The Sicilian Baker — Restaurant in Peoria

Came here yesterday afternoon to get myself a treat for Mother’s Day. The website said it has a build your own cannoli bar where you can pick your size (mini or traditional size), pick your shell (traditional or various dipped options) and pick your filling. The space is small and has little tables where you can sit to eat but it does make it unclear where to line up if there are several people waiting to order. Also only one person was sitting to eat the remaining tables were empty. When I walked in there were two people being helped at registers at opposite ends of the L shaped counter. I stood over by the cannoli section to check out my options and saw a sign saying you can get boxes of cannoli’s in various count options. No one acknowledged me standing there although there were 3 ladies working and walking back and forth in front of me several times. While I waited for 10+ min 3 groups of people came in behind me each one was greeted and told they would be helped in a moment. We were all very cramped in the small space. The 3 ladies working seemed disorganized and unsure who was supposed to be doing what. Seemingly wandering around behind the counter aimlessly while all of us were standing there waiting to order. When someone finally acknowledged me standing there I told her I would like to order a 4 count box of mini cannolis and she said oh we don’t do boxes of mini’s only the traditional sized. I flipped the sign that was on top of the cannoli case around to her and showed her where it said the 4 count mini cannoli box was $10. She apologized and said ok and asked if I just wanted the traditional style. I let her know I would actually like to choose the flavor shells and fillings like their website says you can do at the build your own cannoli bar. She advised that they don’t do the build your own cannoli’s with the mini’s. I ended up just purchasing 4 mini traditional cannoli’s. However I was so disappointed that the website advertised customization for mini or traditional sized cannoli’s but the bakery doesn’t deliver on that advertising. I did let them know that the website advertising suggests that this is an option and was brushed off with a comment about well that’s a corporate problem not us. Over all this was not a good experience and the customer service was definitely lacking. The cannoli were ok for the price. I’ll definitely think twice...

My husband and I are foodies and also love our sweets! First time in yesterday night a little past 8 p.m. They didn’t have any cheesecake on display but the young lady with glasses was helpful to bring some out, and I grabbed two slices. I also bought the tiramisu and 2 lobster tails. Something else I couldn’t pronounce haha I didn’t mind the price since it’s a treat but yes it is on the expensive side… anyways while I was waiting on the cheesecake I observed something I had to write about. The man who had been ahead of me with his family came in and asked for spoons, the young lady behind the counter (she had blonde hair mid twenties) HAD SO MUCH attitude it was beyond me. She doesn’t respond at all to him and just stares at him and hands him the spoon. No smile or words. And when I went to smile she also didn’t respond, she kept rolling her eyes and looked very irritated. She actually never acknowledged anyone there and didn’t give off a good vibe at all. If she had been who I dealt with I wouldn’t have wanted to come back. That to me is something I hope the manager or owner can look into! Service is so important. It makes or breaks you. Now on to review the treats!

Tiramisu is delicious. Super airy and spongy, burst of flavor and melts in your mouth. The lobster tails- Now I have been to many bakeries and this one does NOT skimp on the filling and the filling was so good. The bread was slightly on the drier side, I’m hoping it was fresh that day but it may have been a day old? Couldn’t have been older though. For $8 a piece I’m hoping it was just how it came out that day. Cheesecake- mixed feelings. Love the crust but not enough of it to match the ratio of filling, and also the cheesecake filling was way to dense. Cheesecake Factory at least has an airy texture and in my opinion a better flavor. We were a bit disappointed with them. I actually went home and made some graham cracker crust myself to put on it to help even it out. Everyone has there own preferences of course.

A side note also. The cakes on display look old and crusty. I’m not sure if they are for sale. I’m hoping not. They don’t look right at all in my opinion and for almost $40.

Despite some mixed feelings I think we will return, hopefully with more friendlier service. And new...

So after a long work week and still coming home and cleaning my house, taking care of things, etc. my hubby decided to stop in on his way home from work and get my favorite dessert as a surprise to me, to make me smile and thank me for all I do kind of thing. When he showed me my tiramisu from Sicilian baker I was so excited!

Well, then I ate it. I used to absolutely adore the tiramisu from here but tonight I was so disappointed. It was dense, not much coffee espresso flavor, layer proportions were all wrong, gold painted espresso bean on top should have been first red flag! When they start doing showy stuff like that to make it look cuter, trendier, more expensive that is usually when the flavor lacks. This tiramisu used to be my absolute favorite before they changed the recipe… it was airy, light, so full of flavor without being overly sweet, all the flavors and textures were perfectly balanced. So disappointing to see they changed the recipe. And the new one leaves a weird filmy feeling on my lips and roof of my mouth after each bite 🤮… makes me feel like it’s some grocery store bought cake, not homemade like it was before. Plus it’s now $13 for a slice which is crazy to me!

To make it worse the slice is about 2 inches by 2 inches but comes in a box about 4 inches by 6 inches, so much unnecessary packaging when they had great packaging before that was much less wasteful!

Overall, I’m just super sad and disappointed! Shout out to my hubby for trying though, don’t blame him,...