Walking down Urbana’s Main Street shows renewed signs of life — local businesses, restaurants and offices dot the three-to-four block downtown corridor. With several new restaurants and bars opening in recent months, Urbana’s downtown is something to experience.
And when I think of some of my favorite Urbana restaurant experiences, I almost default to Encanto.
Encanto opened in August 2023 and brought yet another entry of Latin American and Mexican food to the city, joining Tres Nopales, Huaraches Moroleon and a handful of others. The restaurant is bright, colorful and inviting. While it’s almost always busy, the space feels open and accessible.
(Photo by Jake Williams)
Shortly after sitting down, a server drops the requisite chips and salsa. The salsa is tangy and not spicy, and emphasizes the fresh tomato, onion and cilantro. Hotter salsa is available on request, and for me, I always place an order of the queso. The queso is on the thinner side and delivers a perfect salty bite.
Once I start diving into the queso, I can’t quite stop. It’s addicting, and can only be quelled when I order the house margarita (with no salt). Encanto almost always has a margarita on special, which I occasionally upgrade to for a change of pace.
(Photo by Jake Williams)
The Encanto house margarita is a fantastic part of the Champaign-Urbana marg scene. It’s tequila-forward, with a balanced sweetness and great sharpness from the lime. Sips turn into slurps and gulps on this if you’re not careful.
When it comes to ordering, Encanto has a ton of different options. If you have a Mexican favorite, or an American-Mexican favorite, Encanto probably has it (and probably does a good job with it).
Where the menu really shines, though, is their Peruvian section. My two favorites are the Lomo Saltado a lo Pobre (be hungry if you order this) and the Ají de gallina.
(Photo by Jake Williams)
The Lomo Saltado is sauteed beef with a splash of soy sauce — a welcome addition to the expected flavors in a South American dish. Served with an assortment of peppers, onions, tomato and seasoning, the Lomo Saltado comes with a side of white rice. The a lo Pobre variation of the dish comes with fried plantains and a fried egg as well.
The key to this dish is balance. If you told me that I was going to eat some sliced beef on top of fries with a fried egg and rice and plantains, I would be excited, but I would mainly be expecting something that would better end a drunken night out. Instead, the Lomo Saltado a lo Pobre balances the savoriness that only beef brings, lightened by the vegetables. The fried egg is perfect with a runny yolk that drips out across the beef, the fries and the rice (if you let it). The plantain blends with it all so well, offering the slight sweetness but embracing the salt in the rest of the dish. The fries come out pretty crispy and only get more and more inviting as the toppings begin to seep in as you eat.
(Photo by Jake Williams)
The Ají de gallina looks simple on the surface (especially compared to the busy Lomo Saltado) but delivers punch after punch of flavor. Shredded chicken is doused in a yellow pepper crema sauce. It’s not spicy, and trends more creamy, adding a complexity to the otherwise basic shredded chicken.
Buried under the mound of chicken and sauce are boiled potatoes to give a starchy, creamy texture to the already-delicious assortment of flavor. The dish is served with white rice on the side — a welcome addition to get every last morsel of that sauce. The Ají de gallina also comes with a hard boiled egg, which can bring a textural and temperature contrast to the rest of the dish.
(Photo by Jake Williams)
Outside of the Peruvian hits, you can’t miss with the shredded chicken flautas. They’re well seasoned and perfectly crisp in fried corn tortillas, and served alongside rice and beans.
You can also order one of Encanto’s 13 combination platters. My personal favorite is the #9, which comes with a burrito, taco and enchilada. You can pick a protein for each. It’s simple and expected, but delivers every time.
My favorite thing about Encanto is exactly that – consistency. For a restaurant with a menu as large as this one, the team in the kitchen consistently delivers on each bite. In roughly a dozen visits over the last two years, I’ve not been disappointed.
The service is friendly, attentive and kind. Expect a little banter with your server and be sure to laugh and enjoy the experience. Everyone wants to have a good time.
Encanto is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day Sunday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
If you find yourself looking for some Peruvian flavor, or just in downtown Urbana, it’s one of the best possible places in town to dive into a plate.
Jake Williams is a journalist, editor and publisher, as well as the CEO of the Illini Media Company.