Last summer, I was in town for an afternoon, and I ate the apple, onion, ham, and gruyere panini. The fact that I remember the panini is a testament to how good it was. I still talk about it. I've tried to recreate it, but I haven't yet reached its level of perfection. For reference, lunch was about $12--pretty reasonable! read more

I went here for a professional networking event during lunchtime on a weekday. The environment was very nice. Would make an excellent spot for date night. In the middle of the day, the lighting was pretty dim and I would have liked to see a few more windows open. The food was excellent and I think fairly priced (expect to pay around $15-20 per plate). I got a goat cheese pizza and a salad. Both were great. Highly recommend! read more

It is not Chicago, nor New York, but overall it is the best restaurant in Champaign-Urbana Illinois. I have been going there since it opened in 1986 and have NEVER had a bad meal. read more

This was my 2nd visit to Timpone's and just like the previous time, I was satisfied dining here. It's a nice Italian restaurant in campus, less fancier than the ones in the downtown Champaign. For a good dining option next to Microbiology dept, this is a great choice. We were a group of girls who wanted to celebrate an occasion and this place was perfect with choice of good food and drinks. I had the Trout on their special with Pinot Gris.. the fish was flavorful with the right amount of spices, and the veggies with potatoes was perfect with it. My friends' food also tasted delicious and we all had an amazing time eating and drinking. This place is small. The downstairs near the bar has few tables while upstairs had more. Although we didn't have a reservation, we were lucky to get seats immediately. But since it's a small place, a reservation will be a good idea. The service was good and spot on. A great place to dine in campus. read more

Timpone's - Trout on special - Italian Near Me - Urbana, Illinois

We order oyster as appetizer and two entries. i would say it is ok. not special or surprise

A little pricey but the pizza is pretty good and so is the pasta. Been here twice and I'll probably come back. Their starter bread for $1 is good but it's disappointing that you have to order bread as other Italian places and other restaurants give you bread for free. read more

The gnocchi is amazing. It's a little pricey for the portions. I wish my party had settled on dessert so I could have tried the crisp or the key lime pie. read more

Anytime anyone mentions going to Olive Garden or another local chain, I say, "Noooo". For approximately the same money, you can get top notch fresh food, that makes me want to moan (my daughter wouldn't allow it, and it was too quiet to not be heard). Which is another point, the atmosphere is relaxing, plenty of room between tables, and great service! read more

Would love to give Timpones 5 stars for the food, but decided on 2 stars because of the one terrible customer service experience we had there recently. When we first got there, we approached the host stand, only to be greeted by an extremely rude, middle-aged male host. Because it was mom's weekend, we made a reservation one week early for 5 people. Last minute, I decided to bring along a 6th person, assuming it wouldn't be a big deal to add an extra chair or to squeeze a little.We are a low-maintenance, close family, and we figured a little squeeze was worth having an extra guest. The host abruptly cut me off as I explained this, and said "there was just no way we could squeeze." I explained again that we didn't care, and again, he looked at me and said, unapolagetically "we just can't do it." My friend and I awkwardly sat there for 5 minutes as he stared at us, almost as if he was kicking one of us out of the restaurant. He didn't help us at all or try to accommodate in ANY way. I understand it was mom's weekend, but it was the end of the night, and the place was starting to clear out anyway. I am personally a host in downtown Chicago, and never have I ONCE turned away a customer for the same reason. He didn't even seem to care that she had to leave, and the restaurant lost probably $30 of our business. When I talked to my dad, he had also said that he experienced a rude phone call with the host. Timpone's, you have great food and great waiters, but that host was one of the rudest I've ever experienced. read more

