I have been a fan of the Illini Inn since I was a coed, and that's a few lifetimes ago! This place is a best bet for cold beer and wings and back in the day I loved to share their slick n sleazy pepperoni pizza with friends. I need to visit again - I'm homesick! read more

A must visit if you plan to get wasted on the Illinois campus. Illini Inn has been one of the places for students and alumni to party their ass off. Many have been here through the years. Fun place for watching a game. The prices are low too. I like how this is kind of a smaller bar but it's also fun. Pretty cheap prices on things. This is especially true for wells. It's $2 for a typical well drink. So apparently they have some pizza but the quality is questionable. It's about the only expensive thing here at about $20 each. The quality makes avoiding this probably the best idea. Good place for watching a game. It isn't even bad watching the Illini in here because it's small and not as many people are in here. The bar itself is pretty gross and smelly. read more

Illini Inn - Whiskey - Dive Bars Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Stopped in with my boyfriend who is an alum and hasn't been to visit campus in about 10 years. He has fond college memories at the Illini Inn so we stopped in to check it out. Looks like a completely new building from the time he was there, but he still enjoyed being there to re-live a little. It's a good stop for a quick beer with the typical college student nonsense going on all around you, even in November when it's freezing cold outside! read more

We stopped in to have a drink and lunch on our way to Indy and join the mug club. The food was awful and the service was even worse. The workers leaned against the beer coolers and acted like they didn't want to be bothered. Highly dissatisfying . read more

Illini Inn is the last dive bar remaining in campus. After Deluxe got knocked down to make way for the mediocrity of Legend's and Murphy's expanded and cleaned the place up, Illini Inn stands alone. This place is a true dive: cheap drafts, dingy bathrooms, a good jukebox and a surprising lack of fratboys (especially considering you're surrounded by big houses with greek letters in the front yards.) Go forth. Chug a beer. Join the Mug Club. read more

Ed T., I weep for the days when there were no frat boys, and this was an amazingly undiscovered gem of non-douchyness in Champaign. You're dead on though - rock the mug club, go for your low number now! Unfortunately, the place is always PACKED now, full of idiots, and it's impossible to get a table and have a decent time. I have lots of fond memories - filling the place half way up with 10 people on a basketball weekend, just hanging out all night. Now we have to fend off French people trying to hit on group member's fiancees (not a joke) and dodge popped collars. We've pretty much given up. It's not a two star because I remember the glory days. One standout moment - to the two dudes in head to toe Carhart and stocking caps who obviously selected Scissor Sister's "Don't Feel Like Dancin'" from the jukebox, and then hid in the bathroom until the music came on? We were standing by the dart boards when you came out of there, slowly robot-ing your way across the floor, so incredibly focused on your dance that you didn't crack a smile, didn't even make eye contact with other patrons. Maybe, seriously, the funniest thing I have ever seen. Thank you for a memory that never fails to make me smile. read more

What the Inn lacks in amenities, it more than makes up with it's ambiance. This is no Joe's, Legends, or Brothers. While Ed is correct that lately, it seems like there's more patrons wearing vertical striped oxford shirts and square toed shoes on their way to Brother's, they don't tend to stick around too long. If you get there early, you can grab a table, toss some darts, and get your songs played on the internet jukebox. Most of the bartenders are polite, patient, and fun. However, there's one beast of a woman who enjoys berating people who aren't the fastest Mug Club pledges... but hey, you asked for it anyway. If you come to visit Champaign, you simply MUST join the 60,000 member mug club, and take in some of the history at the Inn... It's a Champaign institution. read more

You say dive, I say hell yeah! Saturday at 11pm we wanted to avoid the typical UIUC bar scene and opted to head to the Illini, as it is notoriously tame and fairly unique in that regard, not to mention none of us were members of the mug club yet. There were surprisingly not that many people there on a weekend night. The ones that were didn't really seem too obnoxious. Inside is really old, decorated accordingly, and will put you in a time capsule to a time when the generation before us was slamming Old Style and signing their names in the club book. We enjoyed being able to sit at the bar and have some quality conversation, with decent music being played at a reasonable volume. I personally like the whole club type of vibe that most campus bars go for, but this was an unusually pleasant change of pace. The mug club was a must for everybody. We happily joined and were able to recite our numbers at the end to get our membership cards back. Solid place on campus that lets you experience a hidden nook of UIUC to avoid the obnoxious people, deafening music and super high drink prices. You will see me here again for sure. read more

Dive bar it is... This is a small, local, non pretentious, very chill establishment. You can come in jeans and a t-shirt. It feels like hanging out in an 80's basement ($7 domestic pitchers). The crowd is 25-50 ish. Come to catch up with friends and take a buddy if you must go to the bathroom because it's super sketch. Apparently it's way better than before because it actually has a door on it now?! When we were there it had 1 door, 2 toilets side by side, and 1 clogged sink. Go at your own risk or leave before you have to pee. read more

