Courier Cafe Review

Great traditional interior, beautiful antique decor. Delicious food, great variety, friendly staff.

Small town cafe with a nice atmosphere, good food, and reasonable prices.

I've been here countless times and I've never had a bad meal that I can remember. If you're visiting Urbana, I highly recommend a stop at The Courier. Their milk-shakes and burgers are great. I hear their salad bar is pretty good too. The house fries are made out of potato wedges. They changed the menu a while back so that the fries are not included with the burgers, but you should really get the fries. The "skinny dippers" (fried potato skins with cheese, bacon, and other good stuff) are my favorite appetizer.

Delicious food and excellent service. Staff was very nice

I've been here twice. Once for breakfast and once for lunch. From what I recalled Courier has seperate menus depending on the time of day. So that means certain items like a burger aren't avalible till later. The place has a lot of historic value to the town as it used to house the local newspaper before it went out of buisness decades ago. It has other historic items on display but the main attraction is the building itself. I was recommended this place because it has good milkshakes and after having a strawberry milkshake there I would have to agree. The milkshake was served in a full glass and a metal cup holding the rest of the milkshake which made up about another half a glass. This was easily the best part of the meal. There is usually a wait and unfortunately because of the location there is not a lot of room to wait. The only places to wait are on the steps leading up to the restaurant (which already has a lot of traffic) or outside. Overall this was a nice place to eat. The food is ranges from pretty good to great, the venue is interesting, and the place has pretty good hours. I am all for going back to Courier Cafe, especially for lunch.

Food was tasty, service was average, shakes were surprisingly delicious. Overall a nice experience.

This place came highly recommended by locals! And they were right! I was early and my date was late and the place was very busy but the staff was kind and friendly amd let me sip coffee while I waited. The good was good, familiar and customizable.

Very friendly staff and a wide range of foods and drinks available. There are decent vegetarian options too.

Good food, Artistic and fun menu, and a hometown atmosphere.

Almond French toast is awesome, and another time I had my first egg cream there and it was delicious. At Christmas it was festive and the specials, like peppermint shakes, sounded great.

Nats crawling around the salad bar, food was ok, not as good as usual.

One of my favorite little places to go and relax and have a coffee with my friend

Love the food! I had the artichoke sandwich which was loaded with a variety of other ingredients! We celebrate special occassions there.

Super cute, historic restaurant. Food was great and a wide selection from vegan to meat lover. Service was friendly but a bit slow. I got my phosphate after my food. Not a deal breaker. I'd go back.

The Courier is one of Urbana's best kept secrets. Home grown veggies, great food. Great place to dine.

This place has been around for over 30 years. Their baked potato skins and milkshakes are amazing.

I have been to The Courier Cafe a few times and I am a big fan of their customisable milk shakes. The portion they serve of the milkshake is equivalent to a meal. Also, the breakfast options are great and the service is quick. Would surely recommend visiting this place for breakfast, milkshake and desserts. I LOVE IT!!

Very average. Smells like syrup inside. Probably a decent breakfast joint, but less so for lunch and dinner.

This restaurant has been around for many years. I enjoyed it when I was in college in the 90's, and we go there regularly now. I LOVE the Spanish omelet! My spouse love the biscuits and gravy. Enjoy!

I had a delicious breakfast and our waiter was very friendly and courteous. The place filled up quickly so I don't think I'm the only one who thinks so

Absolutely stunning. The atmosphere, the service, the food, every step along the way was filled with the brim with care, warmth, and hospitality. Drove an hour and a half to have brunch with a friend and just happened to find this place and I couldn't be happier. Recommend this to anyone and can't wait to make the 1.5 hour trip to come back next time

Awesome service. Fantastic food. An excellent campus hidden gem!

Great place, wonderful food especially for breakfast, very busy on the weekends but friendly staff

I came here in a group of 5 on a pretty busy afternoon. Food was very good, but the server seemed very distracted and didn't pay much attention to a group of college guys. Would've liked a little better service, but she was nice and the food was good. All in all, I had a great meal.

Disaster last night, normally a favorite place to go. Service was slow, appetizer was being brought with meal, food was cold

We visited the Courier recently and were not disappointed. Our food was delicious, our server was friendly and attentive. We especially enjoy the cozy atmosphere. The only downfall is accessibility for wheelchairs but in a historic building that is to be expected. We will be back!

American style cafe with reliable good food. Large burgers and tasty salad bar

Always delicious comfort food with a very cozy, vintage atmosphere.

Eclectic place with amazing, simple food. Definitely worth returning to.

