I ordered the chai, half expecting something thin and overly sweet. What arrived instead was a…read morewarm, fragrant testament to restraint--balanced spices, just enough milk, and a whisper of quiet joy. I sat back with K.W. in one of the window-side chairs, letting the mug steam gently into the late-morning light, and took in the interior. It's the kind of place that rewards attention: reclaimed wood, soft colors, seating that invites rather than insists. This was not an Instagram café--it was a Christian coffee shop. And I mean that as praise. I don't just mean it had a verse on the wall or worship music humming faintly behind the grinder. I mean the place carried a spirit of care. You could feel it in the details, the warmth of the baristas, and--most of all--in the baby shower happening quietly in the side room. From what I could tell, it was all women--close family friends of the expectant mother--gathered in soft tones, with gifts, cake, and affection flowing. There were balloons. Laughter. Maybe a tear or two, but the joyful kind. I thought about the holiness of childhood, the ridiculous courage of parenting, and the spiritual stubbornness it takes to keep loving in public. There are many ways to do Christianity poorly. But when it holds space for reflection, for the protection of the vulnerable--children, the poor, the disabled--it becomes something rare and tender. Guest House feels like one of those places where such values are quietly lived out, without announcement or ego. I'll be back. For the chai. For the ambience. But mostly to support a place that, in its own gentle way, remembers what a gift life is.

Be our guest and stay awhile…read more.. What once used to be By the Bean is now and has been for awhile Guest House Coffee and Pastries. This has been on my list for awhile now and with Emily and I heading to St. Louis to catch a flight to Colorado, it was the perfect time to get some caffeine before we embarked on a long day of traveling. We popped in a bit before lunch and were greeted by a friendly barista. He took our order fairly quickly and then we took a seat while we waited... and waited... and waited. There was 2 people ahead of us and it took about 10 minutes for our drinks to come out and a few minutes after that to get our baked goods. I got a peanut butter cookie and Emily got a lemon blueberry thingy. Sorry, I'm not great at knowing which is which when it comes to baked goodies. Once we got our goods, we made a beeline for the interstate. This is when I decided to try their cold brew and wow... it was the punch of bitterness that I love. Sometimes places pull back on the bitter but not at Guest House. After a few sips, I tried my peanut butter cookie and found it sorely lacking. I thought it was going to be soft but it was hard, crumbly and dry. I'm not sure if they can warm them up before serving them to you but if I could've had that, it may have helped a lot. I eventually ate most of it but really wish I had some milk to dip it in. I don't remember what Emily got but she seemed to really enjoy it. As for her lemon blueberry item, she said it was dry but that's normal for what it is. I tried a nibble and the flavor was definitely on point. It's not something I would've enjoyed but she seemed to really like it. As for the Guest House overall, I liked that they kept a lot of the decor from By the Bean. I was happy to see the doors that were previously there still there. If we weren't trying to get our stuff and get out ASAP, the wait time wouldn't have been a problem and with that in mind, I don't factor it into my score. We did leave wondering why there was one guy up front and what seemed like 2 employees in the back. But that's neither here nor there at this point. I would definitely come back to Guest House and maybe try to see if they would warm up their cookies before devouring them.

