the food I dove right in and pics were an after thought. Here are the items I tried and know are crazy good: Vegetable Beef Barley Soup (are you serious. …soooooo good. My child thought it was chili it’s so beefy!) Chicken Gyro (better than the Greek place down the street — not throwing shade — just saying :o) French Dip (the best I ever had) I normally do not care for these because the bread is usually tough and you dip it to soften it up. Just not my thing– BUT THIS FRENCH DIP was the star of the table. I wished I had ordered it so I could have eaten the whole thing. Cool Ranch Chicken Sandwich — just seeing the thick cut bacon hang off the edges of this creation was mouth watering and the taste did not disappoint.
A few things I would like to commend them on– when ordering the half salad and sandwich — YOU GET A WHOLE SANDWICH! and half of a full salad which is a lot by the way far larger than a side salad. The salads were also very good. We tried the Cobb and the Mexican Taco salad both were great.
Only suggestion I have is… I would like to have some fancier dressing choices like an avacado vinegarette or a cilantro lime dressing but that’s the west coast coming out.
This is a must try!

My family and I probably go here way too much, but we just love the quality and convenience. Summerville has become over-​saturated with fast food and chain restaurants. It’s so refreshing to eat at a local restaurant! The food is always excellent and you can’t beat the price point. I’d recommend almost anything on the menu, but our favorites include: the cool ranch chicken sandwich, almost any wrap or salad, and their chili. Their sweet tea bar is so good as well. In addition to their daily baked sweets and treats!

If you’re looking for a truly tasty place in the heart of historic Summerville, this is where you want to be. The menu is wonderful, the food is always fresh and home made, the service is quite good, and the prices are great. They have fabulous entrée items to go, their cold salads are out of this world, and they even prepare for a crowd on little notice. Ask about catering, too! Whether I dine inside, or out on the old cobblestone street, The Eclectic Chef is always one of my favorite places.

We came for lunch on Good Friday, so it was pretty busy. I love the location in downtown Summerville. It’s very small inside, but is great for a quick lunch and ordering to-​go. We came on our lunch break and ordered carry-​out. We each had sandwiches and really enjoyed them. I had the chicken salad, which was very good. My friend had the veggie panini with pasta salad side – and she enjoyed both. The desserts in the case looked amazing; would’ve loved to try them sometime. I definitely think I’ll return for lunch on week days and explore the menu a bit more.

Went with a friend this past Saturday for lunch (neither of us had ever been here) and was thoroughly in love with the setting and the food! Staff was super friendly and I can’t wait go back so I can try another dish! It’s a fun place and the aroma emanating from the front door will draw you in!

Hands down my favorite lunch spot in Summerville! The staff is always so polite and their food is delicious. I highly recommend the Tuscan chicken panini and any of their salads!

Great food! Great people! A hidden gem in Summerville. They’ve catered events for us and are delicious and very accommodating. Love The Eclectic Chef!

I’ve been wanting to check this spot out for some time and finally got a chance. I tried them for lunch last Saturday with my mom, daughter and niece.
There was a variety of sandwiches, salads, sides, drinks and sweets to get a good idea of what Eclectic Chef has to offer. They use quality ingredients, the end result is very tasty and the prices are wonderful! I tried a bite of my daughter’s potato salad and her grilled cheese. yum! She said it was the best grilled cheese she’s had in her entire life AND took home half of it, but ate it moments after getting home. I ordered the half salad/​sandwich combo of the black & bleu salad with the turkey, brie, bacon & apple sandwich. That salad was massive! No skimping anywhere on the toppings for the salad or sandwich. Very, very good. My niece thought her cuban was just okay and didn’t seem to care for the sweetness it had, but she did like it. My niece and mom both enjoyed all of their lunch. We tried the coconut cake, red velvet cupcake, brownie, something that looked while a whoopie pie but they called it something else, and a orange lemon bar. The whoopie pie thing was okay, the brownie was more like a spice cake with lots of additions so didn’t read as a brownie to me at all, but the other sweets were very good. The coconut cake was AH-​MAZING!!! Hefty portions there too.
Normally I don’t give 5 stars to anyone if I’ve only tried them once and if there are any negatives however Eclectic Chef earns 5 stars from me for a combination of tasty, quality ingredients at excellent prices. Oh I almost forgot! I don’t even like tea, but tried a sip of my niece’s flavored tea (peach mango? can’t recall) and it was REALLY GOOD! I plan to try their flavored tea next time because I was that impressed.

