Merry-Ann’s Diner

Going to a diner at 2:30AM is always a risk. Most places are overrun with drunken a**holes that think they are automatically VIP because they own the local skating rink.
This is a place that is smack dab in the middle of downtown Champaign, IL. The staff is great. The food is great. Our cooks name was Robert Johnson. He seemed so professional and fine-​tuned in his position.
This place is great because you are able to watch your food being made and are able to anticipate it’s delicious arrival.
Do yourself a favor and drink a lot of delicious alcohol so that you have an excellent excuse to treat your stomach to their greasy delicious fare.

I cannot believe I haven’t written a review for this place! Often my last stop on the Long Night Out Express, this particular location (there’s also one on campus and Neil St) is my favorite. Their complete acceptance as a drunken hub for the genius and moron alike is admirable. I can always find a table here, sometimes a stool, without the danger that IHOP used to threaten, and be plied with a steady stream of eggs, wheat toast, and bacon while I rethink that third whiskey I ingested not long ago. Lighting is exceptional so you may want to avoid this place after a sweaty night dancing but it’s good, solid breakfast food at cheap prices ($ 6 for pancakes, eggs, hash browns, and bacon).
Thank you Merry Ann’s for existing in a world of late night cravings and endless shenanigans.

I’m drunk, I’m hungry, I’m in a hurry… LET’S GO TO MERRY-ANN’s!!!
whooo hoo!!!
The lady and I stopped by Merry-Ann’s on friday. I’m not sure what time it was, we had sort of been at a couple of places, I remember being at Radio Maria (had the fried artichoke, it was delicious); I think we then went to derailled. I hit the devil boxes, put $ 60 in, took out over $ 300 whoo hoo. I kind of recall going to quality… then it gets kind of fuzzy. I do remember «let’s go to merry-ann’s» I don’t think I would ever say no to that suggestion.
I don’t remember what she ordered, but I’m pretty sure there were pancakes involved. I got what i always get, steak and eggs. 2 eggs over easy, steak medium rare, hashbrowns and wet white toast. How wet, i want it friggin soggy! On friday, the toast was limp it was so soggy. It was amazing.
One time, I was so hungry, that I got 2 of that order. Do you want that to go? NO, GIMME BACK MY FORK! I considered doing that again on friday, but didn’t.
We then went to the City Center (more like the country center… amirite) for my son’s birthday.
Great, now i want Merry-Ann’s for lunch.

Pancakes were very salty, bacon was raw and they wouldn’t discount our meal! Even though the manager said she would discount the meal, it never happened even after we reminded them. We will not go back!

Very good food and service.
Restaurant is in a excellent location to u of I games… Within walking distance to several shops

If you like greasy, unhealthy, but wonderful tasting food, this place is like coming home. I have frequented the diner during grad school and liked the fact that they are open ²⁴⁄₇. Budget friendly too!

Honestly, the food was probably 2-​star quality, but I’m giving it 3 because it was late, and we were hungry, and it was open. That said, it was very generic quality breakfast/​diner food, and while it satisfied my hunger, it didn’t quite hit the spot.

Well, this is more of a 2am type place but heck why not try it at 5pm! Well we were the only people in the place but! I ordered a Veggie Burger that was just delightful for a dinner!
It was a huge patty pouring out of the bun! Threw some Ketchup on it and was completely satisfied for the evening a head of me! I bet this would have tasted even better at 2 am after some drinks!
This place is open 24 hours a day and is set up perfectly like an old dinner from the 50’s or 60’s!
The staff was very polite and took very good care of us! Like I said we were the only ones in there but they could have ignored our empty glasses of water but they did not! They treated us like Dinner KINGS! Probably the cheapest place to eat in downtown Champaign for sure and it was great!

Just okay food. I can make better food at home for cheaper.

Much cleaner and inviting than the other location. Coffee is kept warm. Can’t beat walking downtown. Does a breakfast right bottom line.

