Reality Bites

We were there on a warm summer evening and dined outside where the classic downtown buildings…read moreprovided shade for the setting sun. The staff was friendly and welcoming. We ordered drinks and two special appetizers, shrimp in a spicy cream sauce and pork belly bits with diced mango. Both were delicious. For our mains, we chose: Sassy Chicken Thighs and Brown Sugar Brined Pork Chop. The chicken thighs melted in my mouth. We spoke at length with the manager after our dinner and tried to guess the ingredients in the outstanding sauces. The sassy sauce had in addition to the honey and Dijon, some cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, and cumin. Not too spicy, just enough zip to make it interesting. The pork chop was also amazing. Tender and juicy with a cherry balsamic glaze. We would definitely recommend a visit and plan to return the next time we're in town.

The atmosphere was great above and beyond what I thought it would be. The charcuterie board was…read moreneat and I love the fact that we barely sat down and they offered us a free sample of wine to try. The price for the board was I think a little high not major but a little but a glass of wine was I think very competitive very good no matter where you are. My overall rating for this place is either a 4 or 4 1/2 out of 5. It was a great first experience and will go back again.

Inside

Side mystic salad

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Dining area

Anju Above

4.2(453 reviews)

0.2 mi

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!

What an elegant night I had here for my husband birthday. food was good . A time was had go with…read moregreat people and laughter and you will al have a blasts .

Downstairs - different restaurant but you can order from their menu upstairs if you want

Fried veggie dumplings

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Yellowfin Tuna handroll

Epiphany Farms Restaurant

4.5(514 reviews)

0.2 mi

•$$$

Really great experience every time I have been. Drinks A++ Food A++ Service A++ Even sat at the bar…read moreand had a drink while I waited on a date and for our Table upstairs and the bartender was so nice and helpful and gave us great recommendations

Place was great! Met some family there for lunch, and everyone enjoyed everything. Great vibe,…read moregreat food, fresh, and great staff.

Farm Restaurant

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Epiphany Farm Restaurant

Bakery and Pickle

4.2(69 reviews)

0.1 mi

Was such a fun experience and our waitress was just fantastic! Great anniversary, and romantic…read morevibe. We did several courses, and was blown away by each dish. The salad was the best part, still thinking about the dressing.

Place was awesome, but this last time everything we ordered was mediocre at best. So disappointing…read more The steak had a heavy gravy on it that I would have asked to have removed if I knew it would be served this way. It was so salty and tough. My boyfriend had a chicken dish which is usually delicious, but this time was heavily breaded and beyond salty. The kale salad was tasty, but tough for his mom to eat and she couldn't add just a chicken breast or something to it. All in all the ambience and wait staff is great, but if this is the new quality of the food then we'll take a pass on going here for dinner and just stick to the cocktails. Even the oyster dish I loved in the past was too salty and tasted different from before. What happened B&the P??

Interior

Banana croissant

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Restaurant seating

Medici

3.5(483 reviews)

2.0 mi

Absolutely loved this spot, especially after being cooped up in the car for six and a half hours…read more We were out on a family road trip and Bloomington/Normal was a good in between. Side note, really enjoyed walking the town and all the shops in our short time here. Medici was a draw within footsteps of our hotel, a good kids menu (had to call to confirm as we didn't see it anywhere) and a tree inside. I was very impressed, and for a long time on this trip, this was one of the best meals I'd had. I got some local beer that was delicious, and then a fried chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans. The chicken thighs were flavorful and moist, and the green beans were very tasty too. Nice service as well. My kids enjoyed what they got, and my wife got a ravioli that she said was way better than expected. All in all, great spot and I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Not my fave. I've been at various times in the afternoon and evening and each time wondered why I…read moregave it another go. I've had the duck and a chicken dish. Just...average. Service was decent. Ambiance is nice, though. Love the booth seating and the bar, even though I'm not a beer drinker. They do have quite the microbrew selection. Easy parking. I was expecting more. But they're still here, so they must be doing something right. And the large Mulberry tree inside is a fun quirk.

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The Rock Restaurant

4.2(466 reviews)

1.9 mi

The rock has one of the best burgers in central Illinois! The fries are also really good!…read more The owners are awesome! Ordered carry out by phone for Saturday lunch. Ordered 1 half lb, 2 6 oz cheeseburgers with 2 medium fries and 1 small hummus with pita. The price difference between a 6 oz and 1/2 lb burger is only a dollar. I'll remember that for next time. The burgers come with cheese, lettuce, onion, tomato, pickle, mustard, ketchup and mayo. Next time, I'll order the burgers with just cheese, pickle, lettuce and onion. My wife doesn't like mustard and tomatoes. I forgot these burgers come loaded with everything. Everything was hot and fresh! One of the owners even gave me an extra fry! I have been coming here since high school! I've been a customer for 30 plus years!

