Miga

Miga is literally the best for elegant dining in chamapign. The service was super nice. The food was tasty and the presentation of the food is very appealing. You pay for food and their service. I have been there once. I will go back for another very special occasion.

We made a reservation here a month before arriving in Champaign. Once at the restaurant the hostesses seated us at a long table over by the bar away from the front of the restaurant by the windows– which is where I had originally requested to be seated. The long table appears to be meant for large parties or to be shared with other couples or smaller groups. It was dark in this area and my husband had to face the back wall which just wasn’t the ambiance we were hoping for. We were placed at one end of the long table and another couple sat at the opposite end. This couple was arguing so it wasn’t the most pleasant experience.
For privacy and because I had made a reservation so far in advance I asked if we could be seated at a regular table (most sat 4 people) of our own near the windows. I was summarily told that «all tables were being held for people with reservations.» I explained that I, too, had a reservation which was made almost a month earlier! In response the hostess, now in a rather curt tone, said that we couldn’t move because «the people at the tables were probably waiting for others in their party to join them.» By the time we finished our meal we saw only one table of two people having other people in their party join them later. There was really no good reason why we couldn’t have been accommodated.
I’ve never experienced hostesses going so far out of their way to NOT make customers happy like these hostesses did. This is sad because the waiter was fantastic and the food was quite good. Because of this experience we will not be going back nor will we be recommending this restaurant.

Beautiful space with high ceilings and kind of zen decoration. Super friendly waiter guided us through the menu. I had the ceviche which was amazing, and my daughter had the scallop and bacon. The Bi Bim Bop was very different but delicious.

Went here with my husband and parents for my birthday… Everything we ordered was spicy… super spicy… The Cesar salad was huge and the wasabi flavor was very pronounced. My dad and husband had the steak which was good but with the sauce and side was super spicy hot and hardly edible. I had the butterfish which was super dry and not yummy. Our server was very nice and attentive however the other server was extremely rude when we asked for appetizer plates when he delivered our food… in which he never returned so I had to get up and go to the bar to ask for plates for our table.

Excellent quality. Great food and cocktails. I loved that our server told us every detail and every method to enjoy our food best. The ceviche was amazing as well as our other dishes. Our server was hospitable and knowledgeable. MIGA is truly a work of art. Will definitely be back.

Food = good. Would waste my money on the $ 17 4-​lettuce wrap appetizer. Fries are a good app and cheap. Had the soy-​noodle chicken pasta. See photos from previous poster. Really good flavor. Butter fish and the grilled tuna were awesome as well. If you can’t tolerate spicy, be sure to get some help with the menu. Service was polite, but the ol’ drink glass set empty at times.

Easily the best restaurant in the Champaign — Urbana area! We chose to dine here to celebrate our son’t graduation from U of I. We couldn’t have been more pleased with our choice.
Hard to say exactly what cuisine they are but whatever it is, it works for me!
First of all, their plating is exquisite! And don’t you eat first with your eyes? I began my meal with the wasabi Ceasar salad. It was excellent with large strips of bacon and the right amount of horseradish ceasar dressing. It was spicy but in all the right ways and not at all overpowering. It’s pretty large so you can easily split it with a friend. For my main course I had the soy milk pasta and chicken. It was delicious. Fair warning it is pretty rich. We took half of it home. It was almost as good the second day except that the chicken didn’t have the same wonderful crispy crust that was there when fresh out of the kitchen. Then since we were celebrating we decided to split some desserts. I had a doughnut with honey milk dipping glaze. They came out of the kitchen hot and fresh. Might have been my best doughnut experience ever!
Service was good but could have been just a tad more attentive. There were long periods of time when we would be waiting to ask for something and couldn’t find our waiter.

Meal was wonderful. Staff was attentive. Then we are relaxing and paying bills and lights go to surgical strength! Reallly?! Sorry, says manager, «staff meeting » excuse me, I just popped $ 500+ and it’s Spanish inquisition? Lose lose. Sorry Miga, need to focus on customer service! Not sure if I’d come back
Ps. Staff busy setting up drinks for themselves for «meeting». Really?! We are paying for u being there! Unacceptable!

