One thing I’ve been trying to do in this seven month steak tour is to point out places in and around Peoria that you normally wouldn’t think of going to when you’re hungry for a steak dinner. Tonight is one of those examples.
Donnelly’s Irish Pub is Peoria’s oldest family-owned Irish pub and restaurant. When I think of eating at Donnelly’s I think about the Irish Sausage sandwich, the Fish and Chips and the Shepherd’s Pie, but I’ve never thought about going there for a steak dinner. In fact, I didn’t even know you could get a steak dinner there and I’ve been eating at Donnelly’s since it was the Shamrock back in the ‘70’s! While doing research for this meaty tour I looked at their menu and they have a Rib Eye steak dinner, but what caught my eye was an Irish Whiskey Steak entree! That sounds interesting so I called up a couple of friends and made plans to go and try this Irish steak creation at Donnelly’s Irish Pub!
Remember I mentioned two friends up above in the introductory paragraph? Well here they are, Amber and Joe! They came over to the MBIP World Headquarters for a pre-steak dinner beverage and they brought a present! It’s a framed photo of the three of us at their wedding taken by ace photographer, Loni Wenzel! I love this photo, Amber looks absolutely beautiful in it, Joe is very handsome and I look goofy as always! Thanks Amber and Joe! If you missed the blog about their wedding, you can see photos right here and you can see the wedding featured on Good Day Central Illinois here. It was a wonderful wedding and it will always be a treasured memory!
We’re off and driving to Donnelly’s and ba-boom, here we are! Donnelly’s certainly has a classic Irish pub look to it, let’s go inside and start the 15th week of this meaty tour!
There’s the bar area, but we decided to settle into this booth and as soon as we did our friendly waitress, Heather showed up with a tray of drinks! Nothing better than a nice mind-reading waitress! We placed our dinner orders and Heather took them back to the kitchen.
They have a large variety of canned and bottled beers here, Amber got a can of Rogue Dead Guy beer. It’s a great tasting beer but there’s a slight Jimmy Hoffa after-taste. They also have a large selection of beers on tap and if you don’t believe me...
Here they are at the majestic Donnelly’s marble-topped bar!
As you can see, business is brisk at Donnelly’s Irish Pub. They’ve been in this location for five years now and most of us remember the original Donnelly’s pub not far away which was called, The Shamrock. Here’s a blog from my last visit to The Shamrock in 2013! I’m really glad that the move for them has been successful and the Donnelly family has kept this Peoria Irish tradition alive!
I love the Irish art and framed posters on the walls in here. And the Christmas lights add to the festive atmosphere in here.
This is my favorite corner in Donnelly’s because it allows me to write the following caption: “Oh deer!” Yes, I’m easily amused.
Meanwhile back at our booth, here’s Heather with our dinner!
Amber and Joe split an order of the Irish Nachos. Wow, that’s a lot of nachos and they look delicious!
Here’s the star of the blog, the Irish Whiskey Steak! This is a fourteen ounce Ribeye Steak that’s hand-cut on the premises. It’s topped with mushrooms, grilled onions and a homemade garlic whiskey sauce! It looks and smells fantastic!
For my side order I got the homemade chips and they were crispy and very tasty. Now, let’s try out that steak!
This steak was phenomenal! I was a little concerned about the garlic whiskey sauce because sometimes garlic gives me heartburn, but there was no need for Rolaids after dinner! There’s just a faint taste of the garlic and the whiskey sauce combined with the grilled onions and mushrooms really made for a unique and flavorful steak. The steak itself was juicy and savory and this is quite a tasty Irish spin on a steak dinner!
For a minute after dinner we thought that someone had put something in our drinks because all three of us appeared to be seeing double! Then Heather introduced us to her twin sister, Rachel, who also works at Donnelly’s! This place really is a family affair! Thanks to Heather, Rachel and everyone at Donnelly’s for a fun night and for the delicious food and drinks! And thanks to Amber and Joe for driving, joining me for dinner and for the framed wedding photo! We’ll see you all tomorrow!
Steak Rating
Four Elsie the Cows—If you want to have a unique and tasty steak with an Irish twist to it, go immediately to Donnelly’s and try the Irish Whiskey Steak and you can thank me later!
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4501 N. Rockwood Drive
Peoria
309-681-0800
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