We arrived on a Friday evening, and were taken to our booth by a pleasant young man who failed to alert us to the fact that they weren't serving their normal menu, but instead offering a limited "special events" menu. Thus the things we had been looking forward to were not available. Our waitress was a pleasant young woman whose name begins with K, who seemed utterly non plussed by the fact that we needed time to look at that non-standard menu before we would be able to order an appetizer. She also failed to alert us to the fact that they were actually out of some things on that limited menu. Once we had ordered the appetizer, we wanted to find out which flavors of teas they carried, and asked her to find out for us. It took two more requests before she finally brought the teas to us. Meanwhile, we made our choices, and, because I have issues with some greens, I asked what was in the "salad mix" for the salad I'd chosen. She went back to the kitchen to find out and came back with a report that it included romaine, "spring mix" and spinach. I tried not be let my frustration show when I then asked her to find out what was in the Spring Mix. I'm glad I made the effort, because it included an ingredient that I can't eat. So, I asked for my chosen salad to be made using Romaine only (which I knew was possible because they have it for Caesar salad). She THEN told us that they were out if the key ingredients for that salad. I quickly made a new choice and asked for the chicken sandwich with only lettuce and tomato. One of my dining partners ordered a cup of the beef stew. When the arrived, we all tasted it and found it wonderful - so when she finally brought the teas, I asked for a cup for myself. My sandwich arrived without the tomato, and there was no stew in sight. I had to ask for both. The stew, or something in a cup, came fairly quickly, but as she approached the table, she dropped the packages of saltines on the floor. She didn't comment, and didn't offer to get fresh ones, she just put the packages that had been on the floor (where folks track whatever is on their shoes on with them), on the table. When I worked as a server, I would never have put something that had fallen on the floor onto a table where people would be eating. I held my tongue, since I had no plans on eating crackers anyway, and took an eager bite of the stew-- but it was nothing like the original cup - notably there was very little beef. And it tasted very different - not in a good way. It took two more tries to get the tomato for my sandwich. Once we had finished our meals, we asked for boxes for the leftovers, and then discussed dessert. Our waitress didn't clear any plates. She dropped off the boxes, and wandered off, not even bothering to clear the plates that were obviously finished. She walked by after a bit and ignored the stacks of plates that we had assembled to make her job easier. When she brought the dessert, she actually pushed the stack of dirty plates aside to place the dessert plates on the table!! I was stunned. It no longer felt like neglect, it felt actively rude. My companion's dessert was just what she wanted. The brownie was warm and slightly gooey in the middle; the marshmallows were gooey, and the ice cream was great. Mine, alas, was a disappointment. The devil's food cake was dry and crumbly, and the "mousse" was more like a failed ganache. That happens sometimes. If it hadn't come at the end of a string of challenges, I'd not have bothered mentioning it. But dry cake is awfully easy to avoid when your baker knows their stuff. My companion asked for a box for the rest of her brownie, and that too took two tries. Now - I realize that I'm a finicky eater. I know that it's a pain to have to go back to learn about ingredients. And ordinarily, I tip more to compensate for that. But if you've told your waitress that there are some greens you can't eat, why wouldn't she find out what's in the spring mix so she only has to make one trip? It quickly felt as though she had decided we wouldn't tip well and so she gave up on giving decent service. She would have been wrong - we are generous tipppers. I'm pretty sure she got a full tip despite the rudeness of shoving the dirty dishes further into our table to make room for dessert instead of clearing them (that put me over the edge, but I wasn't the one paying tonight's tab). My sandwich was much tastier than I expected, and I'm told the terriyaki bowl was excellent. But I am not going to be in a hurry to go back. My prior experience was stellar, even though the food that night was only pretty good. But tonight? The food was disappointing and the service deteriorated from absent minded to offensive. There are many better options in town, and I'll be taking my business there for a year or two. read more

I went here for my Free Birthday entree. I got treated terrible. I guess it was because my entree was Free. But that shouldn't matter. I still bought a drink and appetizer. Plus I left a good tip. The manager was rude as I was leaving. She asked if I enjoyed my Free meal, sarcastically. read more

