Cracked Pepper catered an event at the Peoria Civic Center. The Harvest salad sat out too long as the "fresh" spring greens looked dried out and had brown edges. The entree, chicken saltimbocca, was incredibly dry; I almost choked on the first bite of chicken. The sides, dauphinoise potatoes and green beans, were good. Thankfully, the desserts were delicious. There were jumbo lemon or double chocolate cupcakes. The lemon cake was dense, almost like pound cake, but had good flavor. The chocolate cupcakes were divine. read more

Cracked Pepper Catering & Bakery - Harvest salad with spring greens, romaine, beets, roasted sweet potatoes and sprinkle of granola. Jumbo double chocolate cupcake in back - Bakeries Near Me - Peoria, Illinois

See all

This restaurant is great! The dining area has a cozy vibe, they make pastries including a "bacon log" and they have great-tasting soups, sandwiches, salads and cookies. Today I had a lemon cookie and a southwest chicken wrap and enjoyed every bite. read more

Cracked Pepper Catering & Bakery - the front of the restaurant - Bakeries Near Me - Peoria, Illinois

We worked with cracked pepper for our wedding. The food was so good. Our guests had nothing but positive things to say. Highly recommend.

The second star is only because the food was so tasty. Everything else about this experience was a disappointment. We hired Cracked Pepper in a catering capacity for a luncheon for 65 people. We agreed they would be set up and gone by 11:45, as that's when people would begin to arrive. 11:30...11:35... crickets. I tried calling the catering phone number, but no one picked up. At this point, I'm panicking! Finally, at 11:40, one woman with no cart and no way of carrying all this food arrives, without so much as a mention of how late she is. I scramble to get her a cart and help her carry food in. She leaves the disposable aluminum trays closed and wrapped on the table and starts to leave, just as guests start filing in. She notices I and my guests are unwrapping the food ourselves, and says, "Oh, are you eating now?" Maybe no one told her our event started at 11:45, I don't know, but she seemed genuinely surprised - but again, not apologetic - that we were doing her job for her. After the hassle and stress of getting lunch out and ready for people, one of my guests (who is in the catering business in St. Louis) made mention of the poor presentation of the food. I agree, it looked like cafeteria food, haphazardly thrown together without any effort for aesthetics. If this were a small order, I might understand the apathy, but like I said, this was an event for 65, and we spent a good amount of money for the lunch. We won't use them again - aside from the food being good, I can't say anything positive about the experience. read more

We used Cracked Pepper Catering for our Barn/Farm wedding in August 2015. This was the second caterer we went to (given our first caterer advised us they could not accommodate some of the requests we had). Marla and her team were AWESOME!!! They made everything look beautiful, they didn't ask me silly questions, they just figured it all out! We were so impressed and the food was amazing! Given our ceremony and reception were not in a "easy" place to work with, they did it all and were totally "YES" people. So relieved to have her and her staff there to make our wedding so amazing. We would highly recommend them as a caterer for any wedding. Chelsea & Andy read more

Great spot for lunch! Awesome sandwiches, great cookies/baked goods. Friendly staff as well. Had no clue it was there until a colleague told me about it. Definitely worth a try! read more

I have tried Sugar & Salt, so I was anxious to try Cracked Pepper! As soon as I walked in the girl behind the counter was not super helpful, I felt like I was an inconvenience to her. I was the only person in line. I finally ordered - rushed - and ended up with a sandwich that wasn't what I would normally have picked first. I got a LOT of food for $15, I was very happy with the price. I usually am not a big lunch eater, so I could split my sandwich in half and save the rest for later. The pumpkin cake cookie that went along with my meal was outstanding. Soft, moist, full of flavor. I could tell it was fresh and I would definitely consider placing an order for bakery items if I needed them! The seating area was tidy, clean, not too loud. The perfect spot for a casual little lunch - one that could be long or for a quick stop. Overall, my experience with the food was great. I am willing to try this little shop again! read more

Cracked Pepper catered my wedding last September (9/8/12). I just realized I didn't write a review.Marla (catering manager) was great, she offered ideas and listened to ours. We held it at the zoo and wanted all small plates and finger food to allow people to wander around and to allow the celebration to continue without breaking for a sit down dinner. More than a few people at the wedding and after, commented how good the food was. Their service, presentation and quality were all great. Get married and have it catered by Cracked Pepper. read more

