Caffebene

From a newspaper report on health code violations in Champaign-​Urbana restaurants:
«An inspector shut down Caffe Bene (700 S. Gregory St., U) on Feb. 22 after it received an adjusted score of negative 8 with 10 critical violations. The inspection report noted that „little to no hand washing by employees was observed during the inspection.“
Such practices could lead to cross contamination of the different bacteria on the food, it was noted.»

Nice environment and wonderful milk tea.
Love the hot bubble tea latte so much.
Best milk tea in campus!
The mojito is nice as well. All of the mojito look so cute!
Coffee towel is too big for me lol.

Restaurant review
This is a brief review of their coffee. I did come here one other time for dessert which was amazing however I recently got their bubble tea to go. Service is quick after they take your order. There is multiple drink options including bubble tea with Boba. I can’t say that I’m a fan of this over Starbucks coffee. The other thing that makes me nervous is that the flavoring is likely a powder however I ended up with the traditional milk tea. It is rather sweet even sweeter than a latte. If milk tea is your thing then it’s great to have this place is an option
Pros: This café has both desserts, coffee, and other Asian type desserts
Cons: Slightly expensive compared to Starbucks
Hidden deals:
Please download the hooked app which has rotating savings and includes buy one get one free BOGO.
Health code rating: A. Quite clean and people are practicing good hand hygiene.

Trip wires (laptops plugged in) everywhere. Popular place for college kids that want to watch you fall down as they cram for that big final. Green tea tastes good. Due to claustrophobic and hazardous atmosphere, one star.

Over priced but solid coffee and desserts. It makes this place a «once in a while» «treat yo’self» kind of a place rather than a regular study spot. But, with that said, I love the décor, love the space, think it’s great for studying to hanging out, and even think the uniforms are kind of cute in a fun way. On a student budget though it’s definitely not somewhere I would go often especially when there are more reasonably priced places really close by.

I have to say that I went into Café Bene due to my remembrance of them from Korea, and despite the majority of their reviews here on Unilocal.I don’t particularly love the coffee, as it’s not really coffee, like Starbucks, but I like the atmosphere, staff and the Korean nostalgia I get when I am inside. The prices are steep but mainly on stuff that is not the coffee, such as the bingsoo or waffles. I would say that Café Bene beats out the, close, neighboring competition by a long shot; Caffe Paradiso and Espresso Royale are really no good in the coffee department.

I had their red bean ice parfait & their strawberry honey bread! The red bean ice is sweet red beans over crushed ice, gelato, mochi, & almonds. The honey bread is this special bread that’s lightly toasted so that it’s slightly crispy on the outside & chewy soft on the inside. It’s topped with sweetened strawberries & cheese. So good! While beautifully presented, the menu item are pricey. I spent $ 15 for the red bean ice & the honey bread. But the ambiance is lovely & inviting. It’s a nice place to take a date or to treat yourself.

Really cool décor and quick service. There were plenty of places to sit and the coffee was good.

Trendy interior, quiet atmosphere, decent enough customer service; if you want to work for long hours with a consistent supply of snacks and coffee, I would like to recommend this one. However, this caffe lacks originality unlike the nearby ones (Caffe Pardiso/​Espresso Royale). I definitely do not expect ready-​made pack of sushi in front of the cash counter of a caffe. Also, I saw a wide variation of breads and other baked products which did not seem appealing for my taste bud. I have had cappuccino and chai latte over here. Cappuccino was good but the chai latte was lukewarm and lacked spices.

The trainee at the counter was really nice and polite. The lady that was supervising her was very rude. When I ordered a drink called misugaru, the trainee was trying to figure out how to order. The supervisor came over rudely and asked me «what are you trying to order» in a really off putting way. The trainee was EXTREMELY polite by the way! When the drink came out it was not what I was expecting, and really gross. We spent $ 18 at the place, so I went to the counter immediately and explained it wasn’t what I was expecting and if possible I’d like to change my order. The trainee apologized and went to ask her supervisor. The supervisor, right in front of me, wouldn’t turn around. She told the trainee «ummm no I don’t think we do that». The trainee apologized. Bad experience. I didn’t expect a free drink, even though we spent a lot of money. I at least wanted the supervisor to look at me and explain instead of Laying it on the very nice trainee.
I ended up drinking most of the misugaru. I like healthy carb options, and it’s not all the bad. The initial taste was weird but it’s okay. It’s a multi-​grain mill drink. The only thing is that when I spend a lot of money at a place, and unfortunately order something I don’t enjoy, I hope the supervisor comes out to ask what’s wrong…

The coffee is quite good. It’s always my go to place in champaign. I love the space, it’s comfy and so good for working. Definitely cheaper than other coffee places in champaign. Usually order frappé coffee and never tried anything else though.
The place is getting better after a year opening.

