Fiesta Cafe
216 S 1st St, Champaign, IL, 61820
Fiesta Cafe Menu
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Visit below restaurant in Champaign for healthy meals suggestion.
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Address :
216 S 1st St
Champaign, IL, 61820 - Phone (217) 352-5902
- Website https://www.fiestacafe.com
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :11:00 am - 11
- Mon : 11:00 am - 11
Specialities
- Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch, Dinner
Parking : Private Lot
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Full Bar
Outdoor Seating : Yes
Wi-Fi : Free
Has TV : Yes
Waiter Service : Yes
Categories
Mexican Cuisine
If you enjoy Taco Tuesday, then you have officially fallen in love with the Mexican Food. The main grain of Mexican cuisine is maize. Also known as corn, maize is grown for the past 9000 years after the crop was discovered by the people in Mayan civilization. Mexican empire flourished when they started growing beans, tomatoes, chili pepper, sweet potato and cactus. Till this date these ingredients are used in cooking authentic Mexican dishes and drinks.
Great use of spices, fresh chili pepper dishes like fajitas, tortilla chips, corn chips, salsa, chimichangas, burritos, nachos and quesadillas are invented in America. But when you are looking for authentic Mexican food then you must find a restaurant in the city that serves Rajas con Queso, Garbanzo in a Guajillo Chile Sauce, Pork Filled Chiles Rellenos, Chiles en Nogada, Molcajete Salsa, Pico de Gallo and Frijoles de la Olla. An eye-opening fact – Mexican don't like their food hot. They use fresh chili and other spices to create a flavor that lingers in your mouth.
Mexican food is great for those who are Gluten Intolerant as they use Corn instead of wheat in most of their dishes. Also, you can easily find many beans based Mexican dishes. Another dish which didn't get similar glory as tacos or nachos is the Mexican hot chocolate. If you love something hot on a chilly day, then go for Mexican Hot Chocolate. On merry days, you can enjoy the authentic Mexican Drinks like Tequila, Mezcal, Tecuí, Sotol, Bacanora, Charanda, Posh O Pox, Puebla and Pulque. Mexican Cuisine is for people who enjoy strong drinks and hearty meals.
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Kasia H.
I agree with many of the criticisms listed by other reviewers (chips not great, some dishes can be bland, etc), but Fiesta is still my favorite Mexican place in CU. I am a vegetarian, and I love that they have such a good variety of dishes available without meat. I particularly love the chimichangas. I also am not a fan of refried beans, so I love that Fiesta has the option of black beans for all their dishes. It is definitely a "comfort food" type of restaurant for me, cheap and cozy and consistent.
(4)John B.
Fiesta Cafe has the best Mexican in Champaign/Urbana. Everything isn't made with the same ground beef, there are choices. Ordered a beef taco and had 4 choices of beef from ground to a chipotle marinade. On a nice night, outdoor seating is fun. Great Mexican beer selection and drink specials occur.
(5)David S.
I had a craving for Mexican food tonight... which happens rarely enough that I should I should indulge. I had no idea where to get good Mexican food in Champaign, but a quick Yelp search brought up Fiesta Cafe, which is conveniently located just a few blocks from my apartment, and also stays open everyday until 12am (an oddity in Champaign where a lot of restaurants are closed by 10pm). So I decided to check it out: I didn't actually eat there, only got food to go, but the restaurant seems pleasant enough that I will probably go back soon. I ordered the chicken mole, and it turned out to be quite good... in fact, surprisingly good and quite better than most Mexican food I had while I was in NYC. It's also very reasonably priced, and the service was very friendly. Nice place!
(4)Karla G.
I always enjoy the chipolte steak soft tacos and the black beans!
(4)Mary W.
Te amo, Fiesta Cafe! Having grown up in C-U, I've heard my fair share of how great Dos Reales is supposed to be, but everytime I eat there, I feel like I am being rushed out the door. Fiesta on the other hand....well, there are few places I'd rather sit on the patio and have margaritas. That, and the staff always recognize my husband and I and remember what we like, right down to the extra sour cream (no longer in those little paper wedges) and Island Margaritas. Oh, man. I'm making myself want to go there right now just thinking about it.
