Whisk Coffee and Wine Bar opened in November 2020 as an expansion of Mahomet’s En Route Fashion Boutique, so it made sense why there were mannequins and jewelry inside this coffee shop. Stephanie reviewed the Mahomet spot during the pandemic when Whisk was still new, but that was years ago. Whisk has a great menu of breakfast, lunch, and happy hour options including a sharable waffle charcuterie board and two pages of cocktails.
I was curious about the drinks and food at Whisk, so I took a friend and set out to see what Whisk was all about.
Located in a plaza right off Highway 150, Whiskey Coffee & Wine Bar was easy to find. There was a drive-through option and lots of close (free) parking.
Immediately when I walked in, I felt a maximalist vibe. There were bottles of alcohol everywhere, racks of colorful clothes, blue cushy seating all throughout the place, and a hair salon!
In the center of the store, tall shelves of wine worked as a divider to separate boutique from coffee shop. The wine bottles each had a little note with details about it, which made for good reading while waiting in line for coffee. But this center section was not the only place Whisk put bottles for sale.
Pretty much anywhere Whisk could have put wine or whiskey, they put it.
I’m talking beside dresses, by the ordering counter, next to the doors. Though there was a lot of wine everywhere, still somehow the place felt airy and actually had a lovely ambiance.
I didn’t go to Mahomet for shopping; I went to eat and drink.
Whisk’s food menu had avocado toast, sandwiches, and berry parfait for breakfast and lunch options of wraps, sandwiches, salads, and gelato. The beverage menu had coffee, tea, hot chocolate, European sipping chocolate, lemonade, wine, beer, spirits, and two pages of signature cocktails.
To start, I ordered the coffee shop’s drip coffee ($2.50). Served scaldingly hot, the coffee needed many minutes to cool, but when it was sippable, it was a nice, smooth-tasting coffee. I’d have preferred my coffee in a mug instead of a single-use cup since I was staying, but c’est la vie. For all coffee drinks on the menu, the Mahomet shop uses Gobena coffee, which is connected to a religious organization.
Because I was very thirsty, I ordered another drink: the honey bourbon lemonade ($10). Garnished with a dried lemon, the spiked lemonade tasted pretty good. The whiskey drink was sweet, not that tart, and light on the bourbon — which was a good idea at lunchtime. Whisk offered a lot of cocktails: tequila ranch water, spiced apple Manhattan, margarita, toasted marshmallow martini, juice joint, and more.
To go with the drinks, I ordered a smattering of bites: the breakfast waffle sandwich, a cinnamon roll, and a wrap.
First, I had Whisk’s waffle breakfast sandwich ($10.95). Two housemade waffles sandwiched sausage, egg, and cheese for a decadent bite of breakfast. The classic brekkie combo of sausage, egg, and cheese tasted so good with buns of sweet waffles. The warm sugar-pearl waffles had crispy parts along ridges and a pancake-like center. I loved that they made the egg fresh for the sandwich and seasoned it. The melty cheese glued everything together, so every bite served sweet and salty deliciousness.
Sadly, I did pay an extra $1 to add salad greens, but somehow that didn’t happen — and I didn’t want greens badly enough to wait in line again, so I enjoyed the sandwich without.
From the lunch menu, I ordered the tuna salad wrap ($9.95), which had housemade tuna salad, feta, dried cranberries, and mixed greens in a spinach wrap. This was such a great wrap! I loved Whisk’s tuna salad because it wasn’t heavy on the mayo. Instead, it was all about the tuna and greens. Romaine and arugula’s refreshing crunch balanced the thick tuna salad, and the shredded tuna’s mild flavor was yummy with a subtle citrus sour and occasional fruity burst of craisin.
I also ordered a cinnamon roll ($4.50), made by Monicello business Pies by Inge. One bite, and I wanted to die. It was so, so delicious! I loved the yeasty flavor with sweet brown sugar and warm cinnamon spice. This cinnamon roll was amazingly soft — absolute pillow behavior. If I could only eat one cinnamon roll for the rest of my life, it would be this one. If ever there’s a cinny roll available from Pies by Inge, absolutely get it — and one for me, too, please.
Though we shared some of the above food, my friend also ordered a couple things. She had the chicken Caesar wrap ($9.95) with chicken breast, Parmesan, romaine, and Caesar dressing in a spinach wrap. Like the tuna salad wrap, Whisk’s chicken salad wrap had an equal ratio of greens to salad. The chicken salad had a similarly restrained amount of mayo as the tuna salad, and there was some shaved parm for added saltiness, too.
Lastly, my friend tried Whisk’s blueberry gin ($10), garnished with five fresh blueberries. Made with gin, lemonade, and blueberry syrup, the pink drink tasted fruity, sweet, and not too boozy. It wasn’t wildly creative, but the cocktail’s presentation was pretty, and we both liked the taste.
With options to shop for clothes, get our hair done, have cocktails (or coffee), buy a necklace, and stock the home bar, Whisk made for a fun daytime destination. Do be warned though that the fashionable items are not cheap; they cost much more than the food menu items. One beautiful necklace I saw cost $200, so Whisk wouldn’t really be on any list of places I’d take a child. Lest they want an expensive, shiny something — or worse, bump into a shelf of pricy bottles!
This Mahomet coffee shop and wine bar would be a good place to gossip over drinks — and maybe a waffle board. It’d be an ideal shopping spot to find a gift for someone who likes alcohol, pretty things, or signs with cheeky sayings.
Enjoy the convenience of Whisk’s drive-through or stay and hang out. There was comfy seating inside in addition to patio tables with a (highway) view, too.
For more, follow the business on Facebook.
Whisk Coffee & Wine Bar
1704 Patton Drive
Mahomet
M-W 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Th 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
F 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sa 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Su 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
