Loved it! Its also great that they have the option of dining in, outdoor seating and takeout.I had the deep fried Catfish Fillet Dinner with sides of sweet potato fries , red beans & rice. I especially enjoyed the sweet potato fries. Its one of the best Ive had - looks visually appealing and tastes great. A mix of waffle-looks and pleasant sweetness .My friend had the blackened catfish drizzled with house remoulade - Served Carolina Style topped with slaw or Regular with lettuce, tomato and pickles.Would be coming again anytime in town. Highly recommended.

Shrimp and grits is so soulful. Everything from the fish,sides,specials are delicious. Great employees & cooks. Everything taste so flavorful and rich. I totally recommend Neil Street Blues! Keep up the good work !!

Best place to get catfish and soul food sides!Catfish is crispy and perfectly seasoned. Mac n cheese has just enough salt and pepper. Greens are real and not from a can! And the cornbread is soft. Overall great place to eat!

The food was excellent and staff was very nice. I had alligator poboy. The shrimp poboy had a nice kick. Banana pudding was best I have ever had. Philly steak egg rolls were really good and we had another appetizer that was very good as well. Honestly it is hard to pick the menu in general sounds great.

Neil St. Blues is one of the best all around places to eat in Central Illinois. Their menu contains some staple options, as well as plant-based substitutes. Neil St. Blues also has a full bar with a great drink menu. This black owned business is just a block from the Hyatt in downtown Urbana.

The food iS ALL GOOD! Tried a few apps fried green tomatoes, fried pickles, Philly cheese egg rolls. Ribs and fried chicken where great!

Honestly one of the best places to eat in Champaign. Absolute banger. Ordered a vegan burger and it was top notch. Owner was busy at the bar but still stopped by our table to talk to us. Id love to come again to see the live music.

OMG this place is great and love the ambiance. It’s great for a date night and place to hang with friends. The service was 5/5 the food was a definitely 5/5 I had the half rib dinner with mac and cheese and cornbread. The half rib was succulent and fell off the bone! I’ve never had ribs from a restaurant that tasted this good. The waitress told me they marinate them for 6 hours which you can definitely taste. My wife had the 4 chicken wing dinner with Mac and cheese and collard greens. She said the wings were hot , fresh and crispy! Mac and cheese and collard greens was a great portion size and delicious. It also came with a slice of warm bread underneath. We will definitely be back to try out more of the menu.

Great service. They are doing a great job complying with covid regulations. Fried chicken was amazing, shrimp and grits needed a touch of salt but that is what hot sauce is for! Overall highly recommend supporting this great local business. Looking forward to when they can have live music.

This place is AMAZING! The food was cooked to and seasoned very well! The customer service was great. Friendly staff.

Service is always super even when they have a full house. There was quick, helpful, and friendly service.

Food is great! However I wish employees were more attentive as you can never find a host to seat you or greet you.

What a GREAT night!!! Chef Curtis served up a variety of platters and explained each dish to us. Kierra and the other staff were pleasant, attentive, efficient. Nfinite Soul wowed us with their music. Incredible evening!!! Thank you!

Owners are very nice wait staff food was awsome keep up the good work

To start off, almost all the food our group had here was excellent! We ordered the fried catfish and shrimp and grits. The catfish, okra, fries, cornbread, and shrimp and grits were awesome! Their cheese curds are some of the best Ive had in town. The collard greens were just okay. There was also live music blues singers that provided excellent entertainment during our meal. The only reason I rate it lower than a 5 was the slow service. All the staff was super friendly, but they definitely have some organizational issues to work out. Our food kept being brought out to the wrong table, we waited a super long time before ordering and for our food to arrive. Theyre still relatively new so Im sure they will be more organized in the coming months. I would definitely recommend giving it a try if you havent yet!

Great service. Fast. Definitely delicious. Needed more salt in the greens and a tad bit more sugar in the sweet potatoes, but I’m from southern Indiana and we like sweet and salty.

Absolutely love the food, ambiance, and service. The owners are great people who really care about bringing amazing soul food to Champaign. Can’t wait to see how this restaurant grows!!

