BLATT BEER AND TABLE
Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★
District: Downtown Omaha; Legacy; Central Omaha
Pub Food & Craft Beer
Perfect For: Lunch; Casual Dining; Happy Hour; Drinks; Vegan Options
Standout Dishes: Tipsy Cuban; Dirty Bird; Chicken & Waffles
What makes Blatt Beer & Table successful is it knows exactly what it wants to be. There are three main tenants that this gastropub strives for:
- A fun, welcoming atmosphere with friendly service
- A wide selection of draft beers (including many local selections) and cocktails
- Classic pub food, but amped up with chef-y twists
It’s that third bullet that helps set Blatt apart. While not all its dishes are perfect, they’re definitely not standard, boring bar offerings. Blatt offers familiar, casual dishes, but each has an interesting zing that helps take it up a notch.
Blatt has 3 locations (inside Westroads Mall, downtown Omaha, Shops of Legacy), giving all of Omaha pretty easy access. The latter two have bright, modern interiors with classy brick walls and large bars right in the center. Those hubs are where Blatt pours its vast choice of brews, including those from local breweries such as Kinkaider Brewing Co., Kros Strain Brewing, and Infusion Brewing Co.
This is the type of place you meet for your buddies after work, enjoy a business lunch, or gather the crew for happy hour. It’s a great place to gather even if you’re not hungry, but the menu also provides many reasons to visit.
On the surface, it’s all simple food: nachos, salads, mac & cheese, burgers, and fried chicken. But look a bit closer and you’ll see Blatt is putting new spins on the classics.
The perfect example is the Tipsy Cuban (shown in the header photo), Blatt’s take on the Cubano sandwich that features plenty of audibles. The most notable is the substitution of a cheesy brat for the traditional ham, which adds fat and flavor and perfectly complements the smoky, succulent pulled pork. The bread is toasted to provide solid crunch, and the mild nuttiness of the greyere cheese is a twist from the normal Swiss.
Not all the spins work perfectly, as the dijonnaise lacks the punch of yellow mustard and makes the bread slightly soggy, and the pickles get lost in the sandwich. But while it’s not a traditional Cuban, it’s an excellent sandwich, especially when dunked into the side of Beer Cheese Soup.
The Chicken & Waffles is another example, as Blatt opts to use a jalapeno cornbread waffle and chicken strips. The waffle could be crispier, but the cornmeal adds great texture. And the dixie fried chicken strips have a crispy but not crunchy exterior, giving a pleasant mouthfeel when combined with the moist chicken. They’re heavily battered and have a good salt level, but the flavor off the chicken itself is still present. It’s best when eaten with a bite of the jalapeño cornbread waffle that’s been topped with orange honey butter and dipped in maple syrup. Sweet, salty, spicy, and citrusy all flow together into one delicious bite.
The Dirty Bird takes a crispy, well-fried chicken breast and stuffs it inside a brioche bun along with bacon, coleslaw and tomatoes. But what sets this apart from other chicken sandwiches is the interplay of the sriracha buffalo and blue cheese sauces, which balance each other with heat and cooling elements.
Don’t feel like a full meal and just want to grab some apps with your drinks? Blatt has you covered there, too. The star of the starters menu is the Korean Fried Cauliflower, which combines the spicy/sweet brilliance of gochujang with the cauliflower’s crispy exterior and creamy center.
Similarly good are the Bavarian Pretzel Bites, little balls of doughy goodness with crispy exteriors and pops of coarse salt that can be dunked in German rosemary mustard or greyere fondue. And the Dill Potato Salad isn’t overly creamy, but is loaded with chunks of potato and grassy, herbal undertones from the dill.
Not every curveball is executed to perfection, and some menu items are pretty standard. The Blatt Burger, for example, is a good example of a well-cooked burger, but not one you’ll be raving to your friends about. The fries are pretty average and don’t have a ton of flavor.
But overall, Blatt’s food is interesting and fun, and the service is extremely engaging and friendly. I went several weeks between visits once, but my server not only remembered my name and my order, but she also made great recommendations about what to order next time.
With plenty of beer, shuffleboard tables, and just good vibes, Blatt is a fun place to hang out even if you don’t have a bite to eat. But if you’re looking for fun takes on pub fare, this restaurant will take what you know about bar bites and give them an upgrade.