I really enjoyed eating my way through Omaha in 2024 and have met some amazing chefs, restauranteurs and incredible staff. The burgeoning culinary scene shows no signs of slowing down, despite some recent closures over the past couple years. I love that restaurants keep opening.
I’ve truly found something to love about every restaurant I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing this year. You’d think it would be the food that makes reviewing restaurants a rewarding endeavor, and you wouldn’t be wrong to think so. But what I’ve really enjoyed the most is the stories about how the restaurants came to be and the journeys chefs and owners have taken to get where they are.
Coming up with a top five list, or a top list of anything, isn’t easy. I read through my reviews, sifted through photographs and came up with the restaurants that offered the most flawless dining experiences. Here are my top five.
Sauced by Alfaro’s chipotle honey chicken sandwich
Sauced by Alfaro
It’s undeniable that Sauced by Alfaro knows how to make a chicken sandwich. The namesake came from a joke between Michelle Alfaro and her husband when they were discussing the restaurant concept.
“We should just open up a restaurant and call it Sauced so people can be like, ‘Let’s go get sauced for dinner,” Alfaro quipped. “Because I used to cook with a lot of booze.”
There may not be any booze in the sauces on the chicken sandwiches at Sauced, but there sure is a ton of flavor and innovation. If her signature bang bang sauce doesn’t win you over, which I would find hard to believe, there’s certainly something on her menu that will.
You can read the review here.
https://www.saucedbyalfaropapillion.com/
Memoir’s prime flat iron
Memoir
Memoir is just swanky, stylish and sexy. It really does feel like an upscale 1920s Hollywood restaurant – the kind you’d see agents, producers, actors and actresses making movie deals over lunch and dinner. The staff is well trained, extremely welcoming and hospitable.
I loved everything we tried on their menu, which is incredibly diverse in its offerings. Memoir is a reminiscence of the other successful dishes the Flagship Restaurant Group has brought to market. It’s a wonderful recognition of their journey so far.
The food is excellent, and the cocktails are fantastic. It’s a beautiful homage to the dishes that made them so successful. This is the complete experience, start to finish.
If you haven’t read the review, check it out here.
Clio’s beef kefta kabob
Clio
The Flagship Restaurant Group made my list twice with Clio, a modernized take on Mediterranean cuisine. It’s a tribute to the primary owners of the Flagship Restaurant Group and their family backgrounds, drawing influences from Italy, southern France, Turkey and Lebanon.
The dishes have a wonderful variety, be it the appetizers or the entrees. The “all four spreads” is an absolute must try, taking you on a journey of hummus, muhammara, labneh and baba ganoush. We’ve been back a couple of times, bringing friends and family with us. Everyone has their own list of their favorites amongst the four. And everyone has agreed that all four are wonderful.
Their dishes present you with unique yet familiar flavors, bold in their spices and seasoned well. Clio’s cocktails aren’t to be ignored, especially the clever take on the classic Sazerac – the black Sazerac. There’s risk in trying a variation here, as fans of this cocktail are usually purists. It’s a risk that pays off big time.
Read the Clio review here.
Ooh De Lally’s seared Faroe Island king salmon
Ooh De Lally
I defy anyone to dine at Ooh De Lally and not fall in love with this restaurant. Their mission is downright noble, helping incarcerated and rehabilitated adults win their lives back. But the mission does not at all diminish the dining experience. It’s an incredible culinary adventure.
Ooh De Lally had some big shoes to fill too, taking over the space occupied by the beloved Mark’s. I love the fact they kept some menu items from Mark’s, including the signature mac and cheese. That, and everything we sampled on this menu, was delectable.
The mission behind Ooh De Lally seems to be working well, with people graduating from the program and starting their culinary careers, taking full advantage of their second chances. You can tell, there’s a lot of love behind this mission – it’s abundantly evident in the food and service.
Here’s a link to the review, where you can read more about their amazing story.
https://www.oohdelally.org/https://www.oohdelally.org/
Avoli Osteria’s carbonara
Avoli Osteria
I love pasta, and I can’t remember having pasta dishes consistently cooked to such perfection and exacting standards. Chef and owner Dario Schicke nails everything we tried on his menu. Each pasta dish was utter perfection – the pasta an incredibly exact al dente.
When you walk into Avoli, the decor alone gives you a sense that you’re about to be well-fed. The smells from the kitchen hit you, and your mouth starts watering before you sit down. This was an impeccable experience.
What I found most impressive was the buy-in from the servers and staff. Not only are they very well versed in the menu, there is a genuine desire to give you the best dining experience possible. Avoli was my last review of 2024 and it certainly wasn’t the least. In fact, it was my favorite of the year.
If you’d like to learn more about why this was my favorite, you can see the review here.
More favorites
As a bonus, I thought I’d also provide a few of my favorites dishes, desserts and cocktails from our review journey. It’s not a requirement that these favorites are from my list of top five restaurants, as I debated several options.
Memoir’s Marco Island
Best Cocktail
Memoir: Marco Island
This cocktail had my wife, Jennifer, after a taste, saying “Come to mama!” It’s a fantastic blend of grey whale gin, peach liqueur, herbal notes with pineapple and grenadine. It’s fruity, tropical with a nice balance of acidity from the citrus. It’s mouthwateringly complex in its flavors and goes down easy.
Clio’s four spreads
Best appetizer
Clio: Four spreads
These spreads are available by themselves, but I encourage you to try all four – especially if you’re there for happy hour. The spreads are hummus, muhammara, labneh and baba ganoush. I challenge you, if you haven’t already, to rank them in order of your favorite. It might not be as easy as you’d think.
Avoli Osteria’s squid ink chittara
Best entree
Avoli: Squid ink chittara
This pasta dish is perfection on a plate. When it’s set before you, it makes an impressive visual statement. The shrimp, calamari and pasta are cooked exactly right. All three of these elements are easy to over or undercook and Dario Schicke completely nails this dish. The dried tomato pesto adds a wonderful, savory element.
Fig’s bacon egg and cheese
Best sandwich
Fig: Bacon, egg and cheese
It might seem counterintuitive to put another sandwich here, since Sauced was one of my top five restaurants. But the bacon egg and cheese breakfast sandwich at Fig is undeniably one of the best I’ve ever had. Chef Gabriel Bon Sosa takes an extra step with this and pops the egg back in the oven prior to serving, making it fluffy. It’s delicious and you simply must try it.
Clio’s phyllo pie
Best dessert
Clio: Phyllo pie
In a journey of amazing tiramisu, crème brûlée, bread pudding and many other dessert offerings, the phyllo pie at Clio is hands down my favorite of the desserts I’ve tried this year. It’s crispy, flakey and basted with honey. There’s a wonderful center similar to a bread pudding and the accompanying orange blossom custard and poached apples take this to a whole new level. It’s very well conceived and I guarantee you I’m going to try to replicate this in my own kitchen at home.
A “best of” list should be difficult for a reviewer and Omaha’s restaurants sure didn’t make it easy. In a place where culinary greatness continues to develop, blossom and emerge, how do you identify your favorites? It’s a tasty job and I’m thrilled to do it.
I can’t wait to see what 2025 brings.
