Espresso Royale

I’ve never had a problem with service here and love the drinks. The food is mediocre café food, but that’s how the all are! I go here instead of the slightly closer to my office Starbucks every time.

I dont understand some of the negative reviews for the staff of this place, since they have always been nice and helpful. I dont know if they were expecting 5 star restaurant service, but they do the best part time workers in their 20s can do.
Now, the UIUC campus has several Espresso Royales (Union, UGL, BIF, Urbana, etc) but this is the best place, both in taste and service. It has a great environment too, with a sort of ‘open’ basement with the staircase in the middle of the building.
They have in the back of the room cups and pitchers with ice water, almost like a true Viennese café! And tasting the capuccino here taught me that you really dont need to go to some fancy place like Pekara, Café Kopi, or Caffe Bene for the best capuccinos.
Much better than Starbucks, I might add, this coming from a loyal Starbucksite for over 5 years of daily Starbucks.

This place is as expensive as Starbucks coffee. The only difference is at Espresso Royal, you get a lower quality cup. With the Starbucks right down the street it is not worth going here. The only day worth visiting is on Wednesday because they have one dollar lattes. The seating is pretty cramped. I have no complaints about the staff. They have been very friendly.

I think the food is way overpriced for their quality: sandwiches are soggy and blah and they use blah deli meat. As for the coffee… I don’t know what to say. It’s caffeinated. Sure. Other than… I avoid getting the espresso drinks (cappuccinos, lattes, etc.) because all of them taste the same, foam or no foam, and are super milky rather than decadent and creamy. The drink craftsmanship is nil. The matcha latte… It’s just milk, dude. It’s milk. It’s not a matcha latte. It’s milk. And half and half. All of their mixed drinks are milk. The drinks, like everything else there, are overpriced for their quality. The coffee here isn’t brewed to the point of acidity as Starbucks’ always is. I recommend the cold press.

Third strike, you’re out! I’ve given this place three opportunities to 1. Provide service with a smile and not an attitude. And 2. Provide a drink that I could actually swallow. Ick. Sop. Bring the mop! I can drink anything, and I actually threw out a pumpkin spice latte from there. It tasted as if it were loaded with white pepper. Sick. I won’t return. Starbucks became Starbucks for a reason. It taste good.

I’ve been to every Espresso Royale in Urbana-​Champaign and have been a customer since 2010. However, this specific location continuously provides the poorest service.
The staff is very rude, and much of my complaint rests with them. I can handle unfriendliness, but paying for a large cup of hot coffee and getting something that’s colder than room temp is more than I can take. I told a woman at the counter of this error and instead of offering to make another that was at least warm, she pointed to a microwave and told me to heat it up. This happened at a time when I was the last customer in line, and no one else came in afterwards.
Anyways, I still recommend Espresso Royale, just not the one on 6^th & Daniel.

Tried some coffee here and it was alright. It’s an alternative to Starbucks, but there isn’t really anything here that makes it different from Starbucks in my opinion. I’d love to see a coffee shop that sells coffee at much cheaper prices; that’d be a dream.

The coffee here is atrocious. My «latte» looks like someone took the government-​funded chocolate milk we were fed as kids, and cut it with chalk-​water. It tastes like someone forgot to remember to put the coffee grounds in the espresso machine, and all that came out was the grime residue on the inside of the pipes that got blasted off by scalding water. Then they took a huge vat of skim milk and burned the crap out of it and mixed it with water. They combined the two in my cup. I asked for less milk, hoping to be able notice some coffee flavor. But I still have a 10-​oz. cup of flavorless grey water.

It sells coffee and iced tea. It’s drinkable. The lemon bars are good.
Really, the big advantage Espresso Royale has is convenience; it’s two blocks away from the quad, and the prices aren’t horrible. But I’m thoroughly unimpressed by the overall quality, and the place looks like a grad student’s apartment: a strange mishmash of chairs that sort of fit together. At least it’s not another Starbucks?

Love to get coffee here whenever I’m in Champaign!

