NITE OWL
Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★★
District: Blackstone
Bar with elevated pub food
Perfect For: Drinks; Happy Hour; Casual Dining; Vegan Options
Standout Dishes: Korean BBQ Wings; Nite Owl Burger; Tot-Chos; Birdhouse Slider
Most bars offer food just passable enough to satiate the appetites of their guests as they drink, but they’re far from dining destinations. At first glance, Nite Owl doesn’t appear much different, as the menu is consists mostly of bar staples such as burgers, wings, sliders, and tater tots.
But all it takes is one meal at Nite Owl to realize this establishment is a restaurant disguised as a bar. To be clear, the drinks are fantastic, and you can have a great time here without taking a single bite.
But you’d be missing out on some of the best food you can find in Omaha if you did.
That’s because every bar-food dish at Nite Owl has a chef-created twist that elevates it to a new plane. The signature Tot-Chos feature a green salsa constructed of fresh roasted peppers. The fries are hand cut and seasoned to perfection. The blue cheese that accompanies the wings is made in house. There’s intention, creativity, and real skill displayed in every dish; Nite Owl desires to not only delight, but to astonish.
“In a bar setting like that, we want to surprise people,” co-owner Noah Mock said on the Restaurant Hoppen podcast. “We wanted people to come in and say, ‘Their drinks are so good, but why is their food so good?’ That was the whole intention; that element of surprise.”
Even before your order is placed, however, you become aware that Nite Owl isn’t a typical bar. The establishments orbits around a giant bar in the center that sits below the rest of the building. It’s here where orders are placed and payments are made.
There’s a fun, funky vibe here that’s hard to describe until you experience it. But once you walk past the paintings of aliens on the wall and notice the off-the-wall classic movies on the big screen behind the bar (Demolition Man was on during my most recent visit), you get a sense that this place is something different and exciting.
One minor drawback is that Nite Owl doesn’t have great acoustics, so it can get loud quickly, especially during peak hours. But I’d dine behind the din of a jet engine if it meant I got to enjoy food like this.
The highlight of the menu is the restaurant’s namesake: the Nite Owl Burger. This behemoth is a masterclass in layering flavors, and it all starts with the beef.
Nite Owl employs two quarter-pound Wagyu beef patties, which are smashed on the grill. This creates more surface area for the Maillard reaction to take place, resulting in a more pronounced browned, charred, toasty flavor. This burger would be excellent with no accoutrements.
But Nite Owl adds texture with crispy onions, sweetness with a bourbon bacon jam, sharpness with two layers of cheddar, and a creamy, tanginess with its “burger sauce.” No component is wasted; each brings something valuable to the table, and that’s why the Nite Owl Burger is among the best you’ll find in Omaha.
Any bar worth its salt has a fried chicken sandwich on the menu, right? But the Birdhouse Slider is a different animal. Not only are the chicken cutlets fried to crispy perfection, but they’re amped up by the delicious sweet heat of a honey Sriracha sauce. A Southern bacon slaw adds crunch, acidity, and salt, making this one of Omaha’s standout chicken sandwiches.
Then there are the Tot-Chos. The tots, crunchy and golden brown, are a perfectly acceptable side dish on their own. But Nite Owl tops a mountain of these crispy pearls with gooey queso, cooling crema, and a fresh, vibrant salsa verde. Cuts of fresh onion and cilantro round out the experience. No visit to Nite Owl is complete without an order of this sloppy but beautiful delicacy.
Another highlight of Nite Owl’s menu is the bao buns, a Chinese warm, fluffy bun stuffed with flavorful ingredients. The bun is tender and chewy and carries just the slightest touch of sweetness, but it’s what’s inside that make the bao sing:
- Birdhouse: It has basically all the same elements of the above-mentioned Birdhouse slider, but with a light, soft bun replacing the traditional slider bun. This application accentuates the crunchy chicken and the delicious hot sauce.