(5)Ellen M.
Very casual, comfortable place, a little further off campus. Laid back. AWESOME vegetarian burritos and chimichangas, good guac, and I like them Margaritas man! Huevos rancheros is another favorite of mine. The vegetarian food there is truly so, you don't have to ask if it's made with clam sauce, chicken broth, lard, etc. Small place with an expanded dining room in back, and sometimes gets rather busy, but some of the best Mexican in Champaign.
(5)Virginia T.
Laid back place. I had the best carnitas tacos ("mexicano style" soft corn tortillas, lime & cilantro) but honestly, some of the worse rice & beans I've ever had....skip those. And the sour cream comes in the little packages like you would get at Wendy's or something....The complimentary chips and salsa were great, and the staff friendly and attentive. Pretty decent food overall. We had a party of 8 for lunch and surprisingly they accommodated us immediately, but the place filled up quickly, and not all with just college students. FYI-The lunch specials are yummy and a great price-check them out.
(4)Maggie H.
Amy is the best! Ask for her section to get the full fiesta experience and then order yourself some Alex Toco's!
(5)Eric B.
For my money, the best chicken fajitas in town. I only wish the salsa was a little better. But certainly not bad. Amy is a great server, an institution here. Love the atmosphere just off campus.
(4)Hannah Rae S.
Not very authentic, and my rice was severely undercooked. They used yellow cheese on my tacos. Much better choices for Mexican food in Champaign.
(1)Jenny L.
I came as part of a big group - we estimated 30 but came with 40, about half an hour earlier than expected, and we were still received very well by the staff. Our server was so knowledgeable about the menu and told us about their specialties and informed us about the vegetarian options. She was very nice and patient to all of us, continually making sure we were refilled with horchata (free refills on horchata whaaaat), salsa, or chips. I got the Alex Tacos and asked for no spicy salsa on them, and when I got my food she brought the salsa in a bowl on the side for me to try, and I ended up loving it! The tacos were also loaded up and overflowing and every plate was very hot to the touch, so no one got cold food or left hungry. The cebollitos on the tacos were so amazing! Finally, she brought each table boxes for leftovers and our checks before we asked for them.
(5)Crystal B.
Chips and salsa - Bad had to sprinkle salt on em for flavor! The food, maaaaan! Not again, EVER!!! I love Amy tho! LOL
(1)Christy S.
Love the cimichanga with a huge strawberry margarita at Fiesta! Fun place to eat out and the chips and salsa are good as well.
(5)Gail T.
I used to love this place, but it seems the food isn't as good as it used to be. My beef burrito was mostly beans and almost no beef. We were given menus outside and told to find our own seats inside - not the best for customer service - although our waiter was excellent. $2 Pacifico beer was a plus.
(3)Paul D.
The typical Tex-Mex place. Another spot in Champaign that seems like it has been open forever. The building is made of adobe, with a great shaded outdoor seating area. A few dinning areas inside with a bar in the back room as well. Service is hit or miss, depending on how many people are here. The food is very typical for this kind of joint. Tacos, burritos, chimichanga, and various lunch specials and combinations. Globs of refried beans and starchy rice. A bunch of different margaritas, and a crap beer list. That is it. Good for a nostalgic trip when visiting the family. Though nothing to go out of your way for.
(3)Jonathan J.
If you're thinking about eating here, there are almost certainly better places you could go. I ordered the chiles rellenos and was pretty disappointed. Ingredients seemed low-quality and overall preparation was subpar. Everything was drowned in a red sauce that tasted canned. I have made this dish better at home. The place also isn't kept up very well, and the view from the patio where we sat was a little depressing. However, our server was a really nice guy. Overall I'd give the place one star based solely on food and atmosphere, but I bumped it up to two for the service.
