13 Best Italian Restaurants in Peoria

“Great atmosphere, great staff, and even better food.“

“I dined with a party of 3 and we were extremely impressed with the service we received from Dallas Brown. Friendly, willingness to adapt dishes to our preferences, efficient and continual checks with all of us are a few of the qualities that describe her service. She definitely makes me want to come back again! Thank you!“

“The food is easily a 10 out of 10. The service is exemplary, friendly and personal. I love eating there. The only con is the price of a Caesar salad, on our last visit my wife and I each got a Caesar salad to start our meal and the two salads alone was $25.00, everything else was inline with the service and atmosphere which is the best.“

“Their pizza is good, but it's their pasta sauce for me that puts them over the top. I've had quite a few spaghetti's and baked mostaccioli dishes at other restaurants, but Avanti's by far has the best pasta sauce around making their spaghetti and mostaccioli mmm mmm good. Sad thing, I moved to Kentucky and for 2 years have gone without their spaghetti. Recently I took a trip to Peoria and of course I had to stop off at Avanti's and bought back spaghetti's and of course it didn't last that long lol. I've never had their gondolas, which they're famous for, but I do love their bread. I wish there was an Avanti's here in Kentucky. Thanks for the great food
🍝🍕🥖“

“From the moment we stepped into Saffron Social, we knew we were in for something special. The décor is extraordinary, every detail feels intentional, elegant yet inviting, and immediately sets the tone for a memorable evening.

The food was nothing short of a revelation. The chef is a true culinary mastermind, deftly combining flavors that caught us off guard in the best way possible. Each course was a surprise, playful yet refined, and left us eager for the next plate. The smoked old fashioned I enjoyed was among the finest I’ve had and perfectly complemented the meal.

But beyond the menu, the service elevated the entire experience. Jeremy was an absolute delight, warm, attentive, and genuinely passionate about making our evening special. Rob was on constant watch over the dining room, checking in on tables, answering our (many) questions, and even sharing exciting previews of future dishes in the works.

This is more than just a dinner — it’s a full culinary journey from the second the door opens to the final sip of your drink. If you want beautifully crafted food, top-tier ambiance, and service that doesn’t just meet expectations but exceeds them, Saffron Social is a must.“

“Server was friendly and helpful. Salad was a little small.. Food came out fast and hot. Meatballs added were a little disappointing. Were tiny in size was figuring more close to golf ball size. Cost of extra dressing was a tad too high IMO for a paper cup of maybe an ounce and a half of dressing. Overall had a nice meal. Will stick to ordering no extras, not really needed and would rather be better spent on dessert.“

“Fast, friendly service and the food was great!“

“I definitely recommend the food is great! The staff however is constantly rude. The last 3 times we’ve been there we’ve had terrible experiences with the staff.“

“Love the da Vinci delight 🍕“

“Update:

Mark the owner called me and was amazing. He offered to absolutely make up for everything even though it was Doordash's fault. This restaurant has wonderful customer service and will definitely have our business from here on out. Thank you Mark, and thank you to your lovely wife as well.

Old review:

I don't even know where to start... This review is mostly about their delivery partner.

I just moved to Peoria, and yesterday, after 8 hours of lugging heavy boxes and furniture up 2 flights of stairs into our apartment, we decided to treat ourselves with a local pizza place.

So I called for delivery because we're sweaty and exhausted, and the employee tells me they only deliver through Doordash.

Crap. I hate Doordash. Nine times out of ten, there's an issue with the delivery. I picked a pizza place, because they usually hire their own drivers.

But we're too tired to find somewhere else to order, so I bite the bullet.

My Doordash order gets here, and of course, there's a whole pizza missing from the order. Typical Doordash. I called the restaurant and he confirmed that the pizza was still sitting there. He offered to call Doordash for a re-delivery, and I said sure, thank you.

Well, 7 phone calls back and forth with Doordash customer service, they told me 1) They'd re-deliver, 2) Oops, they couldn't reach the driver 3) Do you want a refund? 4) Oops, we can't process a refund 5) I'll ask my supervisor for a re-delivery again 6) This time I had to call, and they told me they had to "escalate the issue" 7) It is now the next day, and they tell me they have to "escalate it" again to a different team.

So now it's the next day and I'm still without my refund and without my pizza.

2 stars for the food, because what we did receive was very tasty, but after the day we had and the added stress from Doordash, I don't know if we'll ever order here again. Maybe we'll try a carryout order, but between us working crazy First Responder hours, I don't know if we'll have the time.

So, yeah, very tired, very disappointed...“

“I am amazed by how well the atmosphere and the food and the drinks in the service are“

“Ronnie is an absolute treasure and adds such value to this restaurant. His personality draws you in immediately and his kind and helpful demeanor exceeded our expectations for service. Despite dining here numerous times in the past, we have never had an experience as good as this one at this location.“

“We arrived around 6:00 p.m. on a Friday night. There were only 10 people in the restaurant. We were seated and got our drinks right way. We sat for 20 minutes before anyone took our order. We got two different waitresses. The first waitress gave us poor service. The other one at least tried. It took 1 half hours just to get served and paid. I usually leave a decent tip but after this experience I left $2.00. Our food was watery and had poor flavor. We will not be returning which is sad because we usually love the food and always had good service.“