The Best Restaurants In Champaign, Illinois

The large student population in Champaign, Illinois and its sister city Urbana pull fantastic eating establishments to the area. We have you covered with our guide to the best restaurants in Champaign.
Radio Maria
Restaurant, Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-free, Street Food
Maize
Maize
The owners of Maize Mexican Grill are from Mexico City, so you know that what you’re getting is authentic. The menu is short but sweet. Most of the dishes are recognizable to Mexican food connoisseurs (with a few exceptions, of course, like the torta ahogada and the tlacoyo, which both include a number of traditional Mexican ingredients put together in different ways). They only have a set number of dishes. This means they’re able to put a lot of work into making sure that these specialities are as authentic, fresh, and tasty as possible.
Maize Mexican Grill, 60 E Green St, Champaign, IL, USA, +1 217 355 6400
DESTIHL
Don’t expect a normal restaurant experience when you come to DESTIHL. Expect, instead, a ‘gastrobrewpub’, or the perfect place to enjoy not only delicious food cooked from scratch, but also some very exciting beers from this Central Illinois microbrewery. Year-round beers include weissbier, Hoperation Overload IPA, rotating seasonal beers, their Wild Sour Series of sour beers and limited release Belgian-style beers, wood-aged brews and barrel-aged creations. This is a true beer lover’s paradise. For best results, you might try something from the tap and then bring home a barrel-aged bottle.
DESTIHL-Champaign, 301 N Neil St, Champaign, IL, USA, +1 217 356 0301

Bacaro
Bacaro Wine Bar and Italian Restaurant started as a wine bar in 2001, but over the past decade, it has expanded its repertoire to become a hub of fine-dining in Champaign. The chefs endeavor to use as much local produce as possible in addition to filling their menu with simple and elegant choices. For those wanting the full experience, they offer a special ‘Market Monday’ tasting menu, in addition to a separate menu with wine pairings on Tuesday to Sunday. This is a place for a special occasion and you will be rewarded to paying the admittedly high prices with a meal that will grab your attention and not soon let you forget it.
Li’l Porgy’s Bar-B-Que
There’s just something about a barbecue joint with a secret recipe that piques your interest and makes the food somehow even more mouthwatering – and Li’l Porgy’s is exemplary. Their meat is hickory smoked, and their selection covers barbecue from several different styles, with ribs, rib tips, chicken, shrimp, and sandwiches all on the permanent menu, plus specials for each day of the week. Another proof of their authenticity appears in the beverage menu, which lists sweet tea as a choice. No true Southerner could possibly have barbecue without sweet tea, and Li’l Porgy’s understands this completely.
Li’L Porgy’s Bar-b-Que, 1917 W Springfield Ave, Champaign, IL, USA, +1 217 398 6811

Seven Saints
Bar, Pub Grub, Wine, Beer, Cocktails, American
Jarling’s Custard Cup
Jarling’s Custard Cup
Jarling’s Custard Cup has a long history of serving custard in Champaign and they’re still going strong. The foundation of their menu is five flavors of frozen custard: vanilla, chocolate, lemon, strawberry, and the flavor of the week. From this they build a whole menu full of sundaes, shakes and Snowstorms, which are custard mixed together with toppings. If after all that you still don’t know what you want, they also have a novelty menu. On this is their own homemade custard sandwiches and frozen, chocolate covered bananas, among other things. Jarling’s closes for the winter months, but you’ll get a tasty reward once you’ve made it through to the summer.
Jarling’s Custard Cup, 309 W Kirby Ave, Champaign, IL, USA, +1 217 352 2273
Papa Del’s Pizza
Papa Del’s Pizza
At only a couple hours from Chicago, Champaign naturally has a good Chicago pizza joint – and Papa Del’s Pizza goes above and beyond this particular call of duty. They’ve got two solutions to fix your Chicago pizza craving – the original deep dish pizza and the super stuffed pizza. To really enjoy the stuffed pizza, you’ll need a lot of time and a big appetite. Between two layers of crust, you’ll find a generous helping of cheese with your requested toppings mixed in, with the tomato sauce sitting neatly on top. For a real treat, try a stuffed crust pizza with spinach – a refreshing treat.
Papa Del’s Pizza, 206 E Green St, Ste 1, Champaign, IL, USA, +1 217 359 7700

Sakanaya
Restaurant, Sushi, Japanese, Asian, Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-free
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