I went there to experience the restaurant week. It's so far on the south side of campus, near the State Farm Center. There're many seats and tables inside, and people here were relatively quiet when I was having dinner there. I ordered the $23 meal - Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup, SoCal Fish Tacos, and Truffle Tart. I would say the soup was the best among the three. They added a spoon of sour cream on the top, which made the flavor even thicker. However, I would expect the tacos to be more tasty. Some of the nachos even got stuck together, which made them not fried sufficiently and so hard to bite. The dessert appeared to be less satisfying as well, which was way too sweet without a balanced overall taste. The serving people were helpful, though I thought some people might be less passionate than other good restaurants in Chambana. Overall, considering the distance, taste, price, and service quality, I might not recommend this place to students, but I may recommend it to people coming here for a short visit, since it's far away from the major blocks in town, where you can see another kind of silent and peaceful scenery in Chambana. read more

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Perhaps this is an outlier, however, gotta call them like I see them. Went here after the Illinois vs. Michigan football game, around 8pm. Had reservations for three, was able to bump it to six with tables across from each other. Four people at one and two people at another. Not the greatest for a group meal, but beggars can't be choosers I suppose. The menu on this night was a limited menu. I suppose they do that on football or basketball nights to keep the menu simple enough that they can keep up with orders. But then you'd better absolutely nail the food. They did not. In fairness, the waitress did tell us this was her first night. Not sure if that meant first night solo or actual first night. Either way, unfortunately it showed. My friend ordered a regular Pepsi, I ordered a diet. Brought us both diet. When our food came, everyone's food came out except one in our party. My wife's steak was the texture of sawdust. My French onion soup tasted like it was out of a can. When our friend's food did come out, a chicken sandwich, it was pink in the middle. And not a little pink, raw chicken pink. Now normally, you don't necessarily cut into a chicken sandwich to test it out, but glad she did. Our server was getting more frustrated and said, out loud, "I'm gonna kill them in the back." I can understand her frustration, the kitchen was not helping her cause. However, that's now how to handle it. Call the manager. Have them come out and apologize. Offer us a free dessert or something. Have the manager go and deliver the message to the kitchen. This is part of their job. Anyway, will not go here ever again - way too many other choices in Champaign. I guess if you're staying at the adjoining hotel and have no other options? read more

Terrific casual restaurant and bar attached to the I Hotel in Champaign, IL. We attended the U of I versus Marquette game. Perfect spot to grab some food and drinks prior to the game. Our server Hunter was great. We dined on appetizers of nacho's, chicken wings and guacamole. All were delicious. A wide array of drinks are available. We asked when they closed and were told 9:00 pm. To our pleasant surprise at the end of the game (well after 9:00 pm) management kept the bar open for a couple hours. Great job Houlihan's! Make sure your party comes all together cause they won't seat you until all are present. And get there early as it fills up fast. read more

I ordered through Doordash. The steak was tender and warm. The mashed potatoes were okay. The picture and description of the doup of the day was misleading. I expected to get something like french onion soup. Instead it was a horrible tomato soup. It tasted like they poured canned tomato sauce into a container and called it the soup of the day read more

Restaurant and bar co-located with convention center of the university of Illinois campus. Meeting at convention center ended at 8:30pm on a Friday night so several of us walked over to the bar for a drink. Service was ok, more on the laid back side than I'd prefer. Puzzling was that staff said the last call was 9:15 and then at 9:25 told us we needed to finish our drink because they closed at 9:00. Very confusing. And disappointing. Recommend getting drinks downtown Champaign instead. read more

Hotel breakfast ok at Houlihan's. Serving Starbucks and Tazo tea makes it better than other chain hotel options. Today's breakfast wraps were hearty but a little greasy. The veggie wrap better with chunks of pepper tomato and onion. Fresh oatmeal was great. A great selection of yogurt including Chabani. Great veggie cups were nice to find but quality of the fruit was a little inconsistent with strawberries past prime and cantaloupe not ripe. That said love the fresh fruit option. There was a tempting selection of breads and pastries that I resisted. All in all a good hotel breakfast. The dining room (bar) is upscale and very comfortable and cozy. Outside was a lovely patio with seating but not set up at 7 am when I arrived. The staff was super friendly and accommodating. read more

Houlihan's - Breakfast for hotel guests. - New American Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

