Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que — Restaurant in Peoria

This place is fantastic! I've been a bit busy so I didn't put the review up immediately but here it is now XD. I went out with my partner here after having a not so good experience elsewhere and they did a great job in making us forget.

They seated us in a windowed seat and allowed us some time to look at the menus. We arrived for lunch as both of us don't really like crowds.

I wasn't all that hungry but I did see that there was a two person special. Next time we are definitely doing that. Anyway I asked for some chicken tenders thinking they were gonna be something small and nope XD they were huge. I didn't mind just means don't expect something small here.

I think my partner got some ribs. I don't remember what kind but they really liked them! The muffins we got were to die for. They were so good. I wanted to get another so badly but I wanted to try a desert too. XD the desert was the special named Dave one and it was fantastic! It had ice cream, whipped cream and really tasty insides. I definitely would have to get that again

One of the things I am happy about is that the pink lemonade actually tasted of strong lemonade. Not that sugared nonsense almost everywhere else. I am very particular about my drinks but I was really happy about this drink. ^__^ it also arrived in this awesome jar like thing and that was pretty cool!

Our server Jo was so helpful and kind during our visit. My partner kept asking question after question about the menu items and she immediately answered every one of them and did not get annoyed with them. The one question she didn't know was the alcoholic beverages. However, she directed us to the bartender to ask about those.

Vanessa was really informative about what was in the drinks and gave him a better idea of what to get. There was another lady with Vanessa but she wasn't wearing a name tag but had a lanyard on. I don't know her name but she was fantastic at describing them for us.

My partner got one that was really pretty and smelled quite good but as I was driving I did not try it myself. XD There was two straws in their glass and I wanted badly to have some. Next time though I'll have to get them to drive so I can have one ^__^

All in all I rate it a solid 10/10. The price is well worth the food. If I was hungrier I totally would have taken up the special deal...

REVISED: 5/25/2021 16:32 This was my first post-vax dine-in experience. The place was busy but not too much of a wait. We waited about 10 minutes in the bar area. We were a party of 10 or so. There were a few large parties present. We were seated in the back room with 2 or 3 other groups. The spacing in the dining area was good. Some patrons entered the restaurant wearing masks. About half our party also wore masks. The service was prompt, but the server did not understand the drink order--soda water is not tonic water. Ordering was quick, and all orders came out at about the same time, which was pretty good considering the size of our group and how busy the joint was. They were also short-staffed. Downvote: almost all utensils at our table were dirty! This fail was eventually corrected to our satisfaction. The food was brought to the table and served at an acceptable temperature. It looked good and smelled good. It also tasted good. I had a 3-meat plate with brisket, rib tips, and burnt ends. The portions were surprisingly generous. The brisket was good but not my favorite part of the meal. The meat was tender but too juicy for my tastes. I prefer a drier, smokier, crustier brisket. This cut seemed more like thinly sliced steak.  There was an upcharge of $1 for the brisket. The extra dollar didn't seem justified. The rib tips were excellent. They were lean,  tender, meaty, and well seasoned. The sauce was light but flavorful. This item exceeded my expectations. Usually, tips are fatty and gristly: these were not. The burnt ends were perfect. They were crusty, a little chewy, and smoky, and they matched well with my adult beverage selection. I ordered the coleslaw and steak fries as sides. Both were good. The portion size of the slaw was stingy, the fries generous. The meal came with what looked like a corn muffin. I did not eat it, nor did I eat the onions and large slice of sweet pickle on the plate. I note Famous Dave's serves some meats on a slice of white bread. I get it. Nice touch. Overall, the experience was enjoyable. We will go back to this...

We had the worst experience of a restaurant at Famous Dave’s Wednesday night. My family and I went out to eat after my granddaughters eighth grade graduation. We were told on the phone they had a wait of 15 minutes for a party of nine. When we arrived ten minutes later we were told wait would be 45 minutes. We were finally seated and the waitress came by about 20 minutes later to take our order. After we ordered we waited 30 minutes to get our drinks. The waitress forgot my grandsons drink. After another 20 minutes We had to ask the hostess to get out waitress for us. Another ten and she finally showed and after asking for his drink the third time she says oh I meant to tell you we are out. So he orders a replacement. They bring salads and left no drink for grandson no refills on other drinks. After another 30 minutes my stepson went to talk to manager and he was no help. Finally the meals started coming out . Three orders were wrong, the meat on five meals was 80% fat and gristle. The potatoes were cold, my wife sends her meal back and waitress asked if she wanted it redone and she told her she didn’t have another hour to wait for another order. Nobody ate much, we never got drink refills nor were asked if we wanted them. The waitress came to a table next to ours twice and totally ignored us. We had to yell for her to bring bill so we could leave. It took another 20-25?minutes for her to come say she was having to go to the bar to try and run our card, my daughter finally had to go tell her how to run the card. She came back and threw the bill and card on the table. No apology for the service or food no thank you have a nice night she just turned and disappeared again. Never again , we work too hard for our money. Next time we will go out for pizza and save $100 and get better service. We will never go back to Famous Dave’s off 83rd Ave...