We came here with a decent-sized group (about 10 people) for a friend's birthday. Â Lots of unique pizzas on the menu, so we were excited to try them out. Â Sadly, it ended up taking about an hour to get our food after ordering! Â We sat out on the patio and were the only people out there. Â The inside didn't seem crowded either, so I'm not sure why the service was so bad. Â The pizza was okay, but nothing to write home about. Â (It didn't help that it had gotten cold!) Â It might have been a better experience had we taken advantage of the billiards tables while we were waiting, because it might not have seemed so long. Â Maybe that's the idea?
This happened about three years ago, so maybe things have gotten better. Â I'd say to be safe though, go to the Jupiter's in downtown Champaign... or another pizza place or bar altogether!
First of all, I should be able to write two different reviews--one for the food and one for the service. Â I love their pizza, seriously, I'm going to miss it so much now that I'm gone. Â I also think the Crossing location has good appetizers and their menu is a lot larger than the downtown location. Â However, there service is consistently bad. Â Now, I'm normally a big tipper regardless of the service, because I know waiting tables isn't a fun job, but the last time we were there I told the person paying the bill to leave a VERY small tip. Â I wish I could identify, by name, the server we had, but oh, he didn't even introduce himself. Â When he was taking our order, he didn't even look at us. Â He was, literally, staring at another table the whole time. Â He also gave us attitude when we all asked for silverware, who knew this was a problem? Â It was very weird and kind of put a damper on my final meal before moving away from Chambana.
I've also had some weird experiences while enjoying the downstairs arcade, but it was never from staff, but fellow customers.
Mediocre pizza made from frozen crusts. reviews that call this pizza "good" have either had too much from the bar, or haven't had pizza other than frozen or pizza hut. Â This is basically a big, no, giant, no, HUGE bar with bar-pizza and a video game pit in the basement for kids to run wild. On any given night, the place is crowded with cougars on the prowl and biker wannabees. Â To add some flair to the place, right next to where the kids run wild in the basement (think chucky-cheese unsupervised with drunk parents upstairs) is an OTB gambling center. So, pick your vice - drink or gamble, while your kids run wild in the gaming area. heck, you can do both!
Interesting update: the owner defended the gambling as a "high class addition" saying he lived in the neighborhood. Â Of course, he's since moved away.
I try to avoid at all cost. We only go when my kids are invited to a b-day party and we can't refuse.
the kids have fun if they've got about $20 in coins. Â less than that and they are among the many (MANY) kids walking around asking any adult they can find for money.
(this is a repost of my review, which was filtered. funny, I live right nearby, and wrote a real review, although negative. Â non-filtered reviews are from out-of-towners. Um, what's up yelp? your founders are from UofI afterall!)
4.5 stars
We got to Jupiter's with a large group and had reserved some tables in the lower level (which was "closed", we felt like such VIPs yo :P). I really liked the atmosphere, even though the basement level was empty besides us.
Jupiter's is obviously a lot of fun. Our group mainly stayed at the billiards tables, but a few of us strayed to the games and liked them. Again, the vibe of the place was pretty great. We really liked the music that was playing. It wasn't top 40 stuff, but it wasn't stuffily indie or anything. It was just... good music. You knew the words to some of the songs, you liked the songs you'd never heard before. Good stuff.
The pizza is really good! Wow. Thin crust little square slices (of a circular pie... which is a little awkward) that were so easy to inhale 20 of... I had some of the vegetable pie, the no-cheese vegetable pie, the barbecue chicken, the Hawaiian, and the regular cheese. I'm trying to figure out how much I ate, with each square being about 2x2 inches? About? And I ate............. many of those. Plus several of the awkward little round edge pieces.
Our bartender was also very accommodating to the giant group we brought in. He made me ginger ale with some non-alcoholic bitters and Sprite. The bar looked very well-stocked, even though few of us could enjoy that. (Under 21 ftw!) He was great about giving us all our drinks, passing over the pool balls, and processing our orders. The pizza took a bit of a while (our second round did, anyway), but we were having a great time and didn't mind all that much.
All in all, such a fun place to go! I hope I get to come back and play the rest of the games with some friends, because it is seriously just a fun, hip, little... ah, I just loved it. XD
This place is close to my home, so it's an easy place to go for a drink and some good thin crust pizza. Although I like this place, the other reviews about the service are probably true. I've had a few instances that the service just isn't that great. This place is so big that it really needs a lot of organization and attentive wait staff. Â
Overall, I like that we have an "adult chuck-e-cheese" where every now and again it's fun to enjoy beers, video games, and pool. It's worth checking out.
