If you're vegan, stay away.
If you're strict about your vegetarianism, stay away.
If you have any dietary restrictions, stay away.
Unless you enjoy repeated occurrences of:
1) "Without bacon please"
2) Receiving bacon on sandwich
3) Having the kitchen take the bacon off but return the same sandwich still covered in bacon grease. Â Not really what I had in mind...
Alternating visits yield either:
1) "Oatmeal is made with water"
2) "Oatmeal is made with milk"
So either they change their recipe really often or the staff have no idea what's going on. Â
Vegan breakfast option: Â Cup o' fruit
"Vegetarian" breakfast options: Â You've been warned.
We had a medium sized party  on a tight lunch schedule, so meals were preordered to save time. The waiter never introduced himself, never asked when our whole
Party had arrived and we had to ask for our meals which arrived at 12:45. Just about 5 minutes to eat before heading back to work. The others in the party said they could be a few minutes late so they were able to "enjoy" their food. I give quotes because I think my dish was terrible. Im not sure what the others thought but there were no oohs and aahs.I ordered the scallops which were small, way over cooked, and made me sick about a 1/2 hour later. Â This is a major disappointment to be so bad when there is so much potential and talent in this town.
They have changed the fish tacos and I do not like them as well as I did before. Â If you sign up on Houlihan's website they send you a coupon on your birthday for a free entree up to $15.00. Â I went today and ordered the Tao Chipolte turkey wrap with chips and salsa and french onion soup. Â The wrap wasn't bad. Â It had good flavor but the wrap itself was dry so it crumbled some. Â The french onion soup was really good and the chips and salsa were OK. Â All in all it was a good free meal. Â The server was attentive and the atmosphere pleasant. Â Very clean and chic.
Review Source:So here's the thing: after 4 times here the service has been consistently friendly but incompetent.
For example, today I got sat in a nearly empty restaurant, and the host forgot to bring a menu. She said she'd bring one right back, and then forgot (I watched her stand at the host stand, bored). Took 5 minutes to get one from waiter.
This is the kind of thing you'd forgive as a fluke, but you watch and see table-waiting basics being flubbed all over the place. Last time, I watched *three* different customers standing up and approach a waiter stand asking to find their waiter. My service was slow, and didn't anticipate common needs (like a coffee refill at breakfast).
My food came out partially cold and partially hot, which is either a kitchen timing issue or a tardy waiter who left food sitting in the window too long.
Seeing as it doesn't seem to be one bad server, I'd guess this the result of poor training--which is usually a management issue.
If you can survive the service, the hip/classy atmosphere has rich dark wood, orange lighting, and attractive window bays looking at Memorial Stadium on the south tip of campus. The menu items I've had have been either decent or great.
Worth a try, I suppose, but bring patience.
The service here is awful. Â Though I can't say it was all bad, our waitress was pretty awesome. Â She was on top of her shtuff. Â First off, we wanted to sit in the bar Saturday night to watch the Olympics but there was a wedding reception going on. Â Weird? Yes, but that's Illinois I guess. Â
We waited around for at least five minutes before flagging another server down to finally get a table. Â I also gotta say, the drinks here (besides the long islands) are expensive! Â They're about twice as expensive as other/nicer Houlihan's I've been to. Â It must be because it's connected to the hotel. Â
Anyways, the food was hit and miss. Â My bf ordered the panko shrimp. Â Everything was perfect and delicious except for the coleslaw, which was like shredded cabbage and mayo that had been mixed two seconds before so it wasn't marinated at all. Â I had the seared sea scallops. Â Sadly, the scallops were more like bay scallops. Â Pretty tiny in comparison to the same entree I got at a different location a few days earlier. Â At least they were perfectly cooked, since the risotto was a fail. Â It was starchy and unappetizing. Â
Needless to say, I doubt I will be returning to this location though Houlihan's is one of my favorite restaurant chains.
Yum! Â That hit the spot! Â I wandered around campus for a good hour looking for a place to enjoy a nice meal and glass of wine but had no luck near the college, so I came back to the hotel where I am staying. I wanted a steak but thought the 8 oz filet was a little pricey and large so I settled on the 4 oz filet (and subbed fries for a house salad for $2). Â My steak was perfectly cooked and was served with a side of broccolini and a dab of buttery sauce for only $10!! Â The 8 oz fillet is only $25 and comes with sides and a salad so that's not a bad deal either. I also had breakfast here this morning and was very satisfied with my scrambled eggs and bacon. I would definitely recommend this place. I know it's my first review, but it's legit. :)
Review Source:Make sure you order the grease on the side. Â
When I told our (clearly hungover) waitress that my grease-laden sandwich on stale bread was unacceptable, she took it back to the kitchen, where they clearly wiped it off with paper towels and threw it in the microwave before re-serving it to me. Â She barely apologized before taking it off the bill. Â Classy.
The rest of my party's food was below average, as well. Â
Don't waste your money here. just use the little iHotel vouchers at the coffee shop. It may not be as large a meal, but at least it won't take half an hour for a hungover waitress to bring you coffee.