Lemon: "a person or thing, especially an automobile, regarded as unsatisfactory, disappointing, or feeble" (dictionary.com). Get that definition out of your head! At Cracked Pepper, the definition of lemon should be: "a cookie or bar, especially the lemon cookie, regarded as mouth watering satisfactory, moist and soft and way too addicting" (ebsb) Lemon bars! Lemon cookies! Lemon! Bars! Cookies! Lemon it all! read more

Stopped for lunch based on a recommendation. I thought it was delicious! Had the turkey spinach artichoke panini as a boxed lunch, so it came with a side, drink, and cookie. The sandwich was delicious - not to dry or smashed while still being crisp. Good bread, fresh ingredients. The orzo was tasty and not over cooked. Haven't tried the cookie yet - was too full from the sandwich and side. I liked the decor - must have been 50+ pepper mills. I got there at 12:15 so it was packed. Got a table just before my sandwich was done and shared it with 2 locals who eat there all the time. They shared their Kringle wi me which was good with a nice smooth vanilla flavor. The only downside is the parking lot isn't big or in great shape but I won't let that stop me from going back next time I'm in Peoria! read more

I hired CP to cater my wedding reception after being canceled on by the Pere Marquette with 30 days notice. I needed a company I could depend on to help me pull my wedding out of the gutter. CP was nice enough on the phone during the planning stage but when it came time to deliver they just didn't live up to their reputation. Even after specifically explaining to them that their workspace would be connected to the ceremony room and physically telling the service staff the ceremony was about to begin they STILL walked through the ballroom with coolers and supplies while I was literally getting married! (Because they were running late from the beginning.) When the food was finally served it was lukewarm and the service was spotty and unprofessional. I never really review and I rarely complain but I just feel like I need to warn other couples- if you use CP make sure they are familiar with your venue (or really do actually go do a proper site visit). AND specifically ask that they have their regular service team to work for you and not inexperienced staff they have fill in. (The explanations for my lack luster service.) I will say the cake they provided was nice, moist and tasted very good. read more

My friend and I tried this place for a lunch on a weekday. The place was relatively empty at first. The decor is comfortable and charming with its display of cracked pepper mills. since we went late We both got the box lunch (add a side and a cookie). Two box lunches plus 2 waters came to $28 w/tip. I had the Turkey club, side of Mac and cheese, and an oatmeal raisin cookie. The Mac and cheese was very good although it looked boring. I recommend it! The sandwich was crazy big. There was a lot of (pressed) turkey, tomatoes, but only one slice of cheese and one slice of lettuce. I loved the cranberry sauce in it! Next time I would customize it to add more cheese and lettuce. The bread was thick and there were 3 slices of it. The sandwich was cut in half (I thought quarters was the rule for a club!). I could only eat half of it. The cookie was ok. My friend had the Spinach and artichoke turkey panini, side of potato salad, and chocolate chip cookie. The "spinach artichoke was a spread. He too only ate half his huge sandwich. He said the potato salad was good. read more

See all

I've been looking for a good specialty donut place here in Peoria as I moved here from Chicago where they have a ton of amazing donut places. This place definitely fills my Chicago cravings. I got a bunch to try: maple bacon, creme brûlée, eclair, and lemon bar. I recommend all of the above! I can't wait to try lunch here one day. read more

Cracked Pepper Catering & Bakery - Creme brûlée, maple bacon, eclair, lemon bar. - Bakeries Near Me - Peoria, Illinois

I took a friend here in the early afternoon, just past the normal downtown lunch crowd time. It's a pretty small space overall, so I think our timing was just about perfect as we walked right up to the counter and had time to ponder the elaborate hand drawn chalk menu for a while without feeling pressured from people behind us waiting to order. Now, I was more focused on the person I was with than the various details of the place, but I got an overall good vibe from the interior and it was a nice cozy place to have lunch (although I could see it being a nightmare during peak lunch time rush) due to the diminutive interior. I had the turkey panini w/potato salad. Now, I must admit that I am a bit particular on my potato salads; some would might even say a bit of a "snob" (but I'm staying with particular), I really liked the potato salad here, good job! The panini was stuffed with meat and pretty huge, I was unable to finish but half of it. I will go back and explore more of the menu as I get the chance. read more

Came in this morning on the spur of the moment to purchase 8 dozen mini cinnamon rolls to bring to the construction job site. Was confronted by staff that in the future they would expect 24 hour notice for 8 dozen of their tiny cinnamon rolls. In the future I will take my business to Trefzger's Bakery who would be more than happy to sell me 8 dozen thumbprint cookies. read more

