Latest reviews from Champaign

“Lunch stop, so I didn't drink. I will say that the place is nice and large, service is excellent and food is good. Beer list was not extensive, but well thought out with some nice options.“

bytemesis 772 days ago

“A bit like a classic US Irish bar in decor. Lots of wood. Their beer ok not great but they had decent beer from others eg 3 Floyd’s. Worth a stop. Don’t think they have food.“

jb 1010 days ago

“Across the street-isn from Distihl. This is a craft whiskey/bourbon and beer bar, and is a pretty busy place. They were doing a whisky tasting with the owner when I was there. 60-ish taps, 5 oz pours available. Definitely IL focused, but there is a pretty interesting selection. Fun and Fun.“

bytemesis 1630 days ago

“Visited on a Wednesday evening. This place is one of two Blind Pigs in the city. This one has some Blind Pig Brewing beers on draft and many other breweries, while the other has exclusively Blind Pig brewing beers on tap. I found this place more my speed. They had a lot of great beers to choose from and you could do 5 ounce pours of any of them. Service was good. There were two bartenders working during my visit as I hit during a shift change. Prices were fair. I would visit again if I happened to be in the area. It has the feel of an old English Style pub. Dark, lots of wood, a little bit dingy. Feels like a comfortable place.“

JStax 1821 days ago

“Visited on a Wednesday evening. Just down the street from Destihl. This is just one of two Blind Pigs in the city. They are very close to one another. This one carries predominantly the Bling Pig beers, the other carries some Blind Pig and a lot of others on draft. The service here is good. Fairly attentive and friendly. The quality of beer is hit or miss. I had one I particularly enjoyed, but the others didn't hit the mark for me. Cool old time brewpub.“

JStax 1821 days ago

“Visited early November 2018. Okay, I'll say it... I love Binny's. Hate on the "chain" aspect or whatever, but I currently live in small town Wisconsin and moved here from small town south Georgia and when I hit a Binny's in a big town I feel like I'm in heaven. Well lit clean place. Helpful employees if you find the right person. A METRIC SHIT TON OF BEER. I could have spent thousands of dollars on awesome beer I haven't tried. Thankfully for Mrs. Owl, I grabbed what new Triptych's I could find and a few affordable sours. I will definitely be back if I'm in town or passing through.“

drowland 2049 days ago

“Well, I skipped Destihl for this place, which seems to be a trend. Recommended by the Blind Pig brewmaster, and it was a good recommendation. Ambiance is lots of wood, a semi-vaguely western vibe, but not over the top. A couple dozen-ish beers on tap. There seems to be an effort to focus on super-local beers, but they also have regional beers and rarities (CBS). Good deals and solid prices. I had a 12 ounce of CBS and 16 ounces of a local Black IPL for $10. No food besides bags of chips. Had a great conversation with the bartender on a slow part of the evening. Overall, I had fun. Recommended stop, as it's kitty-corner to both Radio Maria and Blind Pig.“

Drake 2349 days ago

“Almost next door to Radio Maria. I thought I had found the whole place, but I entered on an alley, and I found out later I was in the newer bar and the main place was around the corner! Had a great time here. Bartender was friendly and professional. Had a good chat with the brewmaster. Ambiance is English pub. Totally. Lots of locals, low key. 14 beers on tap. plus 2 guests. A buncha bottles. I tried 8 beers and a cider. They ranged from, at minimum, well made and drinkable to excellent touching on world class (OMG that coffee stout). No food that I could tell. Glad I spent more time here than planned. This is not a trendy, exciting brewery, but they make extremely good, drinkable beer. IMHO this is the must stop in Champaign.“

Drake 2349 days ago

“Legendary place. My Uber driver had some stories. Large restaurant. Cool blue bar. The ambiance is cool. Early 20th century vibe, lots of colored glass, with some steampunk. The infamous 27 beers on tap. Locals, regional beers, national micros, good selection. No rarities that I saw but I wouldn't be surprised if some showed up. Lots of local stuff which is what I was looking for. Tapas oriented menu. Solid, and much larger portions than I've run into in any other tapas restaurant. But, the recipes could use some more excitement. Staff was wonderful. helpful bartender and the entire staff was excited to be there. I believe this is the highest rated place in Champaign, and that is well deserved. Fun place.“

Drake 2349 days ago

“Cavernous place, seems new. Dude in the beer section on the left of the store was helpful.A ton of beers with rarities. It seems to be a thing with Binny's that singles are lacking of whatever you want, but this one seems to have a large singles selection. I easily mixed a six for the hotel room of local and US beers I hadn't tried. The selection was ample with several rarities.Prices are solid and this place has its won dedicated parking lot, so parking is easy. I imagine this is your premiere beer stop if you live locally.“

