OMAHA'S BEST REUBENS
History has it that the Reuben sandwich originated in Omaha. A 1920s poker game at the Blackstone Hotel led to a creation that has not only stood the test of time, but has become one of Omaha’s most beloved sandwiches. As such, it’s a familiar staple on restaurant menus around the city.
So who serves the best? That’s subjective, of course. But this is one man’s deep dive to find out.
As tradition has it, a Reuben is constructed with corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and 1000 Island dressing inside rye bread, and most restaurants stick pretty closely to this formula. As a traditionalist, I value that. But I also tried several great Reubens that had tweaks and veered slightly off the beaten path.
I haven’t tried every Reuben in Omaha, but after months of research, these are, in one man’s opinion, the best of the best. All sandwiches are rated on a scale of 1-10.
***Only regular menu items or specials offered at least once per month were considered on this list.***
BEST REUBEN SANDWICHES IN OMAHA
1. Cottonwood Hotel—Blackstone Reuben
Meat: 🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩
Bread: 🍞🍞🍞🍞🍞
Accompaniments: 🥪🥪🥪🥪🥪
Tradition: 🍴🍴🍴🍴
Overall: 9.8
The Cottonwood Hotel (formerly the Blackstone Hotel) is the birthplace of the Reuben, so it’s no surprise this place makes a killer sandwich. But it was the attention to detail of each individual element and the way they came together that earned The Orleans Room (inside the Cottonwood) my No. 1 ranking.
The corned beef, prime certified angus beef brisket sourced from 1855 Black Angus, is the star, as its brine and time in the sous vide leaves it ridiculously tender and with a pleasant salty, smoky flavor. The sauerkraut is mild yet adds a nice crunch, and the meticulously crafted 1000 Island dressing (comprised of 16 ingredients!) pulls everything together with a sweet tang. And while it’s not traditional, I loved the spice of the stone ground mustard.
The rye bread is toasted perfectly: it has a crunch and holds the sandwich together without inflicting any damage on the roof of one’s mouth.
Orleans Room bucks tradition in one respect, subbing in greyere for Swiss cheese, adding a rich, nutty flavor and a better “cheese glue” to hold the sandwich together. All in all, this was the sandwich I was looking for when I started this hunt, and its the sandwich’s deliciousness, not history, that earned it the top spot.
2. Barrett's Barleycorn Pub & Grill—Reuben
Meat: 🥩🥩🥩🥩
Bread: 🍞🍞🍞🍞🍞
Accompaniments: 🥪🥪🥪🥪🥪
Tradition: 🍴🍴🍴🍴🍴
Overall: 9.4
The corned beef on the Reuben at Barrett’s Barleycorn Pub & Grill immediately punches the tastebuds with a robust, hearty flavor, and the sandwich is stacked with it. The meat’s saltiness is balanced by the sweetness and tang of the 1000 Island dressing and sauerkraut, which sort of come together to form a creamy, vibrant condiment with a nice texture.
The marble rye is buttered and toasted, not only giving it a crispy exterior, but also a small rush of luscious butter in each bite. My only nitpick is that the meat is shaved rather than shredded, but it’s so delicious I don’t care.
3. Lemon Tree Cafe —Reuben Sandwich
Meat: 🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩
Bread: 🍞🍞🍞🍞
Accompaniments: 🥪🥪🥪🥪🥪
Tradition: 🍴🍴🍴🍴
Overall: 9.4
Lemon Tree Cafe is one of the few restaurants where the cliche is true; you can taste the love in the food, and that absolutely holds true with the Reuben.
The sandwich is loaded with enormous, tender hunks of salty corned beef, which requires multiple days to create. It’s all held together by a cow’s worth of Gruyere cheese, a melty, gooey glue that adds a nice nuttiness.
The rye bread, from the Lithuanian Bakery, is buttered and toasted nicely, giving it a crispy but not crunchy exterior. The curveball is Russian dressing, which adds a bit more spice and tamps down the sweetness from traditional 1000 Island.