The atmosphere: The downstairs bar area is small and cheap looking. The dining room is dated and screams "cheap 1980's supper club" - not at all romantic! The restaurant was filled with retirement-age couples/parties about to head to a Krannert performance on the Wednesday evening that we went. This past week, we went to Timpone's to celebrate my birthday. We started off sharing the "Fritto Misto" appetizr, described as "Calamari, Gulf Shrimp, Scallops, Red Onion, and Zucchini." When the dish arrived, it was nothing but a pile of glorified onion rings. There were only three pieces of calamari (small tentacles), 3 shrimp (which were small, and clearly of the phosphate-pumped Asian variety, and a scattered few wet calico scallops...95% of the "Fritto Misto" was red onion. I feel as though by listing the seafood first, that indicates that the bulk will be seafood, or at the very least, there will be an even distribution of the components. Not wanting to be a "difficult customer", I chalked it up to just a "bad batch." That being said, the recipe was a straight copy of Judy Rodgers' dish in the Zuni Cafe (San Francisco) cookbook, and I could have made it at home... However, when I received my entree, "Sea Scallops with a Dijon Beurre Blanc on a bed of celery root puree"... I was furious. There were 5 scallops, each approximately the size of a quarter (no exaggeration) and only seared on one side. The mound of puree could not have been more than 1/2 cup (and didn't even taste good). My husband ordered "Chianti-Braised Shortribs with Homemade Gnocchi" - which came with fewer than 10 small gnocchi. Worst of all, the food tasted bad; the beurre blanc was so sweet it was like Creme Anglaise with Dijon and I could have done a better braise at home easily. I know that times are tough, and that food costs are supposed to be ~30% of the final restaurant price- but I felt completely gouged. I'm happy to pay for a delicious meal and I do not expect large portions. I travel pretty frequently to Chicago and DC- I know what good food costs and what "normal" portion sizes are at "fine dining" restaurants. I did not want to make a scene because I didn't want my husband to feel bad for picking the restaurant. The only reason this place could possibly stay in business is because of its proximity to campus/the Krannert Center for Performing Arts or because most people have very low expectations due to the lack of "Fine Dining" in the C-U area. Our server was very attentive and great, but the food was so bad (even with the small portions, we didn't finish our food and didn't want to take the leftovers home!). We will not be returning. read more

Went there to treat my friend for her Birthday for lunch. The waitress was really rude. I ordered a Pepsi, but had to remind her of it when our food finally arrived after half an hour. Had to ask for the bread, which usually is served while waiting for food, to which she said. "Oh! OK." She never asked me for a refill again. I thought maybe she was just having a bad day, but the others looked like they were being served just fine. Leads me to think maybe it has to do with the fact that we were Indian? Just saying. read more

After reading other reviews here, I expected a respectable restaurant; nothing amazing, but solid. I was sorely disappointed. It was a slow, summer Tuesday night; maybe about 6-7 tables in the restaurant. I started with the "warm goat cheese, arugula, and endive salad." You get one small dollop of goat cheese, exactly 11 small pieces of sad arugula, and a mound of bitter endive. I mean, call it an endive salad if that's the core ingredient. And arugula is awesome, why have it as an afterthought in a salad? So, after I finished my salad I asked another waiter passing by if it was possible to have some bread. The passing-by waiter brought it out, but my waiter ignored the oversight altogether. On to the main course. A hanger steak with a medley of vegetables, polenta, and beans. I ordered it medium rare; it came out solid well done (gray-brown thorughout with a touch of pink in the middle). I understand if a steak is overcooked sometimes; but for this dish the "cook" (I mean it had to be a cook and not a real chef) sliced the steak into pieces and clearly had to see if was way overcooked. After starting to eat my meal, the waiter asked my opinion of the meal. I told him flat out, the steak is way over cooked but I'll try and eat it. He looked me right in the eye, smiled and said "Great!" Really? Were you even listening? (perhaps he put the order for the steak in wrong and I should not blame the kitchen?) The vegetables were more like a cold, grilled corn salsa spread over the steak, on some polenta, with a moat of beans around the edge. The other parts were fine, but the combo of a mexican fiesta just didn't work. I will say the polenta was good. Still, I couldn't finish the overcooked steak and it's mix-match of sides and gave up half way through the entree. The waiter took it in stride. He brought me the bill for the full amount, and instead of trying to make amends, informs me "I'm sorry you didn't like the steak, hope to see you again soon!" What? Service is a definite 1 star. Food is a 2 star. Overall experience a solid one star. I will never go back to this restaurant and recommend you spend your time and money elsewhere. The salad was 7, steak 19, glass of wine 6. So, this is definitely a $$$ place. read more

This is one of the very early fine-dining restaurants in CU. Picture a midwestern take on a NYC restaurant, circa 1980's (though a little later 80's now since they did some updating). The menu, though printed daily, doesn't stray far - pasta, some fish options, sometimes steak, risotto. Service varies, and unfortunately there is a lot of server turnover. I have eaten here many times b/c it is close to areas of the University in which I work. At one point this was a bit of the "make the scene" place, and it is convenient for pre- or post-concert dining at Krannert. Nevertheless, many other places have come along since this one, and while I would say it's in the top handful of places in town, it is no longer at the top. I would also recommend lunch over dinner...very similar menus, and I tend to get better lunch service. read more

