I've been enjoying trying out different coffee shops in the Peoria area and this time I brought my…read moresister along! This is my very first time visiting Café Santa Rosa! When we arrived, there was only one other customer in the shop, so it was very quiet and relaxed. The music was playing but it was almost to quiet. We did get there right around 2:30 and they close at 3:00 p.m. so that could be why they weren't busy at all. Only one other customer came in while we drink our coffee. I was hoping to try one of their chocolate croissants, but they were out at the time. I ordered the winter spice latte, and my sister ordered the hot mocha latte. I have to say, my favorite part of the entire visit was the atmosphere. The space is absolutely beautiful -- warm, industrial, and rustic all at the same time. The wood accents paired with the exposed ceilings, soft lighting, and open layout make it feel welcoming while still being really unique. There's so much room, and it feels like a place where you could comfortably sit and hang out for a while with friends. One of the coolest little details was spotting an old dumbwaiter -- you really don't see those very often anymore, and it added even more character to the space. I also loved learning that they have a bar-style setup on the other side of the restaurant a few nights a week, which is a fun and unexpected touch. Another special feature is that their coffee comes straight from Colombia, and you could truly taste the quality. They've been in this location here for about 2 years and since the building is bigger I hope that they are getting a lot more customers but I'm not sure. Overall, it's a really neat spot with a great vibe, and it's worth checking out.

Visiting Peoria, and excited to try different coffee bars. After reading the story of Cafe Santa…read moreRosa, my HS bestie and I ventured in to try something new. We were warmly greeted by the owner, and fell in love with the layout. The menu is extensive, and I tried the cortado and a harvest muffin. Both were extraordinary, and my friend tried the avocado toast. Lucky to try a bite, it exceeded ALL avo toasts I've ever tried. The sourdough was homemade, and the avo had a Colombian twist that took it to a new level. Topped with a medium boiled egg, it was just sublime. Very classy, very comfortable..can't wait to go back!

Stopped after our Grandsons Cross Country Meet and what a wonderful find! Ordered a latte and a…read morescone, both were delicious!! Such a cute place and the girls working there were so friendly and helpful! Great place!

The baristas are always super nice and the coffee is consistently great. I love their seasonal…read moreflavor options. All around a lovely spot :)

Great coffee! A must try…read more The service was very good. They helped us navigate the menu.

Nice workers. Nice ambiance. Coffee was amazing. Lil slow service, however overall I would…read morerecommend.

CxT passes class with a 'C'…read more Located in Campustown, where a Starbucks used to be, is a new extension to the CxT Coffee Roasting company. I've been patiently waiting for the day they opened to finally pop in and try their americanos. I've only ever had lattes from CxT so I was excited to try my tried-and-true espresso and water here. Emily ordered their Coconut Cookie Butter Latte and I got my usual plain black americano, iced. We had a long day ahead of us so I also ordered a blueberry bagel to stave off the appetite while we ran around Peoria for the afternoon. The person taking our order was very nice and courteous. The place wasn't too busy and our drinks came out fairly quick. My americano was first and when I went up to grab Emily's drink a few minutes later, the barista putting it together said he doesn't know what is in the drink and hopes it was good. That did not instill a lot of hope in me as we settled down to enjoy our caffeine. I actually thought they forgot about my bagel since it wasn't until about 5 minutes later that they called for it to be picked up. The bagel itself was really good, even without any topping and was toasted to the right temperature. When I had my first sip of the americano, I knew it was going to be one of those 'lighter' varieties that I am not a fan of. It reminded me of a slightly better version of the one I got from 392Caffe. Just light on bitter and watery-tasting. To each their own but not really my cup of... coffee. Emily loves to get a seasonal drink and said this one was just not for her. I took a sip and thought it tasted fine but I am not big on the flavor of coconut. She said she liked her drink enough to finish it but wasn't really what she was feeling on this day. Being neighbors with Bradley University, there was a lot of foot traffic in the 30 minutes we were in there. Lots of young people coming in for coffee and heading out for their next class or study session. I actually joked with Emily that we are the old people in a coffeehouse now and how out-of-place we were in a sea of college students. I'd imagine a lot of college kids will be crashing this place throughout the year to get that last minute study session in while sipping some coffee and eating some tasty baked goods. I've had good experiences at the other two locations. One is down the hill from this location, on the same road, and is their Apollo location. Up near Peoria Heights off Knoxville Ave is their Keller Station location and that one is probably my favorite of the three. This one is nice but has a very clean, very modern vibe to it that feels more like Starbucks than a local coffeehouse. I will definitely be back to the CxT coffeehouses in the future but may stick to getting lattes or flavored drinks now that I know how they do americanos. On a side note, I did ask one of the cashiers if they had stickers and they do but it's the ones they put on their own stuff. He was nice enough to give us both one for free. So, if you are a sticker freak like we are, don't hesitate to ask and they might hook you up.