4. Dundee Dell—Reuben
Meat: 🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩
Bread: 🍞🍞🍞🍞
Accompaniments: 🥪🥪🥪🥪
Tradition: 🍴🍴🍴🍴
Overall: 9.3
Dundee Dell has been serving its Reuben since 1936, but it’s a recent change that moved this one near the top of my list. The Dell upgraded its meat to a shredded, braised brisket, and it’s a total game changer. The beef is salty and spiced well with just a touch of a sour kick and a really nice bark. Tender but firm, it’s some of the better meat I had on this entire tour, and there’s a ton of it loaded on this sandwich.
5. A Catered Affair—Reuben
Meat: 🥩🥩🥩🥩
Bread: 🍞🍞🍞
Accompaniments: 🥪🥪🥪🥪🥪
Tradition: 🍴🍴🍴🍴🍴
Overall: 9.1
In my Reuben travels, I didn’t find another sandwich with this much meat. This thing is absolutely loaded with slice after slice of pastrami, yet the meat is so tender that your teeth glide right through it. The pastrami carried a rich smokiness with a nicely spiced coating.
There’s so much meat that A Catered Affair employs two layers of Swiss, one of top and one in the midst of the meaty mass, giving this sandwich a wonderful gooeyness. The housemade thousand Island dressing is sweet and creamy, and the sauerkraut packs a nice crunch. The marble rye is perfectly acceptable, but a more flavorful, toasted bread would’ve really sent this sandwich over the top.
6. BW's Pub & Grill —Reuben
Meat: 🥩🥩🥩🥩
Bread: 🍞🍞🍞🍞
Accompaniments: 🥪🥪🥪🥪
Tradition: 🍴🍴🍴🍴🍴
Overall: 9.0
Here’s the best way to sum up the Reuben at BW’s Pub & Grill: it’s a 35-minute drive one way for me to Ashland, and this sandwich is worth every second of it.
Right off the bat, the corned beef is the star of the show. Shredded to a perfectly tender consistency, it provides a nice salty beefyness, and there’s a lot of it piled on this monster. The Reuben is served piping hot, creating the type of gooey, flowing cheese pulls that Instagram influencers dream of. That nutty Swiss mixes well with the creamy, tangy housemade 1000 Island and the funk of the sauerkraut.
But the rug that ties the room together was the bread. It’s grilled beautifully, still soft in the middle but with a toasty outer edge. It’s buttery but still has enough integrity to hold the beast of a sandwich together. If I had my way, the 1000 Island would be a little thicker and more present, but that’s a very minor complaint on a great sandwich.
7. Smokin Barrel BBQ—Reuben
Meat: 🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩
Bread: 🍞🍞
Accompaniments: 🥪🥪🥪🥪
Tradition: 🍴🍴
Overall: 8.9
Here’s where things get tricky with the tradition vs. taste debate. Smokin Barrel‘s Reuben has a different cheese (Provolone), condiment (slaw), and sauce (garlic aioli) than the traditional Reuben, so is it fair to even call it a Reuben?
I don’t know and I don’t care. All I know is this is an incredible sandwich with corned beef on it, so I’m counting it.
The corned beef, smoked in house, is absolutely ridiculous, with a prominent salty flavor, a brilliant smoky essence, and a nice caramelized bark. The slaw adds more crunch than traditional sauerkraut, and the creaminess of the aioli helps cut through all the salinity. The biggest biggest problem here is the bread; the Rotella’s rye tastes great, but it’s thin and untoasted, fully unequipped to handle this meaty mountain on its own. But even if this sandwich is a napkin killer, it’s absolutely delicious.