This place survives because it is on campus, and very conveniently located. it is also the only restaurant within striking distance of the university that serves wine and has cloth napkins, which means that it is full of administrators and professors. The food is not at all good, but it has no competition if you need to take adults out to a semi-decent restaurant you can walk to from campus. You should definitely avoid anything involving duck as a topping, because it basically comes out looking and tasting exactly like pastrami from Schnuck's. If you like that, ignore what I wrote. read more

Love this place, atmosphere is wonderful. You can actually hear your companions conversation. Their Chianti and spinach tagliatelle fantastic. read more

I would not recommend this place, particularly in light of the high prices. The decor/environment is really bad - very tacky, random unattractive pieces that seemed like they were all from different eras/styles. That wouldn't be a big deal, of course, if the food and service were good. However, that wasn't the case. We ordered a pizza and tried to swap out an ingredient due to an allergy, but they point-blank refused to add anything, only remove ingredients. For a very small, 14 dollar pizza, that's a little silly. The pizza was fine, but not at all worth the price, and the crust was pretty burnt. The salad we ordered was soggy and overly cold, having clearly been prepared hours earlier and put in a refrigerator for a long time. You have to pay to have bread before the meal, which is fine, except that they give you very little, and our waiter even took it before we were finished without asking. Finally, our waiter and the host were both extremely rude to us. All in all, if you want a nice meal, this isn't the place. The food wasn't bad, but it wasn't worth anywhere near what we paid for it. Go down the street to the Bread Company instead, where the staff is actually nice and the food consistently excellent. read more

This place is a total throwback in terms of both menu items and decor. It reminds me of "fancy" places from my 1980s childhood. The food was executed competently and the service was attentive and pleasant. However it was not worthy of the $100 dinner for two price tag. read more

Timpones is one of the oldest and most respected restaurants in Urbana and the larger Champaign Urbana area. And I would argue that it's among the best despite the influx of excellent restaurants in the past several years. The food is the best and not only pizzas, which the restaurants started out with, or the Italian food that it prides itself on. The lunch and dinner preparations are extraordinary. The salads, butter lettuce salad, for example, is crisp and cold, a wonderful beginning for an excellent dinner, especially when followed by roast chicken stuffed with prosciutto, But do not neglect the wonderful thin crust pizzas. They are without a doubt the best in town. read more

I've been to timpone's a few times a year since i've lived here (6yrs) and the food and service seem to be declining each year. we were there last week and had a horrible meal. the food wasn't bad - some of our dishes were actually alright. the pizza was decent as was the ravioli - though I was a little surprised to see all of three on the plate. the tagliatelle was good but the meat dishes were all over salted, from the steaks to the chicken. it seemed all the sauces were just reduced to salt licks. what made this meal particularly unpalatable was the service. we had a horribly rude server who had no interest in being there and made her bad attitude known. i was actually embarrassed to have brought our out of town guests there that night and will not be choosing to do so again. read more

This review is a bit late in coming since I haven't eaten there since 1999, but this is what I wrote back then: Is this the best Italian place in town? I don't know - I always get one of the fish specials - it's definitely the best place in town to get fish. Portions are small, especially for an Italian place, which makes it a better "date" place - you don't have to worry about getting bloated. You will even have room left to gourmandize one of their great desserts with your date. read more

Little diamond in the rough. Ambiance and location were great but the linguine I had was a bit oily.

I really enjoyed a celebratory dinner I recently had at at Timpone's. I'd always meant to try it out but never had. The food was really good, the service was excellent and it had a nice cozy romantic feel. It was, however, pretty expensive, particularly for being located on a college campus. The food was fantastic but portions were on the small side, especially considering the prices. The peach bread pudding was scrumptious. I probably won't be back, not because it wasn't good, but because there are a lot of other upscale places in town I'd like to try before I break the bank at Timpone's again, and special occasions that warrant a $100 tab only come along so often. read more

