Eat + Drink

We love to eat and drink – whether it’s at home or out on the town in Champaign-Urbana. Here you will find favorite recipes, information on local food, restaurants, farmers’ markets, and more.

Scroll down for all of our “favorite” lists around Champaign-Urbana.

Great Date Night Restaurants

We’ve divided up our date night restaurant suggestions into a few different categories. The “time to splurge” category features Champaign-Urbana area restaurants that are a splurge in resources — not just money, but also time. These are places to savor, and may require some advance planning (e.g., reservations recommended for weekends especially). Our “quick and fun” category features restaurants that don’t require much planning ahead.

Our Favorite Food Trucks

Year after year, Champaign, Urbana and the surrounding communities are home to some of the area’s best food trucks. Featuring unique food finds and specialities, these food trucks offer variety and combinations that please kids and adults alike. Residents flock to social media and food truck websites for when and where to find their favorites.

Great Campustown Places to Eat

Whether you have the family, or some time to yourself, or it’s date night, we present some fun ideas on where to eat in Campustown (and we use that term broadly here, as we have picked restaurants in both Champaign and Urbana). Some of these are places to get a full meal, while others are great for a treat or a snack.

10+ Small Town Places to Eat around Champaign-Urbana

We have listed some of our favorite eateries in small towns surrounding Champaign-Urbana. Some we go back to again and again. Some of these you may know well; some might be new to you. The requirement for this list is that they had to be locally owned and in a smaller town within easy driving distance of Champaign-Urbana.

Destination Restaurants near Champaign-Urbana

This list includes our favorite “destination” restaurants in communities generally within 90 minutes of Champaign-Urbana. These are some of the best restaurants we enjoy traveling to, without packing more than a diaper or activity bag. Sometimes we’ve gone kidless; however, all of these places are kid approved.

Looking for favorite foods around Champaign-Urbana?

Planning a date sometime soon?

Make sure you subscribe to our monthly date night newsletter, where you can find a list of events happening this month that are the perfect reason to book that sitter and head out on the town.