Cafe Paradiso is a Champaign-Urbnana historic landmark and there is no deny on this. However, unfortunately, the coffee shop has significantly declined over the years. Here are the details:
(1) Coffee quality: simply, it has declined significantly. I don't know what happened, whether it is not a regular cleaning of their coffee machines or wrong beans, etc. but the coffee is worse than Espresso Royale (which we all know is not a high bar to pass!). To Espresso Royale's defense, they don't charge $5+ for their americanos.
(2) Internet speed: In my opinion, a good coffee shop in a college town has to be a convenient place to work. The internet here is just the worst I have seen for a loooong time. In 2025, with not so busy house, the speed of 1.96 Mbits/second (see the attached screenshot) is just unacceptable. This is despite of the fact that many companies provide fiber optics services.
(3) Unhappy baristas: Again Paradiso was the place that you used to interact with a lot of happy baristas and now, most of them are quite unhappy (and seem rude-but again you don't know why).
There are still many positives about the place that in all honesty should be mentioned: there are power plugs everywhere, and the quality of the pastries is still great.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Sarah Henry
The fall of a great coffee shop in town? I went in today to get my usual drink order (iced Americano with sparking water) which I've gotten here for 5 years or so, and was very meanly told by the staff that it isn't on the menu. She continued to argue with me after I said that I've gotten this drink here for years. I've always considered paradiso to have the best version of this drink in town and it's the same drink I've gotten here for years. It was on the menu as recently as a few months ago. Very unpleasant experience with the staff at a place I previously considered to be one of the best coffee and customer experiences in town :(
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
Tauntaun
Love this place but only on holidays since it’s always packed
Sneha Rajendran
Loved the tiramisu and matcha (oat milk and strawberry syrup)!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Beth B.
Good espresso drinks, lovely pastries. Had a latte and croissant, the coffee was good but it was clear the croissant had been cooled and warmed by the chewyness of it. You'd be hard pressed to find a time where its not at least somewhat crowded so expect slower than normal service.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Basim Shadidi
Food was pretty good. It was a nice environment. Met some pretty cool people honestly would definitely recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Zi Aly
Two years ago it was good, now the staff are rude, the coffee depends on if the person making it is good or educated, the girls put the cups down with lipstick on their hands, the microwave is dirty and dusty, it is always crowded and the weather is hot.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Robert Thompson
Liked the friendliness of staff , atmosphere , cappuccino excellent
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
kimberly
The staff here was extremely rude. I asked if it was possible to remove tomatoes from my panini, and the employee told me they come premade. This was confusing because I come here often and they’ve always removed the tomatoes before. It was even more inconsistent when I noticed the person ahead of me was asked if they wanted “everything” in their panini.
After ordering, I went to sit down in the bar area, but the same employee told me to leave because it was “for employees only.” I assumed it was available since another woman with a laptop was already sitting there. The sign is unclear—it’s just a piece of paper taped on the counter. If you don’t want customers sitting there, the signage should be much clearer, such as a small stand sign.
What upset me most was when another woman, who clearly didn’t speak English, tried to sit down. Instead of kindly helping her understand, the employee sitting with her laptop laughed at her. That behavior was unprofessional and completely inappropriate.
Debbie Trogdon Routh
While dropping my daughter off for graduate school at University of Illinois, we ate on campus at Cafe Paradiso. What a cute little cafe for great coffees, teas, quick lunch sandwiches and bakery goods. Definitely a favorite with locals. Inside and outside seating.
I love this cafe. The staff are always super friendly and my order, an iced latte, is delicious. I always come when I have early morning classes and there is already a line--proof of the great coffee! The vibes and atmosphere are also great. It can be hard to find a table sometimes, but that's not any fault to the cafe, just how popular it is. Would highly recommend for any coffee fans in the area!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Diana Forbes
I love this coffee shop immensely. My favorite things are their lattes, bagels, and tiramisu. Only complaint is that it can get very loud inside, and the chairs scrape against the floor HARD constantly and make my blood pressure spike every 10 minutes when it gets busy. Other than that, I love the food, the service, plants, location, and staff!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alejandro Aragón
Espresso Royale Cafe was the mission control for my UIUC PhD. Me and Soheil turned this café into a coding Colosseum, wrestling C++ memory leaks and design pattern disasters like gladiators. The coffee's so strong and the Wi-Fi's steadier than my sanity. Gonna miss this place when I escape Urbana's cornfields. Only negative keeping me from 5 stars: they don't play enough tango here!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Susan Emery
The cranberry scone is amazing. The best I’ve ever had!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Natalia Gonzalez
My top recs are the matcha latte and the cheesy hashbrown bagel with the garlic and herb cream cheese.
