Destihl Restaurant & Brew Works

Good variety of menu items. Brewed on site beer is high quality.

I usually love Destihl but tonight it was mediocre. They were incredibly nice on the phone when I ordered for pick up and accomodating when I asked for a substitution of spinach… However, my salmon and vegetables were incredibly over-​salted and my s’mores dessert was comprised of marshmallows so burnt that there was hardly any there and the chocolate sauce wasn’t melted all the way. I’m sure if I had eaten at the restaurant the food, at least the dessert would’ve turned out better but I wish it wasn’t necessary to be at the restaurant to be happy with my meal.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Came here for a lovely lunch with my boyfriend and it didn’t disappoint. The creamy tomato soup and ham&dapple sandwich was very good. My boyfriend had the chicken and biscuits which he very much enjoyed but said the portion seemed a little small with only 1 biscuit. The chocolate cake was very good and moist. The only thing I was Unsatisfied with was the drunks, the island cooler was very sour and almost bland. As well as the cream soda concoction it was bland and flavorless. Overall a good dining experience for this romantic holiday!

Always content at Destihl. It’s a nice safe choice.
Appetizers:
–bavarian pretzel: I love their pretzels here. It’s so fluffy
–chorizo stuffed dates: My favorite dish I had that day. Everything about it meshed together so well. Sweetness from the date, a little salty from the bacon that’s wrapped around the dates. Great texture because of the crispyness from the bacon and softness from the dates. Loved it!
Meal:
I got the Beer battered bacon and egg burger. I really liked it! The beer battered bacon was delicious. Egg was nice touch, but could have done without it.
My cousin got the Carolina BBQ? (forgot what it was called) They were decent, but if you’re looking for a good meat dish, I would go elsewhere.
Pizza is quite mediocre. Sorry :(My excuse is that I live near Chicago.
Overall, their menu is about 3 pages with all sorts of dishes. I think it’s a little too ambitious, resulting in nothing that special about their restaurant (except for their beer! good beer) which is why I think that it’s a nice, safe choice because you never leave disappointed. But, it won’t be something like, «THIS IS THE BEST THING I’VE EVER HAD.» (Probably some place I would go twice a year?)

I’m very passionate about the stuffed peppers that come with chicken and/​or chorizo and mashed potatoes. They’re amazing. Warning: they’re quite spicy, but I might think this because I paired this dish with a Bloody Mary last time which was also spicy. Either way, I enjoyed both and would order the same combo again. No regrets.
I love sitting on the patio when it’s nice out. I once saw Jason Segel walk by during Ebertfest so that made for some exciting dinner conversation. Even when Jason isn’t strolling by, there’s a lot to look at and it’s in a nice central, downtown location.
I’ve eaten here for brunch, lunch, and dinner and every time it rocks.
Good to know: when it’s someone’s birthday, they bring out the cutest s’mores dessert dish (easy to share with friends! Or not). They also make amazing carrot cake.

Take a look at Destihl’s menu and it looks likes an epicurean delight. Their menu is over 3 pages chock full of impressive ingredients, classic american fare as well as intriguing fusion items. The beer is delicious and brewed in house. So how could this local watering hole get two stars? By attempting to do everything, Destihl doesn’t distinguish itself as doing anything particularly well.
I had the cuban style sandwich, which was not only pricey but also mediocre. I’ve eaten cubanos for years and theirs was merely average. I like a heaping of mustard and pickle to cut the richness of the ham and braised pork but theirs was entirely dry, lacking any kind of condiment to make the sandwich go down easier. Additionally, their side of cucumbers in a sambal and sesame oil sauce was way too spicy, without the usual east asian accompaniment of vinegar to smooth out the pure heat from the sambal. Vinegar and sesame oil is a very traditional way of dressing cucumbers in China so there is no excuse for missing out on that ingredient.
What’s more egregious was my dining companion’s reuben sandwich, which completely lacked any kind of russian or thousand island dressing altogether. Although both rather goy individuals, we do appreciate that a reuben basically demands some kind of dressing like that.
It could be that we picked some items on the menu that the kitchen considers afterthoughts but after a lackluster experience I will be way more guarded the next time I am here.

The food is pretty good — lunch menu is much better than the night menu, IMO.
Beers have consistently been unspectacular. I’m not terribly picky, but there’s just some little thing missing, and I can’t quite put my finger on it.
It also has the Champaign problem of being ludicrously overpriced for the size of the city. That’s kind of common around here, though, so I can’t really fault them for that.

I’ve been here a few times now and have loved everything I’ve had. I highly suggest the pretzel appetizer. They are hot and fresh every time. The dipping sauces that come with it, one cheddar cheese sauce and one honey mustard type sauce are both great too.
The charred broccolini salad is delicious. I also recommend the herbivore burger if you like veggie burgers. It is huge though so be prepared to share with someone or take half home. The cedar plank salmon is also very good and comes with grilled vegetables and a nice arugula salad. The salad was a bit too overdressed for my taste so request it to be lightly dressed if you don’t like a lot of dressing.
As far as dessert goes I’ve tried the cherry bread pudding, s’mores, chocolate cake, and the wild sour berry tart and out of all of those I would recommend the tart and the chocolate cake. They give you a pound of chocolate cake so only order it if you are not already stuffed from your meal or if you want to take it home. Half of it was more than enough for 4 of us.

