Stopped by this BBQ spot inside the mall, and it's a hidden gem!…read moreService was top-notch, friendly and attentive, and there's plenty of seating with casual ambiance. I ordered the 2 meats and 2 sides, 3 rib bones, a catfish fillet, and collard greens. Everything was flavorful, meaty, and cooked just right. Sweet potatoes and greens were on point. Great value. Desserts range from banana pudding to peach cobbler. I'm a repeat customer... It's that good!

Tender and smoky bbq! Delicious and affordable! Plenty of seats for dining in and the employees are…read morealways so kind and helpful!

Smokin BBQ did not disappoint! The catfish dinner was delicious with yams and baked beans. My aunt…read moreordered coleslaw (with raisins). She enjoyed it. The ambiance is quaint with soothing Jazz playing in the background. Our server, Felicity, was amazing, friendly, knowledgeable, and quick, with a beautiful smile. Loved that the Manager, Mya, stopped by each table to check on the customers and their dining experience. We'll definitely be back!

Solid BBQ! I like the candied yams and the brisket was great. Service was good and quick. The…read moreambiance was diner style and pretty standard.

Typically really enjoy this place. I thought I would try the ribs tonight because I usually just…read moreget turkey and sausage. Not sure if I'll get the ribs again. The size of these ribs are extremely small. I definitely got the end of the rack and it's pretty disappointing to be honest considering This meal for just one with two sides two meats a dessert and drink came to $38. Disappointing tonight for sure!

Review Visit: March 20th, 2019…read more Where there is smoke, there is usually fire. This fire was caused by barbecue sauce mixed with jalapenos. On a dreary and boring day off from work, I asked my mom out to lunch. Since she loves BBQ, I asked if she wanted to come here. Not long after that, the small lunch grew to include my sister and niece as they were also free and hungry. We pulled up shortly after they opened and must've been the first customers there as the place was empty. Upon entering, we were greeted by one of the chefs and he asked us if it were our first time there, as we had the clueless look on our face on how to order. He told us the layout is similar to a cafeteria. You order your main meal with him and then you slide down and get your sides/extras from the second chef. At the end of that is the cashier. I have to say that at every stop, the staff was patient and courteous to us ordering our food. The menu is posted behind the food counter, so you can peruse it while deciding what you want to eat. Once you are done paying, you carry your food to a table of your choice. If you ordered wings or anything that needed cooked, they will bring it out to your table. We all sat down and immediately dug in to our food. I got up to get ketchup for my fries and noticed they had jalapenos available. So, I snagged some of those for my pulled pork sandwich. That was a mistake but a good one. Hot hot hot! The first bite was the fire being started. By the 3rd or 4th bite, my mouth was ablaze. Between the jalapenos and the mixed bbq sauce (combination of hot and mild, I believe), my sister asked if I needed the fire department. I politely declined as I downed my soda and took some deep breaths to extinguish the five-alarm fire in my mouth. My mom got the 'Cue Shoe, which is their version of a horseshoe. She was in love after the first bite. My niece got some mild barbecue wings and chili fries. She didn't seem too excited about the wings until she got some hot sauce to dip them in. My sister got one of the turkey sandwiches and also fell in love after the first bite. She was so impressed that she wants to come back for dinner on her birthday. Price-wise, this place is cheap for the quality you get. My meal was $9 for a sandwich, two sides, and a drink. If you want, you can order just the a sandwich for as little as $4.99. I've been to a few barbecue places and this one wins on both price and quality. As for the restaurant itself, it has a heavy Texas theme. Texas license plates all over the walls. Wood floors, walls, and ceilings. Southern hospitality from the staff. On the back wall, they had one of the coolest things I've seen in awhile. A mosaic made of beer bottle caps. You can see it in the gallery below. All-in-all, it was a great way to spend the afternoon with the family. We left with full bellies and smiles on our faces. Those smiles may be hidden behind the barbecue sauce left on our cheeks from the food.

Stopped in for first time after living in Peoria for 25 years. I'm so sorry it took so long. Loved…read morethe menu. I can see coming a dozen times and getting something new each time. Had the ribs and my wife had the wings. Both were fantastic. Their BBQ sauces were excellent. Mustard Ale sauce was my favorite. You have to give it a try. Wings were meaty and juicy. Ribs did what you want ribs to do. Fall off the bone. Excellent flavor. Staff was friendly. Place wasn't busy. I'll be back very soon.

Medium - medium/high priced menu of some very tasty and great treats. The pulled pork…read moresandwich/fries/drink combo is a perfect fit for a relatively conservatively priced lunch. True gentlemen own/manage this eatery and do their collective best ensuring your food escape more than a hearty and filling meal. Seat yourself. Music is medium loud and the waitresses first class. Enjoy!

Although this location is just a prep kitchen for Catering, they still let me try some of the BBQ…read more AMAZING food coming out of Dac's. Ryan was super friendly also. Ryan hooked me up with some samples to try out and I'll definitely be ordering catering from them in the future. 10/10

Reliably great barbeque. I love the salad with smoked ham which feels decadent but, with loads of…read morefresh greens, you can tell yourself is healthy. The BBQ egg rolls are awesome. So glad they opened this 2nd location for carry out on the East side of the river!