Pizza was amazing, but service was terrible. Â We were given three menus for table of 16. Â The waiter literally told us that the kitchen 'couldn't be bothered' to keep 1/4 of our pizza just cheese for one of our family members. Â Our Food took forever to get out, came nearly 40 minutes after another tablemate got their food. Â And we didn't get our appetizers (garlic bread) until the exact time as our dinner.
Review Source:Overall sort of noisy and would be a great place to have a beer and play pool, but there are kids everywhere on the weekends. Â Pizza is ok, though I do sometimes have a craving for it, especially their smoked salmon pizza with dill, only place in town to get it, though it hasn't been as good the last few times we have gone.
Review Source:I've done Jupiter's twice now, and both times were average.
This most recent trip was a weekday lunch. Â We were one of three tables filled in the place, and it was straight up noon (not a good sign to me). Â The restaurant is very open, with pool tables, a large bar and a fair amount of TVs. Â Our waitress was attentive and gave good recommendations.
I went with one - the Enchilada Pizza with steak (other option was chicken, which I would have chosen but our waitress said the steak was the way to go). Â I liked the pizza - thin crust, about 10" - especially the load of chopped veggies and refried bean puree decoration on top.
I was in charge of planning my 15-year high school reunion here in October. Â I live about 500 miles away from my hometown so this was a little challenging. Â Someone recommended Jupiter's to me so I checked them out online. Â I worked with the manager via email and he was extremely knowledgeable and made excellent recommendations. Â The night of the event was great. Â We had an AMAZING server who was extremely attentive. Â My only complaint is the speed that the food came out. Â I would recommend requesting it be set out 15 minutes prior to what you're wanting since it takes a while to set up. Â We had lots of food leftover as well. Â It was all very tasty!
Review Source:Good place to go and have fun. Â Went for a large office party and there was plenty of room. Â The wait staff was responsive to us and the food was pretty tasty, especially the chicken barbeque pizza. Â
A downside and word of warning to people who use their debit cards for tabs...if you use your debit card for a tab, this establishment charges in $25.00 increments. Â I have three $25.00 charges holding on my checking account on a tab that was settled that night. Â Six days later and the charges are still in my pending queue with money tied up. Â (I bought a lot of drinks and appetizers for people, I guess!) Â Just be prepared for this. Â It is how they do things and takes nothing away from my enjoyment of this particular restaurant/bar while I am there.
This place has good pizza and friendly staff. We have had a couple of office parties here and at the most recent one, the waitstaff was incredibly attentive and courteous. The food was correct as ordered and put out after people started arriving, so it was all fresh and very tasty.
The game room in the basement is great for kids but it is loud and hectic. The pool tables on the main level and upstairs are great!
I absolutely lovelove this place! Being new to the area, the bartenders are very nice, talkative, knowledgable and remember you. No drink specials at this location, which is a downer, but there arent many college students here-which is good sometimes. Of course the pizza is very good- try the bbq chicken deliciousness. What makes this place different is that they have many arcade games, 2 floors of fun and an outdoor patio. I am not sure why there are so many bad reviews but i love this place!
Review Source:Update: they do have HD now for every tv I saw. On a third visit, I toured the whole place: The gameroom downstairs is a total zoo, with rugrats running amok. As a gamer, I can tell you that the games they feature are a little dated but appear to be in good condition. The top floor has a smoking balcony and a place for a band to play. They have buffet service up there for private parties, but the spread appeared limited to mass portions of their regular menu items.
This brings me to the biggest let down of Jupiter's II for me and the reason this place remains a solid 2 stars: the menu is extremely limited. If you are hungry, they have: Â pizza, salads, fried appetizers, and pitas with dips. That is it. That is all. I like pizza a lot, but it is kind of hard to convince the whole crew to come to a place where the selection is so limited.
We were passing through town on our way to Indianapolis and needed a place to have dinner with our kids. Â This place was recommended by a local, so we went without doing any research. Â When I checked in with Yelp upon arrival, I was instantly worried as most reviews were 2 stars. Â I decided to give it a chance without reading any of the reviews, and I'm glad I did. Â It was a Friday night around 6pm and the place was busy, but not packed. Â My family of six sat on the main level in a booth big enough for all of us to sit comfortably. Â Their pizza was good-- not great, but just fine-- good enough that I would get it again. Â My wife was thrilled that they offered some healthier toppings like olive oil, artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, etc.-- she was able to create a personal pizza that was exactly to her liking. Â Our server was a bit "spacey" but it didn't affect her service, just her conversation skills. :) Â She was young, though, and the right age to work at a place like this so it really didn't bother me. Â After the kids ate we sent them downstairs on their own to play games and felt safe doing so. Â My wife went down a few minutes later once she was finished. Â All in all it was a great experience-- perfect for kids, and probably a lot of fun for young adults too. Â Make sure you give this place a try-- don't let the reviews scare you off.