Destihl is one of my favorite restaurants in champaign! I travel for work, and this is definitely a great place to eat/​drink alone or with a group. If eating at the bar, the servers are very attentive. If eating at a table, it’s the same as well. If you can eat on the patio, do it.
The menu is extensive and has a great variety– whether you’re looking for sandwich/​burger or a full entrée. Everything I’ve tried so far has been great. They also have awesome beers. They brew sour beers, which I had never tried until I came here.
Overall, great place to go no matter what you’re looking for! Try the salmon and the cheese curds!

I’ve been here many times with my family and friends and have always had a good experience. The staff is friendly, the food is great, and the ambiance is nice. I started making reservations since there is often a wait, but even if you decide to just come in on a whim, it’s well worth it.
I’ve tried at least 8 different dishes and have truly enjoyed each one. The menu has good variety, including vegan, gluten free, and vegetarian options.
I really encourage you to try this place out!

Since writing that last review, I’ve been eliminating animal foods from my life. Destihl is very vegan unfriendly. Not one of the entrees are even vegetarian (they have a few vegetarian burgers and such, however). They have exactly one vegan dish: vegetables cooked in cashew cream. That’s all folks. The dish was distinctly unremarkable, but most of the menu appears that way (this applies to even the animal products dishes; Destihl is only good for a select few dishes: salmon, mac and cheese, and burgers).
I also ordered potato croquettes because from the description, there’s no cheese in it (the other descriptions listed cheese, so I mistakenly assumed that these were cheese-​free). In fact, the potato croquettes do have cheese in them. Just a note.
I can’t give 5 stars to a restaurant that I don’t personally enjoy. But I think if you like beer and American food, you’d like this place.
Just a note: I received a Compliment from another Unilocaler who seems to have misinterpreted my review. I would never take stars off because a restaurant is not vegan friendly especially when it never claimed to be. If you read my review, you can see my comments on the taste of the food. I even specifically wrote that my criticisms applied to animal product dishes LOL! I have tried many, many dishes at Destihl, both vegan and non-​vegan. Destihl is two stars because the food is poor, not because it’s not vegan (I almost want to laugh writing this because I can’t believe someone would actually gloss over my whole review just to leave me a negative comment. It’s pretty funny how willfully thick people insist on being). Yes, at one point I hated Destihl but I grew to love it… but that was because I was settling and I was naïve. After trying many other restaurants, my opinion is that Destihl, overall, is an average to below average restaurant that may appeal to some people. I write about both sides to help veg*ns make eating out choices. They are never reasons to take stars off. I even explicitly noted which meat and cheese dishes were good so that I could highlight the good stuff about Destihl. People are really funny. This Unilocaler also asked me why I don’t just exclusively visit vegan restaurants (even if you’re not vegan, I think you can see how funny this comment is). Cheers.

It was an alright meal with good things and just ok things.
The good: That cucumber/​rose martini. Yes. Also, the fried green tomatoes appetizer with the crab/​avocado salad on top. So delicious! Swordfish tacos were enjoyed.
The bad: the bacon wrapped dates. The bacon wasn’t crispy so it was tough to chew. The sauce was so spicy we were practically crying. Salmon sandwich special was not as good as anticipated, and the bacon on the bacon cheeseburger was also not crispy.
The service was so-​so. While our waiter at the beginning was friendly, he repeatedly forgot things so we would spend time sitting there staring at our food because we didn’t have plates or silverware. They also ran out of wine glasses so we were left sitting through our entrees without drinks that were ordered before entrees arrived, and he didn’t tell us until we were finished eating.
Overall, it’d be worth a shot to visit again but if the 2^nd experience was similar or worse, I wouldn’t try a 3^rd time.

Great selection of beers, food and plenty of unique twists to make it as interesting as anything else within 50 miles. Had a great time here and enjoyed very good service in this trendy looking place.

Great food, nice atmosphere! Have the weissenheimer chicken, shaved Brussels sprout salad and pumpkin bread pudding! Delicious! Fun place too!

This place serves the weirdest reuben sandwich I’ve ever had, and not in a good way. Instead of rye bread, they use this cranberry nut bread that, while interesting, is also too thick and dry. Instead of the usual «Russian dressing» (similar to thousand island), theirs has this «mustard» with an overpowering horseradish taste that is not pleasant at all.
Overall, Destihl seems like a place that tries too hard to be «hip» or «unique». You can tell just by looking at the extravagant descriptions on their menu. I give them credit for trying new things (hence the 2 stars instead of 1), but when it comes to food sometimes it’s better to stick with something proven.

