Espresso Royale

This ER location may not look fancy on the outside. There’s no bike parking, the parking lot is small, & it’s located on a busy street which makes access difficult with traffic. But once you step inside, it’s a whole different situation. It’s spacious & there’s a fireplace inside! Plenty of shelving displays the coffee & cold brew growlers you can buy. Nearby, the pastries, cookies, sandwiches, & biscotti entice you as you place your order at the counter. In the summer, there’s outdoor seating but the traffic & sticky weather sometimes make that uncomfortable. What makes up for any of that is the friendly staff.

Great staff and tasty coffee! My favorite is probably the chocolate raspberry mocha. I’ve tried a bunch of their other lattes (got to love $ 2 latte Wednesdays). The staff are usually friendly and this location is a nice escape from being on campus. I’ve been here a lot of times to work on reports or to study. More reliable WiFi and chill staff!

I used to come here fairly often when WPGU were giving away free drinks all the time. I have never been satisfied with a drink ordered from here. I’m not sure what the deal is with their Chai Latte, but it’s straight up weird. I hoped my first one was just a mistake and ordered another one my next visit — nope. Still watery and unpalatable. The drive thru service is incredibly slow also. This is the only Espresso Royale location I’ve visited, so maybe it’s just this one.

Very close parking (so somedays it’s limited?) and nice seating area. Good coffee and quiet environment to do work. I love Espresso Royale anywhere!

Kind of slow but worth the wait! $ 2 any size lattes on Wednesday! Got an iced mint latte, tastes like a Girl Scout thin mint!

While I was here the barista was talking trash about a confused customer in the drive thru, while she was in front of us other customers… Not sure if I want to come to a place where I may be talked about by the employees. Poor service, decent coffee.

There used to be an Espresso Royale near my old building at BU, so some nostalgia and happenstance brought me here. The prices are way better than Starbucks, the ambiance is less yuppie and more hipster (but not in a bad way), and in particular the interior here was very homey with a fireplace and lots of cozy couches.
There were vegan baked goods to be had (yay! something Starbucks should really get the memo about, vegan isn’t exactly cutting edge science or anything), and of course plenty of soy and almond milk latte options. Unfortunately, the coffee immediately brought me back to my grad school days… typical burnt Espresso Royale flavoring. Oh well. I’d still go back, and maybe order tea!

I really want to love and support these local coffee shops but I haven’t had the nicest service or consistency with my drinks at any of the locations I’ve visited. Also as a non-​dairy drinker when ordering soy which I know from my own days as a barista foams a lot when steaming, even when ordering NO foam I still get a cup only about 2/3−¾ full, which leaves me feeling jipped, annoyed by the snotty barista, and overall underwhelmed. I keep going back hoping one day I’ll finally be able to love and support the small local coffee shops, but probably not for long.

I love Espresso Royale, but at other locations. The one on Neil St. has got to hire the most miserable people on the planet. I realize the people who work there, for the most part, are college students whose parents forced them to get a job while in school, but please don’t take that out on the customers. I’ve been to this location five times maybe, and each time I wonder why I continue to punish myself by going back. For instance, the two girls who worked on the mornings of ⁵⁄₂₄ and 5/​31, around 10:30 or so, really topped the cake. Rude as hell is an understatement. They were nasty to me both times, and both times they were nasty to the people in the drive-​thru. Apparently it’s a chore for them to come to work and do their job, and they want each customer to know that. I’d prefer to not pay someone to be a jack hole to me.
Like I said, I love Espresso Royale but I’d rather drive out of my way to go to another location, and will start doing that from here on out.

Tim (Mgr) and the rest of the staff are always friendly. Nice selection of baked goods and soup (during the winter months). Coffee is always good. But the building it’s housed in is falling apart. Numerous water leaks inside from a shoddy roof. They even have a sign on the wall next to one of the tables warning you of a leak. The carpeting is in desperate need of cleaning and the furniture is filthy and thread bare. This has been my go-​to place for coffee since 2012 but that’s going to stop. Just can’t stomach the conditions inside this coffee house any longer. Hopefully the building owner will get motivated and fix the leaks and they do a thorough cleaning of the place.

Barista was not customer friendly or socially adept. I understand that there is a drive through, but how difficult is it to say, «Thanks for being patient. I will be with you just one moment.» There was another barista in the back, and he saw me standing there but chose not to help this guy but snaked backwards and out of sight. Are you guys so shy or lacking in confidence to address customers? Seriously? YOU’RE working in a coffee shop for goodness sake! If you’re not people friendly, go find another part-​time job! Coffee was mediocre at best and service is lacking to say the least. It’s a coffee shop served with a college student attitude. Stay home instead and make your own coffee! You need not find it here.

Extraordinarily relieved to look out the window of my hotel to see this place in plain view. Crumbly but fresh scones and cozy setting. Fireplace. Kind baristas with solid scone recommendations.

This café is a fine place to drink coffee and read the paper indoors. Its coffee and tea products are mostly mediocre, although quality varies.
Regarding the coffee and tea and associated drinks, such as cappuccino, Espresso Royale rarely produces a good cup. Quality is usually not bad, but overall it tends to be mediocre. Given the quality, coffee and tea drinks are overpriced.
The other items for sale, especially the fruit salad, yogurt and cereal, and so on, are good, and competitively priced. I haven’t tried the cookies, pastries, chocolates, biscotti and other little things because I rarely buy them in any café.
Service is friendly and good, although not necessarily the fastest. The shop has a drive-​in window, so be aware that the barista might well be working on an order from the window, and not ignoring you at the counter.
The indoor area is very nice, and makes an inviting area to sit and enjoy the coffeehouse experience. The outdoor area is well designed but suffers from having a horrid view of Neil Street and the strip mall’s own parking area. That’s really too bad but nothing can be done about it.
Summary:
Espresso Royale is a decent café with strengths in some areas. It suffers mostly from selling a mediocre product (coffee and tea drinks).