Friendly, helpful, casual, relaxing vibe. I've only had the Mediterranean side of the menu and I've…read morebeen stopping in for years. It is delish. Consistently good. From the Rock Salad to the hummus, grape leaves or baba ghannoush, whichever you're in the mood for, they come with pita (pillowy and warm). I've also had the falafel and gyros, it's all worth it. Also enjoyed the baklava and lady fingers with pistachios at various times for dessert. Easy street parking near the restaurant or in the deck on Mulberry/College Ave a block away. You can easily pick up & take out with the special walk up window inside or order and eat in with a view from the tall windows, comfortable seating and chill atmosphere. When the weather's nice, definitely choose the outdoor seating.

The ceiling. Just had to take this.

Elementary chicken gyro and baklava

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Baxters American Grille

4.0(230 reviews)

4.4 mi

We had eaten at Baxters before and really enjoyed the atmosphere and wonderful pasta dishes. But…read moretoday we wanted a good steakhouse steak dinner. We started off with shrimp cocktail. It was fine, though the cocktail sauce could have used a little more horseradish. The basket of warm bread and whipped butter was great. And The salads were excellent (we went for a standard greens salad and a Caesar salad). For the main dish, we each ordered a bacon wrapped filet, medium rare, with Brussels sprouts. The filets were prepared as directed, but seemed dry, tough and flavorless. Disappointed. But worse was the Brussels sprouts (one of our favorites). The sprouts were hard, woefully undercooked and crunchy. Not in a good way. The flavor was lost in the rough texture. Very disappointed. The staff seemed a little flustered too. Brought a side a sautéed onions when we'd ordered mushrooms. Too bad, as we had enjoyed our pasta meals before and had expected a steakhouse to perform better.

I came here tonight with 3 colleagues and it was 50% off all appetizers! What a deal! We shared the…read moresticky ribs, the pretzel, the nachos and mushrooms. The hit were the mushrooms and pretzel! It was filling and all very fresh. The mushrooms were gooey with cheese and a sauce. The pretzel was warm and brown with a yummy cheese sauce. We agreed the nachos were average. The ribs were good but I didn't love the mustard in the sauce. We had great service and you couldn't beat the price. Major score tonight!

Chilled Wine

Butter cake. Very thin slice that is slightly gooey. But great flavor.

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Mugsy's Pub

3.4(155 reviews)

0.7 mi

Great place to watch football- every now and again sloppy joes are the special and they are…read morefantastic!

I don't usually review places but this deserves it. Mugsys has the best wings so I thought their…read moresandwiches would be as awesome. I was ever so wrong. My favorite hot sandwich is a Patty Melt on Rye. The meat was bland, completely unseasoned. I ate half of it because I was hungry and didn't want to completely waste my money. Too bad. Won't be ordering that anymore.

Front entrance

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Street sign on main st.

Texas Roadhouse

3.2(59 reviews)

2.3 mi

I stopped by this Texas Roadhouse while visiting my dad to celebrate my birthday. I've eaten at…read morequite a few Texas Roadhouse locations around the country, and this one definitely held its own. The food was good, everything came out as expected, and the restaurant was clean, including the restrooms. The highlight of the evening was our server, Emma. She was friendly, attentive, and always checking to make sure we had everything we needed without being overbearing. It was a busy night, but she stayed positive, worked hard, and made us feel well taken care of. You could tell she was putting in a real effort to give everyone great service. Overall, it was a great birthday dinner with my dad, and I'd definitely stop at this location again. Thanks to Eden for helping make the evening enjoyable! This should read naturally on Yelp while giving Emma the recognition she deserves.

Clean and open restaurant with quick and friendly service…read more Employees were singing and hustling around creating a fun atmosphere for patrons. Food was made right and tasted great. Served in a timely manner with no complaints Definitely a worthy choice for a steak dinner

Road Kill...complete with a stroke of BBQ sauce that wasn't on anything I ordered.

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Why does Yelp recommend reviews?

Hundreds of millions of reviews are posted on Yelp, and our automated recommendation software works in the background to showcase the reviews that it …

14 reviews that are not currently recommended

The reviews below are not factored into the business's overall star rating.

Shanna F.

126

12 years ago

Beware, this establishment is extremely homophobic and will very rudely kick you out of the bar if they realize you are gay. I went there with a group of friends and we were all kicked out when two girls simply kissed. They support discrimination and do not believe in equal rights. We tried to speak calmly to the owner to figure out what the problem was and he called the police. The police said they couldn't do anything because the bar owner has the right to refuse service to anyone. I would suggest NOT giving this place your money, and instead spend it somewhere that believes in equality. read more

Vicki T.