Hmm. The problem with Destihl is that it’s either GOOD or it’s BAD. That’s kind of why the review is an in-​between.
This place is off the charts when it comes to liquor. Just don’t buy booze here. That’s my honest feedback. We had a party of 8, once, and only a few drinks were ordered (a couple waters, two ordered pop) and the bill was something astronomical (like $ 180!).
The other thing about Destihl is that it’s a microbrewery (and,-cough-, gastropub) that’s trying to be a microbrewery and a –cough– gastropub, if you catch my drift? If not, here’s the thing– it’s pretentious as all get out. And for who knows what reason, really. It’s kind of a dimly lit restaurant/​bar that’s just as non-​descript as any other. It tries too hard to be what it thinks it is, and doesn’t try hard enough to be a good restaurant.
With that said, though, some of their food is just out-​of-​the-​ballpark, OUT-​OF-​THIS-​WORLD awesome. All of their soups (3 cheese and ale, or the tomato basil). The Havarti and Turkey is lovely, as is the Cuban style pork (tho, I did find a very unappetizing piece of fat in it the very last time I had it, so it kind of put me off it for a while).
You can’t go wrong with a burger. =) But, then again, it’s a burger, they’re not reinventing the airplane.
I say… if you want to spend a mint for the possibility of some good food, and then an outrageous bar tab, pick Destihl. But if you’re looking for beer and semi-​comparable food, check out Hooters or Buffalo Wild Wings. The same in theory, just a different point-​of-​view.

Sat outside on a gorgeous 82 degree night. Drinks were superb coupled with the beer battered fried bacon. The sauce is amazing! Had the Nitro (double pale ale) and a Jacob’s ladder (brown ale).
For entrée we had the flat iron steak and rice/​beans and fish and chips. Again– superb! Whitney waited on us and made sure ALL was sheer perfection. She recommended the perfect tequila/​amaretto mixed drink for me since my husband is the beer drinker.
Wonderful date night!!!

This restaurant has below average/​overpriced food, and ridiculously slow service. It took about 15 – 20 minutes for anyone to even notice us. We had to flag someone down just for some waters. I wouldn’t say the servers did know what they were doing, but just very slow. For a Monday night, business was okay, but waiting 40 minutes for food is inexcusable.
I had the Beer Battered Bacon Burger with an Egg, and it was below average. It would have been your average burger if the patty had any flavor. But the meat was simply tasteless. The beer battered bacon is quite tasty, but the nothing I would crave for.
The only reason I give this place two stars is for the Strawberry Ale that I got to try. The beer was light and smooth, it complimented my meal.
I would go back to have a drink or two, but not for a dinner out with family or friends.

It was our last few days on campus and one of my roommates wanted to grab a nicer dinner before we left for the summer.
Craft beer and unique burgers are probably our go-​to cuisine when dining out. I suggested we try Destihl after having a pretty good experience there with my family last time.
This visit was equally as good!
We opted to sit at the bar and watch the Bulls game due to the dining room wait being around 35 minutes which was much too long for two very hungry college kids.
We started with a few 4oz beer samples which are very convenient and not too expensive, I dislike having to commit to a roughly $ 5 16oz beer not knowing much beforehand. I particularly enjoyed the oatmeal nitro but didn’t much care for the Champaign blonde.
The beer-​battered bacon was a must-​try for us since I didn’t get it last time and it gets a lot of attention here on Unilocal.We also opted for the cheese curds, both of these appetizers were so artery-​cloggingly delicious.
The Bulls started to seriously disappoint us and when our food arrived we were glad to have something else to focus on, rather than the demise of Chicago basketball this season.
I ordered the meatloaf and my roommate got the rancher burger. He said his was really tasty, right up there with the burger we had at Farren’s a few weaks earlier. I went with the meatloaf to try something different and when it came out I was initially a little taken aback, but after trying it that all changed. This was not your grandmother’s meatloaf! It was rolled up and wrapped in prosciutto sitting on a mountain of mashed potatoes adorned with some thinly sliced vegetables all inside a cast iron skillet. The meatloaf itself was well seasoned and actually had a little spice to it. What really made this dish though was the prosciutto, it added that nice smoky pork flavor to the meatloaf. I highly recommend this dish!
The service was a little different because we were at the bar. The bar staff was extremely busy due to having a packed dining room and fairly full bar as well. There were about two people taking care of us and they made sure we always had beer and were quick to clear our plates as well as check in frequently. Service: great!
Overall, another great experience at Destihl. Though, like I mentioned last time, it comes a bit of a steeper price than some other potential options nearby. Either way, we really liked our food.

I went here last Saturday. The service was quite poor. After sitting down, we waited close to 25 min for our order to be taken and another 20 min for our food. Frankly, I was about to walk out but was swayed by the waiters candid apology.
Focusing on the food, I ordered the Thai shrimp noodles. The presentation of the food was nice but for the price the serving size was quite disappointing. The noodles tasted okay but I might have been slightly biased given the poor service. For dessert, I got the carrot cake. The carrot cake was quite moist and soft. I recommend it.
Overall, poor service experience and above average food. Given that this is champaign, it is a nice casual sit down place.