Cafe Paradiso — Restaurant in Urbana

WE FELT UNSAFE! It appeared that they were severely understaffed. Our server, an older lady with short hair needs to be trained better. She dropped off the bread that we ordered but that was all! I had to go to the "bar" to get a napkin and a bread plate, I then realized that we didn't have any silverware, so I had to go back for that! We tried to be patient but the table next to us had two gals (20's) who had been drinking and they were so loud that we couldn't hear each other, so my friend asked them nicely if they could speak a little quieter. THAT was a mistake because one of them badgered us for the next 10 minutes until I couldn't take it, so I went to their table to confront her. In a loud voice I said, "Do we have a problem here?" The guy sitting behind me thanked me for trying to handle the situation. WE FELT UNSAFE! No one from the restaurant bothered to step in. That gal continued to badger us even as she was leaving! She said that she paid for our meal and some other nonsense. Then the server tried to make it seem like the restaurant took care of our meal, which consisted of 2 salads and bread. I guess she didn't know that "Karen" had told us that she paid. Very shady! After the gals left, a very nice young man (20's) apologized for their rude behavior. I drove from Cincinnati to be treated like that! Never again!

Guess what... I'm in the top 10% of restaurant reviewers on Google. This is...

We spent the early afternoon at the local flea market and were ready for a good meal. Cafe Paradiso delivered in every way.

Walking in, the atmosphere is charming and welcoming. Staff is extremely attentive and accommodating, as well as friendly. The beautiful smell of garlic hits you immediately and wakes up all of your senses.

We had no wait. We were there late afternoon. We were waited on immediately. The server offered many good suggestions. I was craving garlic and ordered the roasted garlic soup combined with the tomato soup (recommended by our server). And it was delicious! The bread was tasty and fresh. We asked for a second round. My "build your own" pasta with spicy Italian sausage and creamy pesto satisfied every one of my food cravings. It was seriously one of the most delicious pasta dishes I've ever had. My husband was very happy with his Fettuccine Alfredo. It's the first time in a LONG time I finished an entire meal on my own.

Stuffed full with amazing bread, creamy delicious pasta, and a nice chianti, the server asked if we were interested in dessert. I mean, I'm STUFFED.

Of course I'm interested in dessert! The tiramisu is SPOT ON! So delicious and very worth the calories!

Overall, we will make the 1.5 hour drive just to eat here and shop to charming downtown. Do not miss Cafe Paradiso when you're in the area. Better yet, make Urbana a...

We come here a few times a year as we meet in the middle. We had a reservation for 6ppl last eve and was not going to review but slept on it n decided it was important to comment. The food was great, as usual- though the featured steak while great, was a bit pricy-our server seemed a bit flustered and confused- drinks were mixed up, checks were wrong, just not the norm. To make matters worse we were the first to arrive in our group and were "told- we hv another party using this table after u (in 1.5 hrs) that's fine right? We did not want to b jerks but hv never been told this b4. We informed the others when they got there on time n the meal was very rushed. One was still eating as plates were being cleared even! Or meal was done with dessert also, with 20 mins to spare. We were not offered coffee or tea with dessert. We were 3 couples who would not b together again for 6 months-God willing, and we ate our last bites, went to restrooms dealt with check mix ups that had to b fixed and or settled amongst us. Waiting for one to come out n server looks at us n says "what do you need- o, someone is in bathroom "- no way to pretend they wanted us out and now. We were extremely disappointed. Yes, they are small, but it was a Thurs, not even a weekend, and we were so pressured we could...