I'm a local who frequents Cafe Paradiso a couple times a week. It's been my favorite neighborhood…read morespot for a few years. I even started coming more often after Dutch Brothers opened down the street because I wanted to offset the possibility of small business loss. This place has meant that much to me. What has set Paradiso apart from other coffee spots in town has always been the vibe; serving up a warm and welcoming spot to enjoy your drink and hang for a few. Up until recently the staff have always been friendly and attentive. Things have been going downhill for a couple months, but the last few weeks have been particularly egregious. A majority of the friendly and familiar faces that made this place so beloved have been replaced in recent weeks with rude and indifferent staff members. Recently I've had a half dozen instances of drinks made incorrectly (nothing fancy, just steamed milk and tea), or having to repeatedly ask for food I ordered, etc. and then being treated like I'm an imposition for asking to correct the issue. Many of the staff seem to pick and choose who they're polite to, to the point that I no longer feel personally welcome. I think I'll be taking my business elsewhere from now on.

Cute caffe with a relaxed feel. Nice place to grab a coffee and chat, or work. Fairly busy but…read morevanilla latte was good and a tasty strawberry croissant. Service was fast and efficient.

My husband and I went in to grab lunch. We heard the tortas were good and had a Got-spot coupon to…read moreburn. We both ordered a milanesa torta; mine had sour cream and his had the aioli, which was a chipotle seasoned sauce. It was delicious- the bread was a lot lighter and airy than previous tortas we have had around town where the bread is more dense. We highly recommend trying the torta. The horchata was creamier that other places. SO good! We saw a sign on the register for ceviche on Sundays. We are totally coming back.

Some of the best tasting/looking ice cream I've had. The lime green, guava and mango are all super…read moregood. The people working there are also super nice people. Hidden gem in town for sure!

I've tried all the cookie places, insomnia, cookies, crave cookies, Crumbl cookies, and Insomnia is…read moreby far the best. Some of the other cookie places the cookies are way too sweet and if you like that, then great but I don't like such a sweet Cookie. That's why I stick with insomnia cookies. They just need to open a place closer to the suburbs outside of Chicago like in Orland Park, Tinley Park. They also have a very good variety of cookies and if you order online when you get there, they will be warm and gooey.

Amazing selection of deserts. So hard to choose a favorite. Friendly staff. Wish had one closerread more

Great tasting froyo, rich, flavorful and not artificial tasting. Been on campus for almost two…read moredecades, and always a loved spot for the students and alums alike. They charge by weight. My kids like the fruity ones, I liked the taro, the matcha is a bit light in flavor in comparison but still pretty good.

Options were limited for boba teas but the service was good. Ambiance was friendly and pretty easy.read more

This dessert shop was a wonderful find for me. I went here to get a matcha oriented drink but ended…read moreup getting a soft-serve swirl. Upon arrival, I checked out the menu and saw a lot of wonderful variety of items that I wanted to try; however, I only had room for one thing. While scoping out the menu, my eyes fell on their soft-serve flavors. They not only had chocolate and vanilla flavors but also, hojicha, matcha, and ube. Plus, you could get them in a swirl or just as two flavors in a dish. I immediately decided that I wanted the Hojicha and Ube pairing. My son got the Matcha and Ube combo. Both were good. I liked all the flavors. Hojicha was my favorite, followed by Matcha, and then Ube. Each of these ice cream had rich flavor and the texture was smooth. The pricing of the soft-serve was on the high side but the portion size was good. The Ice cream is made in-house including the Hojicha. The shop was busy. It was frequented by U of I students, it seemed. The service was good. I'd go back here if I were to be in Champaign again. Check it out.

Great service, great drinks, and great vibes. I came here during finals to study and try their…read morematcha and was very satisfied! The strawberry matcha is sweet and flavorful. The inside is quiet and has a great seating area for studying, it was very clean and had a cute community board inside! I was served quickly by a lone person with optimism and a smile. I felt very welcome and enjoyed every moment of being here! I will definitley be back to try their desserts!

My sister and I took our mother to Grovestone for an Italian cooking demonstration. We had a blast…read more Everything was so tasty! Chef Steph did a spectacular job of making and explaining everything. I never visited the other location but their new space is crisp and clean, spacious yet intimate. Can't wait to take my husband, I will be back!

Best cup of coffee in forever. Always a pleasant experience to touch base with Louie. Just like…read morebeing invited into someone's home. My go to place for olive oil balsamics and spices

Definitely very Asian bakery with lighter flavor profile. The okara cake was a very interesting…read moreconcept. I've made stuff with okara before and like the particular flavor and texture-- it feels drier and denser because of the soy pulp, but it's something I like. I also like how not too sweet everything is. Their miso salted caramel tart was also good, I also like that they sell day-old stuff with half price. I can get behind the concept and the intention behind how this bakery is ran. Very excited to have discovered this on our trip to visit uiuc. Would've loved to try their sencha, hojicha, and genmaicha next time!

I'm normally a huge fan of this bakery as the quality of the bakes are pretty good so we come here…read moreoften as you can see in my previous review. However, a few weeks ago, (6/6/26) I had a disappointing experience with a staff member there while picking up an online cake order. On the day of cake pick up, I was done with errands at around 10am, I called the bakery to ask if it was possible to pickup the cake early. The girl on the phone sounded very annoyed with my request (I was just asking, they could have said no) and told me they don't do pickups until noon but I can still come in. So I get there and she immediately starts treating me like I was a huge inconvenience. As she's handing me the cake, she pulls out a receipt and started scolding me that pickups don't start until noon and it's right there on the website. I showed her my email receipt confirming 10:30am pickup and how there's literally two different sections with different times on their website so i was obviously confused. but she ignored my explanation and continued chastising me for the misunderstanding of the pickup times. I just let it go as I didn't want to argue but I left feeling very upset. I think management/owners dropped the ball on training staff on how handle these types of situations with professionalism and not immediately placing blame on the customer. I tried my best to smile and be friendly to her but she was starting to become defensive. There was no accountability for the user interface of their website. She made sure to make it known that it was my mistake alone. I have not decided whether I will continue to support this establishment but I won't be back for awhile.

I have been coming here since I was a kid. SDB has thee best ice cream I have ever had. I also love…read morethe cute little moo-thru that they have added in recent years. I have to give a 4 star rating though because within the last year or so I noticed they have stopped filling the cup full to the top. I asked to have more ice cream added to my tornado and the girl said she couldn't fill it after I had eaten it and I hadn't eaten anything and had just picked it up from the counter. I let her know I hadn't eaten anything and I had just got it from another girl working there and she apologized and gave me a small cup of ice cream to add to the top to mix in myself. But it had happened multiple times since then and it's pretty frustrating when you are paying so much for a tornado and it isn't filled to the top like it used to be and also making the drive for it too. I also don't love asking them to fill it after getting it from the counter. It's awkward. Overall, I will continue to get ice cream from SDB because it truly is the best. Just wish they would fill the cup all the way up without having to ask. :) *The photos attached are before I had eaten anything from the cup.

I love SDB! Specifically I recommend the pumpkin ice cream with caramel sauce and pecans mixed…read morein!!!! But I also love the chocolate!!! Super rich ! In regards to service, I am so grateful for the willingness of SDB workers to answer questions about food allergies, and to accommodate my celiac disease! This place is SO cute! And the moo-mobile is even cuter!!! Please go here because I'm moving away and want to live vicariously through pics on other reviews