1st of many visits. Walking in, think upscale southern cooking. It is downtown after all. I agree with another reviewer that more could be done ambiance-wise that could lend itself to that concept. Playing blues all day doesnt carry that. I appreciate cleanliness, good service, and good food. Tables and place were clean, but utensils had soap residue. Menu is simple and easy to read. Service was good with a smile, but I may have ordered another drink had I had more attention. Food was perfect really. Catfish was hot and breaded well, okra was spot on, and the sweet potato fries had a splash of brown sugar which was a nice touch. Ribs fell off the bone and smoked well. BIG portions! After I asked for the drink menu (?!) I noticed a small, but well rounded selection. I tip according to the overall experience and left 20%. I have every intention of returning with friends. I hope this helps.

Frog legs are delish. Drinks are delish. Food is full of flavor & you’ll definitely need a box to take your food home. Jul was our server & he’s the BEST. We’ll be back.

Amazing food... Definitely on my list to re visit... Have to try the fried green tomatoes... Delicious.

Great food and service as always. Wonderful job with following guidelines during covid

This was an amazing experience. We were greated and seated immediately.They are only open for lunch on Friday through the week. The Friday special is a whole catfish and spaghetti and its a lot of food. One of my friends had this and loves it.I had the Philly cheese steak egg rolls. Let me tell you they were sooooo delicious!Another friend had the pulled pork sandwich and sweet potato waffle fries. She was equally impressed, especially with the fries.We had good service and an overall great experience!

Neil St. Blues provides great values that is hard to find in this town. Their portions are generous for the price point and both times Ive been here, the food I ordered was delicious. The fried catfish special with spaghetti is delicious and last night I had the gulf shrimp boil which included a pound of jumbo shrimp, potatoes, two pieces of garlic bread, two corn on the cob, and a giant turkey sausage. Our servers have always been very friendly as well.They have raised the price of their specials a little bit since they opened, but I hope they continue to keep their regular menu prices the same because I plan on coming back to sample the rest of the menu!

Courtney is the best and food was great,!!!! it was my first time there today . Yes We will be back

Me and my partner had mixed reviews on our takeout order. I got the Blues Burger which was super delicious! My partner got the yardbird and the two of us weren’t very big fans.

Decent experience. I got the yard bird sandwhich and my wife got the shrimp po boy. The best part of the meal was the fried okra. They killed that. Everything else was just meh. I would eat there again but Im not going to go out of my way. Not much else to say.

I am disabled. I cannot wear a mask. I do however wear a full faceshield. I had an order for pickup. I live out of town. I got there, my order was not ready. I was told the faceshield was not allowed. I already paid for my food. They made me put on a mask. I could not breathe, got dizzy, things went black for a second. I explained my health issues. Heck, I have a cane. Asked if they could bring my food to the door. After 10 minutes standing outside in the rain while customers laughed at me,I left. When I ordered, it did not state I could not pick up my food with a faceshield on. I paid already. If I had known this would be an issue, I would not have ordered from them. Wasted my time and money. I am also going to point out. I ordered online for pickup so I could have as little contact as possible with people. The gentleman at the door making me walk all the way across the bar to get an order I already paid for does not do that. If he had just told me that my order was not ready, I could have come back.

Best food ever. Clean and welcoming atmosphere. I ALWAYS stop when Im traveling I-74. Love this place!!!!

The food was pretty good, but the service was not great.

Food Amazing staff very helpful and our experiences good

Delicious food! Music and aura is wonderful. Great date nite location.

Original creole/Cajun cooking.

Good friend chicken and corn bread. Easy pickup

DELICIOUS! We ordered off of GrubHub, got catfish, which came with mac and cheese and candied yams, a vegan oyster mushroom po boy sandwich, and extra fries. We live across town from Neil Street blues about 5 miles and our food was delivered hot. The cat fish was meaty and succulent, crispy on the outside with a mild seasoned breading. Unfortunately I cant say much about the Mac and Cheese because I did not savor it delicately, rather I wolfed it down, taking quite large bites and chewing lethargicly, swallowing mostly whole noodles and figuratively throwing back the cheese. I was too excited, next time I will order a bigger portion. The Oyster Mushroom Poboy sandwich was filling, the texture and taste were satisfying, the veggies were fresh. I was happy to find so many vegetarian and even vegan options on their menu. Will try the vegan Jambalaya next time. Fries are fries, but Neil St Blues are better. Currently eating the candied yams as a desert, they are sweet and yummy. I plan to refrigerate some and eat them cold later after my numed edible kicks in. Ill for sure be ordering from here again. Thank you NSB!