A lot of seating and outlets although I think it makes it a little hard to get around. They really care about giving you dishes vs. disposables if you’re eating there which is great, and it’s exciting to see which plate you’ll get.
Cafe Paradiso is a Champaign-Urbnana historic landmark and there is no deny on this. However, unfortunately, the coffee shop has significantly declined over the years. Here are the details:
(1) Coffee quality: simply, it has declined significantly. I don't know what happened, whether it is not a regular cleaning of their coffee machines or wrong beans, etc. but the coffee is worse than Espresso Royale (which we all know is not a high bar to pass!). To Espresso Royale's defense, they don't charge $5+ for their americanos.
(2) Internet speed: In my opinion, a good coffee shop in a college town has to be a convenient place to work. The internet here is just the worst I have seen for a loooong time. In 2025, with not so busy house, the speed of 1.96 Mbits/second (see the attached screenshot) is just unacceptable. This is despite of the fact that many companies provide fiber optics services.
(3) Unhappy baristas: Again Paradiso was the place that you used to interact with a lot of happy baristas and now, most of them are quite unhappy (and seem rude-but again you don't know why).
There are still many positives about the place that in all honesty should be mentioned: there are power plugs everywhere, and the quality of the pastries is still great.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
The fall of a great coffee shop in town? I went in today to get my usual drink order (iced Americano with sparking water) which I've gotten here for 5 years or so, and was very meanly told by the staff that it isn't on the menu. She continued to argue with me after I said that I've gotten this drink here for years. I've always considered paradiso to have the best version of this drink in town and it's the same drink I've gotten here for years. It was on the menu as recently as a few months ago. Very unpleasant experience with the staff at a place I previously considered to be one of the best coffee and customer experiences in town :(
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
Love this place but only on holidays since it’s always packed
Loved the tiramisu and matcha (oat milk and strawberry syrup)!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Good espresso drinks, lovely pastries. Had a latte and croissant, the coffee was good but it was clear the croissant had been cooled and warmed by the chewyness of it. You'd be hard pressed to find a time where its not at least somewhat crowded so expect slower than normal service.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Food was pretty good. It was a nice environment. Met some pretty cool people honestly would definitely recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Two years ago it was good, now the staff are rude, the coffee depends on if the person making it is good or educated, the girls put the cups down with lipstick on their hands, the microwave is dirty and dusty, it is always crowded and the weather is hot.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Liked the friendliness of staff , atmosphere , cappuccino excellent
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
The staff here was extremely rude. I asked if it was possible to remove tomatoes from my panini, and the employee told me they come premade. This was confusing because I come here often and they’ve always removed the tomatoes before. It was even more inconsistent when I noticed the person ahead of me was asked if they wanted “everything” in their panini.
After ordering, I went to sit down in the bar area, but the same employee told me to leave because it was “for employees only.” I assumed it was available since another woman with a laptop was already sitting there. The sign is unclear—it’s just a piece of paper taped on the counter. If you don’t want customers sitting there, the signage should be much clearer, such as a small stand sign.
What upset me most was when another woman, who clearly didn’t speak English, tried to sit down. Instead of kindly helping her understand, the employee sitting with her laptop laughed at her. That behavior was unprofessional and completely inappropriate.
While dropping my daughter off for graduate school at University of Illinois, we ate on campus at Cafe Paradiso. What a cute little cafe for great coffees, teas, quick lunch sandwiches and bakery goods. Definitely a favorite with locals. Inside and outside seating.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
I love this cafe. The staff are always super friendly and my order, an iced latte, is delicious. I always come when I have early morning classes and there is already a line--proof of the great coffee! The vibes and atmosphere are also great. It can be hard to find a table sometimes, but that's not any fault to the cafe, just how popular it is. Would highly recommend for any coffee fans in the area!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I love this coffee shop immensely. My favorite things are their lattes, bagels, and tiramisu. Only complaint is that it can get very loud inside, and the chairs scrape against the floor HARD constantly and make my blood pressure spike every 10 minutes when it gets busy. Other than that, I love the food, the service, plants, location, and staff!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Espresso Royale Cafe was the mission control for my UIUC PhD. Me and Soheil turned this café into a coding Colosseum, wrestling C++ memory leaks and design pattern disasters like gladiators. The coffee's so strong and the Wi-Fi's steadier than my sanity. Gonna miss this place when I escape Urbana's cornfields. Only negative keeping me from 5 stars: they don't play enough tango here!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
The cranberry scone is amazing. The best I’ve ever had!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My top recs are the matcha latte and the cheesy hashbrown bagel with the garlic and herb cream cheese.
A lot of seating and outlets although I think it makes it a little hard to get around. They really care about giving you dishes vs. disposables if you’re eating there which is great, and it’s exciting to see which plate you’ll get.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
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