So happy to have found this super good coffee house! Amazing Chai Tea Latte and drip coffee! Don't…read moremiss out on this gorgeous coffee house!

We went in for coffee education and advice at their Lake Ave store (old Ventures store/across…read moreparking lot from Kroger's, old Venture reference lol) we have a latte machine w/grinder, and bought a drip maker bc we need to cut back on the lattes...aromas and inventory that lets you know your at the right spot for coffee! Though there are drinks avail., this first visit was about beans...great staff asked us our coffee habits, what flavors/roasting we liked and then made a few suggestions. We chose two varieties of beans we could use for the new maker, and one for our espresso/latte maker. I thought prices were reasonable and above all; LOCAL!!! Kick the chains and try this place!

Wasn't greeted from start to end of our conversation…read more Ordered a plain latte and it was full of grounds. Overall, not a welcoming or warm place despite all the colors and 5+ workers on the morning shift.

Dar-Al is what Peoria needed! I Loveee this new location. The matcha and macarons are my fav…read more Always 10/10 customer service and the decor and aesthetic of the place is top tier.

Growing pains... I…read morehaven't had my finger on the pulse of what's new in my area since I've been busy with work lately so it was a complete surprise when Maria told me that Dar Al-Coffee had a new location open up out at the Grand Prairie Mall area. We made plans to drop in on a Friday when we were both not busy but dang... was this place hopping and popping when we walked in. The first thing we both noticed were the sheer amount of kids that parents brought here. I'm always amazed to see parents bring their kids to a coffeehouse because giving kids caffeine seems like a terrible idea. Granted, they could always be getting a non-caffeinated drink but since I am not a parent, not my place to judge and not the place to really talk about it. Maria and I both ordered an americano and I got a cake pop to go with it. With how busy it was, it took awhile for our drinks to come out, which is understandable. What kinda threw me for a loop is that I had to ask multiple times for the cake pop and they seemed confused when I kept asking about it. After about 20 minutes, we finally got the cake pop and the barista was apologetic for the wait and gave me a piece of dubai chocolate with pistachio in it as an apology. One thing I noticed during our few hours of sitting there and chatting is that there seemed to be a lot of missed or skipped orders. The barista running the register was constantly asking people if they were missing anything when they came up to get their orders or even lids/straws/napkins. There also did seem to be a lot of confusion between the baristas and the cook on what orders were who's and what was being brought out. I chalk this up to them being new and needing to find their footing, hopefully. One other criticism is that the register is at the back of the counter area and with where Maria and I were sitting, it got really tight for the people coming in to place an order who had to backtrack between the counter and our table to get to the waiting area. I would hope they flip that or maybe move things around a bit once they see how it bottlenecks the line. Any who, the americano was really good. I enjoyed every sip with just the slightest wish that it was a bit more bitter, but with how tired I was, any caffeine was welcomed. I let Maria have the cake pop since I realized I was pretty stuffed from the big breakfast I had and it didn't sound good after the ordeal of trying to get it. I really like the concept of Dar Al-Coffee and really enjoyed my experience at their first location. Like I said, hopefully they are working out the kinks of it being a new place as I can see Dar Al-Coffee becoming a staple coffee chain in Peoria. Hopefully I can go back after they've had some time with being open and have gotten the kinks worked out. Until then, stay caffeinated, my friends.