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Very nice place that you can dress up for or dress down and sit at the bar. Their menu is very limited but the food is okay. I will definitely go back and enjoy the bar, but not to sit down to eat/entertain. read more

Houlihan's - Fresh Grilled Atlantic Salmon Salmon was great! The Grilled Brussels Sprouts seemed burnt and the Garlic Green Beans were tasteless. - New American Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

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I came to Houlihan's today to dine in to then later look for formal attire for my school's prom. When I arrived service was lackluster at best and my soup I ordered which was the (Seasonal Baked Potato) had been completely forgotten about. I received my main course of the Houlihan's burger with a side of fries, the burger wasn't seasoned enough and the bacon I added wasn't crunchy and was fatty. The fries however were perfect seasoned with salt and weren't too crunchy nor soft. But, lastly when I was brought the soup it saved the day it was garnished beautifully and extremely creamy. Some work needs to be done on service and the tiny details but overall not bad. I give it three if I could I'd give 3.4-3.6 Stars. read more

Houlihan's - Our Original Baked Potato Soup - New American Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

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I'll get straight to the point. My experience here was less than ideal. I made an order over the phone for 3 dishes. They said it would be ready in 15-20 minutes, so I headed to the restaurant 15 minutes later. I then had to wait for another half hour. It seemed like they started my order when I arrived and asked for it, even though the restaurant was empty. The servers were polite, a little scattered and uncoordinated, but generally courteous. I ordered a burger with fries, chicken tortilla soup, and chicken lettuce wraps. The burger and lettuce wraps were alright, but the soup was not what I was expecting. There was no chicken, just a bunch of onions/vegetables and a few random shreds of cheese. Disappointing because their soup is usually my favorite dish, don't think I'll willingly be back here anytime soon. read more

Houlihan's - Chicken Tortilla Soup - New American Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Entered for lunch at 11:25, only 2 tables in the whole restaurant. About 3 staff gathered gossiping in the corner. Took 5 minutes to be greeted, staff seemed confused. Sat at table for 20 minutes without being greeted by a waitress/offered drinks. Left at 11:50. What a great big waste of time. read more

It was my first day of the ANS Student Conference, and the conference organizers decided to... how shall I put this politely... rearrange the schedule so that my full day of activities coincided with each other. So after the first seminar, I decide to head next door to lunch. I haven't been in a Houlihan's since I left Northern Virginia in 1999. I was heartbroken. I remember a full 8+ pages of menu, only to be greeted here with a front side and back side. That's right folks, 1 page. Single. Solitary. So I figured why not? I was already here. I ordered a chicken lettuce wrap and Georges Bank Scallops. The dishes were superb. Don't misunderstand me. The only gripe I had was the sparsity of the menu. Then again, this restaurant IS attached to the I Hotel on the UI Campus, and it IS a lunch menu. Maybe the dinner menu is more complete. read more

The atmosphere was great! The food and service were much better than my previous visits. I highly recommend coming here read more

Houlihan's - a plate of food on a table - New American Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

I've been to the Houlihan's restaurant in Dubuque, IA many times and was looking for a similar good experience here. Unfortunately that didn't happen. I walked into the restaurant from the hotel entrance and a waitress looked at me but didn't say anything. I asked her if I could sit anywhere and she asked me if I'd like to place a to-go order. I said no and that I'd like to eat in-house. I asked her if I could sit in a booth. She said yes and that she'd come wait on me soon but I never saw here again. I sat in my booth as others came in and placed and received drink orders. I waited about 15 minutes and then finally had to flag down a man in a white shirt. He took my drink and food order. The food did come out fairly quickly but the Meatloaf didn't look homemade but more like something out of a box. When the food was delivered I asked for a drink refill. I had to wait over 10+ min and when it wasn't delivered I caught the man with the white shirts attention and pointed to the cup. He brought the drink in a few minutes. I know serving can be difficult but the restaurant was not very busy the night of my visit. If this would have been my first visit to Houlihan's I would likely not return. I know the chain can be good and I hope this location improves. read more

My first time here. The atmosphere is classy and the background music perfect. My service was just right. I hade the filet of beef and it was as good as I've ever had. read more

