The Space — Restaurant in Champaign

Came here for my birthday dinner on Wednesday 5/21/25

Negatives: Ok the only bit of feedback I have regards my experience upon first arriving. It was my first time here and upon my arrival I noticed the "please wait to be seated" sign. No big deal, i arrived around 7:40 PM and the place was packed. There was another group waiting (ostensibly at least) so I did what anyone else would do, I got behind them and waited. And waited. After maybe 10 mins I could clearly see open seats so I approached the front bar area and a wait staff member asked me "What's up?". I'm confident they didn't mean anything by it but it's worth noting that I happen to be a black man (the only one in the establishment at the time of my arrival) and the tone with which I was addressed made me feel a little unwelcome and the situation a little awkward.

That said the same wait staff member took my order and later processed my payment and was nothing but professional and courteous. Like I mentioned earlier the place was packed (on a Wednesday no less) so I'm sure they were working their tail off and had been for hours.

I only mention it because I consider myself a somewhat adventurous person, often finding myself the only patron of color in restaurants, and I have friends of color who probably would have left and not even bothered to try to be seated at a place if they felt unwelcome. Having had the chance to dine here I have to say, unequivocally, for anyone to miss out on this food, for any reason, it would be a crime against happiness and perhaps even life itself.

Positives: What can I even say? What string of superlatives could I even offer that wouldn't seem inadequate or vulgar when measured up against the food that I tasted?

I ordered the Dressed Wings (opting for the duck fat and pecorino choice) and the Lamb Smash Patty Sumac Slaw Sando with a side of Duck Fat Fries.

The wings arrived first, piping hot, glistening, gorgeously dressed with the aforementioned ingredients as well as some kind of tangy, aioli style sauce. Simply divine, outrageous wings. Not over-garnished with a mound of cold ingredients, not sparsely adorned with just enough elements to give the soupçon of sophistication, but properly, perfectly dressed wings. I was even offered a bowl for the bones, something I've never been offered before with an order of wings. Overall the experience with just the starter surpassed anything I've had in this town in over a decade.

The burger came next, unassuming, tidy. Then came my first bite. To describe my first bite, the best I can, please allow me a digression:

December 1939 during a late night jam session at an NYC chili house, Charlie Parker had a revelation that gave birth to the Bebop movement in Jazz. An experienced sax player in the Kansas City Swing scene, Parker realized he could create a compelling solo not based on the melody of the tune but rather on its underlying chords. The rest is as they say, history. Being in my 30s I sometimes find myself envious of anyone who was there that fateful night. How fresh the music must have sounded, how otherworldly the experience must have been. I can only imagine that my first bite of my burger elicited something akin to that feeling.

A crispy-edged, umami lamb patty with the balanced taste of creamy labneh and sharp pickles; my first bite almost overwhelmed me with how satisfying the flavors were. It is no exaggeration to say that every bite of this burger that followed, inexplicably, surpassed the last. Often times places that do a "Mediterranean style burger" put too much emphasis on incorporating Mediterranean flavors into the burger at the expense of making the burger tasting the best it can, focusing on the melody, disregarding the chords. The Space is not one of these places. The spirit of Parker is surely in this place.

The duck fat fries were everything you've ever wanted from a fry but were too ashamed to ask for. Stupid tasty.

All things considered, I had the kind of meal not even reasonable to expect in your dreams.

10/10

I...

As many others have said... the best burgers in the Greater Champaign-Urbana Metroplex Metropolitan area. I started going here right after they opened and have been happy to patronize their establishment at least once every couple weeks since. Price be damned. This is not McDonald's, and I am not a broke college student.

I've sampled widely from the "default" menu, and it's all great... but I keep coming back to Sr Smashface, PhD, Esq. He is truly a marvel of modern culinary engineering. The steak and fries are also wonderful, and yes, you should spring for the tallow fries as a side. Beef tallow makes everything better.

These guys make hot sauce, and it shows. Every sauce I've tried here--conveniently available for you to dollop on your food--has been awesome. As a Chicagoan™ and a ketchup hater, the ketchup here is... it's amazing. Smoky, savory, absolutely nothing like the supermarket sludge. Coffee barbecue sauce? Hell yeah. Even my despised Malort can be converted into palatable sauce by the Boyz. Top marks.

Watch their specials too. Fried chicken pop-up? You're crazy. I'll take a half bird. A bulgogi burger? Fully loaded poutine? A peanut butter and hot sauce jelly burger with thick cut bacon?! You've lost your minds; I'll take...

This place is, like, the best thing ever! I went there with my Dangerous Nights crew. Usually, we're just slopping up our steaks with water 'cause we’re animals. But this food? Oh, it was so good, we didn't dare touch it with anything but our mouths.

And let me tell you about the staff! Someone drove a hot dog-shaped car right through the front door. I’m talking a literal hot dog on wheels! And guess what? The staff helped us hunt down the culprit. We all knew it was probably the guy dressed as a hot dog (what was his name again?) but they played along and humored him until the cops showed up. Incredible, right?

They have these wild events too. Like Trivia Tuesdays where you can win stuff! I snagged a free pass to Club Aqua, but I’m dying to hit up Club Haunted House because I hear there’s a trap door. Oh, and you don’t have to wait around forever for your food. I swing by all the time to grab a McSmashface while I’m doing my night gig as the Driving Crooner. It’s perfect!

Overall, this place is simply too good, it’s like a cosmic gumbo. It felt like the first time I heard Jazz legend Marcus “The Worm” Hicks or...