My husband and I fell in love with the venue, The Warehouse on State for our wedding reception, which is owned and operated by Cracked Pepper Catering. Their family of restaurants (Cracked Pepper, Sugar, Salt, & Thyme) had never disappointed us in the past so I knew we would be in good hands. While planning our wedding reception, we worked with Marla and Mykenzie exclusively during the complimentary tasting for up to 6 people (available after you pay the deposit for the venue) and up to the wedding day. They helped us plan a gorgeous spread of food, from appetizers to late night snacks and our delicious wedding cake. Our wedding cake was made exactly to our specifications. We provided a picture of what we liked and they did the rest! We heard so many people express how much they loved the food at our wedding. In addition to the spectacular food, the space at the The Warehouse on State is a wide open room with more than enough space to accommodate larger weddings. We were able to seat 186 people with more than enough room for a large dance floor, photo booth, gift tables, as well as other decorative areas that were designed especially for us. All of our guests expressed how much they loved our reception and how beautiful it was. Our coordinator, florist, and Cracked Pepper did an amazing job! Thank you!! read more

Pretty great choice for lunch in Peoria with their offering of paninis, salads, sandwiches, & soups. Pricing is not as cheap as your typical sandwich shop, but still around the $10 range. The pastries are very yummy & a great way for a sweet ending to the meal or something to go. Would recommend trying the bacon log - a long john style donut (no filling) with maple frosting & a strip of candied bacon in top. Think it sounds weird? Just don't think about it or look at it too much & just take a bite...it will all be worth it! read more

The gourmet grilled cheese was anything but. Menu says provolone and gouda, I got cheddar and Swiss. Blah. Weak watery coffee, espresso machine broken, skim only no half and half. Rude. Won't be back read more

purchased a seize the deal coupon and the only regret I have is not buying more! This place has great food, desserts and service. The first time I had them, they catered a meeting I attended, although it was a very simple deli sandwich, the quality of the ingredients really made it memorable enough to want to try more. We went on a sat afternoon around 130. The place wasn't too full, we ordered our food, ate and left in about 30 min. The menu was written on a chalk board making me think that it may change pretty regularly. I got a fresh mozzarella and portabello panini , made it a box lunch for 1.50 more - you get a side salad or chips and a cookie. I got the orzo southwestern salad and the chocolate chip cookie. My bf got the southwestern chicken salad wrap, potato salad and lemon cookie. We both agreed that the sandwiches were extremely fresh and flavorful. Neither sandwich nor salad was overly seasoned, thank goodness. It was the perfect balance of seasoning and SALT. Both side salads didn't have too much mayo, which I appreciated. overall, our visit was fantastic! Great staff, great food and reasonable prices. I will definitely will be back, hoping to try more of their baked goods! read more

My sister and maid of honor introduced me to this place. She hosted my bridal shower at "Salt,"and the food was AMAZING.. so naturally I wanted Cracked Pepper involved with my wedding. Unfortunately, I couldn't choose my own caterer but I COULD choose who made my cake. Sherrell (sp) the baker was SO awesome and such a beautiful spirit. She wanted my input on my cake and even asked if she could add some extra ideas that I LOVED. I didn't see my cake until my reception and it was GORGEOUS. I was so happy with the work she did and the cake tasted AMAAAAZING!!!! So moist and soft! My husband and I gave our guests the cupcakes and we took the whole cake home lol!! They did such a beautiful job and their customer service is second to none. I love this place and when I visit Peoria again I WILL be frequenting this place on a regular basis. Hidden jewel! read more

Food is awesome and customer service is great. Everytime my coworkers and I visit this restaurant on our lunch hour the service is fast and both the cashier and cook are super friendly. I have never had a bad experience at this place plus the tomato basil soup is amazing. read more

We had Cracked Pepper cater our wedding and were very happy with the service! The food was delicious and Marla was extremely helpful letting us know things we needed to think about and staying on the ball with things that needed to be done. I highly recommend them if you are getting married in Peoria any time soon:) read more

This is coming in juuuuust a tad late, but Cracked Pepper catered my wedding back in May of 2012 and I am just getting around to Yelp-ing our vendors. We were very happy with the experience we had with Cracked Pepper from start to finish. They allowed us to come in and taste the food that we would end up serving and also helped set us up with a baker that could make the cake that my wife dreamed of. As for the day of, they did a great job with the service and the food, as a whole, was good. I heard some murmurs from the folks who ordered the steak were not thrilled, but it was still a fine meal. The people who ordered the chicken and vegetarian dishes raved about the food all night. I had the steak, myself, and was not blown away by it...but when do you ever have a steak at a wedding and rave about it? By the end of the night, we were thankful to have worked with a caterer that cared about making our wedding a special day. Price was totally reasonable, especially since we were serving 350 people! If you are having a wedding in the Peoria area then you should definitely give Cracked Pepper a chance. read more

