Bentley’s Pub

Loooove this bar! I started coming every Tuesday since August because they have 2 bands that play! At 6:30 Jill and Jordan play and switch on and off with another band called Upshot! These bands are amazing and to top it off the bartenders are the best! Very good at what they do and a lot of fun!

Did kereoke on saturday night here, it was really good. Bar is sort of divey but really good.

I’m biased in that one of my friends works as a bartender here (ask for Niki), but I really like Bentley’s. It’s a refreshing breath of fresh air from the hipster-​occupied bars downtown (which are really good bars, but, again, hipsters). They have events almost every night during the week, and live events on the weekend. I’m not a big fan of the karaōke nights, but the live music is always good.
Drinks are reasonably priced; the specials are competitively priced, and I’ve gotten some good deals on spirits (I once ordered Macallan scotch, and the bartender poured me what seemed like a double for the price of a single). The people are friendly, and it’s a nice big open space. Good bar, and cleaner than a place like Murphy’s with less undergraduates and hipsters.

It hurts me to give Bentley’s this rating. It used to be my go to bar. It’s clean, friendly, has very good drink prices and it had a neighborhood atmosphere. Even their newish beer garden is very nice.
Unfortunately a couple years ago they introduced the various events. Pretty much every weeknight and every night on weekends there’s a band, karaōke or some sort of horrible obnoxious event (you’re exempted from that criticism, Irish Music Night). That means what used to be the ideal place to hang out and have a beer with friends is gone — replaced by a new crowd with very loud events and bands. As a venue for bands, it’s absolutely terrible, IMHO. I understand why they’ve done it, they seem to get much better business now, but I really hate it and stopped going there at the end of my time in C-​U.
So go on Irish music night or a night with no bands and this is a great bar, albeit with a shittier new clientele. But go on any other night and it’s a bad music venue you can’t even really talk in.

The music is great!!! I only go on Wednesday nights when they have traditional Irish music. Is makes for a great atmosphere to enjoy your drinks and friends. They have a nice selection of beers to choose from. Although there is limited space, I think that adds to the atmosphere.

I personally love this bar. It’s a bit small, but I think it’s comfy, and there’s a nice patio area out back. I used to come here every Tuesday after volleyball games for some karaōke. It was just simply awesome because it’s usually not packed, so you can come in with a few folks and just about take over the whole place. There’s also Rock Band going on now, which I also like. That, and the bartenders are always super nice and helpful. I love this place!

This is probably my favorite place to go to do 80% of my drinking in champaign. It’s chill and out of the way but interesting people show up.
The ownership knows what their doing as well as service is always quick to serve and quick to help.
How awesome is it to feel a good party mood yet ALSO be able to talk to someone?!

I really wanted to like this place, and my first impression was actually pretty good. The first time we visited the bartender was great. A friend and I were even advised that a beer we ordered was not so good, and offered a sample which confirmed the advice. It’s also really nicely done inside, with nice woodwork and a tin ceiling, friendly lighting, a jukebox, good seating, and even 10oz beers available at near half-​price.
Each time I’ve visited since, my experience has been worse than the previous. Since this was mostly based on the other clientele, I held off on reviewing.
But my last visit was pretty bad, and not because of the clientele. We waited at the bar for over 10 minutes to be served – which would be completely understandable if it was busy, but there were no other waiting customers to be seen. Also, our table was never cleared the entire time we were there, nor did we see any other cleanup happening at other tables. Worst of all, neither of the beers we ordered was anywhere near it’s prime – both were stale and one was noticeably flat. So with poor service and old beer, I don’t know if I’ll be going back.

This is as close to an English Pub as you will find in CU. Some may think of it as a dive, as it does not have a super-​impressive street-​front presence, but really it is a pretty nice place, with less pretense than Boltini’s or other downtown Champaign peers. A great selection of English ales and other limey brews on tap with more in bottles. They often have pretty decent bands here, even though it is not that big and is not «set up» for music. It is a very intimate place to see a band. They have darts, megatouch, and nice long, high tables, which are perfect if you have a bunch a friends with you. No students, which is a huge plus. Service is great.
I cant give it 5 stars, as it is not super cheap, but if the band you dig is playing, it is a great place to see them. Parking is not great if the bar is crowded. Try on the side street.

I spent a week down here for work and this was they high light of my trip. I drank through 2 bartenders on a Wednesday while listening to an Irish jam session. The music was nice and at the perfect volume. Both bartenders were chatty and provided a lot of useful information for an out of towner like myself.

You know what there’s not to like about Bentley’s?
NOTHING.
It’s a neighborhood bar if there ever was one. And while it’s right on the edge of downtown, it’s still in my neighborhood.
I got a 20 oz pint of Dark Horse Scotty Karate Scotch Ale (incredible, by the way) for $ 4.75. It was only mildly crowded for 10pm on a Saturday night, and there was pretty good free music playing. It’s not even a dive bar. It’s actually kind of pretty.
I can’t wait to come here all the time and do a two-​block-​drunken-​stumble back home after having spent $ 15 or less.

This was my favorite bar in the Champaign-​Urbana area! If you’re looking for a trendy hotspot full of loud techno music, popped collars, and $ 12 martinis this is not the place for you. But if you’re looking for a chill place… with a great jukebox and cheap drinks, where you can actually have a conversation with your friends this is THE spot. Plus they have real darts!
I also can’t say enough about the awesome bartenders– they are absolutely the friendliest, nicest people you’ll ever meet.
So if you’re looking for something different from the usual drunken undergrads in Campustown or pretentious hipsters in downtown Champaign, give Bentley’s a try… you won’t be disappointed.

Absolutely amazing. My friend and I drove past this place after giving up at another Champaign bar, heading home to watch a movie, and decided as a last ditch effort we’d head in. Expecting to find dodgy old men and PBR, we were instead greeted with a small crowd, a friendly bartender and an absolutely excellent selection of beers and STRONGBOW. Both bottled and on tap.
But I’ve left out the best part. THEY SERVE 20 OZ PINTS. I actually, for once, finally felt like I was out having a drink. 16 oz is for babies. Got two snakebites, my friend got this sweet mango/​pineapple thing the bartender mixed for her cause she wasn’t looking to drink… all around good times.
I would totally recommend Bentley’s to anyone and I’m sorry to be graduating this year, as I’d make it my regular if I could.