09/27/2020Baked chicken dry and dressing needs seasonings of poultry, sage and its dry the breast part of the chicken dry. And it seems to have nothing but pepper on it.

I had it delivered so no comment on the service but The ribs were very good! Very meaty and portions very generous. Sweet sauce just right.

The food is exceptionally good, tasted like your mee maw made it! PoBoy was really tasty, big enough to share and the sweet potato fries were out of this world.

Great customer service...food was good... fresh...nice portions...will go back

Chef Curtis is a master, and this was our first time back in the area since he launched his new restaurant. We expected top-notch soul food and our every expectation was met and exceeded! Great atmosphere, congenial service, and delectable food. We will definitely return!

Our server, Jalisa, was so friendly and fast! Our first time visiting and we were very pleased. The shrimp and grits were amazing. My hubby and son both ordered the ribs, I sampled both~sweet and spicy. The meat just fell off the bone and both sauces were good. The atmosphere was comfortable, with downtown street views on both sides. Highly recommend this great new soul food cafe!

Excellent atmosphere. Great food & entertainment!

Very very good food.

Deliciousness and great atmosphere! Service was wonderful too.

The owner, shes one of the nicest people you Want to meet. The staff is great food is phenomenal

Service was a little slow but my food was great!!

Had dinner with 3 friends on a Friday night. The appetizers were good (fried food). Service was not great overall. Entrees were gross except the fried chicken and waffles- except the waffle didn’t come with any syrup. We had oysters which were very fishy. The creole pasta is what I ordered and I was sick all the next day (if you know what I mean). One friend ordered a whiskey and soda and got whiskey and coke. Perhaps a misunderstanding. Ordered again and specified whiskey and soda water. Got whiskey and regular water... Over all food and service were poor. Would not recommend or come back.

My Sorority #Deltagirl had our Founders fellowship this afternoon. The food was delicious. The staff was wonderful. Very attentive. I look forward to going back.

Wow. I am so disappointed in you Neil St. Blues. The Food is normally SO delicious. A friend and I made an order tonight. The food was rushed and didn’t taste the way that it usually does. I feel as though we were literally given left overs. If I’m paying my money for a business they should make sure I’m satisfied and take their time with my food, rather than just giving me anything.

Service is excellent and food is fantastic

Performed here before with our band (KALESA) and we loved the atmosphere, the food, and the staff. The owner, Gayle, is wonderful! I work part-time at the Hampton Inn Urbana, and I always recommend their restaurant when people ask for food places downtown to our guests

This place is absolutely amazing at their all white party. The food was delicious and the service was slightly delayed but they did not disappoint. The atmosphere is contemporary and spacious. Bathrooms were clean and in order. Looking forward to having lunch or dinner one day soon.

Excellent service, amazing food and strong flavorful drinks. Management is superb and go above and beyond to make customers happy. This is a go to stop for the weekends or any week day happy hour!

Chicken was good the greens wasnt that tasty

Great Service & Food. The jambalaya was really good. Employees were very pleasant and accomadating. Owner and Chef stopped by separately to make sure all was to our liking. Enjoyed the DJ on a Fri night. Wish I lived in the area to go for Bingo or to check out the live music. Son had the burger with the pulled pork and added bacon, he said it was fire.

3 Stars because they have not mastered being efficient on order turn around. The wait is absolutely too long. I have been coming here since they opened and gave them the room to get it together. At one point I was going twice a week. They have not improved on wait time. If your trying to run in out forget it you will be there at least 45 min before you get your food. Lunch (laughs) unless your taking the rest of the day off.Now all that said the food is good. Yet, for the price youll get quicker service at other establishments. I dont plan on going here to much anymore. I just cant pay for slow service.

