Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Cravings

    4.1 (217 reviews)
    InexpensiveChinese, Pan Asian
    Open 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

    Cravings Photos

    Business Info

    CRAVINGS ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Loud
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

    You might also consider

    Recommended Reviews - Cravings

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Chrysanthemum tea
    Jenny P.

    I love Cravings and have been going there for about 4 years now; it was one of the first restaurants I tried on campus. I really only ever get two things and that's the green beans and tomato egg. I've tried other dishes here and there, but I can't really speak on them (usually my Chinese friends order and we all share so I don't even know what I'm eating). I might be biased because I just love their green beans but my boyfriend also thinks the tomato egg is really good. Some of my friends also really like the eggplant. The man who works there is very nice and funny. He would start conversation sometimes. They also have hot Chrysanthemum tea for free which I love. It gives a hole in the wall vibe (as much as you can get in Champaign I feel like). The portions used to be bigger but it's understandable they're not as big now and still good for the price in my opinion. They have express options now where you can pick certain dishes from the line like Panda express so you can get your food right away but also have regular ordering where they make it when you order.

    Very delicious and affordable. It is one of the best Chinese cuisines in Champaign. Very delicious and affordable. It is one of the best Chinese cuisines in Champaign.

    Monty W.

    The value is great and it seems like the kitchen knows what they're doing because they have such an expansive menu. I like how they have complimentary tea and water dispenser. Particularly like the slightly sweetened chrysanthemum tea, as did my daughters who made a game of fire bucket brigade. The owner is from Malaysia so I imagine that if you wanted Malaysian cooking, just ask for it? Very friendly and an avid sport fan. Cravings was my first stop after 3hrs driving back from St Louis to Chicago. I needed food...it was hangry time. And along the way I was searching for the optimum ideals for what I like. Value, taste and a good time. I know they probably could cook a pleathora of great dishes, including more authentic stuff... The young guy sitting next to us in the table has a bowl full of chili stewed lamb or something like that and had a second helping of rice to box in the storage container he brought from home. How considerate I thought...must be a regular. But I didn't want anything fancy, or complex. I wanted typical Chinese American fare... I wanted stuff that I was not allowed to have as a son of a Chinese chef...SESAME CHICKEN AND Mongolian beef. So it's a bit different than what I'd usually order at an Asian restaurant. Now it was quite yummy, the sesame chicken was crispy and absolutely delicious, this is what you gauge sesame chicken by. I also had the Mongolian beef which was good as well, think sliced and very tasty. The lunch specials are great value. It was a good rest stop on our way home. Glad we stopped in. I think I'll be back next time I'm in town. I like how you have four Asian restaurants right next to each other in this block. Korean, Indian, Chinese, and Japanese. Figure this is where the international students default go-to spot in campus.

    Ma La Diced Chicken Extra Spicy

    No words. Just amazing food. Owner and his wife are lovely as always. Fast service, high quality. Best Chinese food in Champaign.

    Seafood Delight
    Andy N.

    Clearly my Chinese cravings were going nuts, and I had to satisfy them with some of the best deals Champaign has to offer for UIUC students and the local area alike. My friend and I were on our way back to Chicago from the deep red part of Illinois and decided to grab a late bite before reaching home. We were looking up restaurants around UoI since I had never been there before (yep!), and figured we'd find some good deals with the number of perceived broke college students around. ...and what a gem we found in Cravings! The menu here is huge and so are their portions. I was very impressed with the wide range of Chinese options you could choose from, and their online menu doesn't include the Malay and other specialized items they have. We ordered the seafood delight as well as their orange chicken. Yea we know it's basic, but it's Chinese fast food! Both of these came in large, piping hot styrofoam box along with a side of white rice. As we ate in the car on our way home, we were impressed with the quality and tastiness of the food. Seriously, what a deal! If you want some great Chinese-American food for a really great price, I can't think of another place in Champaign but Cravings. Y'all got it made here at UoI. Treasure this because outside these corners lay higher taxes and smaller portions!

    Chicken Lo Mein ($6.00)
    Eva S.

    Between 6 hungry people, we ordered: 1) Indonesian Fried Rice 2) Crispy Beef 3) Crispy Tofu 4) Chicken Lo Mein 5) MaPo Tofu Platters are around $7 each and everything is cooked fresh to order. The flavors are amazing here and the service is amazing, the food comes out quickly. It's feel-good, home-away-from-home cooking. It's no wonder there's always a lot of international students and a few home-grown midwesterners eating here - they've discovered one of the best spots for Asian food in Champaign. (And the engineering quad is also right across the street!) It's not a fancy place. You'll clean your own plates when you're finished and when you order, you'll be given a number which they will call out from the counter. You can grab your own silverware, napkins and cups of water/tea from the big kettles near the cash register and clear your own dishes when you're finished. But what they lack in pomp and panache they make up for with good food and cheerful service. Simple as that. If I had to choose to order one thing consistenlty, it would be their crispy tofu. Hefty wedges of soft tofu are lightly breaded and fried. It's served topped with strings of fresh green onion and this incredible thick garlic dipping sauce, which I would eat with plain rice. It's that good! And it's my favorite. The Indonesian Fried Rice comes with a fried egg on top and their MaPo Tofu comes spicy (chilis bring it on), in a very sharable portion. Our dishes also came with the soup of the day, something along the lines of egg drop soup with tomotoes. Here you will get an affordable meal with amazing Taiwanese-Indonesian-Chinese flavors. When i was a student here, I would mostly order take-out and the portions would last me at least two meals. Come here if you want a filling, hearty meal that will nourish your heart and soul. Dining in is great to eat family style since the dishes are shareable. If you come consistently enough, I think you'll find your favorite dish that you'll want to order every time. The owners are incredible people who take great pride in their restaurant. They know they are a beloved spot on campus and treat their patrons in the same way.

