Peoria Pizza Works — Restaurant in Peoria Heights

Skimpy toppings, shady charges.

My husband and I used to love eating here because they used to have really good pizza, but in recent months, their food and service has taken a turn for the worse.

The last three times we ordered pizza here, we were missing toppings, and not just a poor showing, but more along the lines of, "We ordered a ham pizza and there's no ham."

We decided the other day to give them another try and order again, but the pizza we got was EXTREMELY skimpy on toppings and was also cold, despite the fact that we called over an hour before we arrived and told them when we'd be there.

We ordered a 14" deluxe pizza, and there were almost no toppings at all--maybe three pieces of sausage and a sprinkling of bell pepper and barely any cheese on WAY too much dough. We also got a 12" thin crust cheese, which was half burnt.

On the way home, we noticed that that price seemed rather high for two pizzas that we went and picked up ourselves specifically to avoid the delivery charge, which was about $10-$15 depending on which service you use. We looked at the prices on the website and they didn't line up, so my husband called and asked, and they said they increased their prices a month ago (and haven't updated the site...?), and they also charged a "to-go" fee, which hardly makes sense. seems like an incredibly stupid choice to make business-wise, since they just tick off customers by charging an arbitrary fee for... picking up the food yourself???

The deluxe pizza that was listed at $26.99 online became $30.99, and the cheese pizza listed at $11.99 became $13.99, and there was the $1 to-go fee, so all told, we ended up paying $6 more than we thought we were, got less food, and barely any toppings.

(Also want to note, even after adjusting the amount they named for tax, they still managed to overcharge us by about .15c, which might seem nominal, but it's illegal for businesses to charge a different price than what is advertised/listed, and if they do this to everyone, it does add up. Also--why steal from your customers???)

This place needs to adjust its prices, fix the price inflation, remove the to-go fee, and fix their skimpiness on food. We don't plan on returning until they do, and I won't recommend it to anyone either. It's not like there's a lack of pizza places in the Midwest to choose from, so this kind of nonsense just simply...

Peoria Pizza Works is as good as it gets in Peoria. Lets break it down:

1. Decor - This place is 30 years old, and that charm shows through. The dark wood paneling, worn wooden floors, beer-brand sconces, and neon behind the bar all give it a great retro, cozy feel. You can tell this is a place by locals for locals. At first glance it may appear to be grimy or dingy, but that is because 30 years of elbows on tables, boots on floors, and free popcorn is going to give that appearance no matter how hard the staff scrubs. Our table was clean, the dishes were clean, and the glasses were clean.

2. Service - Our service was STELLAR. Not only did the owner stop by to make sure we were taken care of, but our server was very attentive and patient (despite a fairly complicated ordering process, due to this being our first time). She even brought out some pizza dough for my son to play with while we waited - how cool is that?!

3. Price - Super reasonable. 3 adults, 1 child ate until we were stuffed for $32, AND we took home around 5 lbs of deep dish. 2 of the adults ordered sodas too.

4. Food - Oh man, the food. Hands down their Chicago Style Deep Dish is the best pizza in Peoria. AND, they have managed to add a Peoria-style flare with their sweet-dough crust. Paired with perfect mozza and a savory tomato sauce - it was killer. This pizza made me regret every pizza I have eaten in Peoria that wasn't from Peoria Pizza Works. This is better than Giordano's, Uno's, and Lou's. If you're from Illinois you'll know what that means. Papa Dels (Champaign IL), Filippo's (Monticello IL) and Pequod's (Chicago IL) may still top the charts for me, but it is damn close. Either way, Pizza Works is one of the best - a must stop in Peoria and is now my go-to pizza place...

Never been before today. Walking in it felt dark, creepy and unwelcoming. Feel like a new paint job and getting rid of the black paint would liven it up a lot. Service was okay. Appetizers were decent, got fried ravioli and breadsticks. Got a lot of ravioli but it did cost $10 for it. My wife got a BLT. Sandwich was huge for the price! Great tasting she said, i waited about 25 minutes for my small 10” chicken bacon ranch. Wife had ate her meal and had it boxed up before i got my pizza. Pizza had no bacon on it when it came out. Also it was COVERED in seasoning. Looked like the lid came off while shaking it over the pizza. Showed them it had no bacon on it. So she took it back and then another lady came over and asked if i wanted to wait for remake or take it off? I said please just take it off, she looked at the ticket on the table and said oh yeah you got plenty of other stuff on there , i guess i can take it off. Then they came back with the pizza and asked if i wanted to take it home? I was confused like no i don’t especially after you walked away with it. Didnt get a picture of the pizza cause they took it away before i could . Place is decent on pricing for the portions you get. Will have to try again at...