Haymaker — Restaurant in Peoria

I wish I could do 5 stars j really do. Every time the meals we get are awesome. We have had some super slow service but totally understandable. Unfortunately tho after tonight I need to put a review. The restaurant was so uncomfortably hot we felt sick when we got home. It was so hot we had to get the rest of our meal and our dessert to go. I’ve never had the banana pudding pie but let me tell you to get it to go was disappointing. They barley gave you the topping to put on it. Maybe it’s better in the store but honestly we couldn’t stand it any longer. My husband and I love to come here with or without our kids. It’s our go to date night but the drinks tonight were horrible. They were melted by the time they hit the table and it felt like they short shotted us. We have had many of these drinks before and tonight they were horrible. We typically spend anywhere between 150-300 (even one of the awesome bartenders knows us when we walk in) when we are there but tonight’s visit was so disappointing I would honestly caution others against it. I tell everyone this is my favorite place but tonight I lost a lot of faith. The ungodly heat that made everyone at our table so uncomfortable we had to rap it up as quickly as we could with the slowest service . I even heard the waitress tell another table there was nothing they could do. They walked up and left their food on the table because of how horrible the heat was. The worst drinks and the dessert we brought home being so skimped on. Literally our 8 months old face was red. It was so warm. I would love for them to fix this. And the new cocktail menu isn’t anything compared to the old one. The ARIZONA sunset isn’t on there and it’s mostly mimosas. Which were disappointing tonight as we’ll because we asked for a double and basically got a 15 buck orange juice. We live nearby and would love to continue to come here but honestly at this point I would say grab Barro’s or McDonald’s and...

A terrible experience and first visit. Jan 10th, 2023 around 6pm. Ordered 3 things for my wife and I. Loaded fries, cinnamon roll, and Joey's full rack.

The loaded fries. Plenty of bacon and cheese, but hardly any sour cream not even enough to be considered noticeable on a single bite. However they were cooked perfectly and it was a lot of food for even sharing for 4 ad an app. We took half it home.

The cinnamon roll. While is was covered in icing and topped with cream cheese. All of which had good flavor. The icing was cool. The cinnamon roll had clearly been microwaved to hell as it was chewy. It also had clearly sat too long as it was honestly just room temp at that point. Just a huge let down.

The Joey's ribs. Well first biggest mistake they brought us a half rack but luckily only did attempt to charge for a half rack. So I already having a poor experience and the fries being plenty of food I just let it be. The ribs were terrible. Way overcooked, the meat was burnt pretty badly. They gave us an end which lacked much meat in the first place and had tons of fatty gristle. Like 20% of the slab was inedible. Not enough BBQ sauce for my liking either, but it balanced out which how little meat was on the rack. The cowboy beans were just above room temp and its more of a chili tbh. But I did enjoy the flavor myself. The Mac was pretty much room temp with poor presentation having just clearly been scooped from like an ice cream scoop. 😂

Waitress was maybe the best part of the experience besides he ordering the half rack rather than a full as I requested.

From that experience I'd say to avoid thr place. The setting act likes it's a very classier country kitchen but that kitchen crew is worse than a food...

New review of new location. (Aug. 2025): New location and the food quality is back to where it was before! Thank goodness! We got quite a bit of food so we could try several things. Of course had to get a bloody Mary and espresso martini. The bloody Mary was delicious. For the espresso martini they didn't have the espresso and used a cold brew, I do not recommend. The cold brew is such a different taste and I was not a fan. The French toast was on point, the bread was super flavorful and soft. The cinnamon roll was ok, a little dry, more of a biscuit texture and the cream cheese frosting they put on top tasted like plastic. The omelet was good, super loaded with goodies and I would get it again. The biscuit was delicious and I highly recommend it. The new decor is very Americana, it is nice. I will miss the moody country vibe the other location had. Original photos are still included and start with the bacon in the bloody Mary.

Orginal review (2024): I have been to haymaker at least a dozen times for breakfast. The last few visits the quality has declined dramatically. This last time was the worst. The food was cold, bland and left a lot to be desired. The bloody Mary was good but the bacon was off putting and didn't eat it. If you like a hearty biscuit these are for you; they are very dense and savory. The omelet was fine but bland. The potatoes were ice cold, over cooked and flavorless. My husband said the gravy was decent but not very warm. The service was really good though, very friendly server and attentive. Likely won't be back for breakfast anytime soon. The menus need...