- Banh Mi: Tender, stringy pulled pork is paired with tangy spicy mayo, pickled veggies, and caramel-y fish sauce for a creamy, sweet treat.
- Char Siu: A vegan-friendly item, the mushrooms, bok choy, and cabbage are cooked to perfection. But it’s the salty, slightly sweet hoison sauce that provides the dominant flavor.
Nite Owl’s menu is relatively small, but this allows the chefs and cooks to perfect every item and serve it with consistency. There’s no mailing in dishes here; Nite Owl only serves it if it’s excellent.
The pared-down menu also offers Nite Owl’s chefs and cooks the ability to experiment and perfect specials, such as the Korean Style McRib, a sandwich that so far surpasses McDonald’s version it would make Ronald McDonald cry. The tender rib patty is covered in a Korean BBQ sauce that showcases more heat than sugar, and kimchi, jalapeños, and spicy mayo give this sandwich some kick. But house pickles and pickled vegetables provide crunch, acid, and sweetness, and the poppy seeds on the pillowy bun add nutty pops, all of which balances the heat. This is the type of sandwich that, when it’s announced as a special, you set an alert in your phone to visit for.
Then there’s the Tuesday special, the Korean Corn Dog. A wagyu hot dog is battered with crispy fried potatoes and deep fried, then drizzled with gochujang ketchup and dusted with powdered sugar. This gargantuan mishmash of fair foods is the oasis in heart attack heaven.
It’s ridiculous. It’s excessive. It’s stunningly delicious.
It is Nite Owl.
Nite Owl is great at putting an inspired spin on bar classics, but it also just does the staples extremely well. There’s nothing chef-y about the wings, but Nite Owl’s attention to the details makes them among Omaha’s finest. These wings are massive and meaty—think pterodactyl wings, not chicken wings—and they’re fried Korean style, giving them more of a crunch than any other in Omaha. The dredge includes potato starch and they’re double fried, giving them a crisp crust while keeping the meat moist and juicy inside.
The Buffalo Wings are buttery and have just the right amount of heat, and flecks of bleu cheese add a salty, sharp bite. The sauce on the Korean BBQ Wings is a perfect cocktail of sweet, salty, umami, and spicy, and chunks of kimchi add texture and funk.
And let’s be real: most crab rangoon taste like cream cheese and deep fried batter. But not Nite Owl’s version; here, the Crab Rangoon have enough crab to detect the subtle sweetness of their crustacean base, and the house sweet and sour sauce should be bottled and sold ASAP.
Even the side dishes, which are frozen-aisle throwaways at most bars, stand out at Nite Owl. The Handcut Fries are ultra-thin and crispy, and they’re seasoned extremely well. The Tots are also fried to golden brown perfection, and both sides are only enhanced when dipped in the creamy, tangy aioli.
If you’re just looking for a drink, Nite Owl can more than capably meet your needs. This bar offers alcoholic-infused slushees, house cocktails, local beer, wine, and beer/shot combos, plus a pleasant, inviting patio to enjoy them on. If you can find a smoother, more delicious Old Fashioned in Omaha, let me know. Nite Owl’s version is as good as I’ve found thus far.
The bar frequently rotates its cocktail menu, but there’s one drink fan reaction demands it not remove: the Time Lord. With fruity Pimm’s liqueur, pineapple, lime, and cucumber, the drink has a very fresh taste, balancing sweet and earthy well. It’s a refreshing drink that makes one imagine vacation, even as they’re sitting in a dark bar.
That’s what makes Nite Owl special: it combines the aesthetics of a grumpy dive bar with a trendy cocktail joint and a restaurant that serves chef-inspired food. It’s quirky, it’s weird, and it’s just fun.
But Nite Owl also goes that extra level to provide food superior to the quality you’ll find at the majority of restaurants, and that’s what truly pushes it into Omaha’s upper echelon of must-visit establishments.