Noodle Pavilion, Pan Asian and the 1846 Grill, three eateries in UB’s international-themed One World Café, opened their doors for the first time late last month. Pan Asian and the Noodle Pavilion both serve Asian dishes, while the 1846 Grill dishes out American fare.
One World Café originally opened its seating areas — but none of its restaurants — to the UB community in January. Two stations — Indian restaurant Tikka Table and Mediterranean eatery Kali Orexi — opened for business in March.
For sophomore exercise science major Abigail Tweedale, the new options provided a large range of variety compared to other on-campus sites.
“This is more diversity than we have at the SU or anything,” Tweedale said. “There’s so many different options, and we have the availability to try all the different places. The Pan Asian place and [Kali Orexi] are really good.”
James Liu, a freshman biostatistics major, also appreciated One World Café’s customizability and variety. Students can receive personalized dishes that give the eatery — which cost $37.8 million — a one-of-a-kind feel.
“They have a lot of options, and everything’s customize-it-yourself, which I really like — having your choice and what you want to eat while still experiencing the [different] cultures,” Liu said. “They did a fantastic job with the space they had.”
But not all of the feedback was positive. Tweedale added that she’s been avoiding the 1846 Grill due to long lines.
And Shannon Alexander, a second-year MBA student, had questions about how UB decided which regions of the world to represent.
“In some ways, it’s a little random and in some ways, it’s very similar,” Alexander said. “Two or three [of the regions represented] in this case are very similar geographically.”
Some students have said that UB administrators under-surveyed students during One World Café’s planning phase. Administrators say their survey efforts, which included a survey, focus groups and feedback from various student representatives, was sufficient.
Ria Gupta is an assistant news/features editor and can be reached at ria.gupta@ubspectrum.com
Ria Gupta is an assistant news/features editor at The Spectrum.