The ribs are amazing as were the collard greens. I ordered from grubhub but Ill have to go to the actual location soon to try the rest of the menu

I feel like a traitor for visiting this place; it used to be the site of my favorite Irish pub in town, but the address wasnt the cause of its demise. It was a decent meal, and our waitress was super-attentive; one cant ask for much more out of a restaurant, after all! If you like Cajun or BBQ, you cant go wrong here...

I will be back with my friends. Wish it was closer to my house, I would come every week.

The William marsales blues band frikn rocks! My first time in champagne and. It was awsome

The food Is good but its a little pricey. They definitely have a lot of different items to offer. The owners are great. The atmosphere is definitely chill and relaxing.

Great food with a wonderful staff and a great variety of music. Every one who patrons in the downtown area should stop by.

Great food. Great atmosphere!

It was really a nice night out. We went on a Friday when they had live music. It was nice to have a place to listen to jazz music. The food was pretty decent. I had the catfish and it was well done. Would recommend.

The ambiance is great. Really chill music and you have an option of which side you want to sit on. Food came out quickly and tasted amazing! Owner was also present and made sure everything was good. Overall, good prices, tasty and good portions.

The food is amazing

I went to buffet on Sundays from 11am til 3pm. And experience the most awesome brunch . Everything was very fresh and hot and taste so delicious .

Love the place. Food is good. Go and have fun.

The Sunday brunch was ok. The server was nice , and the food was delicious. However for the price, the atmosphere and presentation could have be better. But I will be back. The food makes it worth it.

The Good Food Is Great! The Staff Are So Friendly And Welcoming!

First Visit. Service was horrible! Food was Bland with no real flavor.Disappointing.I doubt I would go back based on this experience.

I ordered the shrimp and grits, and I ordered spinach dip. I did not like neither one of them. My friend ordered fried fish with Mac and cheese and sweet potatoes. Both sides were very dry. My server took a while just to bring drinks to our table. Will not be back.

Awesome awesome place!

The atmosphere was great... the food was tasty... and the party kicked into gear around 10p... they offer a DJ on Saturday nights... and the DJ was banging...

Really nice place second time being there. Excellent live entertainment especially the local talent. The food is good but I had to send it back cuz it wasnt very hot but they took very good care of us. The service was subpar but the place in the ambience is so nice it kind of makes up for the poor service and cold food. With that being said decent service and hot food very nice spot

Great food! It was our first time there. Many different and unique choices. Service was excellent. We will definitely be back.

#NewStandardOfDiningSet experienced quality service, with updates on the food we ordered, menu drinks go from simple to custom in regards to tasting palate. FOOD WAS WORTH THE WAIT, FLAVORFUL AND ABOVE STANDARDS. BEST NEW SPOT IN TOWN. They can accommodate those who are physically handicap as well due to tables and seats of different heights and sizes. Music selection was great too. Nice spot for a treat yourself moment.

This place had Ribs so good that I thought long and hard about slapping my own soul out of my body! Instead, I just savored every little bite, and thanked them all for their outstanding food and service. They also have live bands and comedy shows!! EVERYONE should eat here! Once you do, it will be a marked stop every single time you are in the Champaign area!!

Sunday brunch 11-3. Plenty of tasty choices..appetite needed

We had a great time. Easy atmosphere, fun people.

Terrible service. The waitors and waitresses were great but the food took about an hour and a half to arrive. Also the bingo night was extremely loud and disruptive, even though we sat outside, when the bingo was inside.

I like what theyve done with the space. There is a nice big area for music or dancing. Then theres another section that is quieter if you just want to eat. There is also a bar. The food is excellent. Highly recommend the shrimp poboy and the fried okra. Staff is fast and attentive. Its reasonably priced. Cant wait to go back and try more dishes.

Had a delicious dinner, with friends. This place never disappoints.

Perfectly fried catfish. Light, flaky, not greasy. Collards so tasty youll drink the juice!

Great atmosphere. Food amazing! Ask if the chef has any specials for the day. This place will blow your mind!

Didnt have any food just a couple of beers nice place first time there

We went for Free N Fun Bar Bingo. Had the special. Steak Tacos.....they were delicious!Fun atmosphere and clean! Worth it!

