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    Sweet Basil Cafe

    3.2 (51 reviews)

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    Outside the restaurant
    Donna N.

    This place is fantastic!!! Love the people. They were all amazing. The food was wonderful and they serve breakfast and brunch all day long. We were there for late lunch early dinner and all was great. I wished had been earlier as the breakfast & brunch menu looked incredible! If you are ever in Champaign, IL I would highly recommend you try it out. We were just passing through and happened upon it. I am so very happy we did!!!

    Pancakes
    Matt A.

    Stopped here for lunch around 2 on a Saturday and were seated promptly. The restaurant was pretty empty and the table we were seated at wasn't cleaned up when we were seated. The menu is huge and a plus for the diner is being able to order breakfast all day. The portions are enormous but unfortunately the quantity is what you are paying for but the food is lacking in quality. I ordered the Jambalaya omelette which came with two extra large pancakes. The omelette stated it came with jambalaya sauce but didn't state that the sauce contained all the extra ingredients on the top of it. The sauce wasn't that great and the chicken was rubbery. The pancakes we had were overdone and there wasn't butter for the pancakes but margarine instead. I gave this a two for the prompt seating and good waiter but the food will keep us from returning.

    Gypsy steak skillet, eggs Benedict
    Carlos Y.

    We came here over the weekend to give this new restaurant a look. It's been in a holding pattern for what seemed like a year before it finally opened recently. First the positives. The staff was really great and accommodating. Our waitress was extremely nice and helpful. The place is very large and despite being extremely busy they were able to seat us quickly. The menu was enormous which can be a good thing or bad thing but you'll definitely find something there to try. And the portion sizes were huge. On to the negatives. I ordered the gypsy steak skillet with a side of pancakes. The skillet was ok. I felt the steak needed a bit more seasoning as I mostly just tasted the cheese. The pancakes on the other hand were subpar. The fact that I couldn't easily cut it with a fork tells you what you need to know. We also ordered the Irish Benedict, sweet basil Benedict and some waffles. The eggs Benedict were both better but not anything amazing or memorable. The waffles were better than the pancakes but in both instances I could make something better at home. We also ordered some banana bread which was huge. This tasted fine as well but like everything else the best I can say is that it was just okay. Overall the atmosphere was pleasant and the staff was nice but the food was just okay and there was nothing that stood out. We may try this again after a few months to see if things have improved but for now it is just mediocre.

    This desert was everything!
    Cameron B.

    I would first like to state that the food was absolutely exceptional. The portion sizes are huge, so I have lunch for tomorrow. I went tonight with 4 other family members and we were all pleased not only with the food but with the extremely wonderful service we received from our waitress Quita. I ordered the Meatloaf Sundae and it was rediculously tasty. It came with a soup as well for only $18.00. This has to be one of Champaign-Urbana's best kept secrets, but not for long if I have anything to do with it! Thanks guys for a wonderful dining experience with my out of town family. They want to come back again this Friday so we can try the fish! See you soon! Thanks again Quita for your phenomenal service!!!

    Country Fried Steak breakfast
    Jenise D.

    Im so surprise this restaurant has 3 stars. I actually enjoyed my food. I ordered the country fried steak with eggs and hash brown, it was seasoned very well. My server was nice and made sure he kept checking on me to make sure I was ok. The ambience of the restaurant was nice and they played good music. They also have a variety of food which makes me want to come back to check out the lunch and dinner. So with that being said, I will be back.

    Sweet Basil Benedict

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    4 years ago

    Very clean, very nice and helpful staff. Food is amazing and wide variety to choose from. Definitely recommend and we are going back.

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    Ask the Community - Sweet Basil Cafe

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    This was a top notch place back in the day! But past owner from the 1980's, Allen Strong, has…read moreretired and the new owners don't seem to add much. A glass display case sits empty at the hostess station displaying nothing but lots of smudgy fingerprints. A fitting analogy to the current Courier unfortunately. Patrons come in for lunch and wait several minutes for somebody to seat them. The service suffers from understaffing. I ordered a Veggie Dagwood sandwich. Remember Dagwood Bumstead and his multi layer skyscraper sandwiches?? Not here! This was more of a very dry bread sandwich. Where are the layers of veggies? The layers of cheese? The alfalfa sprouts? The sauce? My sandwich was served with a stale pickle. I asked if I could order a side like potato salad. They had coleslaw - $4 up charge. The place needs to be cleaned up! Put a little pride into the menu.

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    This place has great reviews, and they weren't wrong! The service was phenomenal, and both hubs and…read moreI loved our breakfasts. I had the vegetarian version of eggs Benedict, I can't remember what they called it. It was a large portion, I could only eat half, but it was a little too watery to take home with me. I know I wouldn't have eaten it later. Hubs had the mess (eggs scrambled with other ingredients) with pancakes, and he mostly focused on the pancakes because he knew the mess would heat up well for another meal. The prices were high, but everywhere is high now. Most of us are cutting back our eating out as a result, and we are no different.

    Two of us enjoyed breakfast here on a Saturday morning. We were seated quickly at a clean and…read morecomfortable booth, coffee and water was brought immediately. Our server Essie was very pleasant and friendly and explained a few of the menu items we had questions about. We ordered the Southwestern Omelette with upgrade to Georgia Pecan Pancakes and Meat Lovers Scramble. Our food came quickly, portions were large and hot. There is a salsa type condiment they make in-house for the southwestern omelette that is absolutely delicious. Coffee was refilled as soon as you reached half a cup....we had to get to-go containers for the leftovers...you will leave here stuffed! Essie brought us coffee's to-go....very nice!! We will be back, enjoyed the service and food!!

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    Absolutely the cutest farm I've ever seen. A group of us went for the goat hike (so unique right?!)…read moreand loved it! Our tour guides were the sweetest people and so knowledgeable about the goats and the farmland. A drink ( alcoholic or nonalcoholic up to $12) is included in the price of the goat hike ticket. They also have a cute gift shop where they're selling goat cheese, goat gelato etc. We didn't try the restaurant this time, but we will be back! I recommend checking this place out if you're in the area even though it's a little out of the way in the countryside!

    Thank goodness for word of mouth, or I never would've found this place. It sits in the middle of…read morethe country, and is very easy to miss passing by if you aren't looking for it. I think I've seen 1 billboard in Champaign / Urbana for here.. maybe. But, a coworker of mine suggested I go and thank goodness she did. The food here is so delish. We got the chef tasting and wine pairing. 5 courses + 5 wines. The muscles we were served for the entree were the star of the show; Especially the sauce they were served in - killer. It's not particularly "fancy" inside, given you're on a farm. But, it is cute and clean. Do be weary when ordering because our bill came to just under $300 for 2 with the tasting menu. There are many other cheaper options on the menu and their menu is clearly priced online so there are no blindsides. This is a great place to go for a birthday dinner or celebration. You will enjoy the food (and the goats)

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    Sweet Basil Cafe - breakfast_brunch - Updated September 2026

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