Billy Barooz Bar & Grill

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  I've eaten here a couple times before and have been pretty impressed with the quality of food as well as the service...until my last visit. We met a couple there where we had drinks and then ordered an appetizer, I'm not a fan of the white cheeze whiz nachos with multi colored chips...I don't get why we need colored chips, but that's beside the point, anyway, the nachos were, ok. What started to burn me is that as we saw our heavily tanned waitress milling about she would immediately greet tables and once they had their drinks or whatever she was getting for them, as she left she wouldn't look at any of her other tables. We had to flag her down and ask if we could place an order, her was response was "Oh, yeah..." like she was unclear as to why we were even wanting her to come to the table. Anyhow, I order the barooz burger, it was marginal, very little flavor. I asked for extra pickle and got "only' pickle...honest mistake i suppose. Anyhow we all got our food, everything was fine but then when we were ready to leave had to flag her down again to get our check as she ambles up to our table with a somewhat puzzled look on her face as to what we could want...we go the same "Oh, yeah" again. I know being a server can be difficult but our party was by no means difficult. Just because you're experienced doesn't mean you're good. Anyhow, I suppose I would go back if invited by friends but don't know if my wife and I will alone. It's really a shame because with the bar they have the atmosphere there I would think it would be tips o' plenty on weekend nights-not from me that night, she's lucky she got 10%-

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  Posted on 05.03.13 Curt E.

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  This place does not have a hostess.  All tables are first come first serve, so be prepared to battle others for tables when they are busy.  Service was horrible too.  Our waitress took 5 minutes to come get drink order, another 5 minutes for us to see our drinks sit on a tray behind us, then 5 more before we actually had them in front of us.  The food, well it wasn't horrible but wasn't good enough to make me want to come back and experience that kind of service again. I would say service 0 stars, food 3 stars (sweet potato fries 5 stars).  With that I gave them 2 stars, which is a little bit high.  1.5 would be more accurate.

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  Posted on 01.11.13 Darren M.

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  Went there for dinner with a group of 9 around 7pm.  Place was busy, service was good, the server was very attentive to our needs.  The food I had was good, California burger.  Prices were fair...they had a ton of TV's if youre looking to catch a game or something.  They have an outside patio where we should had sat down, cause there were some decent looking cougars and panthers!

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  Posted on 07.11.12 Anthony P.

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  I love this place. Best steak sandwich in town. Good atmosphere.

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  Posted on 03.06.12 Les P.

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  This place was awesome. The atmosphere was kind of college - sportsy. It was clean and comfortable. Our server was friendly and the food was delicious and at a reasonable price.

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  Posted on 01.24.12 April P.

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  Hamburgers were fantastic!  Service was a little slow, but well worth the wait.  The chip-dips are amazing- highly recommend.  Aaron the store manager was very friendly.  I will come back next time I'm in town!

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  Posted on 01.02.12 Seth B.

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  Mr. Husband and I don't live too very far from Billy Barooz, and it's a great place for us to go after work when we don't want to cook or have Chinese or pizza. The food is solid. I love the California burger done medium rare - nice and juicy, and who doesn't love avocado? Their fries are pretty good, too. The prices are what I expect. Sometimes it's crowded, and the beer selection is pretty standard, and you have to seat yourself, and sometimes the servers aren't terribly attentive, but other times they will entertain babies or bring extra napkins and drink refills without being asked or charm your parents who are from out of town. I've had great experiences here, and mediocre ones, but I'm glad Billy Barooz exists.
  
  A practical note: If you have a group of four people or more, get the nachos as an appetizer. Three or fewer, just order the nachos with chicken or steak as a meal and split it. They're that large. Also, I am in love with the jalapenos on the nachos. Mmm.

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  Posted on 12.06.11 Grace C.

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  Had a very unpleasant experience here for breakfast!  I usually order steak n' eggs no matter where I go for breakfast.  Since the closing of Uncle Jacks, Billy Barooz is offering breakfast.  The only thing keeping this from a 1 star was the manager!  
  
  I spoke to the general manager, Brian, and explained how unsatisfied I was.  He was very concerned and apologetic.  If I choose to give them another chance, the next meal will be on the house.  In addition, I have ate here for lunch/dinner.  They have really good pub grub/bar food, but...THE BREAKFAST IS HORRIBLE.   For $12.99 I expect a decent size steak n' eggs.  The one being served here is paper thin!  Save yourself some money and order the steak n' eggs at Taffies, or Mary Ann's.  You will get the same paper thin steak, but at half the costs.

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  Posted on 11.06.11 Matthew M.

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  Eh- I can take this place or leave it.  I like the lunch and apps., but the breakfast is horrible.  Since Uncle Jack's closed down, Billy Barooz is now offering breakfast.  Unfortunately, it's no where the same level of food quality as Uncle Jack's.  
  
  I ordered the Eggs Benedict (Which I love everywhere else) and hated it here.  The English muffin was semi- thawed and mushy and instead of the eggs being slightly runny, they were completely hard- boiled. So gross.  I will not be back here for breakfast.  :(

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  Posted on 11.06.11 Kari T.

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  Not bad, but could be better, and certainly a favorite for local sports fans, though the whole-team crews often go to Jupiter's next door based on seating capacity.  We primarily go there for after-work drinks and snacks though I have eaten there on occasion.  Except during games and playoffs it's a civilized and reasonable place for such things.
  
  The food is oddly sub-par for such an operation - burgers are "meh" and the nachos are industrial, but good beer selection and an outdoor patio are nice.  I'm not a snob about pub-grub but both I and my friends are just a little underwhelmed there.  Fix that and they'd see a lot more of me.
  
