Chili's Grill & Bar

We visit Chili's often for dinner and it's a decent place to eat.  The service is always friendly and we are seated quickly.  I usually have the Big Mouth Bites and Kevin tries different things, and while the main entrée is usually great, the fries and other accompaniments can be very standard.  That said, we'll be back.

When in Peoria this weekend, it was hard to find a restaurant that 3 friends with absolutely different tastes could all agree on. Chili's was one that we all thought sounded good, so we decided to go there for a late lunch. It's a chain restaurant, so I won't bore you with what you already know.

The service was excellent. If you're keeping up with my past reviews, you know that service is one of the most important things to me. I can eat at any restaurant, so I'd prefer to get a genuine smile along with my food. Another mom and pop restaurant we went to on Friday could take some tips on the service front.

I ordered the lunch portion of chicken fajitas. Normally one of my favorite entrees at Chilis, these were only okay--something was off with them. However, I did like their lunch menu. You can get a soup or salad with any of the lunch portions for $6, $7 or $8. My friend got the Southwest mac and cheese (which I almost ordered) and she loved it. I ordered the Spicy Chicken and Sausage soup and it was phenomenal. It was mostly a veggie soup, but it had little pieces of meat and a nice kick to it. I would go back to Chilis just to get some more of the soup.

I also heard another waitress say that a lot of the menu has changed. I'm not sure if it's for the better since I ordered the same ol' thing, but I did see a bunch of menu items that looked good.

Side note, the Ziosks (self-pay device) that are at your table need to be implemented at every single restaurant in Illinois. They make it so easy to split the check, add a tip and pay with your card at the table.

I usually prefer to stick to local/independent restaurants and am often unimpressed with chains, but the truth is, Chili's is indeed A-OK. I've only eaten at this location once, but when we did, the food was hot, fresh, plentiful, and quick - and that's even when we took advantage of the 2 eat for $20 deal (one app, two entrées). Our server was friendly and engaging, answered questions we had, and checked up on us frequently without making us feel harassed. They have a number of tempting specials, and it can turn out to be a very affordable meal if you make the right choices (on the right days). Our meal of two mug-sized margaritas, guac & salsa app, fried shrimp, and a bacon burger (plus sides for the entrées) came to $35 after tax and a (slightly generous, 'cause our server was pretty cool) tip, and we were more than full enough to skip dessert. Not too shabby.