The Riverside Café is located inside the Embassy Suites hotel in East Peoria. I’m reviewing the restaurant separate from the hotel, because the hotel itself was good. Unfortunately, the restaurant was not. By the time we arrived at the hotel, we were too exhausted to go searching for a restaurant. So, we decided to give the café a try. The menu was very limited. There was not much at all to choose from. I had a stuffed chicken with an overpowering amount of sun dried tomatoes. I love sun dried tomatoes, but this was way too much of a good thing. I didn’t even eat half of it. The chicken was served on a bed of cold mashed potatoes and cold sauce. My husband had a nothing-special steak, but we had no energy to complain, so we just asked for the check so we could leave. With 2 iced teas and a tip, the bill came to $ 75! For 2 people to eat dinner here is $ 75?! The hotel really has a monopoly on dining there. The only other food within walking distance was Steak N Shake, which was not quite what we had in mind. Also, I can’t help but mention that the décor in the restaurant(and the hotel overall) was awful. The dining room was a salmon/orange color with these huge yellow stained glass windows around the private dining rooms. Dreadful. I would give this restaurant 1 star, if not for the waitress. She was very nice, and I felt bad for her having to wear that terrible salmon/orange polo shirt. Any place that charges $ 75 for 1 plate of chicken and 1 plate of steak should have a better uniform. Have mercy!
