Jim Gould

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Jim Gould is as good as it gets for the Champaign, IL area. I had the pleasure of being part of a private party that had dinner here, and we had the rare opportunity to learn about how the establishment was revitalized and reinvigorated the Champaign community.
Coming from Chicago, IL, Jim Gould reminds me of a classic Chicago steakhouse, except with much more space. The ambiance is softly lit, I really like the interior wooden awnings and yes, you will be dining with white tablecloths.
Entrée items are priced high for the area but reasonable for what you are getting. My yellow fin ahi tuna entrée salad was well worth the $ 16 base price and this may be the best compliment I can give a Champaign, IL dining establishment: I slept well after dinner. Honestly, if I do not have a satisfying meal, it is difficult for me to sleep. My Jim Gould’s meal was satisfying on multiple levels.
Based on our talk with the owner, it appears that the restaurant will try to offer some lower priced items to make it a more regular place rather than a special occasion place that most people know it for. Definitely check back.
I also have yet to come here for their infamous ~$ 24 sans tax Sunday brunch. Maybe I should treat myself, and so should you.

Came here for pre-​dinner drinks with my mom over the winter break. I got some frozen peach bellini drink which was delicious and HUGE. Halfway through the drink, the bartender filled up the rest of my glass with more champagne! This was back when I didn’t really drink and hadn’t eaten any food in many hours, so, needless to say, I got a little fuzzy. My mom had 1 or 2 drinks and was a little silly herself.
We made great conversation with the bartender and with some random other dude in there eating, who decided to stop by and compliment us on how pretty we both were, which naturally turned into a debate on climate change and global warming… After here, we walked on over to Escobars and had a delicious dinner.
This was a really lovely evening spent with my mom and Jim Goulds definitely helped.
In the past, I have also had their Easter Brunch, which was DELICIOUS and had a huge variety, albeit cut short by a tornado warning. whereupon, we were all forced into this back hallway, drinks and all, until it was safe to come back out.
They’re a little pricy, but coming here for drinks and appetizers would be something I’d recommend.

Happy celebration at Jim Gould with a meal which far exceded my expectations!
I realize that you are in a happy mood when your child graduates from college and so that happiness might spill over to wherever you go to celebrate. BUT I had also lost a very expensive chocolate diamond earring in the midst of the ceremony and was still in a tearful shocked sadness about that. And we still had a great time — that’s one hell of a good meal!
We were treated very well with superb service from Pierre and three amazing appetizers — Ceviche, Crab cakes and Calamare — I loved all three of them. Then we all got our meat on and had various steaks with tasty veggies and potatoes. We even managed to split a delicious strawberry cake and very satisfying lattes.
Great day, great meal and no more tuition payments. And if you see an errant chocolate diamond earring, send it my way!

A great, classy place with good, classic food. A very nice high end place, but comfortable, not intimidating or pretentious.
The food is high quality and not too adventurous for me. I like the dimly lit atmosphere. I love the complimentary fresh bread and always ate way too much of it. Spinach salad was also really good. Service has always been what you would expect from a nice place.
I’d say Jim Gould is more classic and reliable than creative and adventurous. I feel very confident going here anytime for a romantic date or an important dinner.

Dined at Jim Gould’s last night with a group of old friends. The restaurant was not very busy and we were happy to be seated in the small private room. Most of us ordered the dry aged steaks, which were very good. Served with buttery mashed potatoes and haricot vert. Thought it was telling about CU diners when the server felt the need to tell us that they were «little green beans» or maybe we just didn’t look very sophisticated! Others had the scallop special and ahi tuna salad. Wine was half price — still pretty expensive at that!
Since I had met Chef Benjamin previously through his Parkland classes, he had invited our group for a kitchen tour after our meal. We all enjoyed that.
Seems like Jim Gould’s is on its way back up as a fine dining restaurant.

