Crane Alley

Definitely a staple for me when I lived in Urbana. The bar features a huge selection of craft beers and cocktails, as well as $ 2 PBR pints for the frugal drinker. The atmosphere is fantastic. Weather-​permitting, I always sit outside in the alley, but the indoor seating has a pleasant, relaxed ambience to it. As far as the food goes, you can’t go wrong with any of their burgers. They frequently feature creative specials that are worth exploring. Their half sandwich, half soup/​salad lunch deal is a good option if you’re looking for something lighter.

It was a busy day. I called the lady I usually see to get my fingernails pulled out, but she was on vacation, so I stopped by the guy’s place who pisses on your leg for $ 18 and tells you it’s raining, but he was at his urinalysis, so I decided to just go to Lacy’s. The owner of Lacy’s got arrested, so I went next-​door to this godforsaken turd burglar commune to get my daily dose of guaranteed disappointment. It was terrible like a french kiss with a flu-​stricken meth-​mouth wench after a garlic bagel breakfast.
The salads are shockingly barren of any of the advertised ingredients other than lettuce. The falafel is akin to balled mashed potatoes and shares a similar sharpness of flavor. The wait times times are what you’d expect at a place that does live butchering-​to-​plate service. The fucking chicken wings are breaded. Who does that? This restaurant employs what I call «Urbana pricing» where each item costs more than anyone would ever pay in a city with enough restaurants to compete with each other.
If there is a restaurant in Champaign County with a worse menu, as low quality food, and as consistently bad service as Crane Alley, please tell me about it. I probably wouldn’t go there ever again either.

This is one of my go to places in downtown Urbana. Great atmosphere and staff, you can’t go wrong whether you’re heading to happy hour after work or if it’s date night with your significant other.
What’s great about Crane Alley is the welcoming atmosphere inside, and ample seating so you really never have to wait for a table. One of my favorite parts is their outdoor seating in the alleyway (don’t worry, it’s not a creepy alley!). It’s the perfect setup for the warm weather and when the lights are lit up at night it’s absolutely beautiful.
This is truly a place that has something for everyone. Their beer selection is always spot on, and always has something new to try every visit. Their food is great, especially their chilli and buffalo chicken sandwich.
Bottom line: no matter what the occasion, this place will not disappoint.

Came here for lunch with a friend and wasn’t very impressed. We ordered bloody Mary’s which were very good and only $ 6, I’ll take that! We also ordered the BBQ wings and the chili cheese fries — neither were very good at all. I understand that we aren’t exactly ordering delicacies here, but I’ve never really met a wing that I didn’t like until today. The wings were sort of fatty and the sauce wasn’t very good and also had kind of an odd consistency. We ended up leaving a few we disliked them so much. The chili cheese fries were edible, but looked and tasted like something that your mom threw together for lunch when you were a kid. Just not very good. However, our server was very efficient and they have a really nice outdoor seating area.

I don’t normally like falafel sandwiches but I love theirs. They also serve delish hot pretzels with cheese, good veggie pasta dishes and a yum vegetable sandwiches. Fun and interesting beer choices. Half Acre now on tap. Always great service and priced right.

I’m rarely disappointed here, the beer selection is 2^nd to none, not just in the area, in the entire state! The chili is always excellent and my favorite sandwich now is the buffalo chicken, its perfect.
I don’t need much of an excuse to go to Crane Alley, its always a treat, and with warmer weather, sitting outside is even more reason to go.

Maybe the most underrated bar/​restaurant in all of CU. Granted the food can be hit or miss, but for a bar, the food is generally good. As I have attended many work functions here, I can attest that there is something for everyone on the menu. Aside from typical bar fare they often have unexpected items (ragout nachos, falafel).
A main draw for me is the beer selection. Always seasonal with a large number of taps. They have many local (ish) beers on tap from Tryptich, Revolution, Two Brothers, etc. You can even mix and match beers for a beer flight which is always a good gimmick.

The atmosphere here is very casual, there are pool tables and it kinda has a bar vibe. There were very few people there while I was.
While I really enjoyed the Mezze Plate I ordered, I didn’t think the price reflected the atmosphere and service over all. There was no bread served, my glass of water was constantly empty, and the friend I had dinner with requested to have vegetables instead of mashed potatoes with her salmon and was immediately turned down. For what she was paying, you think the server would have made some attempt to replace the potatoes for another side…
Again, the food was good, but I will not be back anytime soon.

Restaurant review
I really wanted this place to have the best burgers in town but it fell short of that expectation. We came here as a second option after we found out Farren’s was closed for lunch. There was nobody here during the lunch hour which was nice because I could select that Chicago Bears game on the TV. They did end up losing however I enjoyed my meal while watching them lose. I was expecting more from their menu but I went with the war pig burger. This has half a pound of meat, bacon, grilled ham, and gorgonzola. Surprisingly even though there wasn’t that many people at the restaurant it took quite a long time to prepare the lunch. I was a little disappointed with the brioche bun as it was slightly crispy. The burger patty itself lacked the strong meat flavor and was a little bit chewy however maybe it’s my fault because it came out medium instead of medium rare. The fries were nothing exciting and I should have upgraded to the sweet potato fry. I think I’ll go back to Farren’s next time I’m looking for a burger.
Pros: Not too busy friendly service and lots of TVs
Cons: The food quality is so-​so in the burgers are nothing special
Hidden deals:
There was no special deals I found
Health code rating: B. Food appears to be prepared clean. The report indicates the restaurant/​bar area could be cleaner.

My brother and I had dinner at Sitara (just around the corner) and decided to chat for a bit over a few drinks before he had to move on to other plans. Crane Alley is quite an interesting establishment. It is a proper restaurant, but also serves quite well as a late night bar. Pool tables were getting good use before 9pm. Since we had already eaten, we just needed drinks. No issues with us taking up a table. The drink menu is quite extensive. Impressive. I am not a big drinker, but they Lambic bottles. I got raspberry. My brother got a few beers. Our bill was $ 20. I’d like to stop by another time to try out their food. Folks around us seemed pretty happy with their food.

Back when I used to drink, on an occasion, there was a «vibe» I was looking for– dark, dive-​y, with the option of smoking a cig in an alleyway where I could see the stars.
When I got that urge, Crane Alley was one of the options.
When they put out the tables, and the tiny lights are lit, sitting in that alley, traffic passing by, it’s easy to forget– the stress of the day, the problems at the other end. But, booze is booze and as far as CA is concerned, unless you’re drinking off the tap (which is a good option), it don’t come cheap.
I will say this… drinking here is a different experience. There’s a sleazy undertone, stuff’s dirty, bartenders (and even the barbacks!) are rude (dismissive). And it’s not because they aren’t making tips… leave your money on the bar, and they’ll just help themselves (had it happen numerous times to me… as a matter of fact, one actually wrote _​in_​her tip on my credit card, once).
I wouldn’t spend the money on the food. You can find a hundred different places near to have a better meal. If you’re just gnoshing to keep up with the liquor, that’s one thing, but if you want a bite with a beer, try everyone’s favorite, Farren’s! =D
All together, if it’s what you’re looking for, CA fits the bill. There are better places out there, though.