8. Paddy McGown's—Paddy's Famous Reuben
Meat: 🥩🥩🥩
Bread: 🍞🍞🍞🍞
Accompaniments: 🥪🥪🥪🥪
Tradition: 🍴🍴🍴🍴🍴
Overall: 8.6
The Reuben at Paddy McGown’s gets so much right. The rye bread, buttered and grilled to a crispy (but not destroy-the-roof-of-your-mouth tough) consistency, is the perfect complement to the creaminess of the melted Swiss and tangy, sweet 1000 Island, which is among the best I found during this hunt. The sauerkraut doesn’t have much to say, but that’s OK.
The minor stumbling block is the corned beef itself. Cooked in house and thinly shredded, it has a wonderful robust, salty flavor. Taste-wise, it’s a home run. But it’s a bit fatty, and some bites are a bit tough, gristle-y, and hard to chew. The flavor is so good you power through, and there are bites where the meat is deliciously tender. It’s those bites that showcase the true potential of this sandwich.
9. Omaha Gourmet Reuben—Reuben
Meat: 🥩🥩🥩🥩
Bread: 🍞🍞🍞
Accompaniments: 🥪🥪🥪🥪
Tradition: 🍴🍴🍴🍴
Overall: 8.5
Delivered to your doorstep in a paper bag, this sandwich comes with a story and a sterling reputation. It was once the star menu item of a local restaurant and was so beloved that, even after the place closed down, people clamored for the sandwich. So the owner’s daughter, Beth, now makes the Reubens at home, takes orders online, and delivers them personally to customers’ doorsteps. After a 2-3 minute fry in a hot pan, they’re ready to go.
And Omaha Gourmet Reuben‘s product is better than you’ll get in most restaurants. The corned beef is deeply savory and salty and tender enough to shred with a spork. My only minor complaint is it was so delicious, I wanted more of it. The sauerkraut brought that nice acidic, salty punch, but it was the creamy, sweet 1000 island that really made this sandwich sing.
10. Rookies Bar & Grill—Reuben
Meat: 🥩🥩🥩🥩
Bread: 🍞🍞🍞
Accompaniments: 🥪🥪🥪🥪
Tradition: 🍴🍴🍴🍴
Overall: 8.4
There is nothing elevated or chef-y about this Reuben. This is just a stick-to-your-ribs, honest sandwich, the one you want to eat while sidled up to the bar with a beer after a long day of work. Rookies is the definition of a dive bar, and it serves a comforting, familiar sandwich.
11. Report In Pub—Reuben
Meat: 🥩🥩🥩
Bread: 🍞🍞🍞
Accompaniments: 🥪🥪🥪
Tradition: 🍴🍴🍴🍴🍴
Overall: 8.1
The corned beef on the Reuben at Report In Pub is sliced so thin that you can practically see through it, giving it a luxurious tenderness. So though this dive bar piles the meat high, your teeth glide through the sandwich with ease. The rye bread has a nice nuttiness and is griddled well, and the sauerkraut adds its expected tang.
The sandwich is light on cheese and 1000 Island, so it does eat a bit dry. The 1000 Island is plenty tangy on its own, and if you ask for a side cup of it, the restaurant will happily oblige. But as it’s served, it needs just a bit more moisture to find that perfect balance.
12. Crescent Moon Ale House—Blackstone Reuben
Meat: 🥩🥩🥩
Bread: 🍞🍞🍞
Accompaniments: 🥪🥪🥪
Tradition: 🍴🍴🍴🍴🍴
Overall: 8.0
Crescent Moon has a long-standing reputation for serving one of Omaha’s best Reuben’s, so much so that it devotes a week each fall to “Reubenfest”, where it melds the sandwich with pizza, tacos, soup, burritos, and more. The dedication to the sandwich is impressive, and the core elements are there for an elite Reuben.
The corned beef, roasted and shredded in house, is tender and peppery, exactly what one is looking for. The 1000 Island has a good punch, and the Swiss is melted beautifully, seeping its gooeyness into each bite.