I love the location of Illini inn. It is a block away from my place and away from Green st which I enjoy because it isn't as chaotic especially because it is a smaller bar. The 2 downfalls of the bar are it's hours and the fact that they no longer take credit cards. It's hours are very confusing. I never know what days they are open and their hours. I just have to walk by to find out if they are open or not. As for the no credit card situation, I don't know why they no longer take credit cards but it is a little inconvenient. Luckily their location makes up for its downfalls and I will continue to go to Illini inn. read more

Probably the most debated bar in University of Illinois history has now been demolished. Will the replacement with a ridiculous apartment structure (it's all about money) be able to replace the culture/sub-culture that goes back into the 70's + and Willie's Cheesy pizza - doubtful? But, get over it, and try and keep tradition going, be loud, be fun, and be friends, that was the Illini Inn we loved 76-80. FDLM, esq. read more

One, this place is in awful shape and very gross looking. Two, it is very unwelcoming to foreign students as they DO NOT accept ID from other countries. Three, it is almost always empty inside, so it's very awkward and odd for a bar near Green Street. read more

The one and only place to go for a beer in between periods during Illini hockey games. Far enough away from Green Street that it doesn't see the same crowds, which I love. Best dive on campus. read more

Got there about an hour before game time with my daughter who is now a senior at the U of I. I wish I had gotten there sooner, the place was as good as I remembered it. A lot of alums with their original mug club cards. While there were still a lot of students so that the place didn't look like a retirement home, I found that while I was standing in line for the bathroom that I was the youngest in line at 50. If you are going back for a game you have to stop here for a beer or twelve.. read more

A dive bar no doubt, but a good one. The Mug Club is fun and makes this dive worth the visit. Chug an Old Style and remember your number to get your Mug Club membership card back. Good stuff. read more

It's not a good bar but that's what's so great about it. Not many college bars in the Champaign Urbana district have been able to withstand the abominable pseudo pretentiousness of underage patrons wearing their Hawks jerseys and throwback gear while they stumble around incoherently listening to the top 40 soundtrack. But the inn is entirely untainted. It may smell sometimes and it may be hard to convince your friends do go there. But so what, Damnt. The inn feels like a home. The tunes flow freely while you and your friends have a couple beers and have a couple laughs. In the end, that's really all you could ask for. We don't go out, we go Inn. read more

I wanna see my name in the books. Came here in the windy cold and you only had 90k and above. I'm a 60k OG and my pops is an original list bro from the 70's. What the hell?! read more

This little pub has been in C-U for years and I have never seen it in this bad of a shape. The bathrooms are torn up and dirty......the whole place is dirty and has a bad odor. It looks like nobody cares at all. All the beer lines need to be cleaned and the 3 dfiferent beers we tried all tasted terrible because of the dirty beer lines. I am sorry this seems harsh but we will not come back until a new inteligent owner takes over and returns this little pub back into the fun, clean, taken care of place it used to be! read more

The beer was warm, the music was loud and awful. My beloved Illini Inn needs to be put out of its misery. It felt like a slacker's basement party, not at all like the Inn of old. Mug club member #9666. read more

Mug club # 1369, which is fraying at the edges, and sadly hasn't been used in decades. Just came across mine as I was scanning business cards. I'll need to go back and see if they'll still take it! Hopefully they don't let anyone else downstairs anymore. Upstairs, you would hear chanting about the need for a mop. Nothing good can come from that. read more

I have not been under the new management, so this is a rating of the old Illini Inn circa 2002-2008 or so. Before the change it always warmed my heart that there was one real, legit dive bar still remaining in campustown. Cheap beer and a small place that isn't always crowded (shocking given its location). People have since told me that they took out many of the things that made Illini Inn great---pinball machines, nice tables, etc. We used to come here after Illini hockey games across the street. Too bad it may have gone downhill since. read more

nice little dive bar great for grabbing a beer on a hot summer day. fun talking about mug club and flashing #7764 that has been proudly in hubbys wallet from years past. read more

I frequented this establishment during the late '70's. I lived across the street. My fondest memory is ordering pizza late night. After many years traveling and living across the USA, I have yet to taste a better pizza. The cheese was amazing. Champaign was (still is?) the best pizza town. read more

Under new management, the new owners have kept the cozy feeling of a neighborhood dive bar, but with friendlier bartenders. no big crowds (except for footlball days and Unofficial St. Patty's) and not too many frats. Very creative GM has created a line of very tasty shooters to go along wiht the great tradtion of the Mug Club. Gotta check it out. You can even order pizza or calzone form the pizza joint upstairs and have it delivered right to your table. NICE! read more