Good variety of teas, lattes, coffee… not my favorite coffee but does the trick. This location particularly has more tables and more quiet than other locations; ideal to get some work done which is why i go to cafes, not to chat. This location also has a drive through which is neat. I love thay this chain has daily specials! They are different on certain days at diff locations… any size latte for 2.25! Also a small reward card they stamp if you buy ten drinks u get one free (i drink 2 coffees a day so it is nice)

I’ve gotten decent mochas from this place before (different location, the one at Village at the Crossing) but one thing that is disappointing is that their small is not equal to a Tall from Starbucks. It’s really small! But since the prices are elevated, I don’t like to get more than a small at one time.
Secondly, my boyfriend and I stopped in to get some drinks on our way to do another errand. The girl was friendly and served us right away, albeit impatiently, because she was also working the drive-​thru. He got some kind of frap thing and I got a small hot chocolate. I specifically asked the girl, «How is your hot chocolate?» Of course she said oh it’s very good.
We’re halfway down the street with our drinks when I finally try the hot chocolate. First of all, the whipped cream is actually very good. It’s real whipped cream.
That’s where it ends.
The hot chocolate was ALL milk. It just tasted like hot milk with some kind of oily residue in it. I was really displeased and couldn’t take more than a few sips. I poured it out on the ground and it was all milk with a couple of shots of syrup at the bottom that didn’t mix in whatsoever. It was a waste of money and did nothing to reassure me that it’s a good place to go for drinks.
Complete aside but this is also annoying: they don’t give you a cardboard sleeve for your drink automatically. You have to burn your hand to walk over to the counter to get your own sleeve.
My boyfriend liked his frap but I tried it and thought it was below average. I hate to say it but I hope a Starbucks opens up in some convenient area of Champaign sometime soon. (They give you sleeves automatically, too!)

I’m a 1 – 2 latte a day drinker, and often have a scone or other breakfast bread too. When I couldn’t find a Starbucks near my hotel in Champaign, i was a bit worried, but ER made me wish they were out where i live!!! the drive thru service was quick and friendly, and the coffee was GOOD and cheap. I was blindsided and pleased at the $ 2.25 Latte Thursday special. If I go to Champaign again, I will patronize this Espresso Royale, and if I see another one elsewhere, i will definitely give it a try. :)

Hi all, I wanted to share with you my experience with this coffee shop. The service is okay, I have definitely visited coffee shops in the East and West coast whose staff is much more friendly, but this review is more about the food than the service. I am a HUGE fan of croissants and was hoping that I could have a descent one from this place, but I am soooo wrong. In the past I have bought croissants that peal off into delicious pieces even when they are cold (example: Wegmans), but the horrendous croissants at Espresso Royal are indeed the most disgusting I have ever had. Anyways, if you want some expensive Starbucks alike coffee then be my guest and come to these overpriced places, but if you are looking for a good pastry then please SAVE your money and find a nicer place. I am personally still looking, because after coming here from the East Coast I have had nothing but disappointments since I have neither found good coffee or pastries like those in the East/​West coast.

I frequent this ER especially if I am on my way to work, because it has a drive-​thru. I have never had an unfriendly encounter, and frankly I think this has one of the best groups of ER staff in Champaign-​Urbana.
I don’t like to study here for some reason, but I don’t mind meeting up with people and chatting.
The drinks are usually good, when I have the sandwiches they are good. My only complaint is last time I went in I had to explain to the barista how to make a yerba matte latte. Perhaps better training is in order for this young gentleman? Otherwise, good place.

My favorite Espresso Royale to study at. They bought out the bakery next door, broke down the wall, and renovated the place. It’s nice and big, with plenty of tables as well as a sofa in front of a pseudo-​fireplace area in the middle. That said, it’s still an Espresso Royale, which = expensive coffee that tastes burnt. At least they’re better than Starbucks in that they provide free wifi, which unfortunately was broken the last time I went and the hapless overworked barista had no idea how to fix it (fortunately, a more tech-​savvy patron finally got sick of it and went and fixed it himself =P).
Good for studying because it’s off campus (so no loud socializing undergrads… s’okay, I don’t hate you guys, I’m just jealous of all the free time you still have =P), and also not in downtown Champaign, so it doesn’t get (as) crowded. Don’t come here for the coffee though, if you want good cheap coffee go to Pekara in Champaign.

Update: 5÷14÷09
I have gone back here due to study group requests, and my experiences have been okay. The temperature fluxuates quite a bit, or I just always seem to be under a blower. Cold blasts of air with periods of it getting incredibly warm. Bring layers. We asked once if they could do anything about the climate control, and they said they could, but we didn’t notice a change. I haven’t noticed the music or if there is any because I’ve only gone here for study group sessions. The tables are pretty small so we would have to combine 2 or 3 tables to make enough room. The internet is alright– sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t or is very slow…
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Weird coffee shop (and not in a quirky way, just awkward) — don’t recommend.
I have been wanting to go here since I saw them remodel. It looks beautiful. Finally I went in, and… bleh.
There is no music playing. Just awkward silence and people typing on keyboards. Except for the television show blasting from behind the counter in the back room where the barista is watching «Everybody Loves Raymond,» or something of the sort. Loudly. I may as well be sitting in my parents house. This is not coffee shop ambiance.
Then she feels the need to bring her lap top out to the counter, and continue to watch television loudly and laugh. Needless to say, not conducive to my reading. It was cold, but the fireplace was not going, which may have helped.
I will not be going back here. It looks a lot better from the outside than when you step inside. There are many other coffee shops in the area I would rather spend my money and time at.