Dante is known for its wood-fired Neapolitan pizza, but the restaurant also serves some of the best modern Italian cuisine in Omaha. The menu features seasonal specials, house-made pastas, an all Italian wine list, a succinct lineup of original craft cocktails, and a butterscotch budino that’s one of the city’s most notable desserts. Dante also serves as a hopping west Omaha nightlife spot, where the crowd keeps things fun.

Kinaara is serving some of the most luxe Indian in Omaha, now in a new, much larger dining room. Co-owners Ashish Sathyan and Kimberly Harris have expanded the menu, adding a popular wagyu beef coconut fry that features locally raised Morgan Ranch beef chuck cubes, sliced coconut, ginger, garlic, red onion, garam masala, and black pepper. Sathyan plans to add a tasting menu, available by reservation only.

For more than 40 years, the Bagel Bin — Omaha’s premier kosher bakery — has been serving up New York-style bagels using the Brezack family’s Polish recipes. You’ll find a range of flavors from standard to niche, including everything, onion, blueberry, egg, cinnamon apple, and salt. At lunch, the egg and tuna salad bagel melt is especially popular, as is the pizza bagel. Savory and sweet kugels are available, too.

Fresh chopped herbs add bright flavor to almost every dish at El Basha, a homey Mediterranean spot. A falafel wrap with dill pickle and tahini is a standout, as are the house-made dips, including baba ganoush and hummus. Warming lentil soup is wonderful in the winter, and meat lovers will enjoy the kebabs and gyros.

The Drover exemplifies the Nebraska cowboy vibe more than any other old-school steakhouse in Omaha. Come for the Western-themed artwork and whiskey-marinated beef, including a well-known bone-in rib-eye, which is enormous. If you’re not looking to splurge on steak, the kitchen also serves a great burger and fries. Either way, opt for the salad bar, with its cold metal plates and thousand island dressing.

Krug Park, a once uber-trendy beer bar in Benson, has settled comfortably into middle age. Warm wood and flattering lighting pair well with a solid, well-curated list of taps and an interesting list of mostly original cocktails — though the bartenders at Krug can also serve up a well-executed classic. It’s a neighborhood staple for a reason.

Ika was one of the city’s first ramen spots, and it has grown now to four locations spread around the city and its suburbs, even expanding during the pandemic. It’s known for dishes like rich pork tonkotsu, a bright green Mary Jane ramen served with chicken, a bowl of super spicy “hot noods,” and killer poke and donburi bowls served with rice, raw or cooked protein, and sauces. Don’t sleep on the cocktail list, either; two of the locations have underground speakeasies attached.

Au Courant offers diners the choice of two experiences: a $75 chef-driven tasting menu created by chef de cuisine Anthony “Chovy” Caniglia or an a la carte menu that rotates seasonally. To truly experience the kitchen’s cabilities, go for the tasting menu, which features greatest hits like Chovy’s Egg — a rotating, egg-centric dish that’s always on the docket — nicely prepared proteins, and innovative preparations of in-season vegetables.

Chef and restaurateur Dario Schicke decided to close his namesake Dario’s Brasserie in 2022 to focus solely on his neighborhood Northern Italian spot, Avoli Osteria, a choice that has benefited the latter restaurant a lot. Avoli was one of Omaha’s first restaurants to focus on house-made pasta, and it still does, with regular rotating pasta specials like eggy tajarin and rich carbonara. The dry-aged rib-eye is also worth trying.

Salad doesn’t get discussed much in a town so focused on meat, but the kale salad at Lola’s is and should be a draw; it’s studded with spiced almonds and raw jalapenos, and dashed with a lemon-forward Caesar dressing. Though Lola’s is located inside a locally owned movie theater, it draws a crowd of its own for a brunch of eggs, great pastries, and tasty coffee, and there’s a remarkably good roast chicken in the evening.

Saddle Creek Breakfast Club serves higher end and vegan versions of diner breakfast classics, including banana pancakes, biscuits and gravy, and a handful of Mexican-inspired dishes. The restaurant is more popular than ever, with plans for a second location further west to open later this year.

La Casa inspires two emotions in most residents: devotion or abhorrence, and nothing in between. The pizza’s thin, biscuity crust has a flaky edge and the restaurant offers the option to add pungent Romano cheese; those two elements together bring out strong opinions. The restaurant also serves other Italian American classics, like fried ravioli, cannoli, meaty lasagna, and calzones.

Since it opened, Kathmandu Momo Station has kept its menu and its focus refreshingly small: three types of momos (vegetarian, chicken, and pork), a small selection of sauces, and a few other dishes, like tea leaf salad and coconut shrimp. Don’t miss co-owner Aagya Subedi’s Burmese ramen. The original Blackstone location shares space with Scriptown Brewing, and there’s a second inside Inner Rail Food Hall.

Nite Owl, a restaurant and bar designed to look like a cooler version of your grandparents’ basement, is a new-school dive. The bar serves a great namesake burger and house-cut fries, meaty and vegan sliders, and an endlessly creative lineup of drinks. Look out for cocktails like the Tijuana Brass, made with mezcal, tequila reposado, serrano, ginger, lime, cilantro, and allspice. Or go for the on-tap Suffering Bastard, made with dry gin, apple brandy, ginger, lime, and bitters.

Omaha’s historic Blackstone Hotel — the purported origin of the Reuben sandwich — has been reinvented in the past few years, complete with a popular pool club and a cocktail bar, the Cottonwood Room. In the Committee Chophouse, diners find vintage cuts like the Delmonico and the chateaubriand next to reimagined old-school side dishes like potatoes Lyonnaise and creamed spinach. The restaurant’s take on the classic Reuben, served at the more casual Orleans Room in the lobby, has a hint of vinegary mustard that cuts right through the rich sauerkraut and Russian dressing.