Drake 2349 days ago

“Great little place in downown Champaign! Maybe 12-15 of their own beers on tap - all the ones I have had are very good. Service is great, prices are reasonable (even better if you are in the mug club). Definitely worth a stop whenever I am in town“

csaso 2428 days ago

“Yes, its not a brewery, and yes, its a campus hangout, but I would put more faith in the most recent review than the first five. A short walk from campus. Large covered outdoor seating area was popular with the students for lunch. Inside is a couple of rooms with tables and a decent sized bar. Standard bar feel, but at least there were indeed micros available among the macros on tap. They had some Goose Island, a couple of localish things, and Revolution. I had an Anti-Hero and a burger. Burger was quite good, fries were as I like them, and since it was Tuesday, the entire thing was $8. That is damn hard to beat. This place may well be a meat market at night, but its a pretty solid place for a burger and a beer at lunchtime.“

bytemesis 2960 days ago

“a very good "downstate" Binny’s location. YOU can get Pipeworks stuff here which makes me very happy. PIPEWORKS! solid prices and easy to locate sections.“

Terminus 3053 days ago

“Stopped here on my out of Champaign. Looks like other BInny’s only the beer is not as massive. Still, a lot of good stuff (managed to drop $100 anyway) and some Chicago releases as well.“

drfabulous 3061 days ago

“Was brought here by friends living in the area and was very impressed. Cool vibe, lots of whiskey, decent beer selection (Hopslam, 4 Hands). Great sliders. Really delicious, and service was solid. Worth a stop in for a relaxing, whiskey sipping, beer drinking, slider eating Friday night.“

BMMillsy 3398 days ago

“Dinner and drinks while in town for a visit. Food was off the hook (had the braised pork shoulder--wow!). Nice tap and bottle list, and had a Black Butte XXVI for the night at $24. I thought that was extremely reasonable for a bar. Anyway, this place is great, and definitely recommended.“

BMMillsy 3398 days ago

“Nice restaurant in downtown Champaign. Not a huge beer selection but what they have is pretty good. Finally got some GI Bourbon County Stout here, so I was very happy about that! Food menu isn’t huge either, but it all seems very good. Service wasn’t bad, and prices were fair - $10 for a 12oz bottle of BCS. Not a bad place if you are looking for an above average nice meal, and a decent beer.“

csaso 3437 days ago

“So we’ve been to Champaign every year for the past four years, and on our first trip here we wrote this place off as a loud college watering hole with peanuts strewn all over the place. Well it seems the vibe has changed for the better. On this trip (2014) there was a Founders tap takeover that was quite literally insane, including a vertical tasting of Old Curmudgeon. I’m giving this a mid-range score though, because I don’t know if that was a one-off or what! Can’t wait to try this stop again next year!“

DuffMan 3687 days ago

“We were surprised to see that this place was gearing up for a 3rd Anniversary celebration-- we’ve been coming here for four years and don’t recall seeing/hearing about it before now! Admittedly the signage and entryways are not especially well marked, and it is located on the edge of downtown. Anyhow, it is a spacious, spartan college bar with a good tap list and a fridge full of bottles. No cellar list. Average service. Tiny tables. No food.“

DuffMan 3700 days ago

“This is our fourth trip to Champaign, but our first time eating at this place. We will certainly return! Great food (we were here for brunch-- everything we had was delicious), good craft beer on tap and in bottles (we shared a bottle of DFH Noble Rot). Good service, big patio.“

DuffMan 3700 days ago

“Really cool old style decor, marble top bar, kind of a neat ambiance. Very friendly service. Beer selection is a step up from average, but nothing really special. They were randalling 8-bit with citra when i was there, which was kind of cool. All in all a nice place for ambiance, but has an uphill battle against it’s neighbors for beer geeks.“

bytemesis 3720 days ago

“Very nice taplist, good bottle list. Large bar and bar seating, plus a large restaurant area. Specializing in tapas, and all that we tried were very good. Service was spotty, food prices a little high but beer was reasonable. All beers available in four ounce pours for the tickers. They also had a mega-flight of every beer they pour (including PBR!) for $40. Good atmosphere, old school music from the 30’s and 40’s. Liked it.“

bytemesis 3722 days ago

“Pretty decent selection, but nothing particularly whalish. Lots of coolers reserved for cases of crap beers, while craft DIPA’s sat unrefrigerated on shelves. Unimpressed overall.“