301

16 years ago

Reality Bites is fun and fabulous! They have great wines and the food never never misses!! We were glad to see the short ribs aka "shorties" back on the menu recently and I cannot tell you how incredible the pork and fish tacos both are!! They make a great hummus too! So excited that warm weather is just around the corner so we can sit outside and chill!! Love the owners and all the staff are great! Don't miss Reality next time you are in downtown Bloomington! read more

Maggy J.

14 years ago

The restaurant is run by degenerates. They hire girls based on their appearance and the owners are perverts- I've heard one of them say "I will give you a job if you show me your tits" to a girl drinking at the bar. Gary, one of the managers, allows under age girls to drink being fully aware of the real age. They do have great food and it's a nice place, but i refuse to give my money to scum. read more

John S.

16 years ago

Took my lovely girlfriend here when we first started dating. It was AMAZING. The server was very helpful, and pretty well on-time with everything. We ordered appetizers, (tuna) wine, the whole shabang, and left happy as can be. We got a seat upstairs and it just had a real cool feel to it. The staff was overly happy as well. I highly recommend this place!!! read more

Sharri P.

8 years ago

I went here for my Birthday. It was the perfect place for my small family to gather. Great atmosphere. The menu has many options and the type of menu where you have to come back to try it all. I had bacon wrapped dates for the first time and loved them. My waiter was so friendly. I'll definitely be back. read more

Tre W.

6 years ago

In this time you would think this establishment would place more of an emphasis on the well-being of their OWN employees and continual delivery of quality product and needs of their OWN costumer base. They're clearly focused on other businesses more than their own and it shows. read more

Lou T.

5 years ago

Cocktails and beer good. Had multiple kinds of beer and Moscow mules. Food was subpar but wait staff was great. Staff was courteous, kind and funny. Appetizers were pre-made/ microwave food. Main course salads were delicious. House burger was nice but patty was charred heavily. read more

Jason P.

6 years ago

Another spot that's violating the current mitigation rules, and putting profit ahead of public health. When a place puts profit ahead of health, I wouldn't recommend putting anything they serve in your mouth. Imagine all the other codes and rules they violate. read more

Brandon R.

111

6 years ago

Great food and atmosphere!! Food or drinks!! Lunch or dinner is always good!! Well managed and operated.

Tim P.

307

15 years ago

Decent food. Poor beer selection. Over-priced.

Kristen G.

12 years ago

The goat cheese balls are to die for. SO good.

Chloe Y.

5 years ago

God just don't waste your money or your time.

Ethan H.

149

15 years ago

Good food. A little noisy, but worth it.

JC L.

11 years ago

I love their food!

Reality Bites - newamerican - Updated August 2026

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Medici

3.5

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4.5

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•$$$

Place was great! Met some family there for lunch, and everyone enjoyed everything. Great vibe,…read moregreat food, fresh, and great staff.

Crawford's Corner Pub

4.2

(100 reviews)

The atmosphere of this bar was awesome like a small town dive bar. The food was amazing recommend…read morethe beer cheese with your fries. The staff was so friendly and made you feel welcome. The service was quick and attentive.

Service was immediate and friendly for our table of 9. The food was very good all around. We had…read moreburgers and Reuben's and drinks. The website said pizza was on the menu, but that is not the case right now. Great place to hang out for a game or with some friends. We will be back!

Alpha Bravo

3.4

(21 reviews)

Review Visit: February 19th, 2016…read more Alpha Bravo was just Alpha Oscar Kilo Alpha Yankee. Over the years, I have gotten many coupons in the mail for local restaurants. You have probably experienced similar things. These coupon books have been incredibly helpful for me to discover local places while getting a good deal. I've seen offers for Alpha Bravo in just about every single one. Finally, a friend and I decided to try them out since we seen their coupons all the time. Advertising at work. We strolled in on a sunny and warm winter day with empty bellies and a coupon in hand. I think our deal was... Buy one entree, get one half off or free. Either way, it was a good deal in our eyes. As we walked in, we immediately noticed that the place was dedicated to military veterans. I think that is really cool. Both of us were hungry for burgers and the menu had some pretty good sounding options. The BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger was calling my name and that is was I got. My friend got just the Bacon Cheeseburger. We both got some fries to accompany our burgers. As we were sitting there and conversing, I noticed that the people there were giving us some weird side-eyes. Like, we weren't the regular people who visit and/or we weren't military vets and didn't belong there. That was kind of unsettling in a way. Luckily, our food didn't take too long to cook and be brought out to us. Excited to distract us from the strange looks by the people around us, we dug in as quick as we could. For the amount of delicious toppings on the burger, I couldn't fathom how each bite had no flavor. Somehow, they achieved the impossible. A tasteless burger. This was immensely disappointing as it looked amazing and smelled great. Luckily, the fries that came with it had some flavor. I got some queso to put on them and that was a delicious choice. With the weird glances from the other patrons and the bland burger, the meal was overall saved by the good fries, good conversation and the coupon deal we had. Should the opportunity arise, I would love to try the place again. The fact that they support veterans is really awesome in my book.