Wow wow wow! My bartender recommended the wings and they are to die for! First smoked, then fried…read morethen sauced with Asian buffalo sauce. I'm not sure what the sauce was, but I couldn't stop eating it! Then went with the Asian tacos with brisket. Very interesting combination of sauces and brisket. I added the vinegar based bbq sauce for even more yum! Ended with the key lime pie. Definitely different than I was expecting, but very solid none the less. I highly recommend this place! Go get you some!!

The wife and I were in town for a wedding, and I'd read some good reviews about the Blue Duck…read moreBarbecue Tavern. We dropped in for dinner on a cold Tuesday evening about 6:30pm. Not real busy, but I did notice that there seemed to be several "Door Dash" pickups while we ate dinner. We had good service. Our waitress was attentive and knowledgeable about the menu. We ordered 1/2 rack ribs (4 stars), 1/2lb Brisket (3 1/2 stars), Brunswick stew (4 1/2 starts), and Chili Con Carnie (5 stars). The house made barbecue sauce was the highlight of the meal (5 Stars). The ribs were very good and fell off the bone. The sauce made them exceptional. Brisket was tasty, but a little dry for my wife's liking. In hindsight, we probably should have ordered the brisket "chopped". The waitress indicated that the "chopped" brisket was more "fatty". The Chili Con Carnie was very very good. Not something that you see at a Barbeque place often. I highly recommend. The key lime pie was very tasty and better than what you get at most places. Although not quite exceptional. Worth a try though. Overall, we liked the Blue Duck Barbecue Tavern. Great location and lots of character. Very good ribs, excellent homemade barbeque sauce.

Great food. Brisket and turkey were great. As was the slaw and burger! Drinks are a little high…read morepriced, but great experience. Service was accurate and fast.

This place was a random selection during a conference. The food was just ok and didn't have much…read moreseasoning.

Incredible seafood at very reasonable prices! Holy Crab offers authentic Acadian Cajun boiled crab,…read moreshrimp, scallops, and fish pots of several varieties and spice levels (cayenne & black pepper stands out more). They also have a few other Cajun specialties, including gumbo (one of my favorites) which has a subtly more Creole taste (tomato & paprika is more forward) and crispy sweet-corn hush puppies (reminds me of Paul Prudhomme's recipe which is more wheat than corn, and has sweet onion). I enjoyed our seafood boil dinner so much, I went back for lunch the next day. I got the Holy Crab sampler which features catfish, oysters, shrimp, a crab cake, fries, and I added a tilapia fillet. All of the fish was expertly prepared, and their batter is a rich and crispy sweet-onion batter with a dusting of corn to add to the texture. The portions were very generous for the price. I also got the egg fried rice, which was very tasty, and filled me up after a long day of walking around. For dinner, we went just after peak hours, and the service was fairly quick (for a seafood boil). It was much busier at lunch, but they were able to prepare and serve the food lightning-fast, even with a number of to-go orders being picked up during service. The staff are friendly, and checked on us regularly to top off drinks (we went with medium spiciness, which was perfect with iced tea). Holy Crab ended up being my favorite stop of my trip in Peoria. The food, service, and prices were all quite good. If I'm in the area again, I will stop here to eat for sure!

Crab legs were tough. Fried shrimp was over done. Combo platter that included fried oysters,…read moreshrimp and crab cake was mediocre. Crab cake was best thing in the combo. Party of 6 and we were all disappointed. Wish I could give a better review.

This place will make you feel like you're on vacation as it overlooks Illinois River. They have…read moredelicious barbecue and daily specials. Inside spacious and clean. The homemade fries and potato chips are wonderful! Today is Sunday and we had two dollar bloody Mary's and two dollar loaded chili dogs! Service folks are cheerful and fun.

This place is closed and for sale hopefully someone will buy this great bar great river view and a…read morelot of history

The original Big John's Bar-B-Q was a Peoria institution. After John Robinson went to rib heaven,…read morehis family continued the business, and the restaurant moved around Peoria a few times over the years. Then in 2014 it disappeared but has recently come back in the former Riley's Cleaners building on Willow Knolls. If John could see what his legacy has been reduced to, he'd probably be turning in his grave like a slow-roasting brisket. They have one register which is nowhere near enough to accomodate the line of customers during busy times. They were out of cole slaw AND beans, so I settled on regular fries and sweet potato fries, both of which were lukewarm and soggy, as was the cornmeal waffle. And they forgot my cheesecake and it took two employees almost 10 minutes to locate a piece. Fortunately, the ribs are still perfectly tender, and the sauce is every bit as unique and amazing as it ever was. I recommend getting just those as take-out, and then using your own side dishes at home to make a full meal. John's BBQ is still legendary, but the restaurant itself is a shadow of its former Peoria glory.

If you liked Big Johns, or if you just love barbecue, you will love this place. It's almost the…read moresame menu as Big Johns, and the quality is every bit as good. The staff was friendly, and we got the ur food quickly. I'm going to become a regular.