I've seen Ortiz Bakery at the Riverfront Farmers market many times, but never stopped. I was on the hunt for authentic tres leches cake for my mom's birthday and this bakery seemed like it would be the best choice. I was a little confused when first arriving opening the door to a number of bakers racks in the middle of the floor - it felt like you were entering the 'back door'. There was also a slightly unsettling 'alarm' that rang as the door was opened, not your typical 'ding dong' of a shop door. I picked up 5 pieces of tres leches cake - $4 a piece... a definite value! The gentleman behind the counter diligently and carefully packed each dripping moist piece of cake into its own to go box. Each piece of cake is topped with a glazed strawberry half - the cake was absolutely delightful. Moist, creamy, utterly delicious! I will definitely be back and highly recommend! read more

Review Visit: June 27th, 2013 The place for Mexican baked goods in Peoria. Laura and Matt told me about this little bakery in Peoria that I had to check out. So, doing what I do, I told them to meet me there the next chance we go. We grabbed Tim along the way and headed there for some baked goodies. I will admit that I had no idea what the place was when I was told about it. All I heard was a Mexican bakery I need to check out. I didn't know what to expect but what we experienced was definitely not what I imagined. Most bakeries, when you think of them, are those glass display cases loaded up with tons of bakery items. Breads, cookies, rolls, etc. When we stepped in Panaderia, it was all that and then some. They had the display cases full of stuff but they also had these metal rack holders with racks of baked goods on them. Whether there were for public purchase or they there using the main part of the building as a cooling off area, I don't know. But the smells were overwhelming, in a good way. The place smelled heavenly, even if I wasn't sure what I was smelling. We moved over to the display cases and started to pick out a few things. Some of the things were easy to figure out while a few of the things required us to ask the cashier what they were. He was more than willing to help us pick out our snacks. We all picked out a handful of goodies and headed out. I didn't realize until after we left that they sold pizza as well. That seems odd at first but if you think about it, it does make some sense. Do you not bake a pizza? Don't bakeries bake things? Just put 2 and 2 together and you have a winning combo. As we walked to the car, we snacked on the goodies. I tried to stick to the safe stuff that I knew I would like but I did get a few unknown things as well. It turned out, even the safe bet food took me by surprise. A chocolate chip cookie is a chocolate chip cookie but you add cooking methods used by different ethnic groups and you can find some nuances in how the final cookie tastes. Panaderia is just that. Offering you things that you are familiar or unfamiliar with but adding a bit of Mexican-style of baking to it. My treats were delicious and I have been wanting to go back to get more and to try their pizza out. read more

Panaderia Ortiz Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - Peoria, Illinois

It is hard to find an authentic tamale in the Peoria area. Well, if you are on the hunt, this is the place to go! I only stopped in for the tamales, but had a very pleasant conversation with the young man who worked there and he shared information about the menu. I most defiantly look forward to sampling more of their offerings. OH-and for the tamales, they were excellent! read more

I have yet to try the food here but the pastries were decent! The owner was nice. I give it a 3 because the atmosphere. I tried the churro which was good and the vanilla flavored empanada. Both pretty good! read more

Panaderia Ortiz Bakery - Pastry vanilla empanadas - Bakeries Near Me - Peoria, Illinois

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Only place I was able to find that sells good Mexican Bread. I came here to get some pan dulce and bolillos. They were very tasty. The people working there were very friendly and courteous. read more