What a travesty that this is the only place to get late night food around downtown Champaign!!! Even when I’ve stumbled in hammered at 2 am I thought the food sucked… now that’s saying something!
Unfortunately, this is the only place to get some sober-​me-​up food after a long night of drinking at dt Champaign so I’m going to undoubtedly return at some point. But I do have to say that I will never get that nasty corned beef hash again…

I came here after an unfulfilling dinner at Big Grove Tavern. We sat down for some fries and a slice of pie. Everything was great, the pie was delicious, the fries were hot, and the service was prompt and friendly. Everything was great, that is, until I start hearing noises behind me. I assume someone is dragging a chair across the floor. I don’t turn around, because it stopped soon enough. Time passes and the sound starts up again. My S.O. starts looking a bit uncomfortable. I turn around, and no one is dragging a chair, but there is a man 2 booths away. It was him. Farting. Having a fart-​attack. A super-​extended fart-​attack.
Having quickly lost my appetite, we asked for the check, left the server a hefty tip, and skedaddled.
I can’t really blame Merry-Ann’s for this. This is a place for everyone, farters included! So if you want a cheap diner, this is your place, but be aware that this is a big world, and flatulence happens.

Had a bad experience at the Merry Ann’s on Neil Street but I thought I’d try this location. The service was prompt and friendly. The menu was rather limited. The coffee was drinkable. Ordered the Cheese and Mushroom Omelet. Good portion but the cheese tasted processed and the mushrooms tasted canned. The hash browns were good and the side of bacon was done to perfection.

I went there once about 10am, sat down waited for 15 minutes, no one came, I left.
I forgot to mention, I was the only customer there.

Good greasy spoon diner. I enjoyed their country fried steak. This is actually one of the better breakfast places in C-​U.

Merry-​Anns is best in the wee hours of the night, (or morning) when your judgement is down and a huge greasy plate of fries, a burger, and milkshake no longer sounds like a bad idea. Or just when it’s 11PM and you decide you need an omelet and pancakes. Or when you are out on the town and simply no where else is left open to feed your poor, wandering, hungry soul. It’s ²⁴⁄₇ diners like this, that while never your first pick when deciding where to eat, you realize are vitally important to life when the above conditions arise.
The food is super greasy, comes out super quick, and costs the right price. The food tastes good, but really people, most things that are greasy are going to taste delicious. You definitely get enough for the price you pay as well.
Service is hit or miss. The restaurant is set up so you can actually grab your own extra silverware, condiments, or napkins if needed. Despite the closeness of the waitress, she pretty much takes your order, brings food and drinks, and then throws your check on the table and that’s the end of that. You don’t go here for the service though. It is midnight on a Tuesday night and you want scrambled eggs and waffles damnit.

After having a horrible experience at the other Merry-Ann’s Diner during the winter we decided to try our luck at the downtown Merry-Ann’s a couple of weeks ago… and wish that we wouldn’t have because we were again disappointed.
We walked into the diner to find that we were the only customers, which should mean that we would have great customer service… our waitress was one of the worst we have ever had. We only saw two people working in the diner and one of them spent the majority of our meal time scrubbing the floor… mind you just scrubbing it and bringing up all of the dirt and scum, not actually mopping it off (that part of the process must have happened after we left)…the entire floor area behind the counter and by the cooking area was covered in a black/​brown mud/​scum/​dirt mixture which made for a very unappetizing eating experience.
My husband ordered a double cheese burger with bacon and fries… he was brought two single cheese burgers with no bacon to be found. The waitress placed our food on the table and then disappeared to the back, so we were unable to complain or get the order corrected.
I ordered a plain malted waffle… it was a waffle, waffles are good and pretty hard to mess-up…so, overall, my food was good, but I would never be able to refer to it as great.
Prices are reasonable, but the lack of customer service and waitresses who are unable to take orders correctly ensures that we will never be going to Merry-Ann’s Diner again. We have tried both of them and were deeply disappointed with our experiences.