How sweet it is!…read more Let's preface this blog post by saying that The Sweet Bean is set to close on May 13th. Not only did I recently hear about this place for the first time but in the same breath I heard they were closing. So, I knew it was a high priority to check it out. It just so happens that my girlfriend also loves coffee and sweet treats, so we booked it there the first chance we got. I'm not too familiar with the inner workings of how Pekin is laid out so I never would've stumbled upon this place without either being told about it or finding it on Yelp/Google/other sources of information. Thank gosh for GPS We arrived in the later part of the morning once we woke up and got moving for the day. We both were in need of some coffee and something to put in our bellies. Upon entering, we were greeted by a friendly person behind the counter who ended up being the owner. She asked us what the photo taking out front was about and I briefly mentioned how I like to try out local coffee places. She said they only have the basic coffee choices as they are more of a bakery and I said that as long as you serve coffee, that is good enough for me. Emily got a flavored cold brew and a giant turtle cookie and I got a plain cold brew and a dark chocolate cherry... scone? I'm not 100% sure it was a scone. I just pointed at what I wanted and she told me what it was but was too distracted by all the delicious-looking treats in the display case to remember what she said. The total for two 16 ounce drinks and two baked goods was only $13. That is a really good deal, imo. We snagged a table and sat there, sipping our coffees and trying each other's snack. Emily was jealous of my treat and I was a bit jealous of her treat. They were both super delicious and I am glad we got them heated up as I think that really make their homemade deliciousness POP. I couldn't get over how thick and chewy my treat was. It tasted exactly like how it sounds but cranked to an 11. The cold brew was just that. Long-steeped coffee over ice. I don't think I've ever had a cold brew that wasn't just that and that is perfectly fine in my book While we were checking out, we noticed some stickers for sale. I tried to buy 2 but was told I had to use venmo to pay for the stickers as they were being sold by an independent seller. We ended up grabbing 5 for $15 once I worked out how to pay the person directly. This might be the first time I've seen something sold in a store that wasn't able to be rung up at the register. I didn't get a photo of the 5 we bought but you can rest assure they are mostly coffee-themed. I am truly sad this place is closing up it's doors. You can see on their FB page the reasons why so I won't go into that here. Make sure you pop in while you can before the oven is turned off for good.

Love this new little place in town! Fresh homemade muffins - love the banana nut, wow. Haven't…read moretried anything else yet but the coffee is great too. Comes from a coffee place in Peoria that roasts their own they said. Really good. Beats Starbucks any day

Great food, great service, timely and accommodating for our special requests! We went on a Sunday…read moreafter church and it was packed but no wait.

We stopped by this spot while visiting our son at college. Coming from Los Angeles, we found the…read morefried chicken very good and the pork chop was nicely sized and thick. The apple pie was tasty, though it came in a to-go container, and my pancake arrived separate from my breakfast meal. The servers and staff were friendly and helpful, and the dining area is fine for a casual meal, nothing fancy. Our food took a bit longer than expected, so if you're in a rush, this might not be the best choice.

The Knight and The Bible…read more On a drive up to Chicago to catch a vacation flight, we stopped at The Cup and The Scone to get us caffeinated for the rest of the drive. We got there about 30 minutes before close and the barista was super nice as we ordered our drinks. Emily got a caramel latte and I got the.. you guessed it... an iced americano. We also grabbed a blueberry-lemon, cranberry-orange, and birthday cake scone. While we stood there as the barista was making our drinks, we chatted her up a bit and we were able to get a few free stickers from her. She said they don't use them all too much and was happy to give us two each. Once we got our drinks, we took off to the upper part of the coffeehouse and promised we wouldn't be too long since they were closing soon. Before we headed upstairs, I took some photos with the suit of armor that is by the counter. When we got upstairs, I was surprised to see another suit of armor, so I took a photo with that one, too. The Cup and The Scone specializes in a lot of gluten-free products and a small bit of religion. I don't know if their entire menu is gluten-free but as someone who's mom is gluten sensitive (and I will probably be at some point), the care about GI issues is great. As for the religious stuff, if you don't see the occasion bible strewn about the place, you'd honestly never know. But, their website seems to support helping people and I think that also is super great as this world is getting rough and scary. Any who, Emily and I really enjoyed our drinks. The americano hit all the right notes and Emily was delighted with her latte. We were split on the scones. I really liked the birthday cake while she really liked the cranberry-orange while we both thought the blueberry-lemon was just alright. We held true to our promise and dipped out before 2pm and hit the road. If I find myself in Pontiac for some reason in the future, The Cup and The Scone will definitely be my spot to get some americanos.

