On the corner of Green and Fourth Street is a new restaurant called Four: Breakfast and More. The vibe inside is a mix of a diner and café, with low-top tables and open areas where the kitchen is somewhat visible, and a display case of tempting baked goods near the door.
While they have a variety of foods beyond breakfast as the name suggests, our group decided to try the breakfast foods for our first visit. It was hard to decide between the breakfast sandwiches, egg dishes, and sweeter breakfast dishes; they all sounded fantastic.
After a few minutes looking over the extensive menu options, I finally decided on the egg benedict breakfast. I was not disappointed. The eggs were nicely poached and served on top of a toasted, buttered English muffin and thicker slice of ham, as opposed to the typical thinner Canadian ham. The sauce was thicker and tangier than the traditional hollandaise sauce, with a generous amount poured over the dish. With a large portion of crispy hash browns as a side, this dish was a deal for $8, as I had food leftover to take home. I also added an order of bacon for an additional $2.
My husband decided to try an omelet. For the omelets, you can choose up to four ingredients. There were typical omelet ingredient options like bacon, ham, and cheddar cheese, but also chorizo, grilled onions, provolone, feta, and roasted tomatoes. My husband, being an omelet traditionalist, stuck with ham, bacon, cheddar cheese, and mushrooms. The texture of the omelet was good, and the chef was generous with the amount of toppings throughout. This also came with a large side of hashbrowns, all for $7. For an additional $2.50, he added sausage patties to his meal.
My friend wanted to try one of the breakfast sandwiches; she decided on the sunshine breakfast sandwich. This is a French toast sandwich with gouda cheese and bacon and a sunny side egg on top. Depending on your preference of sweet or savory with a French toast breakfast sandwich combo, you can choose to add maple syrup to fit your preference as the French toast itself is not on the sweet side. To round out the meal, she added hash browns for an additional $1, bringing her total to $7. It was a deal for the quantity and quality of food. We also ordered pancakes for an additional charge, and definitely well-worth it as the pancakes were almost the size of the plate and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
The food came out very quickly. Our waitstaff checked in with us multiple times throughout, filling coffee and water several times during our visit. At one point, we were trying to figure out how to position our plates due to the quantity of food, both due to the generous portion sizes as well as our appetites for Sunday brunch. We were all very satisfied with both the quality and cost of the food, as well as the atmosphere. It was not crowded during our visit, but I could see it quickly filling up at key times during the day and being a hot-spot for a quick meal to catch up with friends or to work on homework.
While this was a great spot for breakfast, I’m interested to come back and try more options. They serve soups, salads, wraps, sandwiches, yogurt bowls, a variety of desserts, sides, and shakes. For my next visit, I am already planning on trying either the crepe or waffle breakfast. If I’m wanting something more on the savory or non-breakfast side, I might try the Philly cheesesteak sandwich, Cuban sandwich, or Flounder wrap, which comes with house mayo and avocado. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the desserts. We were too full to try any, but judging from the display case, they look amazing. With several milkshake options, including Nutella, and other dessert options like chocolate cake, tres leches cake, and a fruit tart, I will make sure I save room for my next visit.
On a final note, for the diner who wants breakfast at some point during the day, but prefers to stay in bed, delivery is available through GrubHub.
Four: Breakfast and More
401 E Green St
Champaign
M-Th 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.; 5 p.m. to 3 a.m.
F + Sa 7 a.m. to 3 a.m.
Su 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Photos by Amber Laquet