Connected Restaurant

Beautiful restaurant, ambiance and unique décor. Perfect for a special occasion, I went with a friend to catch up after a rough year for both of us… and the staff was so kind and attentive… we are both pretty young so it felt nice being treated and served in such a posh style.
I would give 5 stars simply for service and ambiance alone.
Also I appreciated that the food was classic «comfort» old-​school Italian food, it reminded me of the local neighborhood Italian restaurants in New York.
Wonderful to have this place in Peoria!

The top Italian restaurant in Peoria is Connected. The atmosphere is dark and romantic with the interior giving you the feeling of sitting in a courtyard under a starry sky.
The food and service are both excellent. My wife had the spaghetti and I ordered the Veal with Morel mushrooms. Very delicious. The only downside is that the menu had so many options that looked amazing, it was difficult to choose.
The wine selection is very good. And regardless of whether you order a dessert, all the adults at the table are treated with a glass of Limoncello and the ladies are all given a rose at the end of the meal.
Love this place and we will be coming back in the near future.

Bottom line: Nice atmosphere, food and service ok, somewhat overpriced imo. Would give 3 ½ stars if I could. – After being seated by the hostess, we waited over 5 minutes before anyone came to us. Finally someone (I think the floor manager) noticed and came over, got us menus, took our drink orders, and told us the specials, recommending the homemade sausages. Later, when I ordered them from our server she didn’t think they had any. She checked and I got them. I found them just ordinary and overpriced for what you got. Total for 2, including least expensive bottle of wine, 1 dessert, tax and gratuity was $ 130.

My husband found this restaurant on a whim while searching for a date night location. It is in an interesting location of Peoria and can be hard to find but is worth it! Very romantic atmosphere! The eggplant spread for the bread was delicious! We had a delicious bottle of wine (Hacienda Riesling) and our meals were good as well! The crème brûlée was a fun way to end the night. Our waitress was very attentive and professional. It was a great date night!

Details of visit: 4 individuals, Thursday, September @7pm
Atmosphere: ⁹⁄₁₀
Food: ⁸⁄₁₀
Experience: ⁸⁄₁₀
Price: ⁷⁄₁₀
This place aims to prove that fine dining is not only classified by the hefty check at the end, but also by quality food. Detailed interior space with ambient lighting, great attention paid to atmosphere.
As you get seated by an extra from Happy Feet, you either feel underdressed or you are underdressed. Shortly after you are seated, expect exceptional puffy, warm bread with what seems to be an exact dupe of spin dip, but actually made with eggplant, dill, garlic-​sans spinach.
If you’re here to impress your guest, consider a Level 1 trial run of Rosetta Stone: Italiano before attempting to pronounce any items on the oversized, laminated menu.
Food arrived with minimal waiting and everything tasted great.
Translated items tried, ranked in order:
1. Seared Bass with fried Parsnips on a bed of Risotto
Bass is perfectly seared and the parsnips provide a nice sweet crunch paired with the beefy sauce and creamy risotto
2. Veal Marsala
–Very tender meat in a zesty marsala sauce
3. Calamari
–Yum! Highly recommend if you’re into fried seafood
4. Spicy Seafood Spaghetti with Shrimp
–They’re not playing around when they include Spicy in the description
5. Salmon in salty glaze doused with sweet sauce on top of a bed of Potatoes
–Great dish if you enjoy cooked salmon
6. Salad in sweet Vinaigrette
–Assorted greens with nuts in a sweet dressing.
A (very) sweet surprise awaits you at the end of your meal: a single, long-​stemmed rose for the ladies and a complimentary shot of limoncello for the entire table.

Excellent upscale dining. Great place to impress your significant other. I’m glad this building didn’t go to waste after the cajun place moved out… just wish there wasn’t a crappy bingo hall next door. I try to block that out of my vision when I enter :)

Probably the best Italian in Peoria! Excellent food. Excellent service! They have daily, off the menu specials everyday too! We loved it!

We took a group of about 20 clients here for dinner on a Tuesday night. I cannot express how wonderful the service was! They had appetizers ready to serve upon our arrival, after the main course they gave everyone a ‘shot’ of an Italian liquor, and following desert, all of the women received single roses. On top of this, the food was delicious! The chef, Troy Ummel, came in to our private room to meet us after our meal. Our customers were very impressed and everyone raved about the restaurant at our conference. Thank you very much, Connected! We could not have asked for a better restaurant to host our dinner!

Wow, simply wow! A hidden gem in this country town. Troy (owner) and his staff have something amazing going on here. I wish we lived closer. Lamb chops were amazing and the sea bass was perfectly cooked! We travel around the country for our work and by far these dishes are the top 5 I’ve ever had. Hopefully we’ll make it back. Good luck Troy, you have an excellent establishment!

Wait staff was incredible. We just moved here from Colorado a few weeks ago. We’ve been looking for good food. We found it here. It’s a great 60 – 90 minute experience. I had the ravioli & loved it. Visually, it’s one of the best well designed restaurants. Definitely worth checking out.

