Over the last 15 years or more I've been to this establishment maybe 4-5 times; each time I go, I…read moreremember why it's been years since my last visit and I tell myself it wasn't worth it to return when there are so many other options available. This place is incredibly expensive for what you get with regard to the food and the service (or essentially lack thereof). At this time, full simple sandwiches are $12-14 with no sides included (think typical ham and turkey with cheese, tomato, and lettuce with mayo on it that you can make at home), and soups are nearly $8 for a cup and $9 for a bowl. The sandwiches (and "Mexican" fare) have fresh ingredients, but are very mediocre and bland tasting given their simplicity--not remotely worth that price. The high pricing isn't to cover wait staff/cleaning staff or maintaining the facility itself. Orders are taken at the counter and you await to hear your name called to get your food yourself, then rid of all your waste yourself before leaving. The entire dining room was dirty with crumbs on all tables, chairs, and the floor. The trash was full, and the bathroom toilet and urinal both had unflushed waste in them. The place was not busy as it was later afternoon; there were plenty of staff available to keep an eye on the dining room to ensure, at the very least, that the tables and chairs were clean and the trash wasn't full. The building itself is old with a lot(!) of unfinished and inaccessible areas, basic/old tables with cheap "decor". So for over $52 today my spouse and I had two very basic sandwiches, two bowls of semi-warm soup, and two large drinks in a dirty basic dining room after ordering and retrieving the food ourselves. With that price, you'd think the place would be minutely updated and certainly should be cleaner, there would be wait staff, and the food would have much more flavor with much more to it. There are several other places in Monticello to get great tasting food with included sides, cleaner facilities and wait staff, all for less than the price of a basic sandwich that you get here. I love to support small businesses and the staff were certainly friendly so I feel a bit guilty for this review, but this needs to be said about this incredibly overhyped place. This time I won't forget why I infrequent this establishment and won't be back.

Thanks to Yelp, I found the Brown Bag Deli in Monticello while there for visit to Allerton Park one…read moreSaturday, and enjoyed our lunch there. First off, there is a bit of a wait for your order, but trust me, it's worth it. We were there at a prime Saturday lunch hour and the wait was a bit long but I have to tell you, these are REAL 'sandwich artists' that work for this great little place, and they take great care with your order. Plenty of sides to choose from, drinks and homemade pie for dessert, too! I do not order Tuna Salad out bcz I'm always disappointed but I took a chance here at the BBD, and wow did I enjoy my meal. White bread, Tuna Salad, onion and pickle...SO DELICIOUS!!! I was very full after eating the sandwich too. Hubs had the Dagwood Special and totally enjoyed it. Bypass the fast food across the street and visit this great little diner in downtown Monticello. You will be happy you did!

Nice coffee shop with delicious cookies. I like the peanut butter. Hot coffee comes in a ceramic…read moremug, which is nice, ceramic plates for the cookies. Nice young man at the cash register who did NOT say "have a nice rest of your day" making my visit perfect.

Absolutely the best cinnamon roll and sugar cookie in town. It's my favorite spot to get a treat. I…read morelove the seasonal, rotating decor inside, the prices are great, and the employees are always really nice.

What a gem to find someone who still makes a magical buttery buttercream frosting in the heart of…read morecentral IL! We ordered cookies and cupcakes for a baby shower and they were not only adorable they were delicious. This is a family owned business that I will continue to support and easily recommend to everyone I know.

From the owner: Cakes, cupcakes, cookies, fudge and pies. We offer custom cakes and cookies. We are licensed and…read moreinspected and ready to serve Decatur and the surrounding areas.

Great service! Nice atmosphere! Food was delicious! Diner wasn't busy when we were there so we were…read moreable to take our time eating and we didn't feel rushed. The slice of pie was huge, but we were celebrating so we each had our own, otherwise we would have split one.

The young lady with the British accent was Delightfull! We got cinnamon rolls,the apple cake that…read morewas Amazing,a cherry pie & cherry pie bars maybe . Everything was fresh& very tasty.

A cute cafe in the lobby of an apartment/hotel complex. The pastries all looked delicious and there…read morewere plenty of unique drink options. The service was quick and friendly, the barista described the options available and had good recommendations! Good study space with WiFi, bathrooms, and a water fountain around the corner. Just be prepared to wear a jacket on either end of the cafe near the doors, can get windy upon opening! Thai Tea Caramel Canelé {5/5}: The best canelé I've ever had (okay, I admit, I've only had maybe 6 in my life). Great caramel and good Thai tea flavor. The texture was AMAZING with a nice slight crisp and chewy outside and almost custard-like inside. I got 2 more before I left Green Onion Kouign-Amann {4/5}: A caramel shell outside of this very flakey pastry that I had plenty of green onions mixed within the dough. It was a great play on sweet and salty flavors with delicious flakey layers Jade Cloud {3/5}: Peach oolong tea with matcha cold foam. Just a personal preference thing, but the flavor combination of peach, oolong, and matcha was not my favorite. I can see how someone who likes this flavor profile would find this drink refreshing!

Stopped in this summer while visiting a friend. She's raved about Bakelab for ages, and I was…read moreexcited to try it. The pastry selection was amazing. We got a couple of croissants and a canele, and we each ordered an espresso drink. It was everything she promised - and more. The croissant was flaky and buttery. The canele had the signature caramelized exterior and soft inside. I intended to only have a bite and save the rest for later, but I couldn't resist finishing it. Would definitely come back on my next visit. In the meantime, I'll just have to ask my friend to bring pastries to me when she visits!

We have ordered our special occasion cakes from Debi for many years, and we are always delighted at…read morethe artistry provided. These cakes blow away the supermarket cakes for taste. None of that off taste from icings you sometimes get. And Debi has always been very accommodating for pickup schedules. We love Sweet Designs!

Deb has been doing our kids' birthday cakes since they were born! We've ordered at least 6 cakes…read morefrom her. She is very accommodating and loves it when my son tells her what he wants drawn on his cake... She's drawn team umizoomi, boots the monkey, Winnie the Pooh, teddy bears and the superman emblem! Her cake is moist, not too rich (perfect!!!), light and airy! I love it! She can do chocolate, vanilla or split! Any size, smash cakes and cupcakes! We love her cakes!!!!!

Wide selection of treats but get there early. Try the square maple donut and huge fried cinnamon…read moreroll. Friendly service. Ordered a birthday cake and it turned out wonderful. Owner was prompt with responses and cake tasted and looked great.

The donuts are better than Cheerios and are way bigger too. You can even go inside and you have to…read morewait in a pod. But there was also quick service. This inside is aesthetically pleasing.

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.

Brandi is starting up her store in downtown Heyworth (next to the church thrift store). After…read moretrying a variety of her baked goods, I can honestly say it will be worth the drive to try one of her cupcakes as they surpass any I have ever tried, locally or otherwise. And I have tried many a cupcake! She makes all the standard flavors that are to die for and also some newer hip flavors that I'm dying to try. Recently she made a cupcake with pancake batter and bacon pieces on top that sounds amazing from her husband's mouth watering review. Anyhow, she'll sell at her retail location and also be doing large quanities for events such as weddings, baby showers, etc. If you get out to try em... Enjoy!

Cupcakes are amazing and reasonably priced. I can't even pick a favorite because they are all so…read moregood! Brandi did a baby shower for me, the cupcakes were a big hit with everyone. She also did a small cake for the parents to be, beautifully decorated. She's very easy to work with!