Over a year passed since I had last stopped by Houlihan's. Â A friend recommended coming here for happy hour. Â Based on my prior experiences, I knew to keep my expectations low. Â Instead, I had a great time. Â I came back a few days later and had another pleasant meal. Â As far as chain restaurants go, Houlihan's ranks well above average. Â I've skimmed the other reviews, and I can't be sure if I've just been lucky, but I certainly didn't suffer the problems of other customers (e.g., bland food, poor service).
Lunch options are generously portioned and reasonably priced. Â Complimentary soup or salad is served with entrees, sandwiches/wraps, and pizzas. Â I've tried the baked potato soup and chicken tortilla soup and have trouble picking a favorite; both are savory and very thick/hearty. Â If you're concerned about skimpy salads, each of the signature salads come with a healthy proportion of greens-to-"toppings" (candied pecans, Gorgonzola cheese, chicken, etc.).
The tapas-style menu really makes this a fun spot for happy hour. Â There are a LOT of options here (more than 40+), ranging in size from small to medium to entree-size. Â You'll find something, even if you're a picky eater (and Houlihan's takes special consideration if you mention being gluten-intolerant, vegetarian/vegan, etc.). Â I love being able to pick out a few things to share with friends, but I can also see this as a great option if you have a light appetite and want truly modest portions of rich mashed potatoes or filling pasta. Â (Or if you have a diverse appetite and just want to eat bites of a lot of different things!) Â You can get small, "appetizer"-sized portions of their mac-and-cheese (yum!), grilled skewers, asparagus salad, and white bean hummus (DELISH). Â I eat hummus as an appetizer at many places, and while they vary in success, I found Houlihan's hummus with grilled pita to be plate-lickingly GOOD (surprising especially for a chain!).
The other essential element for happy hour are drinks, and Houlihan's is stocked with a full bar, along with a menu of suggested cocktails. Â Some of these drinks are more sophisticated, compared to the corn-syrupy messes you get served at most chain restaurants. Â For women watching their weight, Houlihan's also serves a number of fruity drinks from the "Skinny Girl" brand (great for minimizing the damage that restaurants can do to your diet).
An unexpected pleasure just south of the UIUC main campus. I agree with some others that this is an upscale version of TGIF. Â Burgers were good, price was fair, food was prepared correctly, and service was okay. Â I never pin my hopes too high on anything in this town (except for the outstanding academics), but as stated, my positive experience here is noteworthy.
Review Source:The manager was the rudest person we have ever met. Â Went in there last Friday night with 6 other people and we walked into the bar and grabbed a table that was open. Â He walked over and started to berate our group for not checking in at the hostess stand. Â Then he proceeded to slam down menu's for us and said in a rude tone "Here are your menu's" Â needless to say his lack of professionalism forces us to leave this horrible establishment. Â
I will never go back there and will tell everyone else to never go there!
This is delicious! I had never been to a Houlihans before and it is great. At lunch I get the mini burgers and salad combo and it is great- a little pricey. If it was $7.95 or so I think that it would be a better deal but the food is really good. At dinner time they have a menu that included mac and cheese for $6 and it is GREAT!!!! This is a place worth going!!
Review Source:stopped down here for a quick lunch. my friend and i ordered a few of the small plates to share which ended up being the perfect amount of food. we shared the bbq chicken flat bread pizza and the spinach dip appetizer. we also each got a cup of soup. i had the french onion, which was alright. the pizza was tasty and the dip was relatively light considering how heavy spinach dips can be sometimes.
service was great. our waitress was very attentive.
I was only there once, waiting for the bus after the Home Show at Assembly Hall. Â I was there after lunch hour but before dinner, on a Saturday, so things were very quiet. Â Sat at the bar, was almost alone.
The Fish Tacos were the best I've had "inland". Â I'll go back just for them!
The prices were a bit high, like many in-hotel places I guess they assume everyone is on an expense account.
What a neat little place! Amazing ambience. Of course, the place will really light up on a game day.
They have got a good menu. A good selection of small plates (2-4 of these would be one meal) with very reasonable prices. A traditional selection of regular appetizers.
The drink selection is great. They have pretty much everything on the menu but I dont know if they really have it behind the bar. The happy hours are very attractive. Not as much as other places but still great.
We went for a dinner one evening. We were served by an apprentice waiter. She did a good job and the person over seeing her was very courteous and respectful too. They offered to correct our drink when we were not satisfied with the one we got. The beer selection is satisfying.
The small plates are delicious and will leave you wanting more. But thats what they are designed to be. Delicious small portions. The sliders are tasty. The chicken is moist and tender. Great going so far.
The entrees are a hit or miss. I particularly did not like my Salmon. It was tough, chewy and smelled a little. I do no like seafood when it smells of seafood. Yeah .. fresh seafood does not smell at all and feels tender yet firm when you cut it / chew. This one was definitely a miss. The grilled shrimp entree was good. The shrimp did not suffer the same fate as the salmon.