On Mom’s weekend this year my family and I dined at MIGA. We have heard great things about MIGA and I was excited to enjoy my birthday dinner at supposedly, one of the most upscale and best restaurants in Champaign. Unfortunately, our experience from booking the reservation, to leaving the restaurant left my family and I disappointed.
The weekend of my reservation was Mom’s weekend, so I completely understand that it may have been a busy or stressful weekend for your management and servers. However, as a restaurant that brands itself to be upscale, this should not have been an issue that should have been reflected in your customer service. During the time of my reservation I noted that it was someones birthday and we would prefer a table near the back. When we showed up, our table was right by the door and we experienced rude and inattentive service throughout the night
The absolute worst part of our experience was the actual serving of the food. When ordering our dishes, we made a brief note that instead of each party having their own entrée, we would be splitting a few different entrees «family style». This is a concept that should be very familiar for any upscale restaurant, as the majority of new and existing upscale restaurants in the city follow this concept. We had ordered a few «starter» dishes that were cold, «noodle/​rice» dishes, and then the entrees. In any sensible resutrant, the food arrives at a scheduled pace so that the table is not crowded and so that the diners do not feel rushed. However, 20 minutes after ordering, our hot entrees arrive and then immediately followed by our cold starter dishes and noodle dishes. Our entire table was crowded with different orders and we were obviously not happy. We addressed the issue to the server about the pace of the food and how this is not what should happen. Instead of taking the hot entrees and noodle dishes back to the kitchen, he simply replied «sorry all the food is out now». He did not seem competent enough to understand that all of the food should not have come out at once.
Due to the pacing of the food, our meal was incredibly rushed. By the time we had started eating the entrees, they were cold. This would not have happened, if the food was taken back to the kitchen and brought out at a proper pace. By this point, my birthday that was supposed be a flawless, easy, and enjoyable experience was ruined. The food lacked proper seasoning, umami that is found in Asian cuisine, and was underwhelming for the price.
Sticky Spicy Gnocchi:
This is not Gnocchi, it is made with a Chinese rice cake. Traditionally, I love this sort of rice cake, but MIGA over-​cooked it severely and added a heavy, overly sweet one note sauce on top of these severely overcooked rice patties. To make it worse, they coated the entire dish in partially melted parmesan cheese. You’re joking right? 1) Don’t call it Gnocchi if it’s not Gnocchi. 2) Excessive amounts of parmesan cheese have no place in Asian fusion cooking. 3) This dish is just not well thought out or executed, not sure why you have this on your menu.
Zen Style Ceviche:
Once again, don’t call a dish something that it’s not. This is not ceviche, it was sashimi. There were pieces of extremely sub-​par (not fresh) of fish put on a plate. If I wanted sashimi I would have ordered the sashimi garden salad. Please figure out what ceviche traditionally is and your menu item should at least remotely resemble that. Or our server should have said something. But clearly he has a certain level of incompetence.
Wasabi Caesar Salad:
Nothing special, barley a single hint of Wasabi and I think I got one cherry tomato. Half the ingredients listed in the description were either absent or I couldn’t even taste. Had an equal level caesar salad at panera.
Sea Scallop:
Overpriced, once again, flavor profiles of actual dish didn’t match up to the dish itself. 0 hint of truffle. Sea Scallop slightly overcooked.
White Butter Fish:
Only redeeming aspect of this ENTIRE meal. Fish was well cooked, seasoned, and had a balanced flavor profile.
Bottom line:
Do not try to make your menu sound eclectic and falsely name dishes for the sake of the menu looking «upscale». If you’re going to say your dish has x amount of ingredients and flavor profiles, I want to taste them. I am paying for them.
As an individual who has dined at countless restaurants across Champaign, Chicago, and the United States I can say for certainty that MIGA failed to meet many basic standards that diners have. I can definitely appreciate the effort that MIGA wants to compete with Chicago restaurants and bring upscale dining to Champaign, IL. However, if the current level of customer service continues, it is quite honestly impossible for them to ever be on remotely the same page. My party of three left MIGA spending over $ 180 for a meal that was lackluster, mediocre, and highly disappointing in service.

Above all, the service was great, our server was very sweet and helpful. Went here with a friend for her birthday. Interior is clean and nicely decorated. We got the Chashu buns, Soy Cream Chicken pasta, and the Rice Gnocchi.
The gnocchi was not gnocchi. it was sliced rice cakes. the dish tasted like normal ddukbokkgi with cheese. ok but nothing new
the pasta was good. the crispy cutlet works well with the spicy cheesy cream sauce.
The Chashu buns were the best part, buns were soft and squishy, thinly sliced onions, some plain leafy greens, and the braised pork work well together.