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Panaderia Ortiz (PO) is a very unique neighborhood gem and difficult to compare with other local restaurants. This place is a local Mexican bakery, a mini-grocery store, and an order-and-sit restaurant all rolled into one. As a bakery, PO is by far the most unique and delicious in the Peoria area. The selection is incredible. You start by grabbing a metal tray and a pair of tongs. You then walk through and select any number of pastries, cookies, breads, or treats. Counted over 30 different items to choose from. Most of them I've never seen before. Once you've selected, you walk up to the counter and pay. Would rate the bakery by itself 5 stars. The restaurant portion has a small menu with Tacos, Burritos, Tortas, or Tamales. I ordered the three tacos (all chicken) with rice and beans on the side. The server messed up the order but corrected it later. The tacos were outstanding. The rice and beans (especially the beans) were sub-par. The beans were dry, overcooked, and pasty. The tacos are served in a double mini soft corn tortilla with cilantro and salsa. Very yummy. 3 stars for the restaurant. Last they have a mini grocery section with hard to find Mexican items. Overall unique experience. You get the feeling you've temporarily left Peoria for a quick trip to Mexico when going here. Must have the right expectations when eating in. I will definitely go back. read more

Panaderia Ortiz Bakery - Three Chicken Tacos - Bakeries Near Me - Peoria, Illinois

This is a hidden Peoria gem that makes probably the most authentic tacos in Peoria. I come here with my co-workers once every few weeks and have yet to be disappointed. I always get 4 steak tacos and a Jarritos, and it hits the spot every time. Be sure to get the green sauce if you need a little kick. I once bought two heaping batches of the shit for like $10. It's great on tacos, pizza, anything. The sweets aren't bad either and I had my first ever tamale here. The greatest tacos in Peoria. I'll be back. read more

¡Olé! It's a new Mexican bakery just a bit northeast of downtown. If you haven't yet visited, you owe it to yourself to stop in and grab an assortment of their conchas, sweet breads, cookies, and- believe it or not- tamales. I've been here half a dozen times, and hadn't tried the tamales until my last visit. They're available with either green or red sauce in them, and both varieties are made with pork. ¡Que rico! But seriously, the attraction here is the collection of sweets...and MAN, are they SWEEET. If you are due for some dental work, I would stay away. But if you have no problem shrugging off the sugar, then this place is for you. Mr. Bernardo Ortiz and his nice wife, the owners, are very accomodating. The first time we stopped in, he gave us a tour of all the different sweet treats behind in cases, and before we left, he set us up with a little sample box of all their offerings so that we could spread the good word to our friends. Humble, guerilla marketing at its finest. They take advance orders for tamales, cakes, etc. And they make their own version of a flatbread-style pizza too. Give the new kids on the block a shot! read more

If you want authentic Mexican, this place is quite nearly a taqueria in addition to a bakery. The tacos and burritos are phenomenal, service is prompt and attentive, and the salsas are RIDICULOUSLY GOOD. The treats are great too, but do yourself a favor and order some tacos. You're gonna like the way they taste. I guarantee it. read more

It's a hit or miss place. Tamales are great. Tacos are good but not a lot to them. Baked goods are decent. Best for take out. read more

Panaderia Ortiz Bakery - Hope the prices help - couldn't find a menu online. - Bakeries Near Me - Peoria, Illinois

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This is the place!!! We got four delicious tacos and about eight supremely made pastries for $18. The tacos come in steak, chicken, or pork. We tried all three, and man were they great. Each taco is only $1.99. They come with lime wedges and one green salsa and one red salsa. The green is your typical tangy and tasty green tomatillo, while the reddish one is more like a smokey chipotle - both awesome! We plan on returning to try the tortas and burritos, among other items. They also have a full-scale coffee service that we want to try. Huge selection of baked items. The owner was very kind and gave us plenty of info when he learned we were first timers. He told us they also serve pizzas. We're excited to live so close to this place! Just sad we waited so long to try it! Note: the only reason I didn't give it five stars is for the atmosphere...the least important aspect of the food service business in my opinion. read more

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Very nice family run bakery, with generous servings and very reasonable prices. I think they make the best tamales in the area, and good tortas and burritos as well. Baked goods are very nice and plentiful. Service is good and gracious and commonly includes a little something extra from the bakery. Tres leeches and flan are both tremendous. read more

So good. So cheap. I would go here every day if only they weren't so far away! I'm sure everything they bake is excellent, but I haven't been back enough times to try all the pastries, because the selection is ridiculously wide... and also because I can't stop buying the churros. read more

Authentic bakery. They are reasonably priced and there pastries are the best in town. You really have to try their cream filled churros.

