Zion Coffee Bar

Delicious! Food was excellent, and the espresso is the best I've ever had. We had the avocado toast and a grain bowl

Cool place near the riverfront. Close to a bunch of restaurants and breweries. The coffee is good, and they have a small selection of food items including pastries, different avocado toasts, and breakfast bowls. Price is reasonable and the atmosphere is really enjoyable. Nearby parking is 2 hour and no meters. If you're looking to enjoy a nice cup of coffee, this is a place worth checking out.

The pour over and the coffee they use for it is amazing. Probably the best I’ve had in Peoria. The shop was clean, the atmosphere was very nice, and the service was 10/10.

My only advice would to dial in the espresso. I’ve had two doubles here and each time they are under extracted and too sour. It’s not bad espresso, but it’s not as good as it could be. I’m sure it’s perfectly fine in the lattes/milk drinks.

The best coffee shop in town & the season specials is fantastic. I love the ambiance and also the plants near the door. Perfect place to spend joyful time or even work while enjoying the coffee!!

Last night I played at Pour Bros Peoria Heights, great show really fun crowd. I live an hour and a half away so decide to get a hotel in Peoria and drive back this morning. Before I drive back, I stop by Zion and get a Columbia drip black, just perfect. I order a spicy avocado toast and sit at the bar facing the window, watching the gentle snow falling to the ground and cars driving by as the coffee shop plays relaxing lo-fi music. Avocado toast has kimchi as well as some kind of tie spice on it, nailed it. What a perfect start to a day and end to a weekend. You don't always get a perfect morning like this, but when you do it's important to soak it in and appreciate it.

Delicious and varied food options together with great espresso drinks. Espresso was smooth without bitterness, which mean the grinder and baristas are in top form. Great place if you are looking for something more substantial than Dunkin for an early weekend coffee.

Review Date: February 21st, 2017

Upscale, not uphill.

Zion Coffee Company is based out of Morton and has recently branched out into having a retail location for purchasing/serving their coffee. A good friend of mine alerted me that this location has opened… so being a coffee lover, here I am… writing a blog post about Zion.

Now, when I think of the word Zion, images of hills/mountains come to my mind. Zion National Park, Mt. Zion and the definition of the word itself. What Zion Coffee Bar is actually a rather upscale coffeehouse that is hospital white with little-to-none decor/a feeling of spaciousness. The interior is rather spacey and open and they offer a semi-private upstairs area that overlooks half of the coffeehouse. That’s where I spent most of my time while here.

Ok, so I am not a huge fan of the interior but what about the coffee? Well I had the day off from work and wanted to treat myself. So I grabbed a Jinotega pourover and a caramel macchiato. What I got was a decent tasting coffee and a macchiato that was more an espresso shot with a small wafer/cookie thing. The barista tried to explain that it would be a 3oz. shot of flavored espresso but I took it the wrong way and thought it was that much espresso in a cup with milk and flavorings.

So I’m out $9 on two drinks and a tip. A bit miffed but whatever. So I sip the espresso and it’s decent for being so little liquid. Then as my coffee cooled down, I sipped that and it was pretty decent, too. As I am alternating my drinks, this lady has her kid there. No big deal, right? Well, the kid kept screeching every few minutes. It almost made me leave early, but luckily she left before that happened.

Sounds like a bad time, right? Well after the kid/mom left and I resigned myself to the fact that I actually enjoyed my coffee a bit, my opinion of the place improved. On top of sitting up stairs and enjoying the view, I was watching the cook make oodles and oodles of delicious looking food. I also noticed they had hard liquor behind the bar. My friend told me they served alcohol but it was after a certain time of the day. So if you are not feeling coffee, they offer alcohol, too. This may be the first coffeehouse I have been to that serves hard liquor!

In the end, Zion offers a unique take of a coffeehouse. It is the plainest one I have visited so far that offered okay coffee and delicious looking food… Yet it seemed to be a hit as they were half full/constantly busy for the two hours I was there. By all means, don’t let my ‘meh’ visit deter you from checking it out. I will probably go back once more just to see if I have a better 2nd visit.

Stay caffeinated, my friends.

Update: In subsequent visits to Zion, I boosted the rating from 2.5 to 3.5. While I still found issue with sounds bouncing off the walls, the deliciousness and quality of my drinks helped make up for it.

Nice atmosphere. My strawberry Danish was probably the best I'd ever eaten. My hot cocoa was perfect. And the staff was cheerful and friendly. I will be returning.

Absolutely LOVED this adorable coffee shop. Had tons of seating and it was very modern. The prices were too bad either. Loved to see that they were closing early for staff yoga. It was obvious that they care about their employees.

In Peoria for work with a few hours before a meeting and was lucky to find Zion. Great vibe and staff. Terrific pour over coffee. Avocado toast was fabulous with a perfect soft-boiled egg. If I were a local, I'd be here daily.