    Mongolian Beef

    See all

    6 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 months ago

    Cravings is awesome. They can do Americanized, but that's not the default (thank goodness!) Go get your Cravings on!

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Chuk P.
    180
    8
    1

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Great vegan dishes, I come here way too often. Quick, cheap, good, and plentiful? What's not to like?

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Went there 30 min before close and the server was super nice and filled up my plate! Good value and variety

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Ye T.
    0
    18
    13

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Andy N.
    1115
    2650
    7118

    9 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Taste is typical Chinese American cuisine. In salty and oily side. Food sometimes is good and sometimes is okay.

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Eva S.
    408
    429
    7151

    11 years ago

    Helpful 5
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    16 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    affordable. good taste. But I caught cooking staff smoking while making food in the kitchen. I doubt their hygiene

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    12 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Cheap, quick, good quality Chinese food. The workers are really friendly and I highly recommend this place! I'd definitely go back.

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Sean P.
    550
    36
    54

    9 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 18
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Kac B.
    14
    3
    0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 9
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Lisa C.
    60
    88
    2

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Liz X.
    0
    13
    9

    9 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Esther K.
    169
    20
    17

    4 years ago

    The most authentic and genuine Chinese food you'll find in town! And you can't beat the price! Def one of my college favs

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    14 years ago

    Helpful 6
    Thanks 0
    Love this 5
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Orville A.
    16
    145
    972

    13 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Tung D.
    517
    700
    3041

    14 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    14 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    13 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    Page 1 of 6

    Ask the Community - Cravings

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Chinese 1,112 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    Anju Above - Mega Roll!!

    Anju Above

    (450 reviews)

    $$

    Love how they share a kitchen so you get to pick your dining atmosphere while not having to choose…read morewhich menu to use!

    I may have gone into this with too high of expectations because of what I heard about the epiphany…read moregroup and that may have been unfair of me. But that being said there were a lot of GREAT things about this restaurant so I'll start there. The restaurant itself it's so moody and vibey I LOVED it, was such a good place for a date night, our waiter was so attentive, helped with all of our questions and a very patient with us as we worked through the menu. 10/10 service! We got the dumpling and pork bun appetizer and both were AMAZING, seriously the pork bun?? I could have eaten 1000 of them. Next was the sushi, I got the Atlantic hand roll and another member of the table got the rainbow roll, both were very fresh and flavorful, highly recommend. Next was the entree, I got the pork belly ramen, as a huge ramen fanatic I was SO excited, especially following up our appetizers, the bar was set high and unfortunately I was so disappointed. The broth was not very good and everything so extremely salty, I couldn't even eat the mushrooms in the bowl because they soaked up so much of the broth and it was like a salt bomb in my mouth. The pork belly was cooked well and I did really enjoy that, but for a $20 bowl of ramen, it really fell flat for me. I also got the sweet heat cocktail, and it also wasn't for me, cocktails are so personal so it's not that I wouldn't recommend someone try it, it's just that I didn't hit for me, and that was the general consensus of the table. While I had a great night, I would probably try a different restaurant for Asian food before I came back to this one!

    Aroma Garden - Braised pork W rice noodlles

    Aroma Garden

    (19 reviews)

    A solid option if you're looking for a less busy Chinese restaurant near campus with spacious…read morecomfortable seating, full sit-in service, and a fairly varied menu with good prices and generous portions. If this restaurant were located in most cities in Illinois, it would be one of the nicest and best restaurants around. The competition around Champaign Urbana for Chinese food is very high however, and this one is a little less refined for flavors and textures than some of the popular spots around campus. With that said however, the food is still highly enjoyable and the more authentic dishes are considerably better than the Americanized options. For example, the cumin beef has a nice tender texture with good sear and flavor coming from the onion and mix of spices. The orange beef also has a nice citrus flavor and tender beef that's not overly sweet. The pineapple sweet and sour pork was passable, but not really as sweet or crunchy as expected. The egg rolls were done very well, similar to how my grandpa prepared them. Overall, this is a delicious spot for Chinese food with plenty of parking and much more relaxed dining. Food is good here, but for me just a little less refined than the best options available.

    Great place for family style meals for big groups! We made a reservation for a party of 7!…read more The food was delicious, we got 7 dishes to share and it was plenty of food! My favorites were the cumin lamb, dry pot chicken, and the rice noodle with beef. The lamb was perfectly seasoned and not gamey at all (coming from someone who doesn't usually like lamb). The beef in the rice noodles were so tender and a group favorite. The egg drop soup serving was massive, enough for everyone to get two small bowls. I was most disappointed by the twice cook pork, it was extremely dry. The rice was also quite dry as well. Overall a place I would love to visit again!

    Cravings - chinese - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...