OMAHA TAP HOUSE
Hoppen Hierarchy:★★⭑
District: Downtown Omaha; Northwest Omaha
Creative Burgers and Pub Food
Perfect For: Lunch; Casual Dining; Happy Hour; Drinks
Standout Dishes: Brown Sugar Burger; 3150 Burger
It’s a Monday night. You want a place to blow off some steam after work, watch the big game, and drown the frustrations from the day with a messy burger and some unique beers.
The problem with most of these places is that they have no idea how to make a good burger. An average patty is buried under a pile of toppings and sauces that may or may not really go together. The result is fine, but it’s not a special experience.
That’s where Omaha Tap House is different.
OTH serves standard bar fare: cheese curds, onions rings, wings, burgers, and the like. But it puts more thought into each item than the traditional sports bar and delivers a superior product.
With locations in Downtown and West Omaha, OTH is accessible to the whole city. It has a very laid-back atmosphere, with bar seating and enough TVs for anyone to have a good view of the game.
The highlight of the menu are the 13 signature burgers, in addition to bison, turkey, and veggie burgers (diners can also create their own). The patties are hand-crafted from local Hereford beef and topped with farm fresh ingredients.
Right off the bat, OTH avoids falling into the lazy burger bin, with out-of-the-box toppings such as hash browns, cheese curds, hot pepper jelly, and more. But the credit for these burgers’ flavors starts—as it should—with the beef. It might be a tad dry, but the patties are large and flavorful. A burger here would be excellent with just ketchup and mustard.
Of course, OTH isn’t stopping there.
Of the burgers I’ve tried, these are my favorites:
- Brown Sugar: It’s among the most simple burgers OTH offers, but that’s not a problem. Candied bacon, BBQ sauce, and caramelized onions all bring sweetness that balances perfectly with the saltiness of the patty. The bacon absolutely steals the show.
- 3150: I’m a big fan of burgers with peanut butter, but this concoction (featured in the header of this post) adds jelly to the mix. While I could’ve done without the tart flavor of the jelly, it adds some moisture to what could otherwise be a very dry burger. And bacon is never a bad thing.
- Sriracha Cobb: A true napkin killer, this thing is a mess. It’s also delicious. With bacon, a fried egg, avocado, and a Sriracho mayo, it teeters on the edge of being too busy. But each element is present, and the Sriracho mayo isn’t too spicy to distract from the overall flavor. The blue cheese crumbles actually present the dominant flavor, but it’s not displeasing.
Excellent as the burgers are, other aspects of the menu aren’t quite as successful, starting with the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich.
The breading on this sandwich is extremely crispy, giving it a nice, crunchy exterior. The problem is that the chicken “patty” is so thin, there’s actually more batter than chicken. This makes for an oily, fatty bite just dying for a juicy chicken to balance.
The spicy mayo is great, a creamy condiment with a subtle heat. But the Nashville hot sauce is basically just hot sauce. Traditional Nashville hot chicken sandwiches are dipped into an oil infused with chiles and brown sugar; this version tasted as if it were doused in Frank’s Red Hot.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing (Frank’s is delicious!), but when something is billed as a Nashville hot chicken sandwich, it sets a high bar. Omaha Tap House’s version doesn’t meet it.
The fries are nothing special, just run-of-the-mill pub fair. They’re soggy and lack seasoning. Fortunately, OTH allows you to sub out fries for superior sides (at an upcharge).
The best of these upgrades are the onion rings, massive hula hoops of goodness. The breading is absolutely perfect, crunchy and present without overwhelming the onion. Also excellent are the pickle chips which, while simple, are addicting. I’m a pretty disciplined eater, but I couldn’t stop myself from continually reaching back into the basket for more of these salty discs.
Omaha Tap House is an excellent version of what it wants to be: a fun hangout with an expansive beer lineup, an upbeat atmosphere, and plenty of TVs. You’ll have a good time just coming here for drinks, but the burgers give you an excellent reason to visit, too.