Since this facility is attached to the i-Hotel, the premiere hotel for the University of Illinois, I expected this to be a nicer establishment. What a disappointment! During the 2-day conference I was attending, I had two meals at Houlihan's. Our group found the lunch specials to be inconsistent, sometimes you received the correct side or topping, sometimes you did not. Both times the service was VERY slow, but the wait staff was kind and genuinely attentive. At one point we spoke with a manager regarding our concerns, but did not receive the traditional "I'll take care of this immediately", which is the customary Houlihan's reply to complaints. My best suggestion, go to the Starbucks next door and call it a day. read more

Houlihan's - New American Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Great food and service. Highly recommend the potstickers and their drinks! It also has spacious bar seating area. read more

Houlihan's - BlackBerry margarita - New American Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

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From beginning to end, the staff & management are always very attentive! I've never had a bad meal here. The grilled salmon is my go to! 1/2 price bottles of wine on Tuesdays are a favorite & we love their outdoor patio! read more

Nice place for dinner or lunch. The decor is tasteful. The food is good and the portions are not too big. My recommendation is: GRILLED ATLANTIC SALMON basted with lemon-dill butter and served with honest gold mashers and choice of vegetable read more

Houlihan's - New American Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

What a bad experience. Line waiting to be seated extending out the door, while they have a section in the restaurant closed to seating Over an hour wait for your food. If you don't have enough staff, don't open for business or turn some people away. Only reason to go to this place is its close proximity to sports venues, certainly not for the service. read more

The only thing good about this restaurant is the food, yet service sucks, just cause I'm young with a couple of buddies I was brutally ignored till the point of me contacting the management. Also allows drug use inside restaurant. read more

I stayed at the hotel that Houlihan's is attached to. The location is convenient for someone not familiar with the area, as well as, for someone only staying a little while. I ordered the salmon dish and it was about a 3 oz piece of salmon that was unreasonably dry, hard to swallow dry. I requested a chicken breast instead and that was a little less dry, but dry nonetheless. My partner had the meatloaf though and loved it. read more

The menu is NOT what it used to be, and they still blame it on Covid!!! Even though all the other restaurants are back to their regular Menus, and doing well. So don't expect much because they don't have much! Our server moved so slow that we contemplated leaving 10 times before we even got our drinks. To top it all off this place definitely has a roach problem We saw a small roach walking along the glass in the main dining room. It made my stomach turn so we decided to only get drinks and get out of there as fast as possible. The margaritas were good, and that's the only positive I have to say about this this restaurant. This Houlihan's is horrible, and should have closed with the rest of them. I've never been this harsh on a review. If I could give them no stars I would. read more

Finally went to Houlihan's last night after all these years of living in CU. I've been by this place hundreds of times, but never stopped by. Boy, was I missing out. When we came we asked to sit outside and enjoyed the atmosphere. Plenty of seating, umbrellas over the tables, and plenty of foliage surrounding the patio area. Their beer selection left a lot to be desired, especially since it lacked lacked location brewery selections, but overall it wasn't too bad. We split the chipotle chicken nachos and loved them. There was more than enough for the two of us, and they were fantastic. We also split their fish tacos and were pleasantly surprised how good they were. As amateur connoisseurs of fish tacos, these hold up with some of the best we've had. So good. All I can really say is that I'm a little sorry to have waited to long to check this place out. It's close to Memorial Stadium and the State Farm Center so it's ideal for both game day or post work drinks and appetizers. I'll be back. read more

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Food is good, service is very pleasant. Great location. My only complaint is it just closes too early.

The service was great, the food was okay. Had the house salad which was iceberg lettuce like the kind from a bag that you put on burgers. The ranch dressing tasted like watered down mayonnaise. The baked potato soup was good though, I would order it again. Ambiance was good. read more

We've been to this Houlihan's on several occasions. There always seems to be a weird vibe with the staff. One moment we have a great server, another time people just kind of look at each other to see who's actually seating customers. The most recent experience was a little more disappointing. The Korean Chicken dish was delicious as usual, and served at a perfect temperature. My friend ordered the salmon and, well, yikes. For $17.95 he was delivered a piece of salmon that couldn't have been more than 3 ounces (see picture). While everything else on the plate was tasty, the tiny piece of salmon was rather dry and had started to cool. I like this place, but I can do better at home. read more

