The Neighbors at The Ice House

Very friendly owner that makes an amazing birthday cake martini! Can’t wait to return and try some others.

I LOVE this place! Super clean, delicious drinks, and amazing staff.

The neighbors at the icehouse is a great neighborhood bar. We moved nearby about 6 months ago, and have met so many down-​to-​earth folks through this spot.
Diane — Diane purchased the bar six years ago. She put in some great rennovations to update the place. She is a hard-​working woman, generous hostess and makes a darn good martini!
Bar specialties — martinis and blood mary’s. Diane has her own martini recipes including a fun birthday cake ‘tini. She also makes her own ingredients for blood Marys — the Sunday special. She also has traditional copper mugs for moscow mules and has some decent beers on tap.
Snacks — Complimentary popcorn, freshly popped. Frozen personal pizzas available for purchase and cooked in a mini oven.
Music — For special events, a band will be present. Otherwise this is a juke box joint.
Hours — This bar is good for happy hours from about 5:00 — 7:30pm M-​F. Things wind down around ten and the bar closes at 11 (as it is in a neighborhood).
Parking — the parking lot holds about 10 – 12 cars. You can also park on the other side of the train tracks. Many neighbors walk here, so cars in the lot aren’t necessarily a good indication of who is inside.
Specials — Wednesday is trivia night. Specials are listed on a chalkboard just inside the door.
The crowd — People that go here are friendly and from all backgrounds. It’s a great spot for happy hour, to watch a game or do trivia on Wednesday nights.
Patio — when weather is nice, the patio out front is a great spot to watch trains go by, have a good cocktail and chat with neighbors.
Cash only — there is an ATM inside.

Cool bar off the beaten path. If you have driven by this bar a hundred times and wondered if it was worth checking out, check it out!
Decent beer selection and an interesting group of locals and grad student types.

New to the area and must say this is a nice little neighborhood bar. Decent selection and friendly atmosphere.

Diane is my absolute favorite bar owner ever. She is so accommodating and fun/​easy to talk to. I love how she put the Oscars on for me on the TV in the back room while the rest of the bar was watching the Illini game. She would come back and we’d talk about Oscars dresses and speeches, and then she’d go up and have a conversation about the game with the rest of my friends.
She makes amazing martinis as well. Try the mint chocolate martini– it’s delish!
The Neighbors at The Ice House is a gem!

By far, my favorite bar in Champaign. This is due to the fact that I’m nerd and I love being able to have a conversation where I’m not constantly yelling.
This is most definitely a small, quiescent mom ‘n pop bar where the bartender is welcoming and convivial. With such a soothing atmosphere, this place can even function like a coffee shop where you can study. They do have TV’s for sports games if that’s your fancy.
Although they weren’t able to make pina coladas, I’d say that their drinks are quite exquisite. Their martinis are fantastic. I would recommend trying out their Moscow Mules. Oh, and they have trivia night on Wednesdays.

Diane runs a fantastic ship here with a great staff. She really does care about the neighborhood, the community, and those that patronize her bar. It is a great place to grab an affordable drink, catch a game, and snack on some freshly popped corn kernels.
During the summer, she’ll even roll out the flat screen TV onto the patio for viewings.

Great neighborhood bar! Closes early, so you get home early!