Excellent stop for breakfast pastries or lunch. Amazing bacon donuts. Love their veggie wrap for lunch. They also cater box lunches for workshops or business meetings including delivery. read more

This place is great! Diana and Ricky are an awesome team! They remember customers, are fast and always upbeat! The food is delicious! Chicken salad is great! Cactus chilli is wonderful! Grilled wraps are amazing! Gotta go there! read more

Cracked Pepper has catered for me countless times. They are always on time with delicious food! Thank you Cracked Pepper for being so flexible and easy to work with! read more

I have never actually been here, but I have had their donuts at a company function and they are delicious!!! The bacon log is by far a favorite among everyone. Who wouldn't want bacon on a donut?? I would love to try their lunch menu, I'm sure it's great. read more

Cracked Pepper is my favorite place to go for lunch during the work week! Everything I have tried has been delicious! I especially enjoy the portabello sandwich and the chop salad. The honey mustard vinegarette that comes with the salad is phenomenal. We also tried the maple bacon donut which was surprisingly good! Saw it in the pastry case and thougt "why not?!" The boxed lunch is a great value, comes with a side item and a cookie. I'd recommend the whipped sweet potatoes or orzo salad. For the cookie, go with the lemon cookie! read more

The best Veggie Wrap I've ever eaten. Ordered the wrap yesterday not fully knowing what to expect, first surprise was that it's served warm and then the taste just exploded in my mouth. Ablsolutely the best, will have it often for lunch. Have never been disappointed by Cracked Pepper. read more

Cracked Pepper catered my son's wedding (5/13/17) in our pasture in Springfield, Illinois. I was concerned about transporting the meal here from Peoria, but the food was hot and fresh. The beef tenderloin was perfectly prepared, and could be cut with a butter knife. The salmon and chicken were moist and delicious. The potatoes and green beans were great, and tasted fresh. We had a mixed greens salad with dried cherries, which was loaded with crunchy candied pecans. Our guests raved about the food, and the excellent service. Marla and her group were great to work with, and very accommodating. I highly recommend Cracked Pepper Catering! read more

Went with a friend couple months ago for a coffee and a roll--stayed until lunch. Completely filled up so we relinquished our table for others to use. The place gets really busy! I liked it!! read more

Last year I had a wonderful lunch at Salt, which led me to contact Cracked Pepper to cater a wedding at the Peoria Zoo. Cracked Pepper is on the Zoo's preferred vendors list and with good reason. Everything was set up in a timely manner, serving was executed flawlessly for the meal, and the amount of food ordered was pretty spot-on. I would strongly recommend their catering services to anyone. Special note is given to our request for their work on our Key Lime Pie and Salted Caramel cupcakes. They did a very close approximation to the flavors at our local bakery and were far less expensive. Crowd favorites were the sliders we ordered (duck and salmon) and their mashed potatoes, which went well with the glazed carrots. Where I felt Cracked Pepper could have done better is regarding gluten free cupcakes and communication. These prevented a 5 star rating, but do not dissuade me from strongly recommending their catering services. Gluten Free cupcakes could not be replicated at Cracked Pepper, so a special set was ordered for persons with celiac disease and nut allergy from our local bakery. Because they were not from Cracked Pepper, the special cupcakes were not their responsibility. This resulted in no labeling being used to prevent guests from eating the cupcakes that were meant only for persons with dietary restriction. I had to have my father grab a plate, take what was left, and run them over to the person with celiac disease to make sure she actually got dessert. Again, this was not Cracked Pepper's contractual responsibility nor is it something I would hold against them, but my rating would have been higher if they were thoughtful about these items since the only reason we brought in this outside food is because they were unable to make it. I struggled with communication while Marla was out of office, but this did not impede results. If a better business continuity plan were worked out so that clients could receive information/make changes/or schedule payment without Marla around, I would have rated this experience higher. Note to perspective clients, while Cracked Pepper Catering does box up the remainder of your cake, they do not do so for leftover food due to certain aspects of food safety protocol. Remaining food that requires refrigeration is thrown out at the end of the evening, which for us was six of the duck and/or salmon sliders. read more