Houlihan's - Grilled salmon - New American Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

So here's the thing: after 4 times here the service has been consistently friendly but incompetent. For example, today I got sat in a nearly empty restaurant, and the host forgot to bring a menu. She said she'd bring one right back, and then forgot (I watched her stand at the host stand, bored). Took 5 minutes to get one from waiter. This is the kind of thing you'd forgive as a fluke, but you watch and see table-waiting basics being flubbed all over the place. Last time, I watched *three* different customers standing up and approach a waiter stand asking to find their waiter. My service was slow, and didn't anticipate common needs (like a coffee refill at breakfast). My food came out partially cold and partially hot, which is either a kitchen timing issue or a tardy waiter who left food sitting in the window too long. Seeing as it doesn't seem to be one bad server, I'd guess this the result of poor training--which is usually a management issue. If you can survive the service, the hip/classy atmosphere has rich dark wood, orange lighting, and attractive window bays looking at Memorial Stadium on the south tip of campus. The menu items I've had have been either decent or great. Worth a try, I suppose, but bring patience. read more

I'm obsessed with their buffalo chicken salad. We had nachos that were really good as well. Decent pours of wine for the price. Decent low key place to eat and maybe watch a game. read more

Houlihan's - New American Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Went for breakfast with a large group. I walk in, one of the waitresses takes a look at me and without a word turns back to massaging the shoulders of a man who's already sitting (ew?). Luckily the place was far from full and I was able to spot out my party on my own. We waited 5-10 minutes waiting for someone to ask us about drinks, and another 10-15 for food orders, but after that it was a typical dining routine. I ordered the buttermilk pancakes that arrived warm but they forgot the bacon. TDLR: okay food, long wait, some unprofessional on staff read more

Welcome to the movie set of "waiting 3". Horrible service. Staff never checked on guests. Other staff that were not even our bartender/waiter were rude. Would not recommend. Food was good. Kitchen staff seem to know what a customer wants. And they do it well. Service staff are beyond sub par. read more

Was in town for my mother's 50 year reunion. Saw this team in action every morning ! Very friendly and on top of things. The food was excellent and i really appreciate how accommodating and inviting karla was. read more

An extremely disappointing "brunch" experience. The menu was limited and unappealing...did not offer lunch options at 1:45. Waited 10+ minutes after we were seated before we were given water. We ordered a very simple pancakes and Caesar salad with chicken. Our food was delivered quickly only because it was bland and rushed. The chicken was obviously frozen, thawed and grilled.. tasted processed and couldn't finish. The dressing (on the side) had a long, gross noodle looking ingredient that made me totally lose my appetite! We enjoyed Houlihan's in years past, but this visit was beyond enjoyable or worth the money!!! Hamilton Walkers is a much better choice! read more

This is honestly a great place for larger groups. I had a get together of about 12 people and we all came in at different times. Luckily we were there in time for Happy Apps. Appetizers in smaller portions for $3.95. If you sign up for their mailing list, you also get emails about specials on Wednesdays. This time we had $11 specials for entrees. I ordered the chicken avocado egg rolls as an app and they were hot and crispy. So delicious and shareable. My entree was the chicken fettuccine Alfredo. It was a nice portion and the garlic bread it came with was fresh. Our server was pretty awesome too. I think his name was Alan. He did a good job with a group of 13 who had a lot of fun and it was a great dinner. read more

Stayed here for a conference and ate here 6 times. First of all, the house salad (5 stars) is one of the best house salads I've had anywhere (bacon, corn, croutons, blue cheese crumbles), ordered it with all of my meals, so fresh and light and tasty. First meal was the southwest grilled chicken wrap (4+stars - spicy pecans, red bell peppers, bacon, tortilla straws, lettuce, tomatoes, pepper jack, garlic ranch). Tasted great, excellent combination of flavor, would have ordered again but wanted to try other things on the menu. Only fault was the tortilla/wrap itself must have been toasted or grilled as it was stiff, would have preferred a soft tortilla/wrap. The next night I had the lemon chicken piccata (3+stars) which was an off menu special, served with rice. Great flavors and rice cooked to perfection but chicken could have been cooked a little longer; it was by no means undercooked from a raw standpoint, but a little more firmness would have been to my preference. Third meal was house salad with chicken tortilla soup (5 stars), it hit the spot, very good. The other three visits were for complimentary breakfast and the sausage wraps were amazing (5-stars) and the perfect size, along with fresh fruit and other typical hotel breakfast items. Service was also outstanding the entire week. read more