I was initially drawn to this spot by the big knight in shining armor that I saw on Yelp (I'm a big…read morechess fan) and then pleasantly surprised at how cool this place is. The decor really makes this spot, with lots of fun themed signs throughout the restaurant. This definitely gives it a different and more fun vibe than the average coffee house and the upstairs loft is cozy to hangout in as well. The coffee flavors and preparation are quite good here -- flavorful, and made with high quality ingredients. I also enjoyed the mini scones, with a nice texture that was soft but a little more firm than a muffin. Overall, definitely worth a visit if you're in Pontiac. Great vibe and delicious food.

The new business was opened and a group of us tried it. We all had coffee or tea and some got…read morecookies. The iced mocha coffee was disappointing and cost more than other places. Would not buy the iced coffee again! It's a nice setting though and glad there is a business in there again. Hopefully they will get things ironed out and do well, I sure hope so.

It was closed (likely due to COVID). bummer, looked nice. Do I have to give rating to let people…read moreknow that? I gave it 5 stars for promise of the future.

Visited 2x while in town... had the Colombia pour over... amazing! Friendly staff, great space!…read moreKinda wish I had work to do so I could stay and hang a bit!

STILL my number 1 of ever, after hundreds of shops working coffee by cold brew, espresso,…read moresparkling, and more between Philadelphia, St Paul, Miami, Denver, and San Diego, Zion remains the crowned! I am in love with their wildly wacky tonics, most recently this spring pomplemousse! The tea cake latte is fine too but I miss the old vibrant mixes that were more adventurous. There's a wholesome obnoxious vibe between pure white walls, dirty disco and thumping music, a polite and talented barista troupe, posh and perfect menu both alcoholic and food. Avo toast will convert the most hardened of appetites! I've never tried a cocktail yet a bit intoxicated with their methods for putting together java and espresso. I wish they offered discounts for personal cups, a more inviting and fair rewards program, and the bright big space suddenly becomes a small noisy circus on busy weekends but overall this is the ideal. Peoria should be proud!

Great stuff! The smell when I walked in had me mesmerized! Great menu, great flavor, and…read moreoutstanding service. They are very attentive and pleasant. The salad was excellent and I could tell the ingredients were very fresh. The main courses came out quickly, nice and hot. They've got a few veggie options, but I'd love to see an eggplant parm. I'd probably come by every month if they had that lol. Highly recommend, check it out!

Service was fast and friendly. Omelette was done just right. I'd definitely go there again.read more

Got the hot honey chicken sandwich for lunch and it was amazing! If you're going for a light lunch…read moreorder something else because this thing was huge.

We stopped in to grab a dark rye sea salt chocolate cookie! They are always so good! The pastries,…read morebreads, and cookies are all delicious here!

If you are looking for high quality, unique drinks made by friendly staff this is your place! They…read morenever disappoint from a pour over to a seasonal special. The picture is an espresso mule, which was absolutely delicious, and a definite first experience. Hands down the best coffee experience in Decatur.

Super cool cafe, suitable for working on laptops. The baristas are so professional in coffee making…read moreand nice to chat with. I like the major color of black, which makes the cafe calm and cozy, especially vibes with rainy days. Their coffee beans have special sorts of aroma, and their coffee tastes really good when mixed with oat milk. Love this cafe!

We love Tonys Diner! Went for breakfast with my Bros last week. Tina was our waitress and made us…read morefeel very welcome. Our food came out quickly and was delicious with plentiful portions. Tina kept the coffees full and checked us often to make sure we didn't need anything. Great homemade food and terrific service as always at Tony's Diner! Definitely Recommend! Kate the Artist

Food was great and service was efficient. We arrived 30 minutes before they closed, but they were…read morevery gracious and welcoming. We had a patty melt with fries and soup. Everything was delicious. I recommend Tony's hot sauce. You could tell the vegetables were roasted or grilled which added a lot of flavor. Put a little in your ketchup with your french fries and you'll love it! We had coconut pie for dessert which was just average. Highly recommend the place.