Not a huge selection of hot food, but what they do make is really great. It is a bit out of the way for us, but we make a habit of stopping there for lunch when we are in the area. They make the best, authentic taco's in Central Illinois. Their baked goods are reasonably priced and good. read more

Panaderia Ortiz made our wedding the great event that it was.They prepared excellent appetizers: shrimp ceviche and savory mini pastries. They also provided the main dish, original and tasty tacos with rice and beans. Finally, they made our delicious cake. They were very attentive and listened to our desires and needs through the entire process. They were able to provide the customized dishes and cake we wanted and they delivered right to the event! Thank you, Ortiz family for making our wedding a memorable event! Anne and Pablo read more

Overall: Poor service, did not get the food we ordered, not good. After having delicious pastries and tamales at the farmer's market, we decided to go here for lunch. There were no adults in sight. We ordered, paid, and were waited on by two young teenagers. My husband and I each ordered three tacos with rice and beans and a mexican soda. Our bill cane to $18. The kids brought us three tacos each, no salsa, no rice, no beans. The limes looked like they were cut two days ago and left out to shrivel. There wasn't even an adult present for us to voice our complaints. I am so disappointed to read other reviews about excellent service when our experience was so terrible. I am also so disappointed we did not even get to try these famous salsas everyone else raves about on this site. I am not sure if we went on a bad day or if service has declined over time. We will not be back. We had planned to get pastries to go. But, the pastries looked old and there were flies in the case. At this point, I am not even sure we will continue to patronize the cart at the markets. One review on here claims the customer got 8 pastries and four tacos for $18 with excellent service. Our $18 got us poor service, six tacos, two drinks, no pastries, no salsas. Utter disappointment after how excited I was to try this place for lunch. read more

I over all had a good experience here. For some odd reason they only had steak available, but I'm going to give this place the benefit of the doubt and say I was just unlucky. When I explained I don't eat beef, she made me a vegetable burrito and knocked two dollars off the price. The burrito was delicious with lots of avocado in it! The strawberry smoothie was also pretty good if a little hard to drink. it had large chunks of ice that kept getting stuck in the straw. I also bought a churro heart on my way out and found it crisp and delicious. The woman working there was very friendly even if there was a slight communication breakdown. I won't fault her for that. English is a hard language. Her young daughter was also there and asked how everything was and recommended a baked good when I asked her. The menu was a bit small but tasted fairly authentic. Hard to tell without the meat. But I'd definitely head here if you're in the area. read more

I tried this place for the first time last week and I've been there three times since. The food is simply amazing. The atmosphere provides more of an authentic feel and the service would meet, if not exceed, the average persons standards. read more

This is the worst place ever!!!!!! I bought a tres leches cake for $30 and when I got home and tried , it was spoiled and the frosting tasted like it has been in the refrigerator for days, and I couldn't call them that night because they were close so I call them the next day and the "guy" who answered the phone after I explained him what had happened He started yelling and denied that the cake was spoiled, and had a really super bad attitude and after all I was the one who paid $30 for something that could get my family sick.I definitely do not recommend this place. I will never ever go back to a place like this that try to accuse customer for they mistakes and don't accept that the stuff they sell is a low quality. read more

Ortiz Bakery is a very good local Mexican bakery. They have great pastries that are extremely cheap and pretty fresh. They also serve food, which isn't amazing but is pretty good. read more

It was great. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because it's a bit on the pricey side. You get what you pay for though because the steak tacos I had were outrageously delicious!!! :-) read more

The only problem is, whenever I've called the phone number 309 643-1300 its always answered by a fax tone instead of a live person!! How in the hell are you supposed to phone an order in??? read more

Good selection of baked goods but get there early so you'll have your pick. This is true authentic Mexican food. They have a basic menu but you can request other traditional dishes that aren't on there. The pride of ownership is evident, they keep a nice clean bakery that pumps out the dough. read more