The only problem is ratios. When tasted alone, the corned beef is excellent, but it gets a bit lost in all the other flavors, especially the sauerkraut. The kraut has a nice tang, but it shouldn’t be the star or a Reuben, and there were many bites where it was here. And the bread is a touch over-toasted, creating some scraped spots on the roof on one’s mouth.
13. Winchester Bar & Grill—Reuben
Meat: 🥩🥩
Bread: 🍞🍞🍞🍞
Accompaniments: 🥪🥪🥪
Tradition: 🍴🍴🍴
Overall: 7.9
The Reuben at Winchester Bar & Grill proves that great food can come from a dive bar kitchen. This bar gets so close to achieving an elite Reuben, but one error in execution keeps it from being among Omaha’s finest.
The rye bread is near perfect, with a rich butteriness and a toasty flavor. The Swiss and thousand island combine to give the sandwich a nice sauciness – there are no dry bites here – and the sauerkraut/red cabbage mix brings a crunchy element.
But the meat itself, while flavored nicely, is tough and overcooked. It’s a shame, because the protein is pleasantly salty and has nice caramelized edges, but it’s hard to get past rough chewiness of the meat. Overall, it’s a very good sandwich that is one misstep from being great.
14. Sean O'Casey's—Reuben
Meat: 🥩🥩🥩
Bread: 🍞🍞
Accompaniments: 🥪🥪🥪
Tradition: 🍴🍴🍴🍴
Overall: 7.7
When the Reuben at Sean O’Casey’s hits the table, it looks like it could contend with any in Omaha. It’s an absolute beast of a sandwich, with beautifully pink corned beef spilling out the sides. And some bites deliver on that promise. But the inconsistency of the sandwich—along with its third piece of bread—weigh it down.
The sandwich’s biggest sin it it’s just dry, and much of that is due to its triple decker nature. The 1000 Island dressing is creamy and delicious, but there’s not enough of it, and the overabundance of bread overwhelms the dressing and melted Swiss.
The corned beef has a hearty, meaty texture, but it’s pretty underseasoned. Still, when all the elements come together in the right way, there are bites of this sandwich that take you exactly to where a Reuben should go.
15. Wilson & Washburn—Reuben
Meat: 🥩🥩🥩🥩
Bread: 🍞🍞🍞
Accompaniments: 🥪🥪🥪
Tradition: 🍴🍴
Overall: 7.5
This is where ranking Reubens gets really tough—with a beet horseradish dressing subbed in for the 1000 Island, the flavor profile of Wilson & Washburn’s sandwich is completely changed, to the point where it isn’t really reminiscent of a Reuben. That being said, it’s a delicious sandwich and one I enjoyed more than the ones below it on this list.
The smoked corned beef is the star of the show. Finished on the flattop, it has crispy, caramelized edges and a robust flavor with a hint of smoke. The Russian rye is nicely toasted and quite hearty, and while the sauerkraut and Swiss are quiet, they play their roles well.
The curveball in this Reuben is that W&W subs out the traditional 1000 Island dressing for beet horseradish dressing, which completely changes the personality of the sandwich. I miss the creamy tang of the 1000 Island, but I also enjoyed the sweet earthiness of the beets. If you’re a traditionalist, this sandwich might not be for you. But if you like a creative twist, definitely give this version a shot.
16. Jackson St Tavern—Tavern Reuben
Meat: 🥩🥩🥩
Bread: 🍞🍞
Accompaniments: 🥪🥪🥪
Tradition: 🍴🍴🍴🍴
Overall: 7.3
I really enjoy the flavor of the corned beef itself, as the beer braise really amps up the robust, savory flavor of the meat. It could be more tender, as the long strands pull out of the sandwich with each bite, but it tastes great. And the Swiss is very present, both in its salty flavor and the gooey nature of the sandwich.