Save room for desserts for sure! Good selection of individual desserts priced reasonably.
Highly recommended for:
happy hours
small plates
appetizers
desserts
bar menu
Inconsistent about:
entrees
Looking forward to try their brunch!
Watch out for:
the happy hour listed on the site is no longer valid. They have a different happy hour configuration now.
I've been Houlihans several times and I am definitely a fan. While the service has definitely been dopey at times, our food has always been very good. The apps, entre's and even the salads have all been great. I really recommend giving this place more than one chance to shine. The only downfall I feel this place has is the prices- but it's in a hotel, when's the last time you got anything for a normal price in a hotel? It's like buying hot tamales at the theater-
Review Source:I actually think this place is decent for a nicer version of TGI Friday.
Service was good. Food was nicely decorated and tasted good. I got the filet mignon which was good but it wasn't worth 22 bucks. my friends on the other hand got fish tacos and they all liked it ($10). we got Bruschetta(?) for appetizer which was really good. Ambiance was cool. Decent (albeit expensive) drink menu. I mean, it's a fine dining version of TGI, what did you expect?
Overall, I enjoyed my visit there. I would go back there again.
Visited once. Personally, I thought it was overpriced for the quality and quantity of food received, and the service was lackluster at best.
Five of us went after work for drinks; we didn't expect to have dinner, but we were all a little hungry, so decided to get a light fare before some went out to a party later that evening.
I don't drink alcohol, so I ordered lemonade ($2.50, and it was just ok - not very tangy), and a cup of their potato soup, and house salad with blue cheese (each $3.95). I can't believe they don't have light French dressing......this is criminal.
I was disappointed that the server couldn't keep the salad orders straight; unfortunately, two of us ordered salads with white dressings; her's ranch, mine blue cheese (since there was no French dressing!). The other gal had to serve as 'taste tester' to determine which salad had ranch and which had blue cheese dressing.
For $11.26 (plus my decent tip since I'm not usually bitchy unless the service is really really bad!) I don't think I will likely return to Houlihans on my own free will. If however, someone really wanted to meet me there, I might go for the company and stop at McD's on my way home.
I agree with the first review...I get the feeling it is a step up from Friday's, but is a bit more trendy and refined. I was impressed nonetheless. The lighting was intimate and a great start to the evening of debauchery ahead.
I had the herb-grilled chicken. Healthy, delicious. As a desert, my date and I split a creme brulee and a white chocolate banana cream pie. HEAVEN on my Houlihan's table!
Houlihans constantly underwhelms me... and by constantly, I mean the two times I've gone there. Â I think that for the quality/taste of food, it's way over priced. Â I have had the SW chicken wrap, which mentions jalepenos, but I found it incredibly bland. Â My dad liked his sandwich... but it was like ham and cheese with mixed greens, it's not that hard.
The decor is cool, I just think the prices are a little bit ridiculous for the quality of food in Champaign.
Houlihan's is kind of a pseudo fine dining version of a TGI Friday's. Â The menu is similar to what I would expect from TGI Friday's, but the decor is a lot more trendy right down to the super obnoxious aluminum menus. Â Although the menu items are fairly pedestrian, they have little twists (chevre on the bruschetta instead of the more expected mozzarella, for example) and there is a big focus on presentation. Â This makes for wonderful looking food, but the taste doesn't quite hit the mark. Â Some of the cool looking little food sculptures are also very difficult to eat. Â My bruschetta came with a little minced olive tower that looked like a cross between a wine cork and something out of the cat box, which was none to appetizing.
Most of the food I had tasted OK, but the fried asparagus stands out as being notably bad. One of my pet peeves is tough asparagus, and the stuff here was enough to make me go postal. Â It was over breaded, over cooked, and the asparagus was actually chewy. Â Gross. Â I couldn't bite through the asparagus, so when I tried to eat it, the asparagus slid out of the breading leaving a pile of greasy panko straws on the plate. Â The horseradish dipping sauce was good, but lacked zing. Â At $10 for a dozen bad pieces of asparagus, this should definitely be skipped.
As is usually the case with chains, the menu descriptions made the food sound divine but the taste did not live up to it. Â It's not bad, mind you, it's just forgettable. Â This was particularly the case with the "mini desserts," which are actually full sized desserts; one is plenty for two people. Â Thinking they were much smaller than they turned out to be, we got a $6 trio of pecan pie, banana cream pie, and chocolate cake. Â All were very cold as if they had just been removed from a long stay in the fridge. Â All were also very bland and had terrible texture. Â The pies were both runny, and the chocolate cake was dry and made Hostess cupcakes look gourmet. Â Like everything else, they looked fabulous, and were also very reasonably priced, but don't let that fool you. Â They're really not worth it. Â
So overall, I give Houlihan's a resounding "meh." Â It's not bad, but I certainly didn't find it to be particularly good. Â I'm giving three stars because the service was better than I would expect from a newer place so close to campus, and they definitely deserve credit for having such a well trained and capable staff.
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