Tea is better than coffee. Sandwich is okay.
Environment is great. Things look better than taste. A bit pricy.
A good place to study or spend time with friends here.

Terrible. My friend and I both found small black hairs in our sandwiches. I have long brown hair and she has long blonde hair. Ewwww. Never going back.

Caffebene is not necessarily my go-​to campus coffee shop, but I have always found it to be a great space to work. I absolutely love the interior! They always seem packed with students on weeknights during the academic year, but it is not hard to find a spot in the morning or early afternoon.
Their menu items tend to be a bit pricey. However, if you download an app called «Hooked» on your smartphone, you can get deals that include ‘buy one coffee drink, get one free,’ ’50% off any mojito drink,’ and ‘double scoop gelato for the price of a single scoop.’ This makes their drinks a lot more affordable.

Overpriced. The wait is forever. Don’t order anything when you are in a hurry.
Bubble milk tea is not as good as CocoMero. The only good thing is that they make it after you order it so you can adjust it by «less sugar», «less ice», etc. as opposed to the pre-​made milk tea at CocoMero which you can’t ask for less sugar. Besides that, CocoMero serves better milk tea (better taste with a similar price).
Pistachio macaroons are okay (don’t compare them to Ladurée). Other flavors are «meh».
Staff is nice today.

Sam the manager makes a special effort every time we come in! I recommend the green tea latte, and the star berry honey bread. The sandwiches are perfectly toasted and the meat to bread ratio is ideal.

Although they’ve only been around for almost half a year, I think Caffebene is getting a lot better! First things first, they did lower their prices (which actually scared me off initially) and they’re around the same/​less than Starbucks. They’re opening a new location on Green Street, so I hope they handle the first weeks better.
The interior is really trendy and usually quiet, so it’s a nice place to grab a cup of coffee and study. Their green tea frappé is alright. I think it’s a bit too icy and Starbucks makes it better. However, the honey bread is fantastic! I got the strawberry honey bread to go and it’s absolutely gorgeous how they package their food. The bread is really sweet and thick, drizzled in honey, and on top is an arrangement of strawberries in the form of a flower. I was wondering why it took so long for it to come out, but it’s definitely worth the wait! Their gelato is also fantastic and they give you a lot for $ 2. I recommend getting the green tea or Greek yogurt flavors.
They also have meal options and tons of the cutest desserts, so I definitely plan to return and try them!

Large area with nice atmosphere. Really fast and consistent Wi-​Fi. Spacious desks and really comfortable chairs. Perfect place to study or socialize, whichever suits your fancy.
It ends there. Their coffee is always a disappointment — the regular blend is too sour. Latte based drinks too heavy on the milk. Espressos are always overdrawn.
Im not sure about the safety standards either. I had the waffle with strawberries (overpriced, btw) and the strawberries smelled/​tasted fishy. That happens when fruits are old/​unclean/​beginning to rot, as I learned from my experiences working as a produce handler.
Service is not exactly unfriendly, but completely incompetent. They either have to ask your order multiple times or just flat out get it wrong-​both the type and quantity of the order.
I’ve also had a time when I’ve ordered a ‘for here’ drink (since they asked, «for here or to go?») and it was served me in a paper cup. I then went up two more times to get that same drink, and both times they asked «in a for here or to go cup?» so I said ‘for here’ and all three times it was given me in a paper cup. Insulting.

Food is average, if not below in quality. Prices are overprices as well. The service is okay. Friendly but not speedy.
Cheesecake is delicious, but not worth $ 5 a slice.

I think this place is so new that they still need time to work out their menu and service.
Staffs were friendly but service was really slow and there were barely any customers when I went.
Had coffee latte which was very very light barely any coffee taste… hmm not that good, my cousin tried the mojito and she liked it.
We also ordered the honey toast with strawberry and cream cheese, the presentation was very pretty but
I wish they would toast it a bit longer to give it a little extra crunch
Overall a good spot to chill if they can improve their drinks and food