But the sandwich just lacks much of a flavor punch and is relatively one note. The Russian dressing and sauerkraut both have very muted flavors, and the bread, while buttery and tasty, isn’t toasted long enough, leaving it soft and pliable. It’s still a good version of the sandwich, and the presentation is gorgeous, but some elements leave something to be desired.
17. Lithuanian Bakery & Kafe—Reuben
Meat: 🥩🥩
Bread: 🍞🍞🍞🍞
Accompaniments: 🥪🥪🥪
Tradition: 🍴🍴🍴🍴
Overall: 7.3
As one might expect from a bakery, the bread on the Reuben from Lithuanian Bakery & Cafe (72nd & Pacific) truly shines. It’s thin and buttered well, which creates a nice crunchy crust and buttery finish to go along with its deep, slightly sour flavor. It creates an awesome base for the sandwich, and the Swiss is melted beautifully to create a rich, gooey blanket.
The corned beef is sliced razor thin and is really tender, but there’s just not enough of it. It tastes great on its own, but the 3-4 slivers get drowned out a bit by the cheese and tangy sauerkraut. And the 1000 Island, while delicious, is so faintly applied that I had to double check it was on the sandwich.
The elements for a great Reuben are here, especially the bread. A little better proportions would provide balance and move this sandwich at least 4-5 spots up the list.
18. Sammy's Sub Shop—Reuben
Meat: 🥩🥩🥩
Bread: 🍞🍞
Accompaniments: 🥪🥪🥪
Tradition: 🍴🍴
Overall: 7.1
A traditional Reuben this is not, but would you expect one coming from a sub stop? Sammy’s Sub Shop offers a fast casual take on the Reuben that has some curveballs but hits all the right flavor notes.
The corned beef itself is excellent. It’s stringy, tender, and carries that spiced, meaty flavor that makes corned beef so addicting. The sandwich could use more of it, but there’s good balance between the meat, creamy 1000 Island, and tangy sauerkraut.
And because the hoagie is toasted so well, I don’t mind the switch up from rye bread; it misses the deep, nutty flavor rye brings, but the crispy shell is a nice contrast to the soft insides of the sandwich.
19. Cunningham's Pub & Grill—Reuben
Meat: 🥩🥩🥩
Bread: 🍞🍞🍞
Accompaniments: 🥪🥪
Tradition: 🍴🍴🍴🍴
Overall: 7.1
There is nothing wrong with the Reuben at Cunningham’s Pub & Grill, as it’s a perfectly acceptable sandwich. But there’s not much exciting about it, either, and the meat/bread ratio really hurts the Reuben.
The bread is buttery and toasty (though it’s a bit of a mouth-roof scraper), but it takes up too much real estate. The shredded corned beef, thousand island, and sauerkraut are all mixed into one meaty, saucy concoction, which creates nicely consistent bites, but about half the bites (especially toward the back of the sandwich) have almost no filler, and the Swiss doesn’t have much flavor.
This is a fine version of a Reuben and one I wouldn’t have a problem ordering again. But on a list of sandwiches that wowed me, this one felt a bit one-note.
20. Modern Love—Seitan Beet Reuben
Meat: 🥩🥩🥩
Bread: 🍞
Accompaniments: 🥪🥪🥪🥪
Tradition: 🍴
Overall: 7.0
I’m an open-minded guy, and I had several people tell me the Reuben at Modern Love, Omaha’s premier vegan restaurant, didn’t need the meat to stand out. In terms of flavor, I agree. This sandwich has its flaws, but it’s a fine Reuben worth trying.
The texture of the seitan is a bit stretchy and chewy, so it doesn’t mimic corned beef very well. But this wheat product is brined to give it a salty, savory quality, and the ratio of protein to sauerkraut is spot on. There are two non-traditional additions that make the sandwich sing: beets bring a pleasant sweetness, while fried pickles add crunch and pops of salt.
The main drawbacks here are the cashew Swiss, which gets completely lost (I honestly forgot it was present until the second half of the sandwich), and the bread. Untoasted, the bread had no texture and provided no structural integrity, making the Reuben difficult to eat.