(2)DJ S.
Very good greasy-spoon Mexican place. My husband and I both had margaritas, and they were great- not too sweet, nice amount of salt. Make sure you look at all of the options- we ordered "fresh" which uses fresh lime juice. They have tons of tequila choices. Nachos we shared were good, and the small order was more than enough for two of us. My husband had the mixed fajitas, and enjoyed them. Portion was huge, and we brought about half of it home. I had the pozole and Alex taco. Both were flavorful. Pozole had a nice amount of spice. We'll return.
(4)Kendall J.
This place is great. Gay night every Wednesday in the back room with Amy. Her margaritas are ON POINT and her attitude is perfect. She's fun to work with and always has a smile on her face. I love trying new things here (which is rare for me). Great atmosphere, great service, amazing margaritas - hope to see you Wednesday night!
(5)Rhonda H.
Not very impressive when the host hands you the menus and tells you your booth is in the back??? Margarita good:). Fish tacos and chips not stellar;(. Would not return:(
(3)Matthis H.
4 stars = "yah! I"m a fan" I guess that sums it up. I dig the funky vibe of Fiesta. I use to come here in my early twenties and gorge out. Back in those days, I had not yet been to many authentic taquerias. So I thought Fiesta was amazing. But then again, I also thought Dos Res was awesome. Over the yearsI learned to not just look for cheese covered meats with runny beans and "orange rice", I wanted basic simple Mexican. I became a bit of a Mexican restaurant snob. I moved away, had many many amazing Mexican dishes during my travels. Moved back to CU a couple years ago. Kinda went to Fiesta expecting to not dig it, based on memory that is. Well... i love this spot. It's a long standing tradition of downtown Champaign. I'm a fan of the enchiladas, chicken/mole to be exact. But my real deal it the "mexican tacos", three of those and some great guacamole. boom! Done! Good! It's not the most comfy lookin spot, the booths are a bit stiff sometimes, but it's Fiesta, get over it. The staff is super as well. They are pretty great.
(4)Lesley A.
I went to Fiesta Café because they were the only Mexican establishment, at the time, serving pork tacos. I was disappointed. The pork tacos were made sweet with some sort of pineapple concoction, and the tortillas were store-bought. I much prefer tortillas that restaurants make themselves. On the plus side, this is one of the Mexican restaurants that tends to offer coupons via the mail. When I dined on a Monday night, Fiesta Cafe had a lot of older couples taking advantage of the discount.
(3)Patricia P.
They have massively awesome margaritas, and are super vegetarian friendly. Had the vegetarian fajitas, and my wife had the chicken burrito. We both had the black beans. The service was fast, and the staff made a point of making relevant suggestions, and letting us know things we didn't even think to ask. Food beats the hell out of the other Mexican places in town.
(5)N C.
I read a few reviews about this place before I went. Unfortunately I should have followed the negative reviews. The Flank steak was just strips of greasy meat they probably put in the tacos. The rice was drenched in grease. It even smelled bad as the waiter put it in front of me. I actually gasped. Let me tell you I LOVE, LOVE mexican food, and I truly got better mexican food off a truck stop (which was amazing, I might add) in Los Angeles. I mean wow they have great service, a great atmosphere, and I didn't have a margarita (which I love) but the list was extensive. I bet they are good. Now, on to the first indication that the food would be bad, the CHIPS! omg out out a bag, just horrible. The salsas were good. The contrast of all these good things with very bad ones made me give the place the 2 stars. I promise you I will not be going back. Too mad for them because, as I said, I love mexican food! I could pay a servicer's tips in a year with the amount of times I've hit Maize and Mas Amigos
(2)Bethany C.