Mom’s weekend dinner at the U of I and I was so pleasantly surprised with this amazing meal. It is Asian fusion and so incredibly flavorful. We started off with the Dumplings which were to die for. We also had the scallop appetizer which was good, a little underwhelming as it was only 1 scallop but still good. For the entrée we had the beef SSAM, which was absolutely amazing. It was like deconstructed lettuce cups and I could eat it all day. My mom had the sticky rice gnocchi which she said was very good and spicy. Everything was very similar to how my traditional Korean grandmother makes food. We had David as our waiter/​bartender and he was fantastic. Such great service from him. Overall such a great experience and I will definitely be back. Well done Miga.

Talk about an incredible place to eat.
This place left me comatose.
Well worth the money.
Gnocchi never tasted so good. Cold ramen noodle is a dish of the goddesses.
Even in our rags, this place treated us like royalty.
No one was left standing by the door. Everyone was immediately greeted.
If you wanna impress anyone and everyone, go here! High end with humility.

This is the second time I’ve dined here, most recently for my birthday party. We had a reservation for 8 at 8:45 on a Saturday night on ²⁄₂₀.
MIGA is probably the best place in the CU for a fancier date or gathering. The ambience of the interior is really beautiful. Modern with spot lighting, but not too dark so that you can’t see your food or your companions. The noise level was perfect; just enough background chatter to be lively but quiet enough to easily hold conversations. The black and white films on back wall add a nice touch. The dishes and plating were sleek, not superfluous. The chairs were super comfortable and there was plenty of space between tables; you don’t feel cramped at all. The bathrooms are also really nice; extremely clean and sleek. Check it out! They even have Q-​tips and cotton puffs if you need them.
I ordered a Korean style gnocchi dish; it was flavorful and satisfying (the fish cake was really tasty too), yet the flavor of the sauce could have been ~slightly more complex and layered. I think it was the perfect amount of heat and spice, but some of my friends tried it and thought it was way too spicy (so, if you can’t handle the two peppers near the title of the dish, don’t say I didn’t tell you!). The Buddhism Bi Bim Bap was a huge hit, whether with beef, salmon, or tofu. Everyone who ordered it had more than enough to eat, and it seemed like an endless abyss of food in the large wooden bowls it was served in. The only minor complaint is that one of my friends who ordered the beef thought it was a bit too rare, but it depends on what you like (the Tuna Steak was rare, and my boyfriend didn’t have a problem, so ask the waiter if you can have it served medium well; I’m sure you can).
My boyfriend ordered the MIGA Crunch Fries and Tuna Steak, both which he thought were good. I tried the Crunch Fries, and for fries they were refreshingly light and fluffy. I also sampled the MIGA Sashimi Garden Salad, and the sashimi was fresh and flavorful. The greens were dressed appropriately and the presentation was very appealing with edible flowers. Another one of my friends ordered the Sea Scallops– I did notice, however that there weren’t many scallops for the price tag. The same goes for White Butter Fish, but both of my friends thought their dishes were delicious. The portions for Noodle and Rice dishes were very large in comparison to the main courses, and less expensive.
For drinks, I ordered the It’s Seoul Good. I didn’t like it at my first sip. I passed it around the table to see if anyone would. 8 people tried it, and no one liked it for different reasons. I thought it was too harsh, my boyfriend and his friend thought the taste was strange and weak. It tasted of neither vodka, soju or cranberry. It sat on the table until the end of the night, when my boyfriend gulped in down to get rid of it. According to our waiter, the Hana is supposed to be good, but I didn’t find out. Another person ordered a mule and thought it was done well. My boyfriend ordered the Stiegl radler and it was about 3 dollars cheaper than Barrelhouse 34, where we ended up later in night. So. I have a feeling the cocktails may be hit or miss.
Our server was attentive and, up until a mishap where he knocked over a water glass onto the White Butter Fish, everything was good. He did have it replated, but it seemed to take a bit too long. In general, the food was a bit slow coming, but the White Butter Fish replating was excessive. The server could have been a bit more positive about his job, but he was entertaining and genuine. There could possibly be more training to avoid accidents, but 8.5÷10 as far as service goes, which is rare.
Overall, it was a great experience and I highly recommend you try it! I’ll be back again!
P. S. MIGA, You should start having a sushi menu… pretty please???
tl;dr
ambiance ⁵⁄₅
service 4.5÷5
food ⁴⁄₅
overall price to quantity & quality ⁴⁄₅ (depends on dish)
total experience: 4.5÷5
Would I come back? I can’t wait!