I came here today with some family members. We got one of the chicken paninis with chicken veggie rice soup combo and the chicken salad on texas toast with pasta salad. The chicken panini was quite good, especially if you like food on the more creamy/​cheesy side. The chicken salad was okay. I wished it was sweeter like panera’s napa almond chicken salad sandwich. The pasta salad was okay. It consisted of pasta and olives and the dressing reminded me of asian sesame dressing and was too sweet for my liking. I wished I tried the potato salad instead since a lot of reviewers raved about it. Overall, food was pretty good and the kindness of the staff made the place even more likeable!

Not many vegetarian offerings so I ordered the Greek Salad. The salad is overpriced because it was sprinkled lightly with feta cheese and they don’t use high quality olives. Croutons are rare on Greek salad and they tasted like they came out of a box. The salad was fresh and crispy. Greek dressing was acceptable but not the best I have had. My daughter had the chicken Caesar wrap and she said it was okay. I doubt I will be back. There are better places around.

Great meal! The turkey brie and apple sandwich is to die for and I couldn’t put it down. Friendly staff all around! Will definitely come back when in the Summerville area again :)

Chef Ben’s Eclectic Chef is a little gem that you don’t always think about, but you are so happy you did when you get there. Tucked away in the little walkway of downtown Summerville, EC churns out lunches that are really bigger than life, both in size and flavor. Take the Turkey and Brie. I have seen this sandwich while I lived up north and was constantly underwhelmed by a dry lack of flavor hidden amidst a world of pretention. This is not Ben’s; fluffy, well seasoned focaccia holding immense portions of juicy turkey and creamy brie.
That’s what I love about EC, there is a lot of sophistication without pretention. It’s honest flavor, talent, and care about details. Example, I ordered an ice coffee, and the ice cubes were made out of frozen coffee so the last sips would not be watered down!!!
EC is perfect for a lunch with the family or on your own. And they also cater for any kind of occasion, of which we have taken advantage of on countless occasions.

Great food, good prices, friendly staff, nice atmosphere!
(And free parking right around the corner)

Sometimes food can take you to a special place and make you reminisce about your childhood. I’m not sure if it was the picturesque Summerville setting, the gorgeous weather or just a damn good salad. Easy, unassuming food with excellent execution. Everyone around me was saying «mmmm». I have to agree.

This hidden gem is great for lunch! Such great homemade dishes packed with so much flavor. Highly recommend!

Really good place for lunch. Great pricing. It’s a walk up and order type of place. Had the cobb salad and chicken/​veggies/​rice soup lunch combo. The soup was amazing, only one that makes soup this good is my wife. Lol. The Cobb salad was great, nice chunks of most chicken breast, crisp fresh all sorts of greens, thin crispy bacon. So good. I would definitely visit again. Oh yea forgot to add, I bought a piece is coconut cake to go and was really moist.

I grabbed lunch here today and I’m so glad I did!
I got the Turkey with Brie, Bacon, & Apple with a side salad and a sweet tea.
The sandwich was amazing; the type of bread they used was perfect for the sandwich and the apples were crisp.
I was pleasantly surprised by the side salad; it was a good-​sized portion with fresh, quality ingredients. I chose raspberry vinaigrette as my dressing.
My eyes lit up when I realized they have an iced tea bar! You can choose raspberry, peach, or regular sweeten and unsweetened tea.
Also, counter service is a plus!

Good place for lunch. The blackened chicken caesar wrap was very good! The special sandwich was a turkey and cheese with a sun dried tomato pesto. One problem, there was no sun dried tomato pesto on it. It was a good turkey and cheese sandwich though. Great selection of iced teas. We bought some blueberry muffins out of the display case for the next day that looked amazing. Unfortunately, they were rather flavorless. Will visit again when in the area.

I just ate lunch here and had the Tuscan chicken sandwich which was great but the barbecue pork and white bean soup was over the top. Nice place for lunch.