As the saying goes: I've got 99 problems. Unfortunately the flavor and heat level at Fiesta ain't even close to being one. FC was so crowded that ye olde boy friend and I held out hope for a Mexican experience that would put the culinary and GI horror that was El Toro out of mind. We're still waiting for the GI results, but at this point I think we're ready to call it: unless you want to be depressed and wallow in milquetoast mexican food, don't go here. The ambience was fine. It was bright and kitschy in ways I find endearing. Getting the order wrong and forgetting a side? Forgivable. Ruining tequila with a syrupy excuse of a marguerita? bad news. Swapping the meats on my BFs platter? worse news. Unflavorful and rubbery fish tacos smothered in soggy slaw and served on a plate where everything was white: death. A soggy fry job on a cimichanga: death warmed over. I feel like mexican food is easy to get right: it is my go-to for home meals when I have nothing on hand. With beans, cheese, lime juice, salt, something in the pepper family, a tomato and a tortilla -- it is easy to be great. If you start there and possible add cumin then there is nothing you can do wrong. I'd be happy to assist FC if they would like to develop this concept. Until then, I'll just be over here soaking some beans and making my delicious oyster mushroom fajitas.
(1)Andrea B.
This place has been very hit-or-miss with me. The setting is always nice, especially with shady outdoor seating during the summer. I have had a couple of the vegetarian combination plates that were pretty sub-par, even compared to Dos Reales or a similar American Mexican place. Most of the meat dishes I've had, though, (burritos, tacos, nachos) were pretty good. And they do chiles rellenos well.
(3)Heather J.
I'd give it 4 stars for the margaritas and the service. Our server was really nice and attentive. The food though, has much to be desired. Last night we went there and I got chicken tacos. They were so horrible that I only took one bite. My friend got the same thing and she also didn't eat more than one bite. They were that bad. The chicken tasted like it was canned. The chips are good and the salsa isn't too bad either. They're generous with the chips and keep them coming, good thing too since that's what I ate for dinner since my tacos stunk. Good place to go if you're just looking for 'ritas and chips.
(2)Siddhartha G.
This place reminded me of Burrito King. Tried the Fish Filet Dinner with rice/pinto beans. It was great, and way too much! Friend didn't like the black beans much though. Excellent service, they serve chips and salsa too.
(5)Daniel W.
This is a cool place to get some Mexican grub and a Marg on the patio in the summertime. It has a nice attitude that feels very independent, spunky, and spontaneous. The menu is akin to a university neighborhood- very casual and slightly experimental without alot of fuss. Four stars is for the the overall vibe- Enjoy it for what it is!!
(4)Eric P.
This rating is inflated because of the location: I"m coming from the Bay Area where there are tons of great Mexican joints and Fiesta doesn't really compete with them, but it's by far the best we have here in C-U. In fact, it may be my favorite restaurant in town. They actually have carnitas, which is a godsend, and all their dishes are executed well. The burritos don't have rice, which is weird and makes them messy, but I actually enjoy the result; more beans and meat is not a bad thing. They give you free chips with two salsas, one spicy and one mild. All the meat I've had there has been top quality and the beef isn't stringy like at so many other places. Also the margarita menu is intense, they have like 20 types of tequila, which I appreciate though it's not really my style.
(5)Jerry V.
This place was poppin! We had to park in the Dallas and Co. Parking lot cause the Parking Lot was full. The entire structure is pretty cool- they've been pretty successful with an attempt to 'Go Adobe'. Overall, the food though wasn't that great. I guess I might just have really high expectations for mexican food because I love it. I ordered their 'Mexican Combo Dinner' and got a beef tamale, chile con queso, chorizo enchilada and the enchilada was my fave..
(3)Jordan P.
Three stars for the food, and an extra for the great margaritas; Food-wise, I left full but don't remember being too impressed based on the number on the receipt, but the service I had was good. They've got a wide selection of tequilas to fit you budget or tastes, and the mix was pretty good, too.
(4)Chelsea V.