  I think they would have many fewer customers if they weren't in the underserved and somewhat isolated Cherry Hills/Beige Subdivision area.

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  Posted on 08.02.11 Scott M.

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  Only acceptable when completely empty. If you go here when busy, you will just watch aggressive people who have been there ten seconds power past you to steal a table. When you finally get one, the waitstaff will suddenly take an interest and tell you someone else has already claimed this table.
  
  ABSOLUTELY AVOID

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  Posted on 07.01.11 Jay R.

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  Decent place. Food is typical upscale spots barish. Place can become really loud, but a great place to watch a game.

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  Posted on 01.16.11 Steve W.

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  Went to Billy Barooz after the Illini game this weekend.  It was packed, but  we easily found a seat.  The waitress was awesome and kept our drinks coming despite the place being busy.  She refilled my iced tea 3 times, too!  I had the yellowfin tuna special and my boyfriend had a specialty burger.  My tuna was fantastic.  The wasabi sauce they dressed it with was very unique and tasty.  I didn't care for the snow peas or rice that came as a side.
  
  My boyfriends burger was ok, his french fries were good, and overall, the prices are very affordable.  I'll definitely be back, probably to watch a game, as I think it would be a fun place to hang out to watch sports.  I also saw a artichoke crab dip that I'm planning to order next time!

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  Posted on 11.16.10 Jessica W.

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  We were in on Sunday to watch the Seahawks game (in IL?  Yes, I know.  And the hubby's not even FROM Seattle, he's a Jersey boy.  Go figure).  Our waitress, Lauren, made sure to keep checking in that the right game was on for us, and noticed right away that it hadn't switched over when it was supposed to.  Most servers would wait for their customers to complain or ask for help, so I really loved that she was keeping tabs on us to make sure we got what we needed.
  
  Odd nachos, but I think that's just a matter of personal taste.  The beer selection was pretty standard.  For a football Sunday, the place was actually pretty empty.  We thought we'd gotten lucky snagging ourselves a table, but the entire time we were in(~3-6pm) there were less than four groups in the place.  Do people not go to bars to watch the game in C-U?
  
  Anyway, 3 stars for the food and beverages, 5 for the service, 4 for the atmosphere.

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  Posted on 09.22.10 Kali M.

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  decent food and decent service. i've been here just a couple times (both times on a thursday with a football game bc it's close) and i've had decent experiences each time. did i say it was a decent place? k, just checking.
  being a picky meat eater, I opt for veggie dishes from places like this, so I have had a couple of their salads (sans meat) and their grilled cheese. salads are salads, nothing too special about them. their grilled cheese was pretty good...huge, cheesy, and greasy. usually can only eat half of it...
  each time we've gone the boyfriend has gotten a burger. says they're pretty good...juicy, coooked the way he wants and fairly big, but nothing outstanding.
  lots of tables and bar space...seat yourself type of place...tons of tv's...cheaper bottled beer (both times I just stuck with bud light)...clean...close to my house. however, nothing too special about this place and don't really see myself going back now that there aren't anymore thursday night games...

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  Posted on 01.28.10 Kate F.

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  My dad is obsessed with this place. He's also obsessed with sports (big Illini + baseball fan) so it's fitting. Definitely a place to go if you want to watch a game on the many TV's and have a couple beers and nachos. For dinner though, the menu is pretty good. I've had many things on the menu and haven't been upset yet. I'd say it can please just about anyone fairly well. Also, the service has always been excellent!

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  Posted on 07.27.08 Ashley B.

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  I agree with Jorden B. - the place is like a mini-Damon's with TV screens everywhere, sports regalia on the walls, it has beautiful hard wood floors, tables and booths, the whole place is centered around the bar, but it is wide enough that you don't feel like you are necessarily just going to a "bar." The food was good - I had a Cobb salad and my partner had blackened tilapia. Although the fish was dripping in oil and didn't really taste like fish, my meal and our appetizers were good. It is moderately priced, and definitely a community place. It's convenient for anyone in SW Champaign, and given its location, not many college students were in there (even on a Saturday evening). The lights over the booths were seriously annoying, though - they are the type that hang from the ceiling to within inches of your face so that you constantly feel like there is a hot  flashlight beaming at your face from above. I literally had to do the dorky hand-over-the-brow at times because I squinted throughout our entire meal. Service was decent. Quite obviously high school students and college freshmen, but they had at least been trained the basics of serving. No stalkerish service, yet they did not disappear either. Asked how the food was and refilled the drinks, but did not try to spend the entire time at our booth (even though the place was fairly empty). Gorgeous fireplace, too. I would do it again as long as the light situation were different.
  
  Update:  May 2008
  Saturday night with 3 others - it took 30 minutes to get food, although there were empty tables at 6:30pm. We had to get our own refills because our waitress never came back after the food was delivered. That being said, the food was great. BBQ chicken sandwich - huge, tender and sweet. Pasta with steak - creamy and delicious. Billy Burger - good. Some kind of oriental salad - decent. Pepsi products. Prices range from a sandwich ($8) to pasta ($11-15) and steak (to $22). Menu online at <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Featcu.com&s=00e7abc0a37cd346e31e74b4dc5ec022681d45d1bec2f77300af76500fade517" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://eatcu.com</a>.

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  Posted on 05.13.07 Jenna M.

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  Three stars because the food and beer list are really good, not four stars because all the seating is bar style seat yourself, which totally sucks when it's Ohio State weekend and there are 1 million age 50+ ohio state fans in town clogging up all the tables.
  
  If you want to go to a crowded sports bar, go to Guido's so you can see people under the age of 65 and not have to drive all the fucking way out to Windsor and Duncan.

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  Posted on 11.04.06 Sarah L.

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