If I may be so bold as to say this, Merry Ann’s is a celebration of everything that is good about life. The only downside is that in this case, too much of a good thing could possibly lead to atherosclerosis or some equally undesirable cholesterol condition. Who can not honestly say they don’t harbor a soft spot for those 24 hour diners, whose men and women work tirelessly throughout the night in order to provide us, the host inebriated, with industrial strength coffee and omelets at two in the morning?
The food at Merry Ann’s, if you’ve never been, is pretty standard for diners. Breakfast served all day, so you can get pancakes with the folks on Sunday morning, or pancakes at 4:47 in the morning after your friends push you in a shopping cart to the front door of this imperial majesty. I was originally planning on giving them three stars, but Merry Ann’s got an extra star from me for their bacon preparation technique. Most places hand you burnt, crispy bacon– Merry Ann’s gives you greasy bacon still glistening with fat, fresh off the fryer. The only way to eat bacon. The aforementioned pancakes are a tasty deal too. They’re fluffy enough, and the taste can be drown in one of the three fine syrup offerings located at your booth. Service is fast, friendly, and always ready to fill up your coffee. And if you’re at Merry Ann’s, you will probably appreciate that.
So overall, Merry Ann’s is cheap, delicious, and convenient. Located in proximity to the downtown Champaign bars, you will always have a place to sober up for a few hours. Champaign suffers from a dearth of 24 hour diners in my opinion. I refuse, out of principle, to go to the Campustown IHOP. Even if the stories I’ve heard about the place aren’t true, drunk undergrads still sounds pretty terrible to me. I miss the spots like Denny’s and Norm’s… but I feel like Merry Ann’s does its duty, and does it well.
Keep on keeping on, Merry Ann’s Diner.

I can’t help but feel that the foodies who love this place only do so with a kind of hipster irony.
When ordering at Merry-Ann’s, «Occam’s razor» applies: go with the simple choices. See a particular dish on the menu that you’d consider ordering? First, imagine yourself cooking it at home… now count all of the potential steps where poor decision-​making or lack of skill could result in disaster. Choose the dish where there is little room for error and you’re set.
On my first, misguided visit to Merry-Ann’s, my youthful enthusiasm (and naïveté) led me to order the Mexican omelet. What was I expecting? Maybe an egg-​licious concoction with chorizo and peppers. Instead I got something akin to a burrito with scoops of taco meat, where the thin skin of egg acted as a wrap. I openly and unashamedly admit that I am a snob in this regard – due to early childhood trauma involving Taco Bell, I simply refuse to consume oily ground beef cooked with packets of «Mexican-​flavored» seasonings. The meal didn’t make it far past «Go» before it had to take a few steps back… Err.
With that experience behind me, I still gladly stop by Merry-Ann’s, but now I stick with those simple dishes, like eggs, breakfast meat, and hash browns. All the breakfast combination plates are pretty reasonably priced and the serving sizes are more than adequate. I don’t recommend the dinner items (remember Occam’s razor?).
The overall ambiance of the place is above average. Compared to campus-town’s IHOP, Merry-Ann’s is bright and clean. The kitchen isn’t in a separate room, which allows you to observe that a good deal of the food items are microwaved. Maybe those people who have food industry experience wouldn’t be surprised or bothered, but most places aren’t quite so brazen about the nature of food preparation.
For standard breakfasts, Merry-Ann’s is a solid choice, especially as it’s the only real 24-​hour game in town and within easy walking distance of all the downtown bars. Still, I’d recommend keeping your expectations low.

Arrived in Champaign late on Christmas Eve and the hotel had stopped serving food. We hit the snow-​filled road to find some grub… actually I was pining for a piece of pumpkin pie. The Merry-Ann’s near our hotel was closed but we spied another one that was open 24 hours.
It was as if I’d walked into a time warp — the menu, the décor, and the pricing was unusual for this California gal. I was thrilled to get a piece of pie and even happier for the $ 2 price. There’s nothing on a menu for $ 2 in California, not even a sharing charge!
My partner had a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich with fries. It may have been the processed American cheese slices… but she was hungry. I’m glad I wasn’t too hungry because the vegetarian options were quite limited and if I’d stuck to my veganism, I’d be SOL.