Eh. I’m sorry Jim Gould’s, I think you’ve changed and not for the better.
Went for our anniversary dinner last night, and despite having a loud and obnoxious group of drunk out-​of-​town conference attendees trying to impress one another with their wit and cleavage seated right next to us, figured that the food, wine, and service would compensate. It didn’t. At half-​price, the glass of shiraz I had was overpriced, and slightly chilled. My kobe beef burger was bland and not particularly tender. The brie on top was flavorless. Pommes frites were good, though I’m fairly confident they were not «truffle oil misted» as described. But still, yay pommes frites. My husband’s beef medallion «special» was itty bitty and overcooked. Also, despite being described as a special, was listed on the regular menu, and for the price that we were charged. So, neither the dish nor the price were «special».
Which brings me to the strange service: when we made a remark about the odd «$ 1 wine shot» feature (seriously? a shot of wine? served in a shot glass?), the waiter replied «yeah, well, we’re trying to compete with KoFusions $ 1 sushi. They’re really busy over there and we don’t get many people on Mondays»; later, we overheard another waiter tell a customer «well, we’ve changed our menu. We don’t have specials anymore. Our specials are just things on the regular menu that we want people to order.» And, though our service was courteous, it was slow but harried, despite the relative non-​busyness of the restuarant.
It’s too bad. I used to quite enjoy Jim Gould’s, but we’re not likely to be in any hurry to go back.

Nope, all show — overpriced nothingness. The waitress was nice though.

This place was pretty much what I expected: a nice, kind of fancy, kind of pricey steak house with great food.
The place: Me and my boyfriend went here for our 1 year anniversary and sat outside on a Tuesday night in June. It was pretty empty– but that was kind of nice. There were probably only about 5 other tables at any given time while we were there, but since we were outside it seemed quiet and nice rather than deserted. Staff were all professional and friendly– no complaints there.
Drinks: I really loved the «wine tours» Jim Gould’s offer. They offer you 4 different 2 oz. servings of 4 different wines all for $ 12 – 16. There’s 4 different «tours» to choose from: (I think) a pino, a cabernet, chardonay, and a «bold reds.» I got the bold reds tour. It was great. For the price of 2 glasses of wine I got to sample 4 different ones– and I didn’t get suck with a glass of wine I didn’t care for (I really don’t like sending things back just because I don’t know what to order.)
Food: Complimentary bread was perfect– soft and warm. The crab cake appetizer was AMAZING! I’m not really the biggest crab cake person– but J Gould’s put chopped up kiwi and mangoes on top of their crab cakes. I never would have thought to put the fruit on top but it was DELICIOUS. Me and the boyfriend then ordered the Filet (10 oz. medium) and the mushroom pasta and both shared. The filet was a great piece of meat. I am NOT a big red meat person– but I even ate the center that was rather pink (as medium should be). It was great. Definitely NO need for any steak sauce– GREAT flavor. Very tender cut of meat. The mushroom pasta was FABULOUS. If you like mushrooms at all– go for it! It was a GREAT dish.
Overall I really enjoyed this place. Total bill was $ 75 for the items previously mentioned. Not too bad– I knew going into the meal that it would be expensive. If you’re looking for somewhere nice to go for a special occasion– definitely consider Jim Gould’s. Location is great too. Ooooh and I’ve heard the Brunch buffet is fabulous.

We were treated fantastically by the staff, and the ambiance was fantastic as well. Enjoyed the live jazz band, had an extremely leisurely dinner, never felt rushed, and mostly enjoyed the food.
Food assessments:
Ceviche – delicious. Fresh and fantastic.
Complimentary bread – perfect.
Caesar salad – standard but great, croûton was a bit too crunchy.
Apple Amaretto Chicken – the only slight disappointment. The skin was fantastic but the rest was a bit dry. The apples underneath were tasty though, and the whipped potatoes alongside were top-​notch.
Filet – I suppose at a steakhouse, you should be ordering steak. And this steak lived up to expectations, was perfectly cooked and deliciously seasoned.
We had no issues with the staff or owner (although we didn’t encounter the latter). Overall we had a great meal, although I’d go for something other than the chicken next time. But it’s definitely a restaurant I’d frequent again… if I could afford it.

