FIZZY'S FOUNTAIN & LIQUORS
Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★⭑
District: Downtown Omaha
Funky 1950s soda fountain with creative cocktails and refined diner food
Perfect For: Breakfast/Brunch; Casual Dining; Vegan Options; Happy Hour; Drinks
Standout Dishes: Double Cheeseburger; Custom Breakfast Sandwich
From the moment you set foot inside Fizzy’s Fountain & Liquors, you know this isn’t your typical bar. The atmosphere alone is enough to make you smile with adolescent wonder.
But the wholly unique vibe is only the beginning. It’s once you begin to explore the fun drink menu and bite into what is definitely not typical bar food that you realize Fizzy’s is truly a one-of-a-kind Omaha experience.
Located in the heart of Little Bohemia, Fizzy’s has created an environment that’s tough to fully describe until you experience it for yourself. Take a seat in one of the flourescent, upholstered booths and you feel yourself transported back several generations to a 1950s-style diner, complete with an open window to the sidewalk and a soda fountain counter (only this one is serving concoctions a little more adult than ice cream). The coup de grace is the ordering system: a rotary-style phone located at each booth/table.
The drink menu, filled with dozens of house cocktails, wines, local beers, and even ice cream cocktails and floats (topped off with a scoop from the impeccable Coneflower Creamery), is a joy to peruse, and the drinks are extremely well made. One could have a great time visiting Fizzy’s solely for a few drinks with friends.
But you’d be missing out if you stopped at the booze.
Most bars serve food of some kind, but it’s passable at best. But Fizzy’s isn’t just a bar, and its kitchen goes the extra mile to serve dishes that put a great deal of restaurants to shame.
And it all starts with the Double Cheeseburger.
Fizzy’s burger employs a pair of thin, smashed Wagyu patties, which give additional grilling surface area and produce more crispy bits of char. The beef is cradled by a pillowy, buttery bun and topped with melty cheddar, crisp lettuce, and a delightful tangy, sweet “fancy sauce.” Adding thick cuts of smoky, salty bacon (for $2 more) rounds out this masterpiece, which for my part is one of the best burgers in Omaha.
But Fizzy’s doesn’t stop with the burger. It offers all kinds of updated, chef-driven spins on diner classics: a fried bologna sandwich, nachos, deviled eggs, and even cheese fries smothered in gravy. The menu changes frequently, so the other dishes below may or may not be present when you visit. But I guarantee they’ll be a far cry from traditional “bar food.”
The Fried Chicken Platter, which comes with a breaded thigh, breast, and wing, is an absolute delight. The exterior is golden and crispy, but the hero is the poultry itself. You’ll struggle to find more moist, juicy chicken in the city; each bite produces a mini eruption of juice.
The French Fries are a perfect side. These thin-cut spuds could be more crisp, but they’re so well-seasoned you’ll find yourself shoveling them in shamelessly by the handful. The Pigs in a Blanket are a perfectly adultified version of a childhood favorite. Forget pancakes and processed sausage links; Fizzy’s wraps mini bratwursts in puffy pastry and serves it with a hot mustard you’ll want to put use as a condiment on everything in your life moving forward.
As a bar, Fizzy’s acknowledges that its libations may have some… after effects the next day. But Fizzy’s helps you recover from the previous night’s shenanigans with its Hangover Brunch (offered Saturdays and Sundays), which, like the bar menu, puts elevated twists on classic breakfast dishes.
The best example is the Breakfast Crunchwrap, which serves as a chef-ed up, AM version of Taco Bell’s famous offering. Fluffy, supple scrambled eggs and smoky, rich carnitas are joined by hash browns and a host of melted cheese inside a griddled tortilla. The flavor is incredible, and side offerings of crema, pico de gallo, and guacamole allow you to make each bite it’s own flavor adventure. What’s missing is the middle tostada that puts the “crunch” in “crunchwrap”; this just needs a little texture contrast.
The Potato Hash is unlike any hash I’ve encountered. The potatoes are left in big hunks, but they’re cooked really well to get soft insides with crispy skin. Caramelized onions and peppers add a nice sweetness, but it’s the nutty, herbaceous pesto that really takes this dish beyond most hashes.
The Breakfast Tacos, stuffed with mild chorizo, buttery soft scrambled eggs, jack cheese, and salsa verde, are a perfect example. But I’d argue Fizzy’s best brunch item isn’t on the menu. It requires some ordering savvy and construction, but the flavor is worth every ounce of effort.
You must order four items (buttermilk biscuit, hot sauce, scrambled eggs, and sausage patties) off the sides menu. Cut the flaky, crusty-on-the-outside, pillow-y on the inside biscuit in half and drizzle it with hot sauce. Start with a base of peppery sausage, then load on the rich, cloud-like eggs. This sandwich combines fat, salt, heat, and acid in perfect balance. It may not be on the menu, but I think it’s one of Omaha’s best breakfast sandwiches.
To be clear, you could come to Fizzy’s and have a wonderful time without ordering a bite of food. The atmosphere couldn’t be more charming, and the cocktails are clever and creative.
But a bar that puts this much effort and expertise into its food menu is something that should be appreciated and celebrated. It’s why I include Fizzy’s among not just the best bars in Omaha, but the best restaurants, period.