bytemesis 3723 days ago

“Interesting place, very much a bar atmosphere, no televisions in sight. They have a half dozen of their own beers, plus a fairly extensive taplist of other brews. The offer 4 oz pours of any three beers as a taster flight, but the bartender was pretty pissy when I ordered one. No food. Beers pretty average. Not sure where the great ratings are coming from.“

bytemesis 3724 days ago

“Went in to see if I could find some gems. Real good selection, little Higher prices then I am used to. Small pick a six section. Will return if I come back to champaign.“

edgallow 3774 days ago

“I loved the feel of this place. Nice selection of drafts. Great selection of bottles.“

edgallow 3775 days ago

“I absolutely love this place! They know their beer, some staff home-brew, and they are also connected to the local brewing industry. They don’t bat an eye on free tastes of any of the taps, even after half a dozen (I was purchasing drinks, I wasn’t drinking for free, ha). The food is stellar. The chef (Josh Huddleston) makes some amazing chow. The smoked gouda mac ‘n’ cheese is killer, as is everything else. Oh, almost forgot the beer battered cocktail sausages...wow. Great place, and don’t let the name fool you; they have way more than just Irish fare and drinks. RIS, IPA, IIPA, sours, you name it. Last but not least, Mark, the bartender that works during the day, is the best bartender I’ve come across.“

Frosty 3884 days ago

“Small specialty shop whose focus is on wine & deli, but also sporting a modest but carefully considered beer selection comprised roughly of 2/3 craft and 1/3 imports. Cannot break up or mix 6ers. Price are as good or better than Binny’s. Lower rating for service for a odd reason: we initially tried to stop in at 10:20pm on a Thursday. The posted business hours showed a closing time of 11:00pm. There was a staff person and one custome sitting in the deli area with the TV on, yet the door was locked and the lights were low. No acknowledgment of me standing outside in the rain. Very very annoying. Returned a few days later and bought one bottle of Stone Espresso Stout, then proceeded on to Binny’s and dropped about $250 to fill the res of my inventory.“

DuffMan 4073 days ago

“I was here less than 2 weeks after it opened, but too lazy to add it to the database. "Big box" design that amounts to a booze warehouse. I’ve been to a few Binny’s now, and this was the biggest and best so far. Great selection of regional craft and imports. Yes they sell singles, but only those bottles & cans which have been selected by the store for that purpose, and only if you buy 6 of them, which is pretty lame. When I was there, the service was TERRIBLE! But I’ll cut them some slack since they had just opened. By far the best selection and prices in the Champaign area though.“

DuffMan 4382 days ago

“good prices, good selection, no ambiance“

sbremseth 4423 days ago

“A neat, small brewpub in downtown Champaign. It was the end of a beer-filled night, so only tried 2 of their beers, but they were quite excellent (a bitter and fruit cider). I think they had 4 house beers and a number of guest taps. A chill place, good music playing, I had a good time here.“

LilBeerDoctor 4533 days ago

“So I accidentally stopped here, thinking it was the brewery, and was then very confused when they had no guest taps (suggestion: don’t just type Blind Pig into your smart phone!). It was a crowded place, definite college-aged hangout. The beer list to me, was not impressive. Maybe it is good for the area (I don’t know), but with 2 awesome breweries in the region, I wouldn’t waste my time here!“

LilBeerDoctor 4533 days ago

“Very good place - great combo of good beer and good food. About 26 taps plus many more bottles - good variety. Food is excellent also - tapas seem to be the thing, although they do also have a full dinner. Great prices, especially for the beer.“

csaso 4597 days ago

“This has become one of my favorite beer bars in the country. Warm, friendly, a superb and always-changing tap selection, excellent house brews, a great bottle selection and great value for your $. If you come on Tuesday or Wednesday (they’re closed Mondays), they have $2 off pints of any draft with their mug. Their mug is $5, drafts are $4-5. You do the math. And they fill that mug, meaning you actually often get more beer than you would if you had just ordered it. Bartenders are very knowledgeable about their beers and I meet interesting people here every time I come. But Champaign is that sort of town, so that may be the real root of that. My gripe is that the meters run until 9pm so it’s an unending battle for parking. Champaign has a pretty good bus system though, so that’s a viable option.“

ultrashuai 4597 days ago

“Awesome place, more of a restaurant/lounge than a bar or pub. You wouldn’t know it, but their are 27 beers on tap, all hidden behind the bar around a big wheel. Every beer is quality craft, with the standout exception of PBR, which is kept on more as a joke than anything. Fairly rapid tap rotation too, as we visited a few times and there were new beers each time. Very nice bottle list too. Vergil the beer dude came out to greet us when it became apparent that we were beer geeks, and he brought out a Unibroue 2005 that wasn’t even on the menu! Better yet, he only charged us $12 for it! Unreal! The food is spectacular, and all the tapas we tried were delicious, especially the mussels in coconut curry sauce. A favourite spot for us in Champaign for sure.“