I wont belabor the point, but when I pay decent money for a meal, I expect professional cooking and service. The undergraduate (my assumption), under-​trained (my assertion) employees that prepared and served our meals were underwhelming (my conclusion).
The menu items sounded very interesting on paper, and after reading the glowing reviews by others here and elsewhere, they sound tasty on the Internet. Unfortunately, the real life execution did not match my expectation. I suppose it is like watching a movie based upon a book you love. You have the highest expectations for what sounds like a great dish, only to have your hopes dashed like so many Hollywood adaptations.
Comparing everything in Downtown Champaign to Chicago is obviously not a recipe for universal satisfaction, but when one pays Chicago money for innovative-​sounding dishes, a certain skill in execution is expected, but not attained by Jim Gould’s. In a similar restaurant on the North Side, you could expect your meal to be served by someone who waits tables as a career, not as a way to pay for books and booze.
I give 2 stars because nothing was terrible, but nothing was good. There are probably 10 better restaurants for the same price in CU. If you have been to each and every one of these, then give Jim Gould a try. Hopefully your experience is better than mine.

My review is strictly based on my experience at their Sunday brunch buffet. I have not ever been to Jim Gould’s for regular menu entrees. However, from what we know on Sundays, the food is delicious! Sometimes at buffets you get a lot of cheesy pasta, ham, etc. type of options – things that might make sense if you are coming from church, but make less sense if you are a Jew nursing a hangover. Don’t get me wrong, Jim Gould’s has the ham and cheesy pasta, but they also have lox, eggs, waffles, delicious breakfast options, and great desserts.
The price is kind of breathtaking in a bad way, and service is pretty good but not awesome. It’s worth it, though, for a fancy buffet!

2.5 stars for good but not out of ordinary food,
1 star for the pleasant and classy service and environment.
.5 last star for awesome sweet potato chips.

I was surprisingly impressed by JG. The service was quite good (especially considering there were about 15 of us in attendance), the layout of the restaurant itself was rather nice, and the menu, while not especially imaginative, seemed solid.
I had a tasty potato and sausage soup, followed by the chicken alfredo (which admittedly is a hard dish to mess up!). To finish, I tried their homemade crème brûlée, which changes frequently. This was crème de menthe, and while it was a little heavier than I would have liked, it was still pretty damned delicious, I must admit.
Mostly, however, my time was buoyed by great conversation, and an appreciation for a wait staff that is thoughtful and polite, particularly when you have 15 people of color from a conference getting their grub on, as it were.
I was surprised and mildly delighted by you JG. Good work.

This place impressed me a lot. I went here both nights I was in town on business. The first night I just visited the bar and had a wine ‘flight.’ The bartender was pretty cool. I took a look at the menu and knew I had to come for dinner.
I came the next night for dinner. The dinner didn’t disappoint! First off, the bread was really good. So that’s a good sign. I ordered a starter, a soup, an entrée and shared a dessert.
Starter: We started off with the stuffed mushrooms. They were really tasty.
Soup: Next I tried the Onion soup. OMG. To this day, this is my favorite Onion soup in the world. I have French Onion soup anytime i see it on the menu. It’s one of the few things I’m still craving food wise in the past couple of years. The broth was made of Guinness and I can’t tell you how good it was. Mmmmm.
Entrée: Apple Amaretto Chicken. This was also really good. I can see why it’s a favorite!
Dessert: Amaretto Crème Brule. I really liked it, but my friend thought the sugar on top was a bit too thick.
Overall: The service was top notch and the food was really tasty. I also really liked the atmosphere. Best of all, the prices were really reasonable. I would totally go back in a heartbeat.

Jim Gould is a pretty fancy place to go out to. but the food is a hit or miss. I like the fact that they have a live jazz band on the weekend and the place has a city feel. They also have a half price wine special on Monday. so check that out.
What I mean about the hit and miss is… the NY strip steak, steak tartare, and tuna tartare are pretty good. On the other hand I wouldn’t go for Sunday brunch (not worth it) or any of the the normal entrees. I have tasted some of those and they are not so good.