Great restaurant for traditional American style food. Have gone here several times with several friends and the feedback is overwhelmingly positive. Absolutely try their shakes as they are something else altogether. Probably the best shakes I have ever had were all from the Courier Cafe.

Great service! Melt in your mouth food! Loved this place since high school, and I'm 50 now lol

Visiting town for my nephew's graduation from the Police Academy. Where else in Champaign- Urbana would a sane person have lunch??? Great food. Excellent service. Crappy parking, I'm not gonna lie.

Always great service and delicious food! Don't go without trying their skinny dippers (potato skins) and a classic shake.

A wonderful local place, breakfast is super whatever you order. For lunch, the fries are to die for!

I truly enjoyed every thing - the beautiful building, Atmosphere & the awesome food - I'll be visiting again - soon!

My favorite restaurant in town. I love getting their Hispanic style breakfast burrito & trying their coffee flavors of the day.

Courier Cafe has delicious burgers, sandwiches, soups, and an awesome salad bar, lots of comfort food. I highly recommend their Fish tacos!

We have been eating here for 20 years. We bring our out of town friends for a great experience. Must haves: The fries, skinny dippers (if you aren't worried about a heart attack), the salad bar, chicken pesto pita, veggie or regular burger, chocolate / peanut butter shake.

I've heard good things about this place and maybe I have bad luck but both times I've gone my food was terrible. First I ordered fried chicken and I want even willing to eat it - it looked and tasted awful and I'm not picky about fried chicken I like the reheated frozen stuff. When I complained they did refund me. The next time I went I got a very dry overcooked hamburger on a stale bun.

Always crowded. Be prepared to wait for an hour for weekend brunch. The food is good !!

Visited the Courier Cafe at around 2 pm on a Saturday. The place wasn t two busy. Atmosphere was very cute, very classic. The food was good, reasonable also! However, the service was not good at all. I believe our waitress (we really didn t know if we had one or not) got oversat, as per the other girl who helped her out, which is unfortunate. I think getting things a bit more ironed out and making sure everyone can work without getting too stressed would really help.

DELICIOUS. 10/10 would recommend. Excellent service and also very friendly.

A diner from a different era. If you want a blast from the past and the best potato skins ever, check this place out.

Love this place. Breakfast, lunch or dinner everything is great. Good service and atmosphere.

Ok. Something on the Carolina Reuben was sweet in a way I didn't enjoy. Cool decor though.

Lots of moments spent at this place! Love the vibe, great food, and friendly staff! It s just a cool, easy spot to grab food when out with friends. Food wise, try any of the sandwiches and go for the salad bar. Can get crowded on weekends. Definitely try it out!

Best banana shake, period. Great burger, sandwiches and skinny dippers.

Great food, great service, great price. If I could I'd give them 6/5

Little to no vegan options at this restaurant. Those I was with thought their food was good, however. The restaurant has a nice environment. But due to the little food options for vegans, I will likely not return.

I had such an amazing meal here. I have wanted a burger and a shake, and both really hit the spot.

They hand dip their milkshakes and have a lot of different flavors. I had a coffee and mocha mixed shake. You can get other flavors added, too. They bring out the mixing cup with the glass with your shake in it.

Great atmosphere great people and awesome food and the owner is a really nice guy

Great local cafe! Perfect for good food, good drinks, and plenty of great dessert options.

Very nice place. Casual atmosphere, great food, good portions. The staff are particularly warm and friendly. Nice booths for privacy. Delicious hamburgers. Great soups.

I LOVE this place to eat in Champaign. One of the first we had when my daughter was a freshman and always a favorite. Prepare to wait and prepare for it to be totally worth the wait

Cute space with Covid appropriate spacing. Food was ok, but not hot. But the atmosphere and service was nice. I probably would not go back as breakfast is really easy to do right so eating cold food just isn t worth a second trip.

Good food. Lots of options! I will visit again if I am in the area. I had the Dagwood, and it was good and filling.

Great place and a peice of history. If you look on the menu it tells the history of the building as well as the decorations or objects inside the building. Some things go back to the 1800s. Average service, good friendly atmosphere the food and servings are decent size as well as the price. Old fashion styled shakes/ malts as well as sodas. The breads, cookies, and pastries are homemade.around around a very nice place and will definitely continue to go there.

Try the salad bar! You will never be disappointed! Love their food!!

Been many times. Food is always great but service as noted by others can be spotty even when they are not busy. Only thing keeping it from a five.

This is my favorite restaurant in Urbana. I highly recommend the honey, which is harvested from their apiary on the roof! I also highly recommend their breakfast and milkshakes! Yum!

Excellent soups and Reuben, everything else is average