Best New Restaurants in Omaha
2020 Edition
In most respects, 2020 was a very bad year for restaurants. The pandemic has devastated the restaurant industry, restricting the number of diners restaurants could seat and forcing many to rely solely on takeout orders. More than 110,000 restaurants have already closed nationwide, and that number is sadly only likely to increase. Omaha isn’t immune, as local gems such as Forno, The Grey Plume, and Dundee Dell closed up shop for good since March 2020.
And yet, there were some new dandelions that popped up through the cracks and survived to deliver some absolutely delicious food. And the goal of this post is to introduce you to them and entice you to visit.
Without further ado, here are my favorite new restaurants from 2020 that you need to check out in 2021.
WD Cravings
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert, WD Cravings has you covered.
In the AM you’ll find wildly creative breakfast Sandos that pair buttery English muffins and fluffy scrambled eggs with fried chicken, pulled short rib, and meatballs the size of your fist. Order them with the airy Donut Holes or the delightful hunks of Crispy Potatoes for a hearty breakfast that’ll take out any appetite.
At lunch, you can build your own pasta dish, combining WD Cravings’ handmade tagliatelle noodles with pomodoro or white sauce and your pick of protein (fried chicken, short rib, or meatballs).
The arrival of dinner unlocks the Chicken Parmigiana, a crispy cutlet as large as a manhole cover paired with tender pappardelle pasta, and the creamy Mac & Cheese, which pairs cavatelli pasta with a rich cheese sauce and slices of savory fried chicken.
And then there’s dessert, where co-owner Wendy Delgado crafts some of the most beautiful, enticing pastries in Omaha. From the luscious Tres Leches to the decadent Chocolate Envinado, the individual-sized desserts alone are enough to bring diners back to WD Cravings again and again.
Kinaara
Most people associate Indian food with dishes like Chicken Tikka Masala and Butter Chicken, and you can find those at Kinaara if you wish. But if you really want to experience all the wonderful, eye-opening flavors this cuisine has to offer, chef/owner Ashish Sathyan is eager to show you so much more.
From the sweet notes of Grandma’s Fish and Mango Curry to gingery garlic Shrimp Moilee to the punch of chili peppers and vinegar in the Vindaloo, Kinaara exposes you to unique flavor combinations you simply won’t find anywhere else. Chef Ashish combines exquisite technique with the lessons he learned as an acclaimed chef in Kerala, India to give Omaha a one-of-a-kind, authentic Indian restaurant.
Dirty Birds
At its very soul, fried chicken is delicious. There are obviously varying levels of excellence, but even subpar fried chicken tossed into a fryer by a bored teenager at a fast-food restaurant has the ability to invoke special, homey memories that keep you reaching back for more.
And when you find elite fried chicken; well, the experience can be downright transportive.
That’s what the folks at Dirty Birds are serving up at The Switch Beer & Food Hall. Their chicken achieves that wonderfully crispy exterior (each bite produces an audible crunch) with a moist, tender protein inside. It’s downright delicious on its own, but it evolves into a whole new creation in sandwich form thanks to a buttery brioche bun, a healthy slathering of tangy mayo, and acidic house-made pickles.
Watching your waistline? Opt for the tender Achiote Grilled Chicken, enormous breasts and wings that literally burst with juicy goodness upon each bite. They also receive a slight tangy/sweet flavor from a brine in orange Kool-Aid.
And what fried chicken joint would be complete without great sides? The Blue Corn Hush Puppies are deep-fried nirvana, as the savory batter balances to well with the sweet corn. And the enormous Buttermilk Biscuits seem to contain dozens of fluffy, flaky layers.
Long story short; you want elite fried chicken in Omaha, visit the guys at Dirty Birds.
Wonton Jon's
Breakfast burritos are one of God’s greatest gifts to humanity, and few make them better than Wonton Jon’s.
Three things set this food truck’s breakfast offering apart:
- Size: Each offering packs as many ingredients as possible into a massive 14-in. tortilla, making the final product roughly the size of a chihuahua.
- Creativity: Wonton Jon’s isn’t afraid to get wild with its flavor combinations, offering a Poutine Breakfast Burrito (sausage gravy, potatoes, eggs, and cheese curds), a Corned Beef Hash Breakfast ‘Rito (slow smoked corned beef brisket, country potatoes, melted swiss cheese, eggs and caramelized onion), and a Crab Benny ‘Rito (crab meat, hollandaise sauce, eggs, and jalapeno relish), among others.
- Flavor: Whichever burrito you order, it’s going to pack a punch. The two constants (a grilled, crisp tortilla and fluffy, buttery scrambled eggs) provide a solid base, and Wonton Jon’s mixes in interesting flavors from there.
If you have any doubts about Wonton Jon’s, just order its signature item, the GOAT Breakfast Burrito. I guarantee this combination of chorizo, eggs, thick-cut bacon, potatoes, sour cream, and homemade hot sauce will change your mind.
Nice Rollz
Nice Rollz excels at introducing traditional Korean flavors to Omahas in dishes their familiar with. Take the sensational Spicy Bulgogi Burger, a delightful combination of heat and sweet thanks to a ground beef patty marinated in bulgogi and topped with gochujang sauce, tangy pickled cucumbers and the rich yolk of a fried egg.
Or the Gochujang Butter Biscuit Brekkie Sammy, which slides a fully egg patty, crispy bacon, and sweet-and-spicy gochujang between two flaky, buttery biscuits. Or you can opt for the classic Breakfast Egg Roll, a perfectly crispy version of the classic appetizer stuffed with cloud-like scrambled eggs.
Kristina Lee is also a pop-up master, and she consistently collaborates with other cooks for fun mashups, such as a Korean BBQ night or a Korean Lunchable. Make sure you’re following this newcomer on Facebook and Instagram, because there’s always something fun, exciting, and creative going on at Nice Rollz.
Mootz
For all the great pizza restaurants in Omaha, Mootz’ dough remains incredibly unique. Crafted from a combination of natural yeasts and artisan flours, it’s quite thick and appears at first glance a bit overwhelming. Yet it’s actually remarkably airy and carries a bouncy chew. Imagine biting into a stress ball, only if that ball tasted of salt, flour, and just a touch of sweetness. Marked by leopard spots of char, this crust is a work of art.
Crazy thing is, these masterpieces come not out of an artisan pizza shop, but a food truck (which primarily posts up in the Aksarben and Benson areas—follow Mootz on Instagram to stay up to date on the schedule). The entire concept came when young cook Collin Adkisson began experimenting making pizzas in a Roccbox in his backyard. Once pictures of his creations began hitting Instagram, he could hardly keep up with the demand.
While all the pies are great, the must-try is the Pepperoni Pizza, which employs small pepperoni discs that curl up into tiny grease receptacles and deliver punch after punch of fatty flavor.
Okra African Grill
How do you get Omahans to adopt the flavors of traditional African cuisine, something that’s foreign to most of the population?
Simple—put it in something they recognize. Say, a rice bowl.
That’s exactly what Okra African Grill does, and with great success. A native of Toga, Africa, chef Nina Sodji allows customers to build rice bowls Chipotle-style with seasonings, proteins, and toppings she grew up eating. There are thousands of possible combinations, and each dish is packed with flavor.
And as you become more familiar with the cuisine, Okra offers you opportunities to branch out and try more traditional dishes, such as Ablo (sweet rice dumplings), Jeloff Rice (grilled chicken and seasoned red rice served with a hearty red tomato sauce), and the sweet, supple Fried Plantains. There are few more customizable restaurants in Omaha, and there’s bound to be a combination (or dozens) that inspire you to come back to Okra again and again.