This place has been here for a long time but I think it's still trying to figure some things out The menu is very ambitious for a campustown location, serving up "campustown" pizza along side upscale American/French/Italian fare. The dining room is upstairs and is nice enough in a traditional way, but the look and ambience are very dated. The quality of service is not in line with the menu. Our server was clearly overwhelmed. Our table had white linens bespeaking of a "nice" restaurant but was set improperly. Wrong silverware, no bread plates. We sat for quite some time before our drink order was taken, then our waiter left in the middle of taking the drink order to serve food to another table. He eventually returned to take our drink order and then asked us for our entire food order at the same time. Bread service was slow though the bread was good. The glass of riesling we ordered was clearly from a bottle that had been left open for too long. Another glass from a fresh bottle arrived after a while. We ordered some salads to start off the meal. The bistro salad looked great - field greens, asparagus, potato, poached egg, bacon, vinaigrette. However, when the salad arrived, there was no bacon. Ahem. "Excuse me, but our salads have no bacon." Response: "OMG, forgot the bacon." Instead of taking our salads away and giving us new ones, we were given small bowls of bacon pieces to put on the salads ourselves. Please. We ordered a wild mushroom pizza with sausage and gorgonzola but we wanted to substitute goat cheese for the gorgonzola. We were told this was not possible. Restaurant policy is no substitutions, just subtractions. We could remove the g-z but could not add goat cheese. We ended up using the build your own pizza option and built the pizza we wanted. What a pain in the a**! The pizza was delicious though. The thin crust must be one of the best I've ever had. The entrees were generally very good. The American "kobe" skirt steak was tasty, having a sweet marinade reminiscent of Korean kalbi in flavor. The duck breast was well prepared. The trout was overcooked but was still edible. The desserts were adequate and there is a good selection of after dinner drinks and dessert wines. In summary, Timpone's has an identity crisis. If they want to serve this type of food, then there is a level of service that is expected to go along with it which they did not meet. It's hard to enjoy any restaurant when you are unhappy with the service. My recommendation is to go for the pizza - then you won't need a bread plate. read more

Timpone's reminds me of Italian places at home run by a family you grew up with, and you just go because they are part of the community. I've never really been wowed by the food. It's average. And really too expensive for college kids. Good not great. read more

Timpone's is a solid restaurant. The ingredients are fresh, and the menu changes often enough to keep things interesting. I would say that the food is overpriced, but it's hard to get "nice" food directly on campus, so you pay a premium for convenience I guess. I've been here a good number of times over the years, and every time was an enjoyable trip, except once. I took someone here on a date, and we were seated in an area where the lights weren't working and the speakers were broken. I'm guessing they figured they could just put students there and get away with it. I complained (the restaurant wasn't near full and I had placed a reservation), they were nice about it and moved us and the rest of the dinner went very well. The decor leaves something to be desired, but otherwise a solid restaurant, with decent service and good food. read more

I love this place. The menu rotates occasionally, and there is a specials board when you walk in (make sure to check the board or ask the server...sometimes the servers forget to tell you about the specials). Food had always been stellar, from the basic burger to elegant salads, intriguing pizzas, and awesome pastas. My fav is the gorgonzola gnocci, which is a rotating item. Dessert is also good, maybe a bit pricey. Creme brulee is always there and very good, gelato too. read more

Okay, I went for my second visit....Just as absolutely fantastic as the first. We had the salad with asparagus and a poached egg...the bomb. We had pizza again. We noticed every single table had a pizza on it.. That says it all. The BEST. And the macadamia crusted Mahi was divine. The sauce was to die for. We fought over it at the table. (yes, we share good food amongst friends). Remarkable food. The best in Urbana. read more

The appetizers were tasty; risotto cakes, and crab. Short ribs were perfect, but the portion could have been larger. Hangar steak was excellent. Fig pizza was really different, but it worked. Dessert; pineapple upside down cake with ice cream was sweet and tender. Chocolate mousse and lemon tart were nicely done. Conversely, the waiter was not very helpful when it came to ordering wine. He made no attempt to help suggesting anything, he may not have known the wine list? They have an extensive wine list, which should have a knowledgeable staff. Our waiter was no student, he just didn't care. Also, he rushed us to put in our dinner order, and the food came too quickly. The place was not busy, don't know why this happened. Perhaps it was because I was a female. Often, we get treated differently when dining without a male. read more

I've now been to Timpone's a couple of times for lunch (it seems like whenever I visit UIUC someone takes me here). It's pretty much located on campus, which makes it an easy destination if you're working for the university. The food is vaguely Italian with some American influences, and it's pretty good overall if not mind-blowing. Last time I was there I had the tuna burger, which wasn't bad, although I was a little disappointed when the tuna turned out to be a tuna patty and not an actual piece of tuna. They give you free bread... nice. Friendly service too. I just wish the food were a little more impressive. read more