Stopped by Miga on a Friday Evening for a early valentines day dinner. The ambiance was great, and much bigger than I expected just from the outdoor appearance. We were guided to our table by the hostess and promptly had a waiter come to our table to ask if we wanted anything to drink or if we had any questions.
We ordered the chashu buns for the appetizer which were twice as big as I expected, so I was starting to feel the fullness before the first entrée came out.
Then we ordered the soy cream chicken pasta and the angus galbi rib-​eye steak. The soy cream chicken pasta was good, but nothing special. And the chicken that came on top was very tough. But the Galbi Rib-​eye steak was GOOD! It came with a kimchi bacon pilaf which was pretty decently sized in itself.
TL;DR the ambiance ⁵⁄₅! service ⁵⁄₅! food ³⁄₅!

Restaurant review
I finally found a restaurant that rivals black dog or Maize. This is a true fine dining restaurant that achieves its goals on multiple fronts. The décor of the restaurant is simple yet elegant and the food reflects this. Even though it is fine dining you don’t get the feeling that you’re being pretentious when you eat here. My wife’s quote is this is the first restaurant in Champaign that doesn’t just use salt and pepper for flavoring. The food itself is simply amazing not only visually appealing but it hits all of your senses. We started off the meal with the beef SSAM which is served beautifully with lettuce leaves to wrap the beef, small amount of rice, and sauce. Beef is cooked and seasoned perfectly. We also got the scallops with bacon. Although this dish incorporates foam, the highlight and beauty of the dishes in the scallop which was quite fresh and complemented the pork belly well. My main dish was the ribeye which included a side of kimchi Rice. Once again the flavoring is hard to describe it’s a perfect blend of garlic shallots with perfectly cooked beef. This is simply the best restaurant in Champaign
Pros: Great flavors, aesthetically pleasing, friendly service, fine dining with good prices
Cons: Limited menu, I had a friend who came here often and pretty much easy enough great thing
Hidden deals:
None
Health code rating: A. Very clean and well maintained.

While visiting C-​U, my boyfriend and I came here for lunch with my aunt and her husband. I didn’t expect much but I was pleasantly surprised by this place! Miga’s décor was very modern and somewhat fancy… fancy for Champaign that is. My boyfriend and I are from San Francisco, so when we saw the prices on the menu here, we were shocked at how cheap everything was! My favorite item was the Wasabi Caesar Salad. The salads here come in GIANT bamboo bowls which was interesting… but the wasabi Caesar dressing was amazing! The salad was well dressed and had the perfect amount of kick from the wasabi. The entrees also had great presentation which I really liked and portions were pretty big. Overall, great food!

Went for my Mom’s birthday, and they did not disappoint. The atmosphere is great modern/​industrial. Though cozy at the same time. An open dinning area with a long bar towards the back. I really like the set up, with old black and white movies projected on one of the walls… this night it was Rebecca, the 1940’s film noir with Laurence Olivier. My Mom could have narrated the entire movie for everyone if the restaurant would let her :)
This is Asian/​Korean fusion from the people that brought you Sakanaya. They are true locals within the Chambana community. The menu here is a bit more streamlined, unique, and at times more pricy. While certain things you scratch your head at, like a scallop appetizer with only one scallop, though you cannot help but be in aw of how enjoyable it is. Which comes with amazingly tender and flavorful pork belly as well. Then there is the Wasabi Caesar Salad, which my thought is they just put a Caesar Salad on the menu just because. Then you realize that everything is so well integrated and amazing. The oven dried cherry tomatoes, the great salty anchovies, and the spicy wasabi salad dressing. It all works perfectly. The dumplings are really good as well, even though I did not find anything particularly special about them, They were very enjoyable.
The mains included the Soy Cream Chicken Pasta, which my Mom and Dad both swear by. Then my Miga Bold Noodle Pasta, which is amazeballs. A spicy stir fry with bell peppers, bonito flakes, and chili pepper mixed with other veggies, chicken, and shrimp. Yeah, this made me sweat a little, in the best way. There is shaved flakes on top, which is so hot they literally vibrate, a really unique presentation (don’t ask me to explain, just get it and enjoy). The noodles are incredibly tasty by the way. Both dishes are around $ 15, and they are more than enough to make your stomach pop.
They have more expensive entrees, which may or may not be worth the cost. It is hard to tell which appetizers are worth the price. Some, like the scallops are not worth it (though very tasty) others like the salads can feed an army. With the dumplings being in the middle, which is well made and what you would expect for a starter.
Drinks are enjoyable as well. Some well made cocktails, with a Migroni that is what you would expect for this spin and on point. Also plenty of wine, and even a well thought out beer selection in bottles. La Fin Du Monde pairs perfectly with any spicy dish they put out.
Service was impeccable. The waiter new the menu, with recommendations, and was Johnny on the spot with any needs. Overall, this is a really well thought out restaurant, everything is fresh a tasty with the right amount innovation along with traditional tastes thrown in for good measure. While not 100% perfect, another really good option in downtown Champaign.