We stop by often. Nightly specials are great. Our favorite is chicken strips on Thursdays. They are…read morebig, juicy, and reasonable. The staff is always fun and friendly.

Trader's Grille

3.6

(10 reviews)

Had some drinks and what they call food at this bar and grill in Normal that's in a Holiday Inn. It…read moremainly is for the hotel guests, which I kind of felt sorry for after checking this out. Trader's Grille is conveniently located in the main lobby so it's easy to get to for whoever. A place not just for guests. You would probably want to eat somewhere else even if you were staying here though. For a bar it has kind of a limited drink list. It's got a few choices, of which a few sounded okay. They aren't a good place for groups because there's not a whole lot of room. Has only a few seats around the bar. It's about $9 for a cocktail. We got a few with the best one of these being the Jack Daniel's Lemonade. Good stuff that was smooth and easy. This is made with Aperol, lime juice, and simple syrup along with the whiskey. Food is crap. It's $4 for the Pub Chips, maybe the healthiest thing they have here. These were pretty burnt and didn't taste like a lot. Guests are the main customers but it's open to anyone. It's actually best to eat somewhere else including for those who are staying here. The drinks are mostly okay, but the food is overpriced, and not worth it for some burnt chips and whatever.

The service is really good & good food promptly done…read more With this busy summer time

The Hornet’s Nest

4.3

(15 reviews)

I can't believe this place gets 4 1/2 stars! It's just Cisco food. Cisco is a restaurant supply…read morecompany. Not only is it all Cisco food, it's the lower end Cisco products. I guess small town clientele don't want to pay for farm to fork locally sourced whole foods. for example, instead of real maple syrup,, it's the fake corn syrup variety of maple syrup.. I asked for half-and-half with my coffee, they pointed to the non dairy Coffee mate coffee creamer. I got waffles and instead of butter, they just offer whipped spread that is hydrogenated vegetable oil. Farmers used to be into real farm products. it looks like there's a lot of farmers in here, but they are happy with the ultra processed fake alternatives to farm fresh foods. The bacon was also not crispy. I might normally give a place like this two stars, but their current star rating needs a reality check. The service was fine.

Don't believe the bad reviews. I've been to The Hornet's Nest for breakfast and lunch many times…read more... the service is excellent and so is the food. You'll not get a better breakfast for miles around. Yes, maybe it's not strictly farm-to-table ... but it's good nonetheless and the prices are fine as well.

Longbranch Again

4.0

(20 reviews)

Great little country bar and grill. The food specials are great, the bartenders and servers are…read moresooo friendly and helpful. Warm bar area in cold nights. Dining room and bar are separate! Try it

Great food and service. I would definitely go back. Highly recommend. We had a great time.read more

Bashar's Italian American Cuisine

4.9

(14 reviews)

It's worth the drive to Delevan to eat at Bashar's. The ambiance is cozy. The food and service were…read morefirst-rate. I recommend the fried green tomatoes, the Monte Cristo sliders, and tiramisu. Even the french fries were seasoned and delicious! Get to Delevan and enjoy this flavorful cuisine served in a friendly, small-town way. Highly recommended!

I went back to my home town for a visit. This is a very small town and not much going on . This is…read morea new restaurant that just recently opened up . My friend and I ate out on the patio which was small but very nice. I had the veal pasta scallopini . It was good but the veal was alittle chewy. I believe it should of been pounded out thinner which would of made it more tender .I have had veal many times and the veal is always thinner and tender. Other then that the favor was good . My friend had the smothered chicken and she really liked it . I hope the restaurant does well S the town needs a nice place to enjoy a meal

Joe's Pub

3.1

(46 reviews)

Pretty much just an average pizza place the dough and the sauce was pretty Limited they also…read moreskimped on the sausage and I was over long very disappointed in this place the building and the place is very small and most of the pizza that people go to are to go the pizza also took a lot much longer than the 20 minutes they said and I wish I had given up and walked out but I had prepaid this it was a average very average pizza place

Best Burger in Town and great service! Crispy wings and great fries. This is a family favorite.read more

Maguire's Bar & Grill

3.2

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