DuffMan 4766 days ago

“Nice little pub, pretty standard pub decor and layout. Really good beersn and nice bottle selection as well. We visited here a few times and there was always something new to try. All bartenders new their beers really well.“

DuffMan 4766 days ago

“Decent selection of beers. Bar is dark and more of a hangout for college students than its sister bar The Blind Pig Brewery. Still a very nice selection of beers that change regularly.“

oldcatcher 4825 days ago

“My wife and I stopped in with my son who goes to U of I. This had become his hangout while he waits for his hour train ride south to home. Selection not real great, but they have a couple of beers that are ok. Son says the food is pretty good, and our server was extremely nice.“

oldcatcher 4838 days ago

“If you are ever in Champaign you need to check out The Blind Pig Brewery. We live about 45 miles from Champaign, but our son is a U of I student, so we try to get up there, not only to see him, but to relax at the Blind Pig. Great ambiance, very good selection, usually the bartender is very knowledgable. Just a great place to relax and have a couple of great beers of your choice.“

oldcatcher 4916 days ago

“As has been said mostly wine and spirits. The beer selection is small but has some nice choices. i wish for a little more and the staffer i dealt with didn’t know his beers. Defintely a great place for wine and spirits and you may find some worthwhile beers.“

mrmartin 4916 days ago

“Good selection of american craft brew and european imports. mostly bottles but something that everyone can drink. Bar itself is definitely a dive but not uncomfortable. Owners seemed nice.“

mrmartin 4918 days ago

“Decent selection of beers. Cozy atmosphere and decent food. Good place for dinner or a snack and a couple of beers“

mrmartin 4927 days ago

“Went here a few weeks ago when I saw the brewing equipment in the window. Very cool old-school type of vibe with a chill staff. Very clean lines and excellent selection, as well as some of their own on tap. If this were anywhere near me, I’d definitely make this a regular in my rotation of bars.“

NobleSquirrel 5089 days ago

“I know this is confusing, as this has the same owner and same street number as the The Blind Pig Co. Make no mistake, these are separate places in separate buildings. Same small vintage British pub ambiance as it’s sister place, but this has a nice outdoor patio area. They serve 4 of their house beers, plus a handful of drafts, and about 100 different bottles. The service is just enough to get the job done. The two beers I tried were excellent, and that is not surprising since their brewer is Sobol trained with lots of professional brewing experience. The cool thing is that you can do a beer crawl, and all the best beer bars in Champaign are within a block of each other. Hit this place, Blind Pig Co, Radio Maria, and Mike & Mollys.“

illinismitty 5113 days ago

“Very nice ambiance and an interesting menu, especially the fusion sliders. Beer selection is good for a restaurant, but just ok as far as beer bars go. Radio Maria and Blind Pig are far better for beer. Go here to eat and enjoy a brew with the meal. For beer selection, Radio Maria, Blind Pig, and Mike and Molly’s are VERY close by.“

illinismitty 5384 days ago

“If you want a place to go where underclassmen are puking drunk and dancing on poles, this is the place for you. Decent bar food during the daytime though. They’ve got a couple big screen TVs so if you need a place to go during the day to watch a game on the Big Ten Network, this is a viable option.“

Illini08 5890 days ago

“Nice place to go to get away from the campus bars and drink some quality beers. Was here a month or so ago for a Dark Horse Stout tasting. Got to meet the sales rep and a brewer from DH. The bar itself is dark and had a bit of a grungy feel to it, but a nice bar and plenty of seating for as small a place as it is. Staff was friendly. Beer selection was good.“

Illini08 5890 days ago

“Please don’t go to Clybournes, Firehouse, Brothers, Murphy’s, Ledgends, Kam’s, The White Horse, Gully’s, or C.O.’s. If you want to drink beer, THE BLIND PIG IS THE BEST BAR IN CHAMPAIGN.“

janelso3 5914 days ago

“Small, dark, homey feeling with a nice relaxing atmosphere. Went there for a Dark Horse tasting and plan to go back for a downtown night. Decent selection and bartender was friendly.“

nimrod 5922 days ago

“Kinda disappointed. Spent the afternoon across the street at The Blind Pig, more my style. Fair beer selection and the tapa selection good. I definitly would stop in to decide for yourself!“

illini4ever 5978 days ago