Review Source:Why is the waitstaff SO EVIL?! Â I have never had a nice or even semi-nice waitress here. They must have horrible working conditions or something, but I dread going to this place (my Dad & Step Mom like it so when they are in town we sometimes go).
Also, tonight I had quite possibly the worst carry-out experience of my life. My husband called the Crossing (got their # from the website - 366-8300) location and ordered. 30 minutes later I went to pick up. The incredibly b*tchy bartender said they had no record of it and then went back into the kitchen. 5-10 minutes later she said they had my order at the Downtown location, making me feel like an idiot, of course. I apologized but then called my husband who confirmed that he had called their location. So, I asked the bartender what their # was and she wouldn't tell me, claiming she didn't know and then refusing to check it.
***So, basically they lost my order and instead of just apologizing they blamed it on me.***
After that, I went home and ate my cold pizza.
I will NEVER go here for carry-out ever again. Instead, I will order from the place across the street--better service, better pizza, and no lying!
Far off the beaten path for many college students; there are many residential neighborhoods in the area so I imagine this Jupiter's serves more of a family crowd. Â Or not. Â There are so many different concepts dumped into this place that it's hard to tell. Â Most of my visits have been for lunch, so I can't comment on the nature of the place at night. Â I also have never participated in the game areas, but friends tell me it's essentially Chuck E. Cheese's for grown-ups.
Jupiter's sticks to thin-crust pizza, and I think they manage to do pretty well with it. Â Toppings range from traditional (pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, etc.) to more "exotic" fare (artichokes, spinach, salmon, prosciutto, etc.). Â Each pizza can be customized with a number of sauces (marinara, pesto, cream etc.), but I usually stick to ordering one of their specialty pizzas since they've already put together some of the best combinations themselves. Â Prices are very reasonable for the quality (comparable with chain pizza stores).
There are some fake fireplaces in the first floor dining area. Â Although these things obviously lack live fires, I appreciate the real sense of coziness and warmth they provide in the winter. Â Many of the tables and furniture are made of some heavy, dark wood product--good for withstanding abuse from youngsters and also giving the whole place a classy feel.
Every seat offers a view of a flat-screen television (I lost count of how many the place had in all), set to ESPN and its various spin-off channels. Â I don't have a problem with this, per se, except that they seem to inflict my friends with ADD during our meals. Â Set in the center of the building is a large bar that serves a fairly generous list of brews and cocktails (though probably not sufficient to appease snobs accustomed to the great local beer empires like The Blind Pig or Crane Alley).
I've also been invited into the upstairs area for a few parties. Â The area offers a lot of privacy, including its own bar and a wide balcony. Â I felt they provided an appropriate amount of staff to attend to the guests at these events. Â If you're planning to have a grown-up birthday party here, it may be a pain to run between the top floor and the game room in the basement.
Overall, I've had many good experiences eating here at lunch, when they are slow and quiet. Â I'm not sure about crowds who hang out here in the evenings, but with it's many rooms and many offerings, it's sure to appeal to lots of different people.
Eh. Â I live nearby, so go there fairly often. Â The food is good. Â The waitresses that work comedy night upstairs are good, but the bartenders on the main level are awful. Â They will be slow and walk right past a customer with an empty glass. Â I don't know why the service there is so different from the Nieto's other bars.
Review Source:So I love Jupiter's downtown. I've never been disappointed by their pizza in the past. But tonight, since the students are all back in town, my guy and I decided to travel to the ends of the city and try out the pizza "at the Crossing". Mistake! We started with a "hummus" appetizer which honestly tasted nothing like hummus. It really had no flavor whatsoever, no spice, nothing. And the pita wedges served with it were deep fried?! What? Blech. So the pizza came and I was ready to indulge. Â Not so fast! Â The crust was sooo soggy with oil. I've had pesto pizza many times downtown and never was the crust limp as it was tonight. Just completely unappetizing. Even the feta cheese on the pizza was bland. Â How it that possible? Grrr. The best thing I had all night was my glass of Pepsi. Â In my opinion, the location downtown Champaign is the ONLY way to go!
