One World — Restaurant in Peoria

Review Date: January 26th, 2012

One World is out of this world.

Think of your local town or area. Now think of a place where young hip people go. Now think of menu items that are unique and around $10. Are you imagining a place or something similar? If so, that is what One World is like. That’s not a bad thing by any means. That’s just how One World feels when you visit.

Matt, his friend, Tim, Kim and myself descended upon One World for dinner on this mid-winter evening. The parking for One World and the surrounding area is rather limited. There was parking along the street but I think that is gone now. So, your best bet is to park across the street at CampusTown and play Frogger as you try to cross the worst intersection in Peoria.

I had heard that One World has a hipster/snobbish vibe to it and upon entering, I definitely felt it. It’s not an unwelcome feeling by any means but one that is impossible to not feel. We were seated at a table and I was instantly distracted by the decor of the place. Our table was against the wall and that was covered in a painting from top to bottom, side to side. This easily distracted me throughout the meal as I tried to take it all in and see all the details. A futile attempt but attempted nonetheless.

Since I’ve been here quite a few times, I will be talking in general for the next little bit. The menu here is unique as One World itself. It seems that every time I’ve come here, the menu has changed or adjusted in some way. They even have a menu for vegans or gluten-sensitive people. Now, as for the offerings on the menu, they do have some standard items you can find at most restaurants but they also have a lot of unique or specialty things that seem unique to One World. Instead of writing paragraphs about their food offerings, check their website below to view their menus.

Each time I’ve come here, the hipster ambience has been a part of the experience. I’m not sure if that was their goal when opening the place but it has definitely stuck. What also hasn’t changed is the deliciousness of their food. That keeps my once-a-year visit exciting as I know the consistence will be the same each time.

One World, while a bit pricey and having a unique atmosphere, is well worth playing Frogger for. Just be careful crossing the terrible...

Well, not sure where to start. 10 years ago the place was the best in the area. Now today all new faces, the employees are trying but inexperienced and sets the evening to an expensive outing that makes you wonder if you want to even return. The bartender has no experience on pouring drinks at all, not consistently pouring and the drinks are way off. The dinner salads at every table were not brought out before the meal but with the meal. The sandwich I have been ordering for years comes out dry and not prepared properly. Wifes dinner was cold mashed Potatoes and the chicken was burnt and well ovwr cooked, her salad too came out with the meal so we took it home and fed the rabbits outside. Hate to see a place go down hill and if it's not corrected then it will keep on losing customers like us. One way to tell how a business is doing is by the tap beer. 16 tappers that are usually filled are down to 7 kegs out of 16 available. Someone needs to get with the program here and get some rhythm back in there or someone that can turn the place around. Too bad as this used to be our favorite place to go but with the cut back hours, staff flips worse than Fast food, not sure about the One World. Update April 13th 2024, decided to stop in and give it a try. Sat at the stopped down bar, no draft beers, just a home type counter top bar now, the new girl bartending was amazing to say the least, was so helpful and nice, made an amazing Long Island like they used to be made years ago, and what people expect to get. Food was better this time around too finally, maybe something has happened to the establishment and things have...

Vegetarian and Vegan options available! There's a separate vegan menu you can ask for. Not all of the waitstaff is knowledgeable about veganism, so I recommend sticking to the vegan menu since it's all already vetted.

One World can get insanely busy on popular days/times for going out. Be prepared to wait for seating and for longer than average wait times on your food if you go at a busy time. If you're there when it's not packed, you can expect to be seated immediately and will get your food pretty quick.

Prices are reasonable. Selection is insanely large. It's so large that I know there's no way they're cooking it all fresh in the back. A lot of the food is clearly premade or frozen and warmed up/prepped by the kitchen. It's basically classier fast food. Still good food, just understand that's what you're getting here. I usually order things like the hummus wrap so I know the food is fresh and prepared in the kitchen - not coming out of a box in the freezer.

The interior is nice and they hang up art from local artists (and I think art students in local schools?). It definitely feels like a place you'd expect to see right next to a college campus, but it's (strangely) not filled with college students all the time. It can get very noisy in there at busy times - like VERY noisy.

I don't recommend One World for romantic dates. Great spot for casual meet ups. Not super kid-friendly because there isn't much on the menu for them. I rarely see kids when I go there, for what that's worth.

Try the coffee...