The manager was the rudest person we have ever met. Went in there last Friday night with 6 other people and we walked into the bar and grabbed a table that was open. He walked over and started to berate our group for not checking in at the hostess stand. Then he proceeded to slam down menu's for us and said in a rude tone "Here are your menu's" needless to say his lack of professionalism forces us to leave this horrible establishment. I will never go back there and will tell everyone else to never go there! read more

A really bad bar and an incredibly poorly run restaurant. A U shaped bar, high top tables scattered everywhere. TV's in every direction. Everything has that cheesy, corny chain vibe. Bartenders are not intentionally bad, but when it is obvious that management doesn't care, why should anyone else? Generic, frozen food that is just reheated when ordered. Still, they manage to get grease fires. Literally, came to the hotel to pick up a friend as I was going to a wedding. We decided to have a drink before hand. Everyone was evacuated because there was a grease fire in the kitchen. Fire department shows up and quickly takes care of everything. They let us back in to finish our drinks, but no food :) Have eaten here before that, and might as well just buy everything from the frozen section at Schnucks, and reheat. It is the same thing. They do have Bell's on tap, but frozen pint glasses, and ice crystals form in the glass. Yeah, don't know what the point of drinking frozen beer is? Maybe the Macros have brainwashed people to think otherwise, but no reason to drink Bells Best Brown like that. For some reason a popular spot before an Illini game, and apparently a nice hotel. Though one of my least favorite bars and restaurants in Chambana. read more

Houlihans constantly underwhelms me... and by constantly, I mean the two times I've gone there. I think that for the quality/taste of food, it's way over priced. I have had the SW chicken wrap, which mentions jalepenos, but I found it incredibly bland. My dad liked his sandwich... but it was like ham and cheese with mixed greens, it's not that hard. The decor is cool, I just think the prices are a little bit ridiculous for the quality of food in Champaign. read more

Houlihan's is kind of a pseudo fine dining version of a TGI Friday's. The menu is similar to what I would expect from TGI Friday's, but the decor is a lot more trendy right down to the super obnoxious aluminum menus. Although the menu items are fairly pedestrian, they have little twists (chevre on the bruschetta instead of the more expected mozzarella, for example) and there is a big focus on presentation. This makes for wonderful looking food, but the taste doesn't quite hit the mark. Some of the cool looking little food sculptures are also very difficult to eat. My bruschetta came with a little minced olive tower that looked like a cross between a wine cork and something out of the cat box, which was none to appetizing. Most of the food I had tasted OK, but the fried asparagus stands out as being notably bad. One of my pet peeves is tough asparagus, and the stuff here was enough to make me go postal. It was over breaded, over cooked, and the asparagus was actually chewy. Gross. I couldn't bite through the asparagus, so when I tried to eat it, the asparagus slid out of the breading leaving a pile of greasy panko straws on the plate. The horseradish dipping sauce was good, but lacked zing. At $10 for a dozen bad pieces of asparagus, this should definitely be skipped. As is usually the case with chains, the menu descriptions made the food sound divine but the taste did not live up to it. It's not bad, mind you, it's just forgettable. This was particularly the case with the "mini desserts," which are actually full sized desserts; one is plenty for two people. Thinking they were much smaller than they turned out to be, we got a $6 trio of pecan pie, banana cream pie, and chocolate cake. All were very cold as if they had just been removed from a long stay in the fridge. All were also very bland and had terrible texture. The pies were both runny, and the chocolate cake was dry and made Hostess cupcakes look gourmet. Like everything else, they looked fabulous, and were also very reasonably priced, but don't let that fool you. They're really not worth it. So overall, I give Houlihan's a resounding "meh." It's not bad, but I certainly didn't find it to be particularly good. I'm giving three stars because the service was better than I would expect from a newer place so close to campus, and they definitely deserve credit for having such a well trained and capable staff. read more