Review Visit: April 15th, 2023…read more Jesus that's a strong drink. Like anything with life, you explore enough and you will experience some wild things. Coffee Connection happens to be one of the more unique coffeehouses I've ever visited. After breakfast at Busy Corner, it was time for coffee. We walked up and as soon as we walked in, I knew that we were in for a treat. There was Jesus stuff everywhere and a bookshelf near the entrance that was crammed full of Jesus books, movies, audiobooks, and etc. Not that this place being a Christian-themed is a bad thing. Just my first religious coffee place. No, what made this place unique were the random stuff you'd probably find unsold (or sold ASAP based on trends) at Goodwills or Thrift Stores. You should be able to see some of the oddities in the photos below. To note, there was also a lot of St. Louis Cardinals craft items around so if you are a Cards or Cubs fan, just take note. I was standing there, looking at the menu on the counter and things in the display case when out of the corner of my eye I see someone standing there. This spooked me as we were the only customers at the front of the store. Turns out... it was Jake from State Farm. As a life-size cutout. I knew I had to get a photo with it. Emily saw a Strawberry-type drink on their FB page and ordered that. I got a plain ol cold brew for my sipping pleasure. We stood there while the barista made our drinks and took in the unusualness of Coffee Connection. Once we got our drinks, we wandered to the back and to check out the giant artwork painted on the wall. You can see that below. We headed up to the front and say by the big window, playing Speed with a deck of cards on the aforementioned shelf. I took a sip of my cold brew and instantly knew it would be a slow sipping drink. I've had some strong and bitter cold brews and this one is in the Top 3, easily. Not that that is a bad thing but something to keep in mind if you try one here. Emily enjoyed her drink and said it tasted like a mix of beer, coffee and strawberry. I took a sip and would have to agree. We both agreed that it didn't taste bad... Emily said she enjoyed it, actually. Just an interesting drink. They did have baked goods and refrigerated items for sale but seeing as we just ate breakfast, we weren't in the mood for anything besides caffeine. Some of them did look appealing despite full bellies. Sadly, you can kind of assume this place doesn't do gangbusters in sales as a lot of the fixtures and odds and ends were just not in fantastic condition or shape. Some of their decorations were covered in some dust or showed signs of not being touched since opening. We ended up leaving with half our drinks left. Normally I finish mine while I'm at the place but with how bitter it was, it was a slow sipping drink. Once it was watered down a bit, it really hit the spot after some yard work. I can't say that would return here or would suggest people go out of the way for but if you are in the area and need a caffeine hit, Coffee Connection can connect you with what you need!

The staff is so kind and knowledgeable! It is a perfect spot to relax and sip on coffee. There is…read moreplenty of seating. We both got delicious custom cold drinks. I highly recommend.

I have never been to Regulator Roasting but I have had a packet of their Herbal Rooibos Tea and it…read moreis amazing!!! I'll be over today, from Peoria, to get more!!

Caffeine is not a good way to regulate your heart rate…read more Having driven by Regulator Roasting Company a million times since they opened, it was only natural for them to expand over to the other side of the building when the space came open. I'm not sure the exact date of them serving coffee to the public (that wasn't just beans in a bag) but I knew I would have to try it out sooner rather than later and that day finally came. Maria and I rolled in at around 10am and were greeted by the owner, who was extremely friendly and even more extremely knowledgeable about coffee and all the nuances of it. I'll admit that I know nothing about coffee except that I like drinking it. So, it was cool to hear Maria and the owner talk about espressos and various other aspects to drinks that I never think about. Anywho, I ordered an Americano and the owner asked how strong I wanted it. I told him to surprise me. Maria ordered a macchiato and ended up getting some espresso on the side to boost it up as she was feeling pretty tired. I picked up the tab for us and just for our two drinks, it was only $7 and change. Our drinks were $3 a piece and with her flavoring, that was only $0.50. I haven't seen prices this cheap since maybe around the time I started visiting coffeehouses. Granted the cup was maybe only 12-15 ounces and there seems to be the one size... it's still a heck of a deal. The interior was open and sparse. It could accommodate maybe 7-10 people before it felt crowded. But with the limited parking space that's shared a bit with the neighboring building, that's probably for the best. There wasn't too much foot traffic despite the incredible weather but I think that'll change once the warm weather kicks in for the season. At the time of my visit, the roast master admitted that he is still tweaking his drinks so if you make multiple trips, you may find your drink of choice has changed subtly here and there. Not that someone like me would notice the nuances! If you need a cheap caffeine hit and want to avoid the big names in coffee, give Regulator's a shot. I hope this one does gangbusters as East Peoria is severely lacking a hometown coffee place.