I came by with a co-​worker a couple of weeks back and had a pretty amazing experience. After reading the reviews, I got the impression that this place was super expensive. I would like to dispel that myth! Sure, it’s a nice place and I wouldn’t come here expecting a cheap meal but each of our entrees were under $ 20. I ordered the noodle bowl and it was about $ 15 which is only a couple dollars more than a pasta dish at Olive Garden. My co-​worker ordered the bibimbop which was close to $ 20 but huge! In fact, both of our entrees could have been split amongst 3 people… each! So, if you want to save a few bucks, I highly recommend sharing! We ordered the bao buns as appetizers which were $ 4 a piece and VERY delicious. I was slightly disappointed to see that these weren’t stuffed like traditional bao buns. They were more like sandwiches but I guess its fusion so they can get away with it. I will also say that while I really enjoyed the noodle dish, I could see why some folks might not like it. It was labelled with 3 pepper symbols so I was expecting spicy. But, instead of spicy, I would more accurately use the word peppery. It tasted heavily of black pepper. I LOVE the taste of black pepper but I also know that I tend to put way too much in my cooking so, I know that if I am made aware of the peppery taste, that there’s a possibility that it’s too peppery for most people.
I will also add that I wish that they had lunch hours or at least were open for longer hours. I came by with my mom today and I noticed they have very limited hours and weren’t open at the time. I feel like if they’re only going to be open for dinner then they should have longer dinner hours available.

Hmmm, Miga Miga. What a nice addition to the downtown Champaign area. The interior is beautiful and the ambience is very elegant and chic.
The service was great — everyone seemed very nice. They’ve got such a nice team!
The food is beautifully presented. Tried the chasu bun (I love pork buns), and this had braised pork, asian dipping sauce, mayo, mixed greens, sliced onions and cucumber. The flavors for this mixed in really well (I would probably not opt in for the mixed greens). Everyone had gotten the Bi bim bap which was really nicely presented in a large wooden bowl with a side burner that had the salmon/​steak. Heard no complaints there!
I got the orange glazed salmon steak. It was interestingly presented. Colorful dish. It has a medium rare salmon steak, roast herb bacon, fingerling potato, orange mango reduction, citrus beurre blanc, preserved apricots and oven dried tomato. On to the taste… I realllly wanted to fall in love with the dish but it wasn’t hitting the spot. The textures and flavors weren’t really super memorable for me (it didn’t make me go «wow!»). The salmon tasted pretty ordinary so I was hoping the sauces would make it pop some more. It didn’t. I’m going to try other dishes but don’t think I’d get this one again. I don’t think the potato goes well with it. I’d probably introduce a grain that has more texture (farro/quinoa?/wheat berries?).
Overall, I liked my experience here (I’d give it a 3.5.). The drinks are pretty strong… get the It’s Seoul Good. I want to try some other dishes (maybe the Bi Bim Bap) and see if it changes my mind a bit more.

I’ve been here twice now and I’m a fan. Though I still have to say I prefer Sakanaya, which I believe is owned by the same folks.
Right off the bat, the environment is great. You don’t feel like you’re in downtown Champaign. Everything is very modern and trendy. The dishes and glassware look beautiful and when I’ve been there, they had old black and white movies playing. The only downfall here is that some awful music (Michael Bolton, really?!) was playing.
The prices are decent I guess, they’re a little on the high end, especially for the portions that you get. But I think overall, the flavor was great. We’ve sampled the scallops, dumplings, filet, and noodles before and I thought everything was delicious. I will say though that the mochi was very pricy for how much you got, especially after being spoiled in Hawaii and going to bubbies and getting a piece for a couple of bucks if that.
Another thing, I never once had an issue with service. I thought both times that I went there, we were treated wonderfully.
Overall, the prices are a bit steep, but its refreshing to have this place downtown as an option and I will be going back.