My overall recommendation is to avoid this place. The atmosphere is decent, but the food and service were mediocre at best.I had ordered the chili and a yardbird sandwich. The chili was okay, but too salty, and the sandwich was quite a bit underseasoned. My friend ordered the Blues Burger cooked medium, but it came out more well done, which made it much tougher and harder to eat. Another friend also ordered a fried shrimp po boy which was so salty it was actually inedible. This may have been a one off experience but everything we ordered, with the exception of a salad, was either over or under seasoned.The service was also mediocre. When we arrived, we were led to a table that had not been cleared yet, so we had to wait a few minutes for it to be cleared. This is not a huge issue, and is normally one I would overlook. After we sat down, the waitress took our drink orders and nearly everyone at the table got water. However, it took an extremely long time for the drinks to come despite being such simple orders, and given that there were not many other patrons in the restaurant. Then after we ordered, the food also took forever to come out. It was at least 20 minutes for even the soups to come. Then after we had started eating the entrees, our waitress did not even stop to check up on us. My friend who ordered the salty shrimp po boy was out of water for around 10 minutes before the waitress finally came and refilled our drinks.Overall, our group of 6 spent $25 per person and over two hours of our time for mediocre-to-indelible food, underwhelming service, and a generic atmosphere. It left all of us with a bad taste in our mouths and we would not come back here.

I’ll cut to the chase. My date and I walked in, there was no staff in sight. We waited for about 5 minutes to be helped. We sat down I asked for the beer menu and my waiter (who was lovely) had no idea where the menu was or IF THEY EVEN HAD ONE! We ordered the nachos which were bad at best. The cheese tasted purely processed almost as if it came out of a can. The chicken on the nachos were rubbery and clearly had been frozen. My date ordered the triple threat burger which was also with out a doubt frozen and bland. I ordered the catfish which had the consistency of brand new Goodyear tires. Pure rubber. I had potato salad on the side, I couldn’t take more than the initial bite as it was the most vinager and mustard flavored slop I’ve ever eaten. The fries were good if you like ketchup. I wouldn’t recommend this establishment to anyone unless you participate in trivia night get hammered first then eat. If I was drunk this would be 5 stars.

Group of 8 for lunch- all ordered something different ranging from salads to pork chop special. I had Triple Threat Burger with green beans as side. Burger was delicious! Didnt really need it, but a couple of us ordered dessert- pecan pie and banana pudding - also delicious! We would definitely go back again.

Love the Clean Chic Atmosphere! Great Food, Great Music, Great Staff, Great People to Meet

Disappointed. Shrimp and grits just not up to par. Gumbo not up to par, got more rice than gumbo. The jumbalaya is tasty though, but this place is seriously overhyped.

Had a great time. The band was hot.

This place is amazing! The food was sooo good. Loved the cheese curds with marinara. The smoked ribs were really really good and the way the fries were cooked matched them perfectly. I had to give some ribs to my husband cus he was so jealous. Still he loved and devoured his catfish sandwich. The service was great, really kind and attentive staff. The environment is good too and exactly what you want from a blues place. Clean place as well. The southern taste was amazing and legit. Will definelty be back!

Food was good, music was awesome, be prepared for it to be loud in there

First time there last night & I really enjoyed myself. There were great vibes, music, the food was delicious. This will definitely be one of my go-to spots for now on

Loved Neil Street blues. Wonderfully designed and great food. All of the staff were wonderful especially Nikki! We were only in town for a week and visited on the last day but the next time, its Neil St. Blues every night!

Went on sunday morning, music was too loud. My Girlfriend went to the brunch buffet and I got a menu. I was told 5 minutes later that the regular menu isnt available until 1. I came for seafood and got stuck with biscuits and gravy and fried chicken. Buffet was ok, chicken was terrible. I might try it at night again. Underwhelming for sure.

Sunday brunch overrated and over priced. Bottomless mimosa way to go.

Have been to this establishment a few times in the past and had no issues. This evening a table very near to me did not receive their food for over an hour. They were extremely gracious even when the manager argued with them. The owner refused to come out to address the issue even when my party requested her to do so. We were even told she was on site and refused to come out. Complete lack of customer service. Will not visit this establishment again.

Great service with a family atmosphere