When I arrived at the counter I was impressed with the knowledge of the lady regarding the vegan options. She made it a point to help me choose which drink syrups did not have any dairy in them. I ordered a soy latte with hazelnut syrup and it was delicious. Inside was quiet and spacious. There is plenty of seating between the upstairs and the downstairs.
The counter is immediately inside when you walk in, there isn’t much room to peruse the menu before walking up to place your order. I really enjoyed hanging out at this coffee shop and look forward to it again during my next visit.

I’ve been going here frequently this semester because I need espresso to survive (last semester of grad school = large amounts of espresso, all the time). The drinks are almost always tasty and the food is pretty good. Their sandwiches are freshly made every morning, with day-​old sandwiches marked 40% off. I like the chicken salad sandwich, which has cranberries in it. Nom. Baked goods are ok but a bit overpriced. Good Americanos and their cappuccino royale is also a good choice (cappuccino with an extra shot). They also have cold-​brewed iced coffee (iced Toddy), which is really tasty. It’s written on some chalkboard SOMEWHERE around the counter, not on the main menu. Aside from the iced Toddy I’ve never gotten regular coffee here, so can’t comment on that.
I think their prices are reasonable – on par with other cafes in the area. They have good daily specials – I almost always get what ever the special is (there’s one for each day of the week, same specials every week).
The staff at this location are friendly and efficient, although they frequently make errors when ringing up orders (sometimes to your benefit… sometimes not), so pay attention that you’re not being overcharged by accident.
I generally avoid the bathroom here because it’s awkward and I can never tell if there’s someone actually in there or not. Some of the comfy armchairs downstairs are kind of grimy and gross, but they are indeed cozy. I like that there are a lot of small tables, and I don’t think I’ve ever not been able to find a seat, despite the waves of students that pass through here every hour between classes.
Overall, good stuff. I’m not sure why it took me so long to frequent this place.

Stick to Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts. All of the Espresso locations on campus are dirty, usually crowded, and serve consistently burnt tasting drinks.

A little pricey for what you get, but a cute shop close to the action on campus. Baristas were a little cranky, but not overly so.

The obvious choice for GSLIS students and staff; we’re heavily caffeinated. Good place to grab some coffee between classes. 95% of the staff is wonderful and very friendly, just a pleasure to interact with. However, there is one older gentleman there, I’m not sure if he’s the owner or not, but he is exceedingly rude. Unless I am really pressed for time, I will make the half-​mile trek to Dunkin’ Donuts or Starbucks.

I don’t really enjoy hot coffee, but I really enjoy ERC’s hot vanilla latte (decaf, of course). There’s something about the way they prepare drinks that really works for me.
I also enjoy their bagels and cream cheese; love that it’s not pre-​packaged cream cheese, and they’re very generous with it. I’m sure I’ll be back at least once a LEEP weekend.

I absolutely love this place. For nostalgic reasons, their chill atmosphere, for their yummy raspberry almond scones, their delicious pink lemonade, and of course to wake up fully on the hardest mornings. Their coffee has never failed to assist me in studying for exams and taking exams.
I spend way too much monies here but it’s so worth it.

I used to work a block away from here and loved to frequent this place as a worker as well as a student. I worked as a barista at the Espresso Royale inside the Undergrad Library on Gregory.
I much prefer Espresso Royale’s coffee to Starbucks which can be a bit too thin and sweet for me. The flavor is very robust and Espresso tends toward a darker roast.
Favorite to drink: Hazelnut Americano.
Haven’t been back for awhile, but it’s a must-​see-​stop whenever I’m back in the Chambana area.

really, the worst of the espresso locations on campus. i occasionally stop by this location in the mornings before class to grab a quick cuppa, and more often than not — i regret it. first of all, they never put a sleeve on the cup. so i nearly burn my hand carrying it over to the counter to mix in my sugar and milk. second of all, the coffee is nearly ALWAYS burnt. come on! how hard is it to brew a cup.
i think i’ll be brewing my own morning joe from now on, and when i’m jonesing for some caffeine midday, i’ll be a good little graduate student and pay a visit to the espresso location on oregon and goodwin where the coffee is always perfecto.

Raspberry almond scones. Raspberry almond scones. Raspberry almond scones.
To both kill… and die for.
’nuff said.