Cafe Santa Rosa — Restaurant in Peoria Heights

Review Visit: October 1st, 2020

Is ‘third times the charm’ applicable for coffeehouses in this location? Only time will tell.

Having been two other coffeehouses in the past (Caffe Bogota and 30/30 Coffee), will the Cafe Santa Rosa be the one that makes it in this location? Hopefully!

I try to avoid discussing the state of the world in these blogs but 2020 has been a year of staying home and traveling via imagination. When my friend Maria mentioned there was a new coffeehouse that opened in Peoria, we decided to try it out. Worst comes to worst, we would get our drinks and enjoy them outside. Luckily upon entering, everything was spaced far enough apart that we could sit inside instead of the dreary rainy yet sunny weather outside.

Having visited Caffe Bogota prior to Cafe Santa Rosa opening, I noticed quite the similar layout and decor. Maybe they inherited the stuff from the previous owners or what. But I liked the decor of the prior place so this brought up the feeling of something slightly new yet familiar. Despite the feeling of deja vu, the menu and food offerings seemed to be unique to this new place. They had some quiche in their baked goods merchandiser, which I don’t think I’ve seen in any other coffeehouse.

Maria had already ordered her drink by the time I got there as I was held up in traffic due to some incident about 2 mile from my destination. After watching the menu switch between different images on the tv behind the barista, I decided to order a black cold brew. Lately, I’ve been enjoying the bitterness of cold brews and americanos, so that is why I deviated from my usual ice caramel latte. I placed my ordered and bought some of these cheese breadsticks that Maria said she was eyeing. We split those as I waited for my cold brew to come out. The drink itself was $4 for a 16 ounce while the breadsticks were $0.75. The sticks were a good deal considering the amount that came in the little bag. Maria brought me some homemade banana bread but I saved that for the car ride home :3.

As we sat there enjoying the remnants of the breadsticks and our dwindling coffee, I instantly recognized a problem with this place. It wasn’t packed by any means… maybe 5 people total minus the staff… but the place was loud. I had some bad flashbacks to my times visiting Zion Coffee Bar and mentally being overwhelmed at the sheer volume of the place. It got hard to hear Maria as we conversed. Luckily this issue slowly faded as a few people left, but then it felt like anytime we talked, everyone could heard every single thing we said at full volume. This lead to some uncomfortable conversations and awkward silences.

All that aside, we are here to discuss coffee. How was the cold brew? It was…. a cold brew. Nothing exciting yet nothing disappointing. It was no different than cold brews that I’ve made myself. But at the same time, cold brews can be flavored (which I didn’t do this time), so the sky is the limit on flavoring it to your liking. I did feel that the ice was a bit much in my cup and actually cut down on the amount of coffee I was served. But maybe that’s a good thing as what I did have was enough to wake me up without making me jittery.

Maria said she had been here the week before when there was a car show and she really enjoyed the coffee she got then. This is how she discovered the place and piqued my interest in coming. I am glad to get out of my place and explore a place since it had been about 7 months since I’ve really gone anywhere besides work and the store.

I do hope this place sticks around for awhile as I have recently gotten in to teas in the last few months and really want to try some of this… Rishi?… tea they have on the menu. Overall, not a bad place to get some coffee that might be better to take out than eat in due to interior...

Met here with some friends for the first time. This new location is in the old Betty Jayne Bremmer Center for the Performing Arts which I had special ties to. The coffee was fantastic, barrista was fantastic. We selected seating upstairs. While enjoying our coffee and conversation, an older lady came upstairs and asked us to lower our voices. We went back downstairs, had our coffees and desserts put in to-go containers and told the woman we would NEVER return. This place is listed as a 'social meeting spot'. As a business owner myself, this is not a way to welcome patrons. We felt shamed and unwelcome. If people need a quiet place, they should go to a library, not a coffee shop that provides loud bands in the evening. So disappointing. This place...

First of all where I went wrong I got An iced chai latte. I watched them make it they poured The chai out of a bottle, I’m not sure if this is typical for a coffee shop or not. The latte was Sickeningly sweet no don’t get me wrong I love a honey chai but this was just too sweet and paired horribly with the chai spice. The atmosphere is cold White and minimalistic, lacking the warmth and comfort that many cafés and coffee shops provide. I’d say it would be OK if you wanted to just go there for a work meeting and only order coffee but if you’re looking for a place to hang out and have drinks other than coffee. This is...