Met the owner on our first visit. We were guests of a local friend who had been there many times. !st visit to Peoria. Nice décor. Had the boar dish. It was very tasty but the boar was just pork. It was the sauce that made the dish. Otherwise, it was pork loin. I also tasted a couple of the other guests dishes. The shrimp were over cooked but the veal was tender and delicious, the sauce also made that dish. Overall a good meal. A bit expensive for the quality/​quantity and location.

LOVE this place. Been here twice so far. Food, atmosphere, cocktails, and desserts are all great. First time I came I had the seared tuna. Cooked perfectly, very tasty. Next time I came I tried the eggplant, also very tasty. My wife had the sea bass, loved it. Staff is wonderful.
Only down side is the location. Sits between the back of a Walmart and a Bingo hall. But once you’re inside you forgive and forget. The interior is gorgeous scenery made up to look like you are dinning outside. Has a nice European feel. Definitely worth checking out. I will be back

Just got home from this place. Service was super slow and they didn’t specify that soup or salad would be additional. So we had sticker shock when we received the bill. The staff didn’t care. We had a large party of first timers with us and they won’t be back either.
The steaks are good but my boar sausage was very lackluster. Not worth the price at all. Go eat somewhere else and have the same quality of food for 60% of the bill with better service.

My favorite place to eat in Peoria. I have had almost everything on the menu. My favorites are the Fra Diavolo and the Wild Boar. We love the egg plant dip with the bread, the calamari and the complimentary shot of lemon cello after the meal. My wife also loves the Rack of Lamb. I also recommend any of the veal dishes.

This is hands down the best Italian food in Peoria, maybe central Illinois. The napkin placing was a bit awkward though. Anyway, you’re started off with soft, warm bread and an eggplant spread. I had the cheese ravioli, and it was the best I’ve had. I haven’t been to Italy but from what I’ve heard, they serve traditional Italian food. Keep in mind it’s fine dining and expect to pay for it. I’ll be back!

This is the new standard in an exceptional dining experience in Peoria! Exceptionally crafted meals, service and atmosphere.
The attentive staff was wonderful for our party of ten. When dining here one should know the wait staff is not only knowledgeable an helpful, but also honest. Aided with wine pairings and meal selections. This is how dining is intended.
Only negative is location, next to Walmart and Bingo Hall. Luckily, once you enter you quickly forget about location due to a great décor.

Finally a fine dining restaurant in Peoria that utilizes a «crumber» with their linen table cloths for their guests.
This place has great ambiance, and the lighting is perfect. The décor is beautiful too, like dining along a shore fare somewhere in Italy.
I give this place 3 stars for a few reasons. There are areas they could defiantly improve on which would help mask the price if the experience.
When your bill totals $ 140.00 there are just a few things expected…
1. NEVER SERVE A NICE RED WINE IN A WHIT WHINE GLASS. This just cheapens the experience, especially when the wine per glass is $ 10 ea.
2. When prices are not listed per glass of wine, the cost is usually ¼ of the bottle price. We were charged $ 10 per glass, bottle price was $ 28. Would have/​should have gotten the bottle. Da Vinci Chianti was superb!
The Chilean Sea Bass was good, but did not pair well with the risotto. The risotto was excellent, but when I took a bite of both together, they canceled each other out. In Italy, a cheese based risotto is never served with fish, and parmesan should never be offer with fish.
My fiancée order the wild boar, which is listed on the menu, «Cinghiale» and was the most delectable thing he said he had ever put in his mouth.

What can I say definitely a five star restaurant. when you first walked in you’re greeted, the owner Troy Ummel is amazing! he makes sure every need or everything you could possibly want is there. the food is amazing ! appetizers amazing ! waiters and waitresses seek your every need. I highly recommend this restaurant

Great service and attention to detail, nothing really negative to say about this place, steak was good not the best but very good. Each visit seems to get a bit better, worth taking time to go out to.

Agreed with the other reviews that the ambiance/​décor/​tuxed up waiters make the restaurant interesting… but i REALLLLLLY like the food.
I’ve been there twice now and both times the food has been excellent:
–warm bread + this eggplant sauce they make is amazeballs! pretty sure
–Sea Bass – cooked perfectly! buttery melt in your mouth!
–special/​secret boar – its not on the menu, but its a ongoing special they have. boar + soy polynesian sauce and au gratin potatoes. i was VERY SKEPTICAL of this asian sauce in an italian establishment… but it was the perfect amount of sweet/​savory sauce/​glaze thing. SO GOOOOD. and the au gratin potatoes are amazing too!
not so excellent/​fyi:
–anchovies on the ceasar is extra $ 1.5
–the romaine hasnt been very fresh both times i’ve been
–ceasar is dressed pretty heavily – asked for light dressing
–the parking lot/​strip mall is super randomos – next to the walmart and THE BIGGEST BINGO FACILITY I’VE EVER SEEN
i just might head there now…
ps. the chef used to work in hotlanta with the buckhead life restaurant group!