But in terms of flavor and overall, I’d recommend this sandwich to any Reuben lover, vegan or not.
21. M's Pub— Reuben
Meat: 
Bread: 
Accompaniments: 
Tradition: 
Overall: 6.2
I had high hopes for this one given M’s Pub’s reputation, but it was a miss on almost every level. The sandwich might be the smallest of the entire Hunt, and the corned beef pastrami, while there was a lot of it, lacks much flavor. The Swiss and sauerkraut are so muted I had to double check the sandwich to make sure they weren’t accidentally forgotten. The dominant flavor of the sandwich is the dense, earthy pumpernickel bread, which is soft and untoasted.
The saving grace is this sandwich’s 1000 Island, which is wonderfully creamy and tangy with healthy chunks of pickles. Again, there is very little of it on the sandwich, but it’s served with a side cup, of which I dunked the sandwich into to absorb every last drop.
22. Brazen Head Pub— Reuben
Meat: 🥩🥩
Bread: 🍞
Accompaniments: 🥪🥪
Tradition: 🍴🍴🍴
Overall: 5.9
The shaved corned beef is woefully underseasoned and pretty bland, and the rye bread is only lightly toasted. It has little texture or butter. The 1000 island dressing has a nice flavor, but there just isn’t enough of it, leaving the whole sandwich a bit dry.
On the plus side, the sauerkraut is crunchy and adds a good salty, pickled flavor, and I like the curveball of subbing creamy, buttery havarti for traditional Swiss.
BONUS REUBEN ITEMS
Triple Reuben
You know the iconic stacked sandwiches at Katz’ Deli in New York? There was simply nothing like that in Omaha… until The Orleans Room busted out its double and triple versions of its Reuben.
This is the Triple, which weighs in at easily over a pound. With so much meat, it’s very salty and could use a bit more moisture from the dressing and cheese. But that beef is so ridiculously flavorful, and there’s so much of it… this is one of the best sandwiches you’ll find in Omaha, hands down.
Reuben Egg Rolls
Paddy McGown’s
Take everything that’s great about a Reuben and stuff it inside a crispy, perfectly fried egg roll and you get this stellar appetizer.
The slow cooked corned beef is tender and salty, and the melty Swiss and sauerkraut almost melt together into one gooey, sour condiment. Paddy McGown’s has some of the best 1000 Island dressing I’ve tasted, and dunking the rolls in this creamy concoction just sends them over the top.
Reuben Croquettes
Dynamite Woodfire Grill
This clever twist on the classic sandwich flavors combines an elevated approach with the iconic Reuben. Rich, salty corned beef is stuffed into a ball and fried, giving a crispy breaded blanket to accent the tender meat. The housemade 1000 island is brilliantly fresh and tangy, while the mustard seeds and pickled onions add some freshness to break up the richness of the dish.
Reuben Egg Rolls
Crescent Moon Ale House
In terms of flavor, these have everything you’re looking for in a Reuben, from the salty corned beef to the crunchy sauerkraut and nutty Swiss. The miss here is the frying process. The outside isn’t very crispy, resulting in a final product that’s more like a Reuben ravioli than an egg roll.
Does it taste good? Sure! But when compared to Paddy McGown’s version, it doesn’t hold up.
Spicy Reuben
Omaha Gourmet Reuben
Omaha Gourmet Reuben’s spicy version of the sandwich takes all the elements that made the original such a hit and adds just a touch of heat. Still present is the succulent, juicy shredded corned beef, melty Swiss, and crunchy sauerkraut, but they’re now joined by jalapenos and horseradish. The horseradish has a spicy punch that gently pokes your sinuses awake without blowing them out, while the jalapenos add a bit of crunch and heat. I still prefer the original, but this is a nice change of pace and a sandwich I’d definitely recommend.