Amazing, amazing, amazing! I had their special black bean pizza and it blew me away! Everything on the menu sounded so good! I'll have to go back to try many more items:) read more

The prices are fairly decent if you just order food (no alcohol included) and the quality is fairly decent. The waiter we got was very knowledgeable and polite. I'm also a fan of the dim lighting in the dining area and the overall quiet atmosphere so you can actually have a conversation with the people you are having dinner with. We both ordered pizzas, which they claim is one of their specialties, and it was good, but I felt like it was also a little over-hyped because it wasn't anything extraordinary. The ahi tuna appetizer was delicious though and I would highly recommend ordering it. Overall, it's a nice restaurant. read more

Went there twice while in town for Science Olympiad. Lunch was flavorful, help was pleasant even with some menu confusion and the fact we showed up just before lunch closing. Didn't rush us at all. Had shrimp and broccoli pizza (lunch and dinner), pasta with eggplant and amazing homemade ice cream for desert. Looked at dinner menu and decided we had to go back next night for dinner since they had duck on the menu. Dinner was also very good. Would definitely go back next time I'm in town. read more

Timpone's always has an interesting menu with delicious foods. The service can be slow sometimes though. Most disappointing is that they won't make any substitutions on food. I wanted to substitute garlic for olives on a pizza, but they said no. You would think that a restaurant with that price of food would accommodate this with their customers. I also recommend that they refill iced tea rather than bringing a whole new glass and straw. It is a greener way. All that said, the food is always wonderful and it is an excellent place to go for a special meal. read more

This is a wonderful family owned restaurant. The food is always great. The owner changes the menu slightly all the time, but yet always has some of the old favorites. It's been a local favorite for years and hopefully for many more years to come. The food is a bit higher priced, but I believe it's worth it overall for the quality, taste, & ambiance. This restaurant also has one of, if not, the best wine selections of any restaurant around the area. The food can be described as an mostly Italian & American with a dab of other influences. The pasta and desserts are made on site. The bar area could be updated, but the restaurant upstairs is nice. Highly recommend for a good conversation and a good meal. read more

We often go to Timpones because the food is always fresh and unique..The restaurant is very accomodating whether your dressed casual or dressy...the restaurant always is crisp and clean..bright and cheery and the service is always great..the wait staff always understands the true meaning of the word "Tipps" which is To Insure Prompt Proper Service...they give it ...they get it..LOVE THIS UNIQUE TUCKED AWAY ..HARD TO FIND..BUT WORTH IT RESTAURANT. read more

I came here for lunch and had the seafood risotto. Based on the atmosphere and the reputation of the restaurant, I had pretty high expectations. Unfortunately, the meal was very average and rather on the bland side. (The desserts, on the other hand, were outstanding!) This place probably deserves another shot, but based on this one experience I am feeling underwhelmed. read more

Ordered seafood risotto, and spinach pizza with artichoke hearts and goat cheese. Both are delicious!

Timpone's has no vegan options aside from greens salad (ordered without the cheese) and penne pasta (which they did not have on the menu when I went). The server was not helpful at all and did not seem at all apologetic or concerned that I had to sit through a three-course meal with colleagues, starving with only a side salad. More vegan options (and nicer service), please. read more

My boyfriend took me here a couple weeks ago and it was absolutely worth the cold, rainy walk there. We were their last customers of the night so service was a little slow but the server was very nice. The food was amazing. I had the roasted duck and it was cooked to perfection. It was tender, juicy, and so delicious. My boyfriend got the veal and he has the most amazing lobster mashed potatoes. We also shared the pizza margherita and that served as a great appetizer for us because we were starving when we got there. We were both really pleased with the meal and I hope he takes me back there again sometime. read more

I have fond memories of Timpone's. As a graduate student at the U of I, our adviser would take our lab group here whenever we had an out-of-town visitor. It has been more than 10 years, but I remember the delicious bread basket with the olive oil that would help to keep our mind off of waiting for our main course. I tried a few different pizzas and salads and was never disappointed. Now that I am back home on the west coast, I think about Timpone's every once in a while and would definitely make a return visit if I was in the Urbana area. read more