Champaign, IL is a place in which I've learned many tragic truths in this thing called life. One of the more prominent ones, specifically in relation to the central-Illinois locale, is that there is no good Mexican food here. You may recieve recommendations and you may choose to believe them, but remember this: it's all relative. During my 3 year stay in this small midwestern town, I was duped into trying the fare at a variety of Mexican eateries. Always hoping to replicate my Pilsen, Clark Street or the lady that sells tamales out of a cooler experience I never turned down an invite. On a recent trip back in search of gainful employment (in the form of a university sponsored job fair) I was implored to try Fiesta Cafe. It was the straw that broke the camel's back. Quantity over quality appears to be the motto here, as it is at many C-U establishments. I ordered tamales and was greeted with rubbery and unpleasant masa wrapped around a minimal amount of chicken. The sour cream did indeed come in a school lunch single serving container as mentioned in another review, and the rice and beans were sorely lacking in positive qualities. I gave two stars, however, because the service was good and they carried tamarind Jarritos. Tamarindo! The food was edible, but it just wasn't quite what I'd expected.
(2)Stephanie F.
I picked 4 stars, which means, according to Yelp, "yay! I'm a fan." And I am, because this is one of my go-to restaurants. It doesn't close at 7:30 pm, like every other place in town, so I think it gets a lot of business because it can cater to the crowd that doesn't eat dinner at 5 and then get all tuckered out around 8. I considered writing a long review, but it really boils down to this: this place will stuff you with food, mostly chips and salsa if you're at my table, and they won't stop refilling everything until you tell them you can't eat any more. Which you will do in a kind of thick, goopy voice because you're actually so full of food your body is storing it in your chest and throat. I secretly think that the staff likes the spectacle of gluttony, but I don't care. When I go there, it's because I want to get fat and happy and that's what happens.
(4)Rick And Jessie R.
This was awful. Base on the reviews from this site we decided to check it out. I reallly wanted to like it, it's close to home, has awesome architecture, great outside seating and good atmosphere. Howerver that's when the good times stopped. The chips showed up and were so stale they had to have been out of the bag since early last week. The salsa was not tasty at all and the sour cream came in cafeteria packets or "in baked potato packets from Golden Corrall" as Jessie says. When the food showed up it was just as bland as the chips. Jessie will eat just about any Mexican food on the planet but this was TERRIBLE. I haven't a clue what other people enjoyed, maybe we managed t order the two things on the menu that are awful. To top it all off there weren't any entertaining people in the whole place to pay attention to. Just unacceptable. Needless to say we will not be visiting the Fiesta Cafe again, unless there is a Fiesta with lots of free booze.
(1)Teej T.
Ah, Fiesta Cafe. You do not deserve all five stars on food alone, but there are so many additional factors. First off, Fiesta Cafe is a flagrantly ridiculous adobe structure, looking as if it was transplanted straight from the American Southwest into the midst of First Street in Champaign. Ridiculous. Awesome. Hilarious. Next, the service is fast, friendly, and the food delicious. I ordered the chilequiles, which I'm a bit particular about. I also wanted them with scrambled eggs, which seemed odd and self-indulgent, but they did it PERFECTLY. And I was delighted. The food was great, and i was pleasantly surprised as I thought it'd suck or be midwesternly bland. Finally, as I left the patio, full and happy, i stopped and looked about. There are a plethora of flags, American, Mexican, Peace, LGBT Rainbow, a whole plethora of flagtasticness. 'Twas nice to see a cool, friendly environment. So, in conclusion: Ridiculous pueblo, frighteningly good chilequiles, flagtasticness, wondrous service. I was delighted.
(5)Ryan L.
Good service, very mediocre food. Ordered a carnitas burrito with beans and rice.
(2)Katie R.
It's always interesting how everyone has their go-to mexican restaurant...mine, hands down, is Fiesta Cafe. I've been going here since I was a little kid and it's difficult to find another restaurant that can compete. I love how their salsa is always fresh, service is AWESOME, their margaritas are great (get the don julio blanco and you won't be disappointed) My favorite dish is Tacos Mexicanos with chicken and a side of rice with white cheese sauce...mhmmm, delicioso!
(5)