The Crescent Moon is known locally for its excellent Reuben sandwich. (Legend has it the Reuben was invented across the street at the former Blackstone Hotel, now the Cottonwood.) In recent years, the restaurant has expanded on the classic sandwich with items like Reuben egg rolls, a product of the restaurant’s annual Reuben Fest. The Moon is part of Beer Corner USA, a quartet of connected, beer-focused businesses that also includes Huber Haus (which serves Bavarian snacks and German beer in boots), Max & Joe’s (which focuses on Belgian beer), and beer store Beertopia.

Chef and cookbook author Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s vegan comfort food includes staples like mac and shews (made with cashew cheese), seitan and cauliflower versions of Buffalo wings, and a house-made seitan burger that’s a dupe for a fast food classic. Her decadent desserts, including cheesecake, thick milkshakes, and pie, are favorites among vegans and omnivores.

Originally opened by the late Patricia “Big Mama” Barron, Big Mama’s is now run by Barron’s daughter, Gladys Harrison, who saw the business into a new, busy location in 2020. The restaurant maintains Barron’s home-style cooking centered around family recipes, including a century-old skillet cornbread recipe, along with mac and cheese, fried catfish, sweet potato pie ice cream, and a signature oven-fried chicken tossed in a secret spice blend.

Dinker’s is a neighborhood bar devoted to two things: good burgers and the Creighton Bluejays. One flattop grill is entirely devoted to crisping buns for burgers, including several well-known variations, like the haystack burger topped with ham, cheese, and a fried egg, or the Bluejay burger, made with melted Swiss, smoked bacon, and a thick blue cheese dressing. Bring cash.

Nestled on South 24th Street, El Dorado is known for its parrilladas, extensive grilled platters. Go for the seafood option, stacked with fresh fish, shellfish, assorted seafood, sauces, garnishes, and house-made tortillas. The restaurant also serves seafood a la carte, including fresh oysters, ceviche, and seafood stews, along with a full menu of breakfast options, fajitas, and tacos. On weekends, catch a boisterous live mariachi band in the evening.

Chef-owners Paul and Jessica Urban, both trained in fine dining, produce some of the most creative daily lunch specials anywhere in Omaha. Options range from standard, like a killer Nashville hot chicken sandwich, to creative, like a Xi’an Famous Foods-inspired burrito filled with spicy cumin wagyu beef, local cheese curds, cilantro slaw, fried jalapeno, griddled local duck egg, house Fresno hot sauce, and fried potatoes in a giant tortilla.

You wouldn’t necessarily think of a craft cocktail bar as the spot to get a plate of house-made pasta or a solid burger, but Mercury manages to turn out excellent versions of both. A convenient pre- or post-show option for folks headed to the historic Orpheum Theater, Mercury offers an exciting menu of pappardelle with red wine, pork and beef bolognese, and maltagliati with rough-cut pasta, blue crab, beurre blanc, dill, and Calabrian chile. Drink menus, like a recent one with a Kama Sutra theme, are playful but well-executed.

Co-owner Megan Malone churns out inventive cocktails at this Little Bohemia bar, which is actually located inside a tiny old house turned funky hangout space. Her oft politically titled cocktails (the Obama Sex Dream is now a classic of its time) join seasonal rotating drinks, like the recent Flaming Cottontail Martini, made with dragon fruit, jalapeno gin, and raspberry. In the summer, the patio is especially welcoming; in the winter, an outdoor heated igloo is the way to go. The bar also regularly hosts comedy shows, movie nights, and drag performances.

Now expanded into a trio of coffee shops in Little Bohemia, Blackstone, and Millwork Commons, Archetype Coffee continues to up the city’s coffee game. Under the guidance of owner and head barista Isaiah Sheese, who has competed in the U.S. Coffee Championships several times, the cafe teams produce reliable staples like cappuccinos, lattes, and pour overs in an inviting atmosphere perfect for daytime meetings and remote workers. House-roasted beans are a popular takeaway item, especially the signature Home blend.

Like so many spots in Nebraska, the Boiler Room is about meat, though it’s not quite your usual steakhouse. Chef Tim Nicholson and his crew turn out cured charcuterie, house-made sausages, pork belly, and a lot of wagyu, all paired with second-to-none wines and cocktails. And if you’re a seafood lover, don’t sleep on the crudo. The industrial dining room is cut from the actual boiler room of a downtown warehouse, and sitting in the unusual, art-filled space is always a pleasure.

La Buvette is, in a word, thriving. The restaurant started as a deli counter in the mid-1990s before transitioning into a Parisian-inspired restaurant, but it returned to its deli roots during the pandemic. The owners followed that up with a sister business, Mercer and Sons, where they sell sandwiches, meats and cheeses, house-made bread, and bagels in an adjacent space. The restaurant’s once-temporary patio has become permanent and available year-round. The daily rotating menu of specials focuses on everyday French fare: mussels, roasted chicken, cheese plates, house-made sausage, and well-priced wine.

With an artistic, new French atmosphere and an ever-changing selection of interesting natural wines, this spot in the heart of the Old Market has become a downtown staple. Highlights include the Bouillon burger, a juicy roast chicken, and a revamped version of the French onion soup that was served years ago at the French Cafe, the long-running business that formerly inhabited the same location. Le Bouillon’s sister wine shop next door is a popular choice for afternoon tastings.

V. Mertz is the grandmother of Old Market dining, and it has been a popular choice for romantic nights out and special occasions since 1977. Under head chef Jonathan Miller, a Nebraska native, the kitchen focuses on seasonal and local flavors with interesting twists. A recent tasting menu featured halibut served with grilled Chinese broccoli, black garlic, and marinated cauliflower. All this happens in one of the most beautiful dining rooms anywhere in the city.