We have an amazing food scene in Champaign-Urbana! In this list, restaurants are grouped by location (from nearest to farthest) with transportation options. This list is not exhaustive but is intended to highlight local businesses. There should be plenty of options for your stay during RIP. See the Local Transportation page for more details on the transportation options.
Mia Za's — Customizable pizza, pasta, and sandwiches.
Shawarma Joint — Chipotle but Middle Eastern. One build your own bowl is easily two meals.
Midsummer Lounge — Chinese-style noodles. Soup noodles are amazing on a cold day. Don't sleep on the dumplings.
Cracked the Egg Came First —Creative take on breakfast sandwiches and burritos among other breakfast classics.
Dee-Dee's Beef — Really good Italian beef and arancini. Only open evenings Thursdays to Saturdays.
Teamoji — Boba shop that also has really good Korean corn dogs, Korean egg toasts, and mochi donuts.
Cocomero — Self-serve frozen yogurt, waffles, and bungeoppang/taiyaki.
Cravings — Chinese fast food. Great value for money. Closed Sundays.
Spoon House Korean Kitchen — Classic Korean dishes with some Korean-Mexican fusion options.
Latea Bubble Tea Lounge — Great boba and good non-caffeinated options too. Boba is made fresh in-house every day.
Poke Lab — Build your own poke bowls.
GG Bowl — Build your own Mala Xiangguo (like spicy hotpot, but without soup). Better to go with a group.
Paris Super Crepes — Sweet and savory crepes and other snack items.
Szechuan Taste — Chinese restaurant with mostly Szechuan-style dishes but also Peking duck? Better to go with a group.
Evo Cafe — Really good Sichuan/Chengdu-style food. Expect (numbing) spice. Better to go with a group.
Asian Taste — Smaller Chinese cafe. Really good Jammy Fan Chicken (Huangmenji) and popcorn chicken. Closed Sundays.
Fat Sandwich Company — As the name implies, fat sandwiches. Maybe not the best right before a round...
Signature Grill — Skip the Chipotle-style options. Great dosas, samosas, Indian street food, and rotating specials.
Bangkok Thai Restaurant and Pho 911 — Classic Thai dishes and pho. Great value for money.
Brewlab — Local hip coffee shop.
Sakanaya — Sit-down sushi restaurant. Typically long lines but you can join their Yelp waitlist in advance. Typically only open for dinner, but also has lunch hours on Saturday.
Northern Cuisine — Amazing Chinese food from the northeastern (Dongbei) region. Better to go with a group.
Chong Qing House — Really good Sichuan/Chongqing-style food (as the name might suggest). Similar to Evo Cafe with some variations on dishes. Better to go with a group.
Jurassic Grill — Typical burger joint with a hidden empanada menu.
Sushi Man — Good sushi restaurant. Better for takeout as there's not as much seating.
Naya Indian Cuisine — Really good northern style Indian food.
Moment Bakery — Chinese-style bakery with amazing pastries, breads, and cakes. Closed Sundays.
Maize Mexican Grill — A UIUC staple. Solid street tacos, burritos, and other Mexican classics.
The Bread Company — European-style cafe with fresh baked bread daily. Great sandwiches during weekday lunch hours and upscale pizza, pasta, and small plates weeknights and Saturday nights. Closed Sundays.
Manolo's Pizza and Empanadas — New York style pizza by the slice and empanadas (both sweet and savory). Better for takeout as there's not much seating. Closed Sundays.
Dubai Grill — Like Shawarma Joint.
Basil Thai Urbana — Classic Thai dishes including pad kra pow. Closed Sundays.
Bab Plus — Classic Korean food. Closed Sundays.
Caffe Paradiso — Sandwiches, coffee, and desserts. Obama visited once.
Pizzeria Antica — Upscale pizza certified authentic by the City of Naples. Closed Sundays.
Maize at the Station — Same as Maize on Green St but a larger menu and sitdown.
Heavy Spoon Co — Ice cream mixed with classic, nostalgic breakfast cereals.
Nando Milano — Fancy Italian. On weekends, open for late lunch and dinner.
Neil St. Blues — Sould food and a few classic Cajun/Creole options.
Watson's Shack and Rail — Great local fried chicken restaurant. Offers brunch on Sundays.
Black Dog — Local BBQ joint.
Smith Burger Company — Really good smash burgers. Located in Collective Pour. Closed Sundays.
Jupiter's Pizzeria — Crispy thin crust pizza.
La Bahia — Mexican-style seafood.
Sticky Rice — Lao-Thai food, and actual sticky rice!
Stango Cuisine — Proudly the only Zambian restaurant in North America. Closed Sundays.
Tasty Tart — Amazing individual-sized shortcrust pastries. They close when they sell out!
Afghan Cuisine Restaurant — Amazing Afghani food. Might have long waits as they recently opened at this location. Closed Sundays.
Pekara — Cafe serving classic breakfast and lunch items with pastries made fresh daily.
Lanxang Thai-Lao Cuisine — Thai classics. Closed Sundays.
Ishi Sushi and Kaori's oven — Affordable and really good quality omakase (call in advance for availability) and amazing Japanese-style cakes and pastries (weekdays or order ahead for pickup).
Jarling's Custard Cup — Local favorite for frozen custard and concrete mixers.
Moki Sushi — All you can eat sushi. Saturdays open for late lunch and dinner (usually open for lunch and dinner).