Pekara Bakery & Bistro

A small hut filled with hand-made delicacies, Pekara Bakery has a wide assortment of delicious foods, like crepes, breakfast menu, omelets, sandwiches, desserts, bread, pies, treats, and even drinks.

Despite their slightly high prices, I happily go there because it's worth it for the quality of the foods, which are always home-made and fresh.
I would recommend this bakery for anyone on the go, for a nice lunch, or for a sweet tooth without too much guilt.

The staff is usually smiley and will bring food to your table. The only critique I have is that they bring the food to the table without cutlery, so in the end you have to get up anyways to get the spoon and fork, but other than that, it's a nice fresh tasty place, pleases my friends every time.

Not well known among the undergraduates, this is an excellent place to go for a good cup of coffee (the Turkish coffee is incedible), and amazing hommeade pastry, and a healthy, tasty lunch menu that features a variety of sandwiches, pizzas, crepes, and salads to fit anyone. They use fresh ingredients, mostly organic and local. All baking and cooking is done there every day - even roasting the portabella mushrooms! They will take special orders and will cater. The fresh baked bread (also used for their sandwiches) is also amazing. No preservatives, trans fats, or high glucose corn syrups used here. Just good ingredients, fresh produce, and an amazing staff.

This is a great place to study for U of I grad students. Not too many undergrads and the coffee is self-serve (50 cents on a refill) so there's no waiting. The owners and staff are great and if you haven't tried their pastries you're missing out. Also, unlike Aroma next door (my second choice place to study) Pekara doesn't have cold air blowing throught their vents. A final reason to go there is the tables and chairs, they're bigger than Aroma's and more sturdy.

Offers a wide variety of affordable pastries, crepes, soups, sandwiches and drinks. Art pieces for sale adorn the walls and cultural activities such as belly dancing are held there too. Located at downtown Champaign, WIFI is available.

PROS:
CONS: The smell of used cooking oil is very strong at times.