Review Source:there are only a few good things about this place: 1. the bathrooms are clean 2. it is huge and has lots of tv's to watch games on, in addition to pool tables etc 3. it is close to my house. otherwise, the food is just meh. my boy and i ordered the hummus platter for an appetizer, and it was a great disappointment. the hummus itself, which had a southwest flair and was served with what seemed to be fried wedges of pizza dough, was really thick and the added flavoring overwhelmed the flavor of the chickpeas (which i enjoy, and which i think is important in a good hummus). and the fried things it was served with were full of grease and were just...blah. onto the main course: we ordered, per suggestion of our waitress, the margherita pizza. we thought this was a safe bet, who can mess up a simple, yet delicious margherita pizza? well, jupiter's can. the crust was a disappointment. it so much wanted to be the yummy and crunchy thin crust, but there was an unwanted springy-ness to it that made it unenjoyable. additionally, the tomato sauce was so-so, nothing to talk about.
overall, jupiter's was a huge disappointment and i doubt i will try it again....
I've been here a couple times. Â Based on my first experience, I probably would've given this place 2 stars. Â My second experience was slightly better.
While I much prefer it's sister location downtown Champaign, there are some redeeming qualities about this location. Â For one, there are many more pool tables. Â In fact, I didn't realize how many pool tables there were until my second visit where I actually ventured downstairs. Not only that, but there's an entire arcade and mini bowling alley down there!!! Â Whaaat??? Â The upper level has a nice big bar, and lots of open space.
Con's? Â It's too far away to go to on a regular basis, and given all the options around campus... not really worth it. Â The service wasn't all that great either. Â This place wasn't even close to being busy the two times I went, yet the service was pretty shotty both times...
All in all, it was okay the times I've been... but would I go back? Â Ehhh... probably not this location.
This place is just unreal. Â Picture three levels of people EVERYWHERE. Â I'll give you a tour!
First floor (entry level): Cougarville. Â This is where all of the beautiful people of Southwest Champaign drink after the kiddies are sent downstairs with 20s (more on that later) and the BMWs, Mercedes, and Lexus SUVs have been safely parked in the lot. Â There are pool tables, booths, video games, tons of TVs, a big U shaped bar, etc. Â This is just a taste of the insanity you'll find on other levels. Â This level has cougars on the prowl and 20-somethings looking for their divorced sugar daddies. Â People watching at it's best....I mean it really doesn't get any better than this.
Downstairs: Chuck-E-Cheese on CRACK! Â I've never seen so many kids running around in my life without parental supervision. Â There is some kind of mini bowling thing and another bar and more booths and pool tables....it's just insanity. Â If you despise children like I do don't go down here....you'll need a strong sedative if you do. Â
Upper Level: This place is also unreal. Â If you're having a birthday party, family reunion, bachelorette party, bat mitzfah, divorce party, whatever the event and you live in Southwest Champaign you'll have it here. Â Kids running EVERYWHERE and the beautiful parents of SW Champaign ignoring them. Â Just pure insanity.
Every time I'm at J2 I just have to laugh because when I was growing up this was an empty cornfield at Windsor and Duncan, now it's a goldmine. Â The pizza is good, the service sucks, and you just can't beat the people watching anywhere else. Â Go once...take it all in...and NEVER go back!
I ordered a Jameson neat with a soda water back. Â My nineteen (okay, probably 21) year old bartender gave me a Jameson/Sprite cocktail. Â Alright, that's fine, we all have to learn sometime and maybe words like "neat" and "back" aren't as popular anymore as "bomb" or "gorilla fart". Â So, I explained to her that I wanted a shot of Jameson with a soda water on the side. Â She almost got it right. Â Jameson shot, chilled, Sprite on the side. Â Maybe if she hadn't been so distracted by the barbacks throwing ice at her and giggling she could have done better. Â Poor thing, her job is tough...just like math and remembering which lip gloss is kept in which purse.
Review Source:This place in one word: Â INSANITY. Â It is NUTS in there. Â It's like a gigantic bar, a gigantic pool hall, and a gigantic chuck e. cheese all smooshed up together in an even more gigantic building. Â
It was PACKED tonight, and from what I heard while waiting for a table it's been like that almost every night since it opened. Â Packed with 8 year old's birthday parties, cougars on the prowl, older couples out for dinner, and the occasional student (assume there will be more students when school is in session.)
Still got that tasty jupiter's pizza, but in a package even crazier than old jupiter's, if you can believe it.
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