SANTORO

Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★★

Authentic, upscale Mexican food

Perfect For: Casual Dining; Upscale Dining; Date Night

Standout Dishes: Mole Enchiladas; Cochinita Pibil; Enchiladas Suizas; Guacmole Casero

Omaha mourned in 2022 when chef Jesus Rivera announced he was closing his beloved Mexican restaurant, Rivera’s. For the final week it was open, guests waited in line hours to get in the restaurant, eager to taste the Jesus’ Mexican specialties one last time.

But this phoenix would arise from the ashes again in the spring of 2025, when Jesus opened his new venture, Santoro Restaurant. Many of the dishes and recipes are similar to those at Rivera’s, allowing Omahans to get their hit of nostalgia. But Santoro is a more elegant take, a melding of authentic Mexican food and upscale dining, that takes it to heights even Rivera’s couldn’t achieve.

The restaurant is a part of a giant business building nestled back off of 84th & Dodge. It’s relatively nondescript and you might not even notice it if not for the lines out the door. Santoro doesn’t take reservations, so wait times can climb on weekends or peak dinner hours. On our second visit, we waited nearly an hour to be seated.

And the food was so good we couldn’t have cared less.

Your run-of-the-mill Mexican fare this is not. Eating here is like falling into a wormhole and coming out the other side in Puebla, Mexico, as your taste buds are tickled by spices and peppers that are familiar from other Mexican restaurants, but are just executed so damn much better.

So while you’ll find tacos stuffed with carne asada and al pastor on Santoro’s menu, there are no burritos, quesadillas, or birria tacos here. The menu stays true to what you’ll find in Puebla, so there are several moles and enchiladas, even coming together in some of the same dishes.

That’s the case with the Mole Enchiladas (shown in cover photo), which tightly rolls juicy roasted chicken inside homemade flour tortillas and douses it in the house mole sauce. The mole is rich and complex with a good spice level and a warming, cinnamon-y sweetness, while melted, gooey cheese and sour cream sauce add dairy and freshness.

Santoro is no one-trick pony when it comes to moles. The Enchiladas Suizas employ a mole blanco that’s creamy and velvety with a nutty finish. The tortillas are filled with roasted chicken and panela cheese, which melts beautifully to add an additional milky lusciousness to the dish.

The Chiplo Enchiladas are among the spiciest of Santoro’s enchilada lineup thanks a spicy almond mole sauce that’s rich and smooth and gives a smokiness and heat that builds the more bites you consume. The pork inside is braised with ancho chiles, adding a fruity vibrance. As if the enchiladas weren’t sizable enough alone, they’re all served with creamy beans and tomato-forward Mexican rice.

There’s far more than enchiladas on the menu, though, as Santoro offers authentic preparations of steak, pork, chicken, and seafood, drawing on Pueblan influences to creating masterpieces that are as stunning to the palate as they are to the eyes. The plating is one way Santoro sets itself apart from other Mexican restaurants; the dishes are so beautiful, you almost feel bad digging in and altering the artwork.

This is certainly true of the Cochinita Pibil, a roasted pork shank that’s served vertically with its giant bone pillar inside the banana leaf it was cooked in. The slow-roasted pork takes on smoky and citrusy flavors, and the tender meat easily separates from the bone. The pork, along with tomatoes and sauteed onions, are is cooked down in a sweet, earthy sauce that has an escalating heat.

The dish is served with homemade corn tortillas and Mexican rice, allowing you to build your own street tacos. But the pork is excellent on its own, and there’s a primal satisfaction in pulling every last scrap of delicious meat off the bone.

The mastery of protein cookery is also on full display in the Santoro Carne Asada, showcased by a flank steak with buttery, smoky flavor and undertones of citrus and garlic from the marinade. It’s not the most tender steak you’ll find, but the grill gives it good char.

If you can find another Omaha restaurant that serves Cazeula Al Horno, I’ll give you 5 bucks. Imagine a Mexican casserole, but with corn tortillas replacing the pasta. Stuffed with chorizo spread, roasted chicken, and sauteed shrimp, this tower has enough protein to satisfy Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the spicy chipotle sauce delivers a solid kick. It’s a soft dish that could use some texture and crunch, but the pork belly chorizo, with its sweet, citrus glaze, is a delicious crown atop the stack.

Many dishes at Santoro were made for sharing, the best of which is the Guacamole Casero. This guac is smoother and creamier than most, as it has very few chunks, and diced jalapenos give it decent heat. The Salsa Fresca (which is complimentary with the meal) has a nice spiciness balanced by citrus notes. It’s a bit loose and could use more body, but the flavor is spot on.

The chips are crispy and well-seasoned, but they’re oddly room temperature. Though they appear they’ve recently been fried (you can literally see the grease glistening off them), they’ve been lukewarm at all my visits.

The sides are far from an afterthought at Santoro. The Street Corn isn’t overly sweet, but the kernels are juicy, the mayo adds fat and tang, and the cotija cheese and smoky paprika are a great finishing touch. The rice is well-cooked and has a bit of tomato sweetness, while the refried beans are rich and creamy. None taste superfluous.

The ambience is pleasant, though the dining room is small and doesn’t have many sound-absorbing features, so it gets very loud during peak meal times. On some visits, the servers have been very attentive; on others, they disappear for stretches.

And some might get a bit of sticker shock from the menu. Paying $25-35 for an entree at a Mexican restaurant is uncommon in Omaha… but then again Santoro itself is uncommon. When you factor in the enormous size of the plates and the depth of flavor, I’d argue it’s actually a fantastic bang for your buck.

I’m not sure if Santoro is a step up from the original Rivera’s or if absence makes the heart grow fonder, but I think Santoro has taken Jesus’ original concept and ramped it up to the next level. This is upscale Mexican food at a level Omaha hasn’t otherwise seen, and it’s a blessing to have Jesus back in our dining lives.