Haddad’s Downtown

Owner: Alright — listen up, ‘cuz I’m only gonna teach you this once. Got it kid?
New Cook: Yessir!
Owner: To make a salad, you just grab some iceberg lettuce — like this, a chunk of it – and you just pull it apart with ya hands, grab some banana peppas, grab some cole slaw, put some thousand island dressing on the side, and BAM! You’re done.
New Cook: But the guy asked for a Caesar salad…
Owner: OH! I’M SORRY! I WASN’T AWARE THIS WAS THE FOUR SEASONS! SILLY ME! I GUESS HE MUST WANT A BOTTLE OF WINE TO PAIR WITH THE CHEESE TOO, HUH?!
New Cook: …
Owner: You Millennials with your damn Internet, think you know everything… anyway, that is how you make a salad here in Peoria. Maybe The Four Seasons is a little different, but this is Haddad’s…

Very good food. Barely adequate service. I think they had one waitress working the entire restaurant at 12:30 on a Thursday. She did her best, and was nice and apologetic, but it was still frustrating. The food though, was outstanding.
Chicken schwarma was full of flavor. Paired with tabouli, it was incredible. Friends ordered a platter with a little bit of everything and all of it was good. Falafel was a little dry, but still flavorful.

We had our first experience at Haddad’s Downtown for lunch. The staff is extremely personable, attentive, and proud of their cuisine. We decided to order the Haddad’s Feast for two so we could get a good taste of their specialities. The platters came with enough food to feed four people! Everything was very tasty with just the right about of spices.
The cabbage roll is not mushy like you see in so many other restaurants serving Lebanese cuisine. The flavor was excellent. The falafel and hummus were top notch. The tabouli is heavenly with a hint of onion and lemon. Both the gyro and chicken shwarma were excellent. We were provided with tahini, a wonderful homemade garlic sauce, and tzatzik. On top of that, our server brought us a basket of homemade potato chips that were crispy and flavorful. After a conversation with both of the owners, we were given a taste of the Italian beef which is probably the best in Peoria.
Come to downtown and give Haddad’s Downtown a try for lunch, carry out, or catering. I don’t think that you will be disappointed.

The food tasted good, the service was good… never been so sick in my life.

I am not from Illinois– I’m from Houston where we are blessed with authentic ethnic foods of every type. I didn’t have high hopes of finding authentic Mediterranean in the peoria area– but when I heard Haddads was catering the mayor’s inauguration I figured t must actually be good. I know what a good gyro tastes like– and this one was definitely not it! Worst I’ve ever had. So bland. And my son’s pizzita was way too salty and just gross

So cheap, so friendly, and so good! I first stumbled upon this place by accident while following my nose to their delicious cart smells during an art festival at the local botanic garden. I made my sister promise to take me to the restaurant the next time I was in town, and it was worth the wait.
Apparently this place really fills up between 11:30 am and 12:30 pm for the lunch crowd. After that it is empty, and you have the whole place to yourself. A few things to note:
— This is a seat yourself restaurant
— Take the bill to the cashier when you are ready to pay.
— Try the food the way they make it. It’s better that way!
The girl who waited on us was really nice, and didn’t mind we had an infant with us one bit. As for the food, the Gyros were yummy, and had a generous portion of lamb filling. The only thing that would have made it better would have been more sauce. On the side I had Hummus and pita, which was delicious. Would definitely like to come again!

I had the Mediterranean vegetarian wrap. I couldn’t finish it. Favors were not there. Also had the veggie soup. Didn’t like it either. My bf had a gyro and fries. The fries were good but he said he had eaten better gyros. On a positive note, we were there on a Friday afternoon and domestic beers were only $ 1.00.

Amazing chicken shwarma gyros.

I love Greek food and this place did not disappoint me. You can order at the counter and eat outside or they have table service. I I ordered the Gyros and hummus combo. You can get hummus instead of French fries, well you should since it is a Lebanese restaurant. Holy Cow, the gyros was overflowing with lamb, lettuce, tomatoes and sauce. The hummus was served with pita bread slices. Bite after bite was better than the last. It was a nice balance and I was full when I left. GREAT PLACE. The reason that they did not get five stars was the waitress never came back outside to check if I needed a drink refill.

Haddad’s Downtown offers some of the best flavors for casual prices and casual atmosphere in Peoria’s urban center. The wait staff is friendly and attentive, and you can get everything from falafel and other Lebanese staples to a dependably delicious french fries. I usually go for the Mediterranean Wrap with a side salad — really tasty and keeps me full all afternoon for under $ 10!

Great spot for Lebanese food in downtown Peoria. Usually open just for lunch as far as I know — though for conventions and other events downtown they will have special hours on weekends.
I would recommend the Haddad delight sandwich — good mix of chicken, falafil, and gyro meat in one sandwich. The tabouli also tastes wonderful and is freshly made.
They also have a selection of freshly baked desserts, which changes daily and may include cookies or baklava.
Haddad’s downtown also has random other American food, like the pork chop sandwich, which I hear is good but I haven’t had a chance to try yet.
I’ve catered the food for student events and students often will come just for the food. I will be back — on my list to try is the Lebanese green beans!
Don’t forget that the OSF cart, open during the summer, has a student discount. Falafel sandwich + discount is quite economical.