We used their catering for our wedding. They were very friendly, the tasting was fantastic, and they were quick to get back to us at the start. Once they had our deposit, they stopped responding to our emails (which had been our only form of contact), until we called and pointed out they had been ignoring us for three months. After this the communication got much better. When it came to the actual catering- the food was ok. Through our conversations they asked for a serving order for the tables since we weren't using numbers- they were provided with a detailed list and a map of the tables, none of this was given to the staff at our wedding. They didn't know what to do. After a half hour of debating amongst themselves they picked a random corner and started serving food that had become luke warm while they debated. Over all the food was great (when served hot), but their communication with us and even with their own staff was severely lacking. read more

I was excited to see the new Cracked Pepper on W Glen Ave. Ordered my favorite Turkey Bacon Club Sandwich but was disappointing. Bread was too soft. Barely toasted. Bacon was just precooked bacon still cold. I like Club sandwiches due in part to the crispy bacon. BIG let down! read more

We used the newly opened Warehouse on Water Street for my wedding reception this past January, and it was wonderful! It is connected with the soon-opening Thyme restaurant. Cracked Pepper (same owner) catered it, and while I knew it would be good from the beginning, it did not disappoint! We heard nothing but good things from our guests, with how quickly and efficiently the staff worked, to how delicious and hot the meal was (served buffet style). Cracked Pepper was also great to work with along the entire way, offering a taste testing early on so we could choose exactly what we wanted our meal to be. Thanks for making our event fantastic! read more

I have been making a weekly trip from Bloomington to Peoria for many, many years to eat lunch at one of Travis Mohlenbrinks eating establishment, starting with Cracked Pepper on NE Adams. We currently alternate out lunches between Thyme, Sugar and Cracked Pepper in the Metro Center, since the menu is different in each location. The "new" Cracked Pepper is always a good place for a really good lunch. When we had lunch at the "old" Cracked Pepper on NE Adams, we developed our favorite, which was the Italian Beef sandwich. This same sandwich is available at the new Cracked Pepper, and still outstanding. Coming in a close second is the Pulled Pork. We also like all of their choice of sides and change from lunch to lunch, depending what sounds good that time. As with Thyme and Sugar, the food is excellent, and well worth the drive from Bloomington, summer or winter. read more

Been numerous times and enjoy most everything on the menu. Great lunch with items slightly different than other lunch spots.

I recently worked an event that was catered by Cracked Pepper and it was amazing!! They had a fresh fruit bar, salad bar, and rotating entrees and sides. Everything that I had was absolutely delicious and they topped themselves every day. If you ever get a chance to try their Red Lentil and Sweet Potato salad, do not turn it down! I have never had anything like it and could have eaten the entire bowl. Their staff was incredibly gracious and attentive and I hope that they are hired again for this event next year! read more

I got married a month ago at the Gateway Building downtown Peoria. My husband and I were looking for something fun and unique for our reception so I did tastings with 3 of their preferred caterers. Our decision to work with Cracked Pepper was based on not only the quality of their food they provided at the tasting but the people as well. Marla was open to our ideas from the very beginning and found ways to make those happen all within our budget. We ended up having the following menu: A wine themed cocktail hour including cheese, crackers, fresh fruit, bacon wrapped dates and brisket stuffed mushrooms. Dinner consisted of a taco bar, a pasta bar and brisket, veggies and potatoes. Everyone raved about the food and even a month later I am still getting compliments. We also had mini cookies and cinnamon rolls on our dessert table and there were only crumbs left! I would highly recommend Cracked Pepper for any event of any size. read more

Cracked Pepper Catering & Bakery - Fresh Fruit, cheese, cured meats, breadsticks and bacon wrapped dates and brisket stuffed mushrooms for cocktail hour. - Bakeries Near Me - Peoria, Illinois

See all

We used Cracked Pepper to cater our wedding reception. We chose the buffet option and had parmesan chicken, ribs, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, & rolls. All the food was delicious! Our guests were very impressed! Cracked Pepper also made our cupcakes for our reception. We chose strawberry with lemon icing, marble with chocolate icing, chocolate with peanut butter icing, and red velvet with cream cheese icing. All the cupcakes were very delicious! We had a taste testing before with the baker Scheral who was very nice and professional. She offered to make whatever cupcakes we wanted! Cracked Pepper also was in charge of our bar. I had mentioned to Marla if her staff could make a signature drink to serve at our reception similar to a drink that we had on our wedding day in St. Thomas. Her staff was able to make the drink exactly like the one we had in the Virgin Islands! Overall, everything was amazing and I would recommend Cracked Pepper Catering to